Woodland Park Apartments

Current Resident 181771

Resident • 2004

4 Months

My wife and I have been living here for four months now. We are already starting to look for a condo or home, but we have enjoyed living at Woodland Park. Here are some things to think about before moving in.<br><br>Location - My wife works close by and loves the convenience. Our gym, grocery stores, restaurants, church are all close by. The area seems very safe as well. <br><br>Maintenance - We have been pleased with the maintenance personnel. You have to keep on them though. A few calls a day may be needed. <br><br>Structure - We like our high ceilings and our unit. Problems exist with insultation and thin windows. In a 1014 sq ft loft, we payed a $150.00 gas bill during a cold month. $50.00 during a average month. A neighbor told us that when you don't have a lot of hot water, turn off the heat because the water is used to heat the apartment. Not sure if this is true, but it works. <br><br>Leasing Contracts - The contract is extremely thick and has a lot of details you will need to read through. We moved here from the midwest without seeing the place or talking to someone in person, so that was a little tough. When we discussed moving here with one of the leasing agents, we were promised phone service as part of their cable, high speed internet package that is mandatory for $50.00 a month. When we got here, we found out that the leasing agent was a temp and shouldn't have offered this. Not a big deal, but make sure you work with a Vanmetre employee when asking questions and finalizing your agreement. <br><br>Parking - We don't have a garage and parking hasn't been a big deal for us. Make sure you put your parking sticker on properly. The towing company will tow anything that they can. Once they have your car, argueing is pointless because they hold all the cards ie. your car.<br><br>Security - The gates never work and when they do, they seem like more of a hinderance than stronger security. If a thief wants on the apartment grounds, they will be able to get on. Again though, the area in general seems pretty safe. <br><br>I hope this helps out a little. I know we were looking for a lot of advice from others before we moved in. We are pretty happy with the choice. We would like to get a home or condo so this will only be a one year lease for us. If you have to rent and work in this area, I would recommend it. <br><br>Good Luck

Current Resident 206542

Resident • 2004

What a shame

What a shame that the management had to go in and give themselves so many positive reviews. This website is for the residence to give their assessment, not for management to chime in a rave how wonderful they are if indeed they aren't. We looked at Woodlawn Park, before deciding against them because they hadn't even taken the time to record the appointment we made. They are extremely disorganized, as many of the reviewers have previously stated. I would also offer up that I drive past them on almost a daily basis and their gates are always up. What's up with that? What's the point of a security gate if it's always open?

Current Resident 90166

Resident • 2004

Beautiful Townhomes

I love this community and my townhome. Staff is great, ammendities are great, townhome is beautiful, gym is awesome and wonderful neighbors.

Current Resident 90073

Resident • 2004

The best community to live in

I have lived here for 1 year now and am going to renew for an additional year. I recommend living here highly.<br><br>Try it, you wont be disappointed. The staff is excellent, the grounds are well kept, the clubhouse is beautiful. The gym is 24 hour access, a fair business center ( I only say fair for its very busy and could use an extra pc) but I have found I can get access to one if I am patient.<br><br>Gorgeous pool and lots of fun events happening.<br><br>

Current Resident 90011

Resident • 2004

My comments

I really like living here and would recommend this place to my closest of friends. In fact, I have.

Current Resident 87841

Resident • 2004

A nice Place to Live

I have found living at Woodland Park a very happy experience. The staff and maintenence crew give 200% to your needs. The office staff has always went out of their way to make sure that everything is working properly in my apartment and have always been very courteous.

Current Resident 80401

Resident • 2004

Woodland Experience

I find the staff wonderful and always go out of their way to be helpful, attentive and at my service. <br><br>My townhome: Beautiful. I love the fireplace and location. Very quiet and my neighbors tell me they are not the quietest family to live next to but I never hear them.<br><br>Business center: Sometimes its busy but if your patient you can always get access to a computer. I usually just ask the tenants using the pc's how long they will be.<br><br>Parking is fine. I have read some of the comments on this site and really cant believe it. Sure it may be difficult to find a space right outside your apartment late at night but there are not assigned spaces, you know this going in. I personnaly dont mine walking a few extra feet compared to all the other extras we get at Woodland. <br><br>How about that New Trip eveyone!!! Lots of fun. Lets not forget our beautiful pool in the summer and the workout center which is 24 access. <br><br>What can I say, I really enjoy living here an recommend highly. <br>

