My husband and I rented our first apartment from Margate Manor. We were happy because it was close to our schools, rent was cheap, utilities were included, and they were even on the bus line so I didn't have to pay for a parking pass.

Overall, I think one has to keep in mind that you get what you pay for. The buildings are old, the apartment layout isn't especially inspired, and the area isn't the nicest (not unsafe, just not very desireable, you understand'). The staff seemed to change very frequently, so we never really got a chance to know anyone personally, but everyone was friendly and professional.

When we moved out (on to bigger and better things) we got back most of our pet deposit, though one of the charges was just a smidgen fishy. I'm pretty sure we scrubbed the heck out of that stove (with toothbrushes, as I recall) but I suppose we could have missed something.

Probably the biggest complaints would be parking and the bathroom. Parking could be very cramped as one didn't need a tag to park. I never exactly had to park in the shopping center over or anything, but sometimes getting home from a late shift you could look forward to parking out in the sticks. The bathroom was miniscule. (Older buildings. What can you say') Other than that, we had pretty adequate storage and elbow-room.

This community always felt very safe, there were often children out playing on the playground without adult supervision and no one ever seemed to get worried. I never felt unsafe, lighting is good in all the areas I saw.

So overall this was a pretty okay place to live, certainly great for students, particularly if you can get in at a good rate. We moved in in May, when most of the college students were moving out, which I think is responsible for our great deal. It's also very convenient to have the utilities paid for--one less thing to keep up on. For a long term stay--raising a family and so on--I don't think I'd go for this particular complex. We needed to trade up to a two-bedroom and ended up moving to Reston to a complex right next to a state park for about the same as they wanted at Margate. But it was worth it at the time for the location.

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