After my experience, I warn everyone not to rent here. Moving out at the expiration of my lease was a very happy moment!!! It is a newer building, so it shows well. However, here are a few of my personal experiences to inform you about the building.
1. The homeowners' association (HOA) is struggling. Approximately 25% of the building is owned. Unfortunately, if you are a renter, you have no voice with the HOA. Therefore, they will nickel and dime renters when possible. As a renter, they continually changed policies to ensure that the renters were treated like second-class citizens. In addition, the HOA president is a complete bitch.
2. Instead of a professional message board, the building continued to post "nasty gram" messages in the elevators. These addressed everything from "charging for use of the public grill on the deck" to "questioning the cleanliness of the individual who did not pick-up their dog poop". These messages were often vague and unprofessionally written. Therefore, they really never solved any of the issues in the building.
3. It is not close to the Metro. Based on advertisement, one might assume that this unit is located close to the Metro or Union Station. Don't be fooled. It is approximately 1+ miles to Union Station. The walk to Eastern Market is more like 10 blocks and takes about 15-20 minutes. The D6 bus route stops one block away from the building. However, the schedule is sporadic at best.
4. It is still a developing neighborhood. Beware at night.
5. Every year, the building holds an event on the roof for the 4th of July Fireworks. The HOA president decided to charge her friends one rate while charging others another. This conversation was overheard as she decided to discuss this detail in the public lobby.
6. The building started with a lobby receptionist during the week along with the weekends. However, this quickly stopped due to budget constraints. An individual now attends the lobby from 9am to 5pm on the weekdays only. Yet, they advertise a concierge. This individual has no authority. Therefore, do not burn yourself by expecting them to relay information to your landlord/developer.
7. While living in the building, approximately 5 cars were vandalized in the secured parking area in September 2008. Ironically, they advertise on their website that the building has "fully secured, gated underground assigned parking garage with security monitoring."
8. The "pre-wired for on/off-site security monitoring at the front door on your TV" does not work unless you pay an extra fee. In addition, after the break-in of the building, the HOA decided that no guests are allowed to "buzz" into the building. Therefore, one must leave his/her unit to guests up at the door. If you don't, they will charge you a violation fee.
9. I was moving 7 small, cardboard boxes on the last weekend in my unit to my vehicle in the garage. Six hours later, I receive an email stating that my entire security deposit was withheld based on the damages found to the door leading from the garage to the elevator. It was Sunday, and on an average, approximately 100 people might use this doorway. However, I was an easy target. THE BUILDING DOES NOT HAVE SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS IN THE BASEMENT, SO THEY COULD NOT PROVE THIS DAMAGE WAS MY FAULT. Despite this fact, the landlord charged me with damage to the doorframe along with re-painting the entire vestibule lobby. This lobby had dozens of scratches from transit of bikes, groceries, etc.
10. At the same time as my move-out, approximately 3 other tenants had similar problems with re-claiming their security deposits. The developer/landlord created every excuse in the book to try and hold a security deposit of over $2000!
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Finally, if you are thinking of buying a condo, do not buy in this building. There are advertising signs on a weekly basis. I was strongly considering the purchase of a unit. Thankfully, I rented here for one year in order to make a decision. Here are several reasons not to purchase in this property:
1. At the time I lived here, approximately 75% of the building was rented. With more than half of the building existing as rentals, it is not a sound investment.
2. In addition, these units are overpriced for the market and for what the building entails. One can purchase a nice, single family home in the neighborhood for less.
3. The condo fees are approximately $300 - $500. This is pretty expensive since there is no gym, etc. read more