Jackie667

Resident • 2004

My apartment

I am absolutely happy here at Van Metre woodland park. <br>The staff is friendly and happy to assist in any way. They are really committed to making your living experience the best at Woodland Park

Current Resident 80122

Resident • 2002 - 2004

My Townhouse

I am a resident at Woodland Park and have been so for 2 1/2 years now. I really enjoy living here. It's like paradise in the summer. Of course I have a great location close to the pool but the staff always makes sure fun things are happening at Van Metre Woodland Park. So far, I have gotten to enjoy ice cream socials poolside, Hawaiian Luaus, Holiday Parties, Sunday Brunch (which had always been free to tenants), Trips to New York City. I can't wait to see what they do this year 2005. All of these events have been family focused so I never felt like I had to be single to attend. My children loved the trip to New York and it was great experience for them. <br>The Townhome: I really like it. There are not too many luxury complexes that have two levels, most are 1 level apartments so I really was happy to find this. I had some very minor repairs needed but I moved in when it was one of the first units. <br><br>Parking: Yes an issue to some, I have a garage so really doesnt apply to me.<br><br>Neighbors: Mine are wonderful. We have established wonderful friendships.<br><br>Staff: Outstanding. Always asking if everything is ok with my townhome even after I have been here for so long.

Current Resident 48409

Resident • 2004

New apartment

<br>I've just moved in and everything is great!<br>

Current Resident 938080

Resident • 2004

WARNING: Keep all paper work from office....

I've been a resident of Woodland Park for about 8 months. The grounds of the community are nice, but I definitely think that the architect that designed the townhomes was crazy. Reason being: The balconies have no covering and I can physically touch my neighbors balcony, which I think is absolutely ridiculous because all of the apartments have covers over the balconies. Also, I agree with some of the other reviews when it is stated that the office is understaffed. Sometimes, it takes a while for maintenance to complete a request but that is typical in most communities of this size. But I must say that the concierge is very polite and helpful, but some of the other staff can be somewhat unprofessional at times. <br><br>About the security gates... I have no idea why they are there. You can drive right past the main security gate without being stopped. I think that they should be taken down or that they should actually try and gate the entire community because the gates are only at the road entrances but someone can enter the property by simply walking on to it.<br><br>Make sure you keep all of you paper work... I say this because a few days before my move-in date I decided to stop by the office with someone else who was interested in living at Woodland Park (well at least they were interested until they witnessed what happened to me) and while in the office the person that had orginally assisted me with all of my move-in information asked me why did I decided not to move into Woodland Park. Of course, I had no idea of what this person was referring to and I was in utter disbelief. I was then told that another staff member stated that I called and cancelled my reservation (which was totally untrue) and they gave my "reserved" townhome to someone else whom had moved in 3 days prior to my arrival; and they had the nerve to have "misplaced" my reservation information. At this time I thought "How incompetent is this office?" I swea, if I was not planned to move within the next 5 days, I definitely would not be a resident of this community today. The short version: The office had to find me another townhome to move into because I keep all of my paperwork (in duplicate, just in case they try to dispose of the first copy).<br><br>Air conditioning/heat and water... I have defintely been one of the lucky ones, because I've had no problems.<br><br>I don't think that the apartments are luxury, they are ok. And as for the cost... you are going to be paying a lot of money for any halfway descent apartments in fairfax county, therefore, the prices are about average for this area.<br><br>Word of advice... If you need to make a maintenance request, just go to the office. DO NOT CALL. They barely answer the phone. I forever getting sent to voice mail.

