I had just renewed a 1 year lease then I was notified a few weeks later that the place had been sold, converting to condos. My comments here are limited to the conditions etc since the new ownership. As a perenial renter in the DC metro area for over 12 years, I've lived in at least one of the properties of most of the major developers in the area. As a Lincoln Property prior to the acquisition, I'd say it was a nice place to live. Had some problems of course, but the mgmt was typically available with an accomodating attitude to try to resolve them. Since the new owners have arrived, nightmare. If you're considering buying here to actually live here....I'd call it a very sure bet that you'll have buyers remorse in a very short order.
In the 4-5 months since the acquisition:

>The nice, well equiped, heavily utilized, 24 hour Business Center: Removed with no notice, explanation or even a simple apology for the inconvenience, to tennants. One day the locks were just changed and a sign on the door saying - Business Center closed permenantly. (I for one work from a home office and the business center was a major factor in my original decision to rent at Gates of Mclean).

>24 hour on site security/lock out service (lived on property, and previously accesible by phone or via the intercom system at the front gate). Discontinued again, with no notice, explanation or apology to the tenants. (I found this one out the hard way during the biggest snowstorm of this past winter, when I went to an event in DC one evening, and the garage I parked in closed abruptly due to the storm, leaving me with no car, but more importantly, keys to my apartment. I took a taxi home, secure in the knowledge that security would grant me access to my home. I was droped off by the taxi in 2 feet of snow (in cocktail attire) at midnight, and found that the 24 hour security no longer existed. I consequently stood in a blizzard with no shelter (in cocktail attire) for 2.5 hours while I waited for a taxi to arrive and take me to an area hotel, then took another taxi back home, waited for the office staff to show up, (half hour late) and let me in. No aplogies, just an, oh yea...we aren't providing that service anymore.

>Property Management office - used to be open 7 days a week, with extended hours on thursdays. New ownership, shortened hours daily, and closed on Saturdays. Particularly inconvenient for people who work normal business hours M-F, or travel all week like I do, especially if you need to pick up packages or anything on the weekends. Literally the only day you can catch them is on Sundays, where they are overwhelmed and consumed with the business of selling condos. A virtual army of personnel is swarming about, but al of them are brokers, only one poor very frazzeled soul to deal with tenants, so there is typically a line that forms to even talk to them during the 5 hours or so they are even open on Sundays.

> The first of the property "upgrades"...they replaced the Cape Cod style wood picket high fence that served as the surround for the garbage dumpsters, which was nice, in fine condition and generally matched the architecture and provided complete view obstruction of the dumpsters. They replaced it with an industrial grade chain link fence that distinctly does not obscure the view of garbage piled up and looks like it belongs in a penetentry rather than a residential community. The only apparent reason for this one can deduce, since the previous one was in fine condition, is that it is black...matching the color they have painted the balcony railings...' or that it was a cheaper to replace the previous one with chain link rather than paint it'

General Conditions....

>The ants!!! Ant infestation has been an ongoing problem at this property since long before I moved in. Some buildings are worse than others. The previous management freely acknowleded the problem was pre-existing and tried their best to be responsive with extermination requests, but professional extermination is needed on a very frequent basis in the warm months because no matter what you do...they eventually come marching back, if only for the water lying in the bottom of your kitchen sink drain. I recently was out of town for 3 days, and had just had a treatment before I left. My kitchen was spotless with the exception of a lone lollipop I got from the bank the morning I left, and whose celophane wrapper evidently had a tear in it. I came home to literally hundreds upon hundreds of ants feasting on the lollipop, marching in and out of the corner of my kitchen window (which was closed as tight as the cheap window will close) to take tasty morsels back to the colony/Queen, I suppose. Totally disgusting!!

> Noise....pretty bad, in general from neighbors and 495; particularly bad during the construction/conversion process. The construction workers are on property from early morning till late in the evening...and beyond banging and sawing, are just generally rude and loud...playing boomboxes loudly while they work, loitering in the hallways talking loudly while just leaning up against a residents door! Even assuming construction noise will end (some day) the fact is inescapable that the foundation of this property was built to be a rental...i.e. no doubt with the lowest grade of materials allowed by law. So they can do all the cosmetic upgrades they want, unless they replace the walls and floors I suspect the noise from adjacent units will always be a problem. As an owner, (especially at these rates) I for one would opt for a property that was built from the ground up with higher grade materials meant to have soundproofing qualities.

> Mold....what can I say. I'm not an expert on this condition, and have never lived anywhere where it was a problem, but it definitely a problem here. So I have no clue why it does, I just know that it creeps up the walls and carpets for no apparent reason. Nice big patches of black, smelly, alergy inducing mold.

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