I have lived in this complex for nearly three years; two and half years I lived in the studio apartment building on 12112 Elm Forest Way and half a year in the one bedroom apartments on 12107 Pine Forest Circle (I still live on Pine Forest Circle).

Your quality of experience really depends on where you live in this complex. Be careful of living in the back of the complex that borders I-66. I lived there for two years in a studio apartment and had a mixed experience. While I enjoyed the great amenities of the complex (beautiful well maintained grounds, friendly staff, decent gym, nice tennis courts, and a decent pool), I also had to deal with a few negatives associated with my particular apartment unit. My studio unit bordered the noise barrier fence that seperates the apartment building from the freeway. As a consequence, I dealt with the continuous hum of the freeway at all hours of the night. It wasn't so bad if I kept my window closed, but the hum was always there. Sitting out on the porch on the other hand was no fun. Patio furniture was continuously coated with grime from the freeway and the highway hum made the ambience similar to a freeway reststop.

Additionally, the laundry room (which is inexplicably outside the gated area of the complex) really sucked. The dryers never worked properly and always required 2-3 sets of quarters per load to get things dry. I complained to no end to management, but nothing was ever done. I also tried to get fellow tenants I met in the laundry room to help complain, but most of them were apathetic and didn't care much about spending extra money on additional loads.

I got tired of studio living and looked around the Fair Oaks area for a new place. None of them quite had the charm of the Post Forest grounds, so I decided to negotiate moving to a new one-bedroom at Post Forest. The manager waived the 60-day notice and transfer fee, and I happily moved into the larger one bedroom unit. Now that I have my own washer and dryer, more space, and distance from the freeway I am definitely pleased. The unit costs $1300 a month though, so it comes at a steep price. Also, you can occasionally hear people walking around upstairs.

The other major complaint I have, is that occasionally they will try to raise your rent by a steep percentage based on the rental market. Try to negotiate this down if possible; they tried to raise mine by nearly 13% one year!

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 05/29/2008
I wish my rent here was $1300 a month, I have a two bedroom and they're charging me over $2000 a month!!! We're definitely looking to move in the near future.
From: smiranda	Date: 05/30/2008
Over $2000 a month! I'd move into a smaller unit if I were you and start saving for a mortgage. It's too bad NoVA is so freaking expensive. Thank goodness the housing bubble is starting to pop.

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