JDubs

Resident • 2003 - 2004

Warning - Not luxury, just average

I have lived in a few complexes now and feel that I can write an objective review based on experience. When renting, nothing is perfect; however, one rents because one does not want the headaches that accompany owning your own residence.<br><br>VMWP is not luxury as they claim. It is a standard apartment complex.<br><br>Reasons it is not luxury:<br>1. Staff is understaffed and overworked so they can not provide a sufficient ratio of staff to tenant. Problem: You are often overlooked. It took them 20 days one time to cash my rent check - and that is a minor example. (If they can't cash my check (their money) fast, why should they look after my needs)<br><br>2. Maintenance staff is apathetic to your maintenance needs. I rent so I don't have the headache of my own maintenance. I went for 3 days in July without air conditioning. I finally bugged the office enough they brought in an HVAC who fixed the relay switch in 20 minutes. It never occurred to maintenance to check the relay switch; although, it was the first item the HVAC checked.<br><br>3. Very poor construction of the apartments caused me to spend much time calling the office with my maintenace issues. All of my pipes leaked in my apartment. When I would call, they would ask if the water worked and tell me that was all that mattered. <br><br>4. A gated community??? For what purpose??? You have to pass through gates to enter the property or just park across Sunrise Valley at one of the businesses. If you park across the street, you can then just walk onto the property where there are no fences. So much for security!<br><br>I never had a problem with parking because I shelled out $150 per MONTH to have my own garage. I did so I was guaranteed a close spot to my apt for when my job kept me late at night. (Remember, anyone can walk onto the property, including those who want to do harm.)<br><br>Satellite (cable)/internet were so-so. But not to the standard I would hold a luxury apartment complex.<br><br>Basically, VM needs to refrain from calling its property "luxury living" until it can provide luxury.

Current Resident 718724

Resident • 2004

At least they're trying

I've lived in the complex now for a few months and it has its ups and downs. I havent had anything major tick me off. The management could probably use a little organizing, but the complex itself is very pleasant. The people are nice that live there, and its a pretty quiet neighborhood. Not to big a problem with parking, depends on the night and the time. The only problem I really have is that the one big reason I moved to the neighborhood is that its a gated community. I dont know how many times I've come home and the gates are open with no security guard, or the security guard isnt paying any attention. overall this place is worth the rent they charge, they seem to be trying really hard to make improvements.

Current Resident 610007

Resident • 2004

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Do NOT MOVE TO THIS PLACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Reasons:<br>1) Terrible/horrible customer service<br>2) Terrible/horrible management<br>3) Terrible/horrible chain of command: things never get passed on<br>4) Terrible maintenance: unauthorized entry to the apartment/things never get fixed after numerous contacting<br>5) Parking: got a garage. TINY, and the first day, someone parked right in front of it. The reason we got a parking is b/c our car got vandalized at night on their outside parking (gated community?!)<br>6) Moving out: we are moving out soon (thank God!) but they screwed up something that shows some kind of outstanding amount on our account even though we do not owe them any dime. If they do not fix this problem our contract for the new home will be falling through. IF THAT happens, then we will sue the ---- out of them.<br>7) They say Gated Community but the gates are ALWAYS open. Since we moved in in APRIL!!!<br>8) Just very frustrated since the beginning.<br><br>Please do not move to this place. There are a plenty of other places to move to. They really suck.<br>Nothing is luxury at all.<br>They will rip you off, so please look for other place and you will be much happier.<br><br>Thanks for reading this.

Current Resident 586726

Resident • 2002 - 2004

Don't be an idiot - stay away!

I've been here for 2 1/2 years and look forward to getting out of here.<br><br>Staff is arrogant, serviceless, and will wear you out with their stupid policies and lack of service.<br><br>Concierge is very customer service oriented, but is the only bright spot here.<br><br>The advertised gates that everyone mentions are still inconsistent, even though they installed a new system and have never worked right. They just inconvenience you and let the door spammers in. The whole thing with the gates just exemplifies the mismanagement that goes on here.<br><br>Parking has improved for tenets, but guests of tenets are playing roulette with their car by visiting. It's greed over customer service by not planning it out in a way that meets the customers needs and instead not using enough of the property to resolve this parking issue and then compounding the issue by enforcing strict policies that once again put the customer at a disservice.<br><br>I've been trying for a year to have two bulbs replaced in my track lighting which are on cathedral ceilings. I've given up on this to avoid the stress of dealing with them.<br><br>I've never seen them service the sidewalks when their covered in snow or icy as other people have mentioned.<br><br>All materials in the apartment have a cheap feel.<br><br>I've had the hot water problem too that others mention. It's no fun taking cold showers in the winter.<br><br><br>The internet connection seems to have stabilized over the past 6 mos, but is still slow.<br><br>cable channels are very limited for basic service.<br><br>front door is not properly sealed as another person also mentions.<br><br>loft apartment get very hot/cold depending on the season compared to the rest of apartment and even closing the duct doesn't remedy it.<br><br>NO LUXURY living, just LUXURY rent price.<br>

