I moved to Dominion lake Ridge in April of 2004 and chose it because it did have good curb appeal, was close to shopping, and close to work. The rent was a little pricey, but that was just the area. Upon moving in, I did receive a new kitchen/dishwasher/fridge/and new carpet and thought the place was pretty nice. My first hiccup came after I was told I could not use my personal washer/dryer because if the washer leaked and caused damage, I'd be liable. Fine, so I sold my washer/dryer to use theirs, and sure enough 1 month after moving in, the washer they made me keep leaked all over the floor (I should point out mine was brand new, theirs was a hundred years old).
Next, I have only had 2 neighbors during the time I've lived here I liked, one moved because we had some other neighbors move in that were horrible. I always got the "college kids" or high school dropouts move in near me and they always felt the need to get a dog that barked all the time. I had to have one family removed because their dog barked constantly when they left for work in the morning. The next tenants were drug heads and were actually arrested one morning from the apartment, and they had a St. Bernard dog that weighed more than 100 pounds (the limit according to mangagement is 70). After bringing this to their attention, they did nothing (no point to that policy).
There are nearby schools, middle school, high school, etc. We constantly have kids walking through skateboarding, talking, etc. This is fine except it does pose a security threat when your property is in view and subject to random petty theft/vandalisim, etc.
Speaking of security, I have come home on numerous occasions to be greeted by the Prince William county police walking through the neighborhood looking for someone. They seem to be called here quite often. I had to call them here once because my neighbor was out on the side walk getting into a drunken fist fight at 3:00am. Normally, I'd wouldnt care if two retards beat the crap out of eachother except they were fighting right next to my car and motorcycle and didnt want anything to get damaged.
The buildings are poorly constructed with thin walls and cheap windows that are not energy efficient. They are drafty in the winter and create an eazy bake oven in the summer. The airconditioner cannot cool my living room in the summer even with aluminum foil in the windows to block out the sun. My kitchen sink drain fell apart one afternoon, and rather than call the office, I fixed it myself because at least then it would be done right. Finally, you will always know when your neighbors come and go because of the way the entry doors are situated you'll hear everyone talk in the foyers and slam their doors.
The lighting of the neighborhood is mediocre at best, with some well lit areas and some dark areas, however I have never felt unsafe here.
About the management. Ever since the manager that was here when I arrived left, it has been horrible. The current manager only seems to enforce the policys that benefit the apartment financially. But here is a real kicker: I was out of town for about 5 months in 2005 in california and kept my apartment in virginia just so I wouldnt have to move everything. I thought I'd use the web to pay my rent so I wouldnt have to write a check. Well unbeknownst to me it took 18 DAYS for the money to draft from my checking account. My friend who was checking on my apartment calls me and says there is a notice saying eviction processes were being initated. So after several go-arounds on the phone with management I straightened everything out. I never received a phone call, and they knew I was out of town. I'm glad I had my friend to check the apartment for me or else my stuff would have been out on the street.
Okay so thats some of the major things, there are small things like not being able to have a gas grill after I was told we could, there is a tiny hot water heater that runs out of water with 1 bath. The wall sockets break off the wall, and I could go on and on. There are a ton of reasons not to live here, pick one that fits you best. Also for the money, this place is a rip off. Finally, anyone that says this is a great place to live definately works for management. No one knows anyone around here, I've met my neighbors once and they could care less about knowing me. I'm moving out in 3 weeks, good ridance, I'm buying a house in georgia where my mortgage will be less than this crappy rent!!! So long suckers!!! DO NOT MOVE HERE!!!

User Responses
From: smeissen	Date: 02/22/2007
BAT MOve then, that's what you needed in the first place a "HOUSE" surely not an APARTMENT!!!
From: Anonymous	Date: 01/13/2008
If you know anything about northern virginia, young single folks like me (yes I wrote the above) working even descent paying jobs cannot afford a house much less a town house or condo. The person who replied to this post surely was management.

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