Woodland Park Apartments

Current Resident 113803

Resident • 2004 - 2006

Not too Sure

I am not to sure that I agree with these reviews at all. When I moved into Woodland 2 years ago, I did have some move-in problems, however with in 2 years a lot has changed, and I feel good about the property in gerneral. <br><br>Overall I think that the maint. staff seems to be much better, and the office staff is helpful and nice. My maint. requests and or general questions to office are answered and responded to in a timely manner. I am not normally someone who posts 'reviews' but after reading these reviews on this site. I found that some of these reviews are incorrect,falsh and misleading about the property. I've lived at this property for 2 years now, I like the property and I like the staff. It just bothers me to read some of these reviews that clearly make no sense, because if these things were problems, or if I was treated badly or if I was not attended to by the office/maint staff. I simply would not live at Woodland Park. <br><br>It's good property, don't let these posting fool you.

Current Resident 987447

Resident • 2004 - 2006

Decent

We rented from there all most two years. Had it's good and bad sides. Location and convenience excellent. Parking okay we rented two garages. The apartments themselves pretty nice and roomy compared to most I've seen. Security not great. Customer service from the office okay. Customer service from maintenance a little better. Would I recommend the community yes. The best value is the ability to roll half your rent up to 3% of your final cost into a new Van Metre home if you buy from them. You must however use their mortgage company to get the incentives. We bought a half a million dollar home from them and ended up having all of our closing cost covered. We also got a decent interest rate. We are estatic about our new home and the quality of the workmanship in our home. The community the home is in is an even nicer community than Van Metre's apt. communities. Overall we have been dealing with them now for 2 and half years. We have dealt with a lot better and a whole lot worse.

Current Resident 914969

Resident • 2003 - 2006

my experience

Ive been here for a while, which is quite strange for this area. People dont stay here too long, but I'm sure thats because we have a lot of government contractors. I've seen the old staff and the new staff. It's like night and day, my maintenance orders are finally tkaen care of right away. Overall, I'm happy here. EVERY community has its problems. Look at any property on here and they have problems. Woodland Park has beautiful apartments and a pretty good staff, works for me.

Current Resident 896152

Resident • 2005 - 2006

Can't move out fast enough

I really like the layout of the apartment, and I have not really had anything "break down" on me, but when we have had issues the customer service is NON-EXISTANT. I have waited up to 30 minutes sitting in the leasing office lobby waiting for some help. I would call and leave messages in vain. We mentioned that the tile in the bathrooms was cracking; they asked if it was an emergency and because we said no we still haven't seen anyone 4 months later. I am very dissatisfied with the service. I also hate that we are stuck with the tv/internet package they provide and we're left with little option on that front.

Current Resident 583920

Resident • 2005 - 2006

pretty good for the area

Ive lived here for about a year and I would say this place is pretty nice. I pay about $1300 for a one bedroom and you cant get the same quality for any cheaper. Its close to my work at AOL and I dont go into the office too often, but when I do everyone is nice. Just pay your rent on time and you probably wont have a lot of problems.

Current Resident 395905

Resident • 2006

Horrible response to complaints...

Last month my car(a 2006 BMW) was broken into and when i went and told this to the people in the apartment office they told me that they are not responsible and acted as if they didnt care at all and was not their problem.

jwdoyle3265

Resident • 2006

THe worst

I have never had a worse experince in my life. Never do what they say, No response to request.

Current Resident 487768

Resident • 2005 - 2006

A few quirks, but excellent value -- and I've looked!

My husband and I looked at 11 different apartment buildings in Herndon/Reston before choosing Woodland Park. We've had a few problems, but as experienced renters, I assure you that Woodland Park is one of the best local options.<br><br>Cost: Reasonable. No upper income limit. A 2 bedroom or one bedroom w/den was $100-$200 cheaper here than at Stuart Woods, Dulles Green, or any of the 3 comparable Archstone communities.<br><br>Location: The Clocktower shopping center is within easy walking distance (1/2 mile away), the Dulles toll road is 1 mile away, and 1700 is about 2 miles away. If you work in the Dulles Technology Corridor (as we both do), the location is perfect.<br><br>Noise: This is a very quiet area, especially at night. Most neighbors are young professionals.<br><br>Apartment: The units are pretty. We have a fourth floor 1-bedroom loft, with cathedral ceilings and brand-new appliances. The pool and exercise room are especially nice, and the grounds are attractive and clean. <br><br>Staff: I have never had any difficultly picking up packages, but if your work hours overlap with their office hours, you may have a hard time. We have had several reasons to call maintenance (1. Several lightbulbs and the promised microwave were missing when we moved in 2. Toilet ran continuously 3. Sink plumbing leaked 4. Garbage disposal broke), but have always gotten a prompt (1-2 day) response, with no further problems. <br><br>Parking: Until 9 p.m. I can park directly in front of my apartment, after that, I only have to walk about 30 yards. <br><br>Internet/cable: After repeated problems with the internet, my husband made several angry phone calls to MDU Communications demanding our own IP address -- which they gave us. We have not had a problem connecting since. Beware that if you are not as knowledgeable or aggressive, you may be stuck with frequent internet outages (no other high-speed internet providers are available here). We have never had a problem with the satellite TV, which offers around 70 channels, similar to a super-premium package. <br><br>Other "problems:" 1. The gates are frequently left open. 2. We are on the top floor, so we don't have problems with noise 3. We have never needed to use the business center or lounge areas, so I can't disagree with reviewers who complained about those.<br><br>Bottom line: I have heard similar or worse complaints about all of the other local options. When you factor in the great pool, exercise room, and included internet and cable TV (with five HBO stations), Woodland Park represents the best value in this area. I actually encourage my friends who are unhappy with other apartments to move here.