Maverick3333

Resident • 2002 - 2004

my experience with VMWP

I live here since two years now and I have follow to say:<br><br>- unskilled and incompetent staff<br>- worse parking (only 15 guest parking spot!!)<br>- safety *lol* since the 2 years no gates were working, but now they have new gates, but even these don't work!! Now they have a guard at the mainentrance, but all other exits are open.<br><br>- but really important is that every staff is a supervisor or manager,...some people must work hard for this position

Current Resident 264481

Resident • 2004

As apartments here don't run $2000-$3000 a month, at least not for a one bedroom, sure the management does the same things that all apartments do, not the highest quality paint, slightly crooked outlet covers, etc. But the place is nice to look at, the layout is nice, if you are friendly to management (who is understaffed and highly overworked) then they will be nice to you. Parking is not a huge problem at least for me, if you get back late at night, you might not get a spot right behind your apt, but then that's when you pay extra for a garage if you're that picky, we're living in an apt complex here, not a private residence. <br><br>As for the internet, granted i'm not home all day b/c i work, but i've never wanted to use the internet and been unable to do so.<br><br>The grounds are kept nice, and as for the trash copactors, they are loud, but who would rather have a festering open, unsightly dump instead? Not me. Wear some earplugs if it wakes you, I do. Again, there are some necessary evils when you live with a couple hundred other people. <br><br>Over all, I've been happy here, and I haven't seen anything that would make me change my mind, this place is way better than a lot of other places, it may no be perfect, but then no place that the avg person can afford is. Buy a house if you're going to be overly picky.

Current Resident 206852

Resident • 2004

A real review after some months since moving

I moved here since a couple of months ago and I have to say that this is not the best place to live but it's not the worst as well. It does fairly good compared to others but to be honest all others have their problems too. The good things that I have to say are:<br><br>* Brand new apartments. This is specially good because we know that rental apartments start to fall apart after a couple of years.<br>* Tennis courts, pools and fitness room: although the tennis courts are not lighted they are ok.<br><br>Now the bad things (there are many):<br>* Landscaping: lack of trees and shadows.<br>* Office staff: very rude and useless.<br>* Trash compactor: very noisy, DO NOT rent near one, believe me, you are going to wake up all night due to the extreme noise coming from the compactor. It's funny that someone was able to design the installation of such a thing too near the apartment buildings. And be prepared for the bad smell in front of your front door.<br>* Insulation: poor, but all apartment complexes in the area are the same anyway.<br>* Visitor parking: if you have guests coming forget about it, tell them to park at the Clock Tower.<br>* Maintenance: poor, I asked them to have my wash machine fixed due to extreme noise during spinning process. They did not fix it and I do not care if it breaks down now and they have to replace it then. If they don't care why should I?<br>* A/C: noisy, this is a joke, again, the guy who designed this complex was drunk. Just beside my master bedroom window there are 7 A/C boxes. You can imagine when all of them are running during summertime. Could you sleep with that?<br><br>And now a special comment about the High-Speed Internet service:<br><br>FORGET ABOUT IT. THEY ARE CHEATING YOU.<br><br>The Internet service does not work. Last month I didn't have the service for more than 10 days (so this a 66% always-on connection, this is not what they advertise, right?), most of the time the Internet goes down on Saturday and they are just able to fix it on Tuesday. If you have to have Internet in order to work from home like me, you are going to be very angry and disappointed. MDU Communications is terrible, the worst Internet service provider ever. They are rude, useless, do not reply to your emails, the worst. They always have problems, every week. And it's not an always-on connection like Comcast or COX. You must "authenticate" from time to time: if use the Internet to check your emails or connect to your company's office, for instance, you have first to access their web page in order to authenticate, and then starting using your Internet service that should be "always-on". So they are lying and I'm thinking seriously about a lawsuit. I have all the evidences with me, letters, reports, ... And the worst is that you are not allowed to contact COX in order to have their service instead! You are tied up to MDU!!!! So now I'm using dial-up that at least works anytime. I talked to many other people here and they all say the same. So think twice if you plan to use Internet here.

