For this neighborhood in Fairfax, The Ellipse is the cheapest rent you'll find, but be careful...you get what you pay for. I would strongly recommend paying an extra 200-300 dollars a month to live elsewhere because what you save is not worth the headache it is to live here. This has easily been the worst rental experience we have ever had in the Northern Virginia area. The neighbors directly surrounding us on our floor have been lovely, but our upstairs and downstairs neighbors have been a nightmare. There seems to be very little consideration given to who is allowed to lease these apartments. (Lots of college kids, lots of parties...) Cigarette butts and beer cans line the grounds on any given weekend morning. There is graffiti on the playground equipment. Noise is a HUGE problem. We can hear every peep our upstairs neighbors make, which is not necesarily their fault...it's the age of the buildings and the poor upkeep (which also to be fair were just recently purchased by Equity so they can't be held responsible for the previous lack of maintenance. When the upstairs neighbors do something as simple as walk across their apartment our ceiling and light fixtures shake. Not exactly what you would expect for well over 1,000 bucks a month. The leasing office staff is very friendly, but there appears to be no communication among them. Don't bother leaving voicemails on the leasing office machine because they are NEVER returned or acknowledged. We have had the most disgusting ant problem since the beginning of spring. We've tried every ant trap/spray known to man and they keep coming back. The appliances are realllllly old and outdated. It takes at least 3 cycles in the dryer to dry one small load of laundry.

I will say that the location is great, well within walking distance of Wegmans and Fairfax Corner. The mall is a five minute car trip and it is close to Lee Highway and Interstate 66. The few maintenance issues we have had were resolved quickly and professionally by the maintenance staff. Our main issues here have been with the neighbors and the leasing office staff. It's frustrating to have to explain an issue to three times to three different people. The noise in the hallway is awful, especially on the weekends. We can hear every argument our upstairs neighbors have. Our downstairs neighbors continue to grill on their patio every weekend (and smoke up our balcony in the process) despite notices from the office that grilling is only allowed in specific areas on the property and is specifically not allowed on patios and balconies. Parking is adequate, we've never had too much trouble finding a spot near our building. There is constantly some kind of construction/remodeling project going on either in the complex or in the neighboring townhouses.

To be fair, they do seem to be making an effort to make little improvements here and there in the community. I get that it's a large complex and the buildings are old and there really is only so much you can do about inconsiderate neighbors.


Overall, for all of the issues we've had since we moved here the noise has been the biggest problem. We've lived in two other complexes in NoVa and never had this much trouble. We'll be out of here the second our lease is up, the savings really haven't been worth it to stay another year. I highly recommend sucking it up and spending the extra money to live elsewhere. Don't let the price sway you...it's not worth it!!!

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 07/30/2009
I completely agree with this post. The biggest issue with this complex besides the old, rundown buildings and appliances is the office staff. They seem to be completely incompetant and you will get differing information depending on who you talk to. There is no consistency or communcation amongst the staff.
From: Anonymous	Date: 10/23/2009
There is a new manager and he seems to be sincere and professional. He has just been there two weeks so we wish him well!
From: Anonymous	Date: 10/27/2009
We also had problems with the woman who was the property manager for the past year or so. She was flat-out rude and insincere. We're still locked into our miserable lease, but I learned this week that she is no longer the property manager. No idea how the new guy is, but he can't possibly be worse...

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