Current Resident 553635

Resident • 2004 - 2006

Overpriced & Inconsistent Svc.

I'm hearing they are jacking up rents as much as 10-20%. They charge as if they are a luxury apt. but that is hardly the case. They pretend to be a gated community, whereas not only the community is not securely gated all the way round, the guard only works during daytime and so are the gates to I assume make would be renters think this is a gated community. Apparently they used to lease the club house for parties, but that changed -- they then changed their policy on having access to a smaller room with a bar and plasma TV after the TV gotten stolen. Their biz center is never kept up, as every other day either a PC, printer, or copier is down. The radio frequency to listen to the TV's in their excercise room do not always work. Good luck if more than couple of residents have guests as guest parking for the whole community is limited to about 10 spaces. With cost of high speed internet svc. going down they continue charging the same fee for that svc. which autom comes with the unit. Finally in another sign of their customer friendliness they used to have free coffee for residents in both the club house and biz center but that has also changed with the rising rent prices!

Current Resident 193632

Resident • 2004 - 2006

Worst Place to live

The maintance sucks. I ve been there for two years and here is the problem. I have only hot water in the master bath and I have only cold water in the kitchen. They came out twice and haven't fixed the problem. Parking is a problem the leass says that if you have a garage and have two cars one needs to be parked in the garage and the other right behind. Thats never the case. When you need some thing fix in your apartment it takes 1 month some times longer just to get someone to come out and look at it. The toilets never flush right.

rhall0917

Resident • 2005 - 2006

DO NOT RENT HERE!

I moved to the "Luxury" apartments in the "gated community" of Van Metre @ Woodland Park in August of 2005. Huge mistake. I had to move from my first apartment after a month and a half because of the peeper that was looking in my windows at 4:30 in the morning. (Note: the management was very amenable to having me change aparements. However, they did nothing to notify the other neighbors of the danger, which according to the police department happened several more times. Additionally, they re-wrote my lease to add on an additional month.) <br>I have been in the new apartment for 8 months and had to call the maintenance deparment more than 7 times. They are responsive, but 7 times!?!? The issues have included: no heat in the winter, water leaking out of our bathtub into our neighbors apartment, toilet breaking twice, diswasher spraying water all over the kitchen, tiles peeling up in kitchen, no air conditioninging. The cable/internet service they've provided us with (which we have to pay for) is horrible. The internet goes out all the the time and the customer service department isn't open on the weekends and when they are open, take hours to resolve issues (very troublesome for someone working from home). The Management staff turns over so much that no problem ever seem to be resolved. I'm actually waiting for for the new property manager to call me today, to try to get my lease put back to the original date so I can stop wasting $1279 a month on this crappy 1 bedroom apartment. However, I do want to say, the maintenance people have always been quick to respond and I have never had the wait for the mail that people have described nor have I ever been ignored in the office. I think this is really just a case of very, very cheap shoddy construction (that looks nice, so they can charge a lot for it). The staff probably turns over so much because there's nothing they can really do to improve the quality of living here....can't blame them, they didn't build the place!