Baker_Lady

Resident • 2002 - 2004

Review

I have lived here now for about 2 years. I have seen some changes, and I enjoy my apartment. This place has everything I need. The gym is great, because it's always open. I have a two bedroom apartment and I just love it. I have referred some friends here, and I will continue to do so.

Current Resident 753136

Resident • 2002 - 2004

They must have been reading, some improvements were made

I've lived at VMWP for 2 and a half years. I moved from one apartment to another newer one. The negative reviews here are often, I'm sorry to say, mostly well based. They are, however, getting better in my opinion... <br> <br>* The newer units have far better washers and dryers, but that's about it. <br> <br>* The customer service has gotten slighly better, but the actual managerial staff tend to be rude for my taste. If you don't call during office hours and get to the answering machine, make sure you call back and check to see if anyone is handling your concerns. <br> <br>* There are now two dumpsters, but there are exponentially more residents so two is not enough. <br> <br>* Parking is still a horrific problem. If you want to have guests over, you may want to advise them to leave by 8pm. There are about 14 guest spaces to the entire neighborhood at this point. None of my guests have ever been towed, but my wife and I both were after only one notice that they were beginning to enforce parking regulations including mandatory resident decals. <br> <br>* Maintenance is much better as it's no longer run by a guy who doesn't know what he's doing or talking about. Pity the current person running that outfit is planning to leave. <br> <br>* Stipulations in lease are ambiguously worded and full of double talk. We have an addendum that allows us to break our lease early, but at this point it would cost us well over $7000 to do so. <br> <br>* They have added a tot lot, thankfully, so I don't have to drive my 6 and 8 year old somewhere else to play on a playground. <br> <br>* They are currently installing new gates, fences, and hiring new security guards. However, the only run-in I had with any of these new guards was being saluted at 1:30am without any check to see if I even live there. <br> <br>* The ice and snow problem people speak of was real. The talk of ice remelting and refreezing is not. During the blizzard a year or two ago, it was virtually impossible to get my sidewalk salted. <br> <br>* The free cable and high-speed internet aren't terrific, but they are better than I expect for being included in a pretty comparable rent price. <br> <br>I probably would still be sketchy on recommending this place to anyone. I understand that people who are positive on VMWP compare it to other places, maybe where their buddies live, but that's just not acceptable to me. There are certain things that $1500/month should grant me and I'm not altogether sure I get them. I've had a lot of problems, but with all due respect they seem to be getting a little better about things. They seem to be trying to improve, but I still feel they have a way to go before it's worth the price.

mg197322

Resident • 2004

Pretty good place but horrible customer service

I have been living here for over a month now and have found the apartment as such be be great compared to lots I have seen. The construction and styling is very good. I have no complaints so far with the apartment but if you decide to move here, just hope that nothing goes wrong ever or you will witness the most incompetent administration and terrible customer service. <br> <br>As an example, since the day I moved in the dining area did not have a chandelier and I was told it will be fixed in the next 2 days. A month & half and 3 personal visits to the rental office has still not been able to have it installed. <br> <br>All the issues that I mentioned to be fixed in the move-in checklist have seen no resolution either. <br> <br>Maintenance team: Its a band of funny people who drive around whole day in a "golf cart" doing nothing. All of them seem to call themselves "maintenance director" and I don't have a clue as to who they direct as nothing seems to get done. Have found one particular staff to be quite rude (one lady). <br> <br> <br>Parkiing: I have not had much problems in finding a parking spot for myself, but everytime I have a visitor, I add 20 minutes to help them drive around and find a parking. <br> <br> <br>So if you decide to move here, I am sure you would like the place but don't expect much customer service. <br>

wrs412

Resident • 2004

Not the best, but not the worst.

I've lived here for five months with my soon to be wife. While I will not say that this is the best place to live on the planet, I will say that it is far from the worst. <br> <br>The major reason we chose to live here involved it's proximity to our places of work. Granted, there are plenty of other properties in the area; however, we really liked the idea of being the first people to live in the apartment. <br> <br>Our impressions so far: <br> <br>1. Garbage: While the apartments were under construction, two dumpsters resided in front of our building. This was good except when trash would pile up like Mt. St. Garbage for three days before it was picked up. This happened every weekend. Now, it is a five minute walk to and from the closest trash compactor. Lazy residents refuse to break down boxes and larger items, so the area around the trash compactor is also a mess. To top it off, I received a flyer advertising a service to carry my garbage to the trash compactor for a mediocre fee of $5 a bag.... Sure thing... <br> <br>2. Parking: There is a serious lack of guest parking. We have never had a trouble finding spots for ourselves. However, we have given up even inviting people over on weekend nights. The management office's reply is that they are "working on it." <br> <br>3. Internet: Goes down at random times with no explanation. All of the computers in my apartment are on a private network behind a firewall. Consequently, "tech help" throws up their hands when I have trouble because they can not simply do "windows troubleshooting" with me. While they are always friendly, they often refuse to help or answer questions because I do not have a simple computer plugged into their wall jack. According to speed test located on dslreports.com, I average around 700kbs download and 280kbs upload. This is a bit faster than most dsl services, but slower than most cable services. All in all, the service is OK. <br> <br>4. Television: What they have here is a modulated form of Direct TV. What this means, is that they have a dish somewhere with lots of tuner boxes hooked up to it. Each box is tuned to a different channel. They take the output of all of these boxes and feed it over a standard cable line to all of the apartments. You just hook up your cable ready TV to the jack, and away you go. So, you are getting a standard NTSC analog signal. They choose what networks you receive and on which channel you will tune your TV to watch. While they do give you the HBO channels, you are missing a lot of other channels. Also the quality of the signal is not the best. It is better than most analog cable signals I have had from major companies like COX, Comcast, etc. If you are really into TV, this is not the place for you. You can not purchase cable from any provider. Consequently, satellite is your only option to receive more channels or a digital signal. If you play by their rules, it will cost you $$$$. You have to go through their provider and pay a deposit for a dish to be mounted on your balcony, a tuner box (per TV), and the additional cost of the other channels you wish to receive. Otherwise, I guess you could just call up a satellite provider and see if they will do their normal "apartment style install" for you. <br> <br>I install extremely high quality AV systems for a living so I am extremely judgmental on this type of thing. While this is far from the worst RF (cable) distribution system I have seen, it is far from the best. If you are a TV enthusiast or expect to receive HDTV, I would thoroughly investigate your options before moving here. However, if you simply want to turn on your TV and watch the news or HBO, and you don't mind using a paper TV guide as a guide, this place makes life a lot easier. The $60 charge is included in your rent and covers both TV and internet service. While both could be improved, you could also pay more for a lot less elsewhere. <br> <br>5. Noise: Every time someone walks down the stairs outside, I hear it in our apartment. <br> <br>The air conditioners for four units are located directly under our bedroom window three floors down. They are extremely noisy and generate lots of heat. Sleeping with the bedroom window open is a noisy and hot experience. I am extremely glad I do not live on the ground floor. <br> <br>Also, the genius that designed these units placed the main (and only) air return in the family room area of the apartment. This means you have a giant unsightly vent on the wall that you can not cover with a picture or anything else if you want to cool or heat your apartment. It also means, that you hear a fan noise every time the air conditioning or heating are active. This does not bother my fiance, buy I find it extremely annoying. <br> <br>The only noise we hear from our upstairs neighbor is their subwoofer. Each apartment has built in "surround sound" speakers. Basically, they are garbage and just a novelty, but they proved enough inspiration for our neighbors to set up a home theatre. A simple conversation with the neighbors solved the problem. No subwoofer after 10PM. Crank it up any other time. <br> <br>6. Water Pressure: Not the best in the world. I like a high pressure shower, this is not one. I changed the head, and it did help, but not tremendously. <br> <br>7. Staff: Like anywhere else, it depends on the person. I've had no major problems. At least they are nice to my face. Even this is an improvement over other (more expensive) places I have lived. <br> <br>8. Neighbors: The majority of neighbors I have met have been friendly. I have witnessed no unpleasant behavior personally. It would appear that there is a great mix of all types of people living in the community. Everyone from elderly couples, to large families, to young professionals appear to live here. All of the people I have met have been pleasant. <br> <br>All in all, this isn’t a bad place to live. Many other places we investigated either cost more, or offered less. I have read the other complaints on this site, and I am crossing my fingers that we do not have any of the same problems. It would appear that they have more trouble with their larger town home style units rather than the smaller one and two bedroom apartments. I will be sure to write in more if I do have any major troubles. <br> <br> <br>