Current Resident 855081

Resident • 2005 - 2006

A number of grievences, in my opinion not worth the price

I have lived at Van Metre Woodland Park for approximately 10 months. <br><br>I have lived in the Northern VA area my entire life, so I know how much things cost. The rates at Van Metre are not reasonable. They say that the apartments (I am in a townhome) are "luxury". They are attractive units visually. My friends are impressed when they visit.<br><br>The rent, however, is what I would expect of a luxury rental, but you definitely do not get luxury service at Van Metre. The staff is either lazy or just outright rude. I hate the mail service. Most of the time the delivery people do not even check to see if you are home, and deliver it to the office right away. If you do not pick up your package right away, they will ship it back to the sender! Within 5 days! How rude! And they will only ship to people whose last names are on the lease. What about children with different last names from their parents who are either divorced or remarried? My fiance moved in with me after we became engaged, and so I suppose that means he can't receive packages here? In addition, be prepared to wait for EXTENDED periods of time to pick up packages. Nobody seems to want to serve you.<br><br>Basically that kind of service makes you feel very unwelcome. I just graduated last year and I feel like I'm under the watchful eyes of an RA again... like "no unwanted guests". That's bull.<br><br>Parking lots become full at night so if you want a space you better get home before 8-9 p.m., otherwise be prepared to walk.<br><br>The walls are not properly soundproofed. Of course I'm in a townhouse so it's not so bad, but our wonderful "built-in speakers" in the living room mean that whenever your neighbor watches TV, you hear it. I can only shudder at what the apartments sound like.<br><br>This place is so expensive I had to live with 2 roomates to afford it - it's definitely NOT WORTH IT! Herndon is far from the city, I'm sorry, but it is. You can get a better place closer in for less.<br><br>The pool is nice, that's probably the one thing I can't complain about at all.

Current Resident 608972

Resident • 2006

Incompetent Management

nice apartments, location and amenities. management is simply horrid. a long list of failings when i lived there. stay away.

Current Resident 547654

Resident • 2005 - 2006

You have to pay for cable and internet - u use it or not

You have to pay for cable and internet - u use it or not

hanif06

Resident • 2005

Worst management

This management completely sucks.

puorgb

Resident • 2006

Pick wisely

Not a bad place considering the proximity to so many units/people. Picking the right location and unit will go a long way to being satisfied here. A middle unit or garden apartment will invite noise issues. That is no different then any other rental community. Be glad you don't own as many $600.000 townhomes in this area have the same issues. Pick an end unit townhome and you'll be happy. Of course, prices are insane and that affects choice. This place shines compared with other close apartment communities in this area.

Current Resident 964575

Resident • 2005 - 2006

Do they pay you to work

I really want to leave this place. I moved here and thought it would be a great place to live. I was fooled. The guy that rented my apartment to me nailed me for a sucker. That was the only part he got right. Everything else he sold me on was bull. I found out about this site by a neighbor at the trash hole. I wished I would have seen it before I forked over all the money. I have been it the office on several occassions for the eternal package wait and made a few interesting oberservations... I have watched people come in the front and stand around waiting for help and every office except the back two have people in them and the two chicks in the offices not even get up to help. Talk about customer service. I had to use the fax machine in the office (as usually the one in the "Business Center" was not working} and got to see one girl texting on her phone and the other one surfing the web in her big office. Apparently the office is the only area that gets good internet service because we dont. I am suprised it stayed up long enough for me to type this email. I have met a few of my neighbors and they have seen some of the same things happen. Another observation - the good emails sound like the office - may that explains what everyone in the office is doing all day. I wish I had that job. The office sent out a survey and wanted to know what I thought but I know nothing would be done so I just didn't reply. From what I have seen - know one will take any action to make it a better place. But they will send out 15 notices and not get their act together about the same thing. Hey - the gates work now! <br>-Just another sucker

Current Resident 352263

Resident • 2004 - 2006

Pet Issues, Etc.

I've lived at Van Metre Woodland Park for about 1.5 years. <br><br>Before directly speaking about the apartment complex, I think it's good to remind folks from out of town about a couple of basic facts of life concerning the DC metro area. First, it's very expensive. Second, most folks in the DC area, especially renters, are "just passing through." Consequently, there's not much of a sense of community or civic pride.<br><br>Herndon is a decent neighborhood, and there are plenty of stores and conveniences nearby. Van Metre Woodland Park is an attractive complex, and the grounds are very well kept. <br><br>Dogs - up to two, and up to a good size - are welcomed here, which causes some issues. Most (but not all) dog owners clean up after their dogs, but no one gets after the few who do not, which is a shame. Most (but not all) dog owners keep their dogs on leashes; again, no one is ever around to say anything to the few who do not, and this leads to problems, especially when dogs not on leashes start going after dogs who are on leashes. Do the folks who run this complex ever get after the pet owners who don't have their dogs on leashes? No, they do not. They've never even sent a letter to tenants about the problem, which might at least have a minimal impact.<br><br>The folks who work at Van Metre are usually nice, but they do come and go with alarming frequency, and they're not particularly competent. They're also spread very thin. The maintenance folks are very nice, and work very hard. <br><br>In summary, I'd say that Van Metre is a place that could be decent to live at if it were run better, if dogs were kept on leashes, and if everyone picked up after their dogs.