Current Resident 476213

Resident • 2002 - 2004

I'd think twice!

I've lived in Van Metre Apts for 3 months and am not impressed at all with the office staff, maintenance staff, or the so called "luxury" apt living. I read where someone had the experience of having their garage rented to a new tenant. That same thing happened to me, except I was on the opposite end--they rented someone's garage to me. The cable package is ridiculous--slow, minimal channels. What cable company doesn't have the preview channel or CSPAN, MSNBC..come on! Besides that the cable co. customer service personnel are USELESS. The general parking situation is a nightmare, the walls are paper thin. The trash compactor is not monitored by maintenance, as mounds of trash accumulate. The concept of luxury living is a joke with the gate being broken from what I now here is a year or more. Like someone stated, what the hell is the use of a guard shack at one entrance when there are two others. The back side of the property doesn't even have a gate/fence/rail. <br> <br>It's not the worst place I've lived, but for the money you spend, and what they advertise, the service et. al could be a hell of a lot better.

unhappycamper26

Resident • 2003 - 2004

Moving in a Week, Thank God.

Ok, I have lived here a year and I used to have positive things to say about this place. Not anymore. I'm so pissed I dunno where to begin. Firstly, the office staff are indeed, useless. They are totally incompetent... they lose my rent, are rude, and just generally think I am bothering them. <br> <br>Now, the real kicker... I get home the other day and guess what? Someone is parked in my garage. I knock on a door close to the garage and ask them if that is their car, they say yes, I say can you please move it? They say, no that's our garage... I said ... ummm... no... that's my garage. Apparently, the leasing staff in their infinite wisdom sold my garage to a new tenant. And the people have put stuff in my garage... I am able to use my driveway but at this point I don't care. <br> <br>I also have a centipede problem because my door isn't properly sealed and you see clean through the door at night when the light is on inside. <br> <br>A year since I've moved in and of course the gate still hasn't worked a day in the whole time I've been here. Now, instead of fixing the gate (which I assume is rocket science) they decided to build a guard shack... gee, that solves everything. What good is a guard shack without a working gate? And there are 3 entrances to the property now... do they have gates??? No... <br> <br>Oh, and just FYI... in the winter time, if you want hot water... make sure you turn your heat off first because the hot water doesn't work if your heat is on. Why? Per quote from the leasing staff, "That's just the way it is". <br> <br>Oh, and the internet sucks btw... and you get speeds slower than dial-up when you download. And don't try to complain about the speed, I even had a tech come out and he apparently thought I was an idiot and tried to tell me 24k per second download was fast. And you can't get anything but their service. No DSL (they tell you can in the office, but ask Verizon... you can't), no cable... all you can get is dial-up. <br> <br>Anyways, I'm moving next week and I'm sooooo happy to be leaving this place. I once thought that all these negative reviews had to be bogus or just the same person leaving one over and over... but after having experienced all these things, I really think most of these reviews are all true.

Current Resident 289035

Resident • 2004

Frustrating, horrible...

They rent this stating: luxury high-tech rental'-but it's not luxurious at all; fixtures are all cheap stuff probably from Home Depot or something; dishwasher, washer, dryer are so loud...again, the cheapest of all. <br>Management staff are clueless and rude. It seems like they are just hanging out there. They don't know how service industry works. <br>Maintenance? we called so many times and nobody comes by until you call the top people and yell at them. <br>Thank God it's temporary; can't wait to move out!! It's not worth being there in the middle of nowhere. <br>