Current Resident 300648

Resident • 2004 - 2006

A Balanced Review

I have lived in Van Metre Woodland Park for almost two years. Like any large (700 unit) apartment complex, Woodland Park does have some problems (internet access, garbage compactors, and the security gates), but as a whole, my experience has generally quite been positive. To begin with, the buildings are very nicely finished inside and out. The grounds are also very well landscaped. Unlike what has been stated here by a number of complainers, I have found the staff to be extremely polite and very responsive to my needs. I have particularly appreciated the concierge service which accepts packages that cannot be delivered when I’m not at home. I really think a lot of people who complain about how they are treated should be looking in the mirror for the cause of their problem! <br><br>Maintenance has also been very good as far as I’m concerned. This is a very large and new construction so you can count on there being some problems difficult to solve, but in two years I have had only one problem that required them to come back (a leaking bathroom faucet caused by a faulty original part). In all other cases, the problem was corrected on the first visit, sometimes literally within minutes of my calling. There have also been some significant physical improvements made recently. The original garbage compactor I use was replaced with a much improved model and some new construction has recently been done to shield its view from nearby apartments. The free internet connection has just been upgraded to a very fast T3 line which is a HUGE improvement. It is now as responsive as any connection I have ever used. <br><br>On the negative side the building construction does leave something to be desired when it comes to sound proofing. I have been fortunate enough to not have noisy neighbors, so the poor sound proofing doesn’t really bother me that much. It is also true the security gates are usually inoperative. I suspect that some people are deliberately damaging them. I’m fortunate enough to work across the street so I don’t have a parking problem, but if you commute a long distance and return home late at night, you will probably not find a spot as close as you’d like. MDU Communications (the internet and cable TV supplier) has not been very reliable as far as internet access is concerned (the cable TV is fine). On too many occasions I have found it necessary to call them in order to gain network access. They are usually able to do something immediately while I’m on the phone, but the same symptoms inevitably reappear sooner or later. Let’s hope that the newly installed T3 line corrects that problem. While the staff if good (but probably over worked) I think there may be a management problem that is causing most of these complaints. For example, they don’t seem to grasp that if you don’t want people to just drop their garbage by the compactor (or worse yet in the recycle bins) they need to put up some signs and then enforce the terms of the lease. In two years there has been only one flyer distributed concerning this on going problem.<br><br>In summary I believe you usually get what you pay for. The cost of living is high in this area so if you are not satisfied with Woodland Park then be prepared to pay more for housing. But when comparing Woodland Park to other four level apartment complexes in this area (and there are many to choose from), don’t forget to factor in the value of the free internet and cable TV (with five HBO stations). They say it is worth $60/month, but in my experience that’s a conservative estimate. If you don’t watch TV or use the internet you can probably save money by living elsewhere, but for me personally, that was the kicker that convinced me to sign the lease and to renew it a year later.<br>

Current Resident 489659

Resident • 2002 - 2004

Some things never change

I am one of the fortunate people, I got out. It's truly sad to see that something’s never change. The gates never worked, then they added the stupid toll road gates and then they went to a guard house (what a joke). They had a remote for the gates, but they ended up going with the paint stir stick kind (that didn't work). The noise there really seemed to travel, better than the internet or satellite ever did. Parking totally stinks, but not as much as the piles of trash next to the compactor. The staff was somewhat less than help. Anyhow, I could go on forever. Do yourself a favor and read the negative reviews only, at least they are being honest.

spudstr

Resident • 2001

was fun

had a 6 month lease with woodland, never had any noise problems though parking was a pain in the rear.

Current Resident 975551

Resident • 2005 - 2006

1 year- very few issues

My third apartment in my life time and I can say I am most pleased here. Maintenance sure is improving, the new service manager already is making huge changes. He introduced himself while he was in my apartment changing my air filter, very knowledgable man. <br><br>I think many changes are about to be made here, mostly for the better! Now that a new management staff is in place, I know everything will be ok in the office too.

Current Resident 925951

Resident • 2004 - 2006

hell hell hell god help me out

These apartments have all kids of problems. Horrbile service, bad internet, cable problems. <br><br>The above can be barable but the construction is so bad you can not sleep well in the nights hearing the noice from above apartment resibents.<br><br>Better look for some other apartmets, not sure how they are???????

MissSandySmith

Resident • 2006

just moved in

I just moved into woodland park from california and I'm quite satisfied. i did everything over the phone and the lady was very nice. maintenance had to come once to fix one thing and it was taken care of in 24 hours. i dont understand these responses, this place has like 700 apartments, give them a break!

woodypj

Resident • 2005 - 2006

Flee

I will flee as soon as my lease ends in two months. I wish it was sooner. I am tire of waking up to a cold apartment and freezing shower. Its been almost a year and they still havent been able to fix the combined air and water heating system and noisy plumbing. Just a few more weeks and I will not have to deal with malfunctioning gates, sleepy guards, no parking after 10PM, poorly kept grounds and facilities, and insensitive staff.