Settlers Landing Review: Beware of Mice and Poor Management…read moreIf you are considering moving to Settlers Landing in California, Maryland, I strongly urge you to reconsider. My experience here has been nothing short of a nightmare, particularly due to an ongoing mouse infestation that management refuses to properly address. I moved into Settlers Landing in August 2024 for a government position and was led to believe this was one of the best luxury apartments in the area. However, I have now caught five mice in my unit, and the leasing office has done nothing but dismiss my concerns, blame me for the problem, and provide ineffective solutions. Instead of taking meaningful action, they have argued with me about my own traps being more effective than theirs and have shown a complete lack of empathy. From the beginning, the response from management, particularly Sheila Mackle (The Leasing Manager), has been appalling. After catching my first mouse in October, I was initially assured that maintenance would take care of the issue. However, their "inspection" lasted all of three minutes, and they insisted that all entry points were sealed. They left ineffective traps and essentially told me to deal with it myself. Since then, I have caught multiple mice and have been given the same runaround. When I reported the issue again, I was met with dismissive attitudes and told, "Some apartments have mice, and some don't." When I asked why that was acceptable for a so-called luxury apartment, they had no real answer. The exterminators they send spend less than a minute in my unit, contributing nothing to solving the root problem. Probably because they already know that there is a problem, they are just showing face for appearances. Sheila Mackle has not only failed to provide any solutions but has also been rude, condescending, and outright dishonest. She has blamed me for the problem, implied that I am making too much of a fuss, and even tried to prevent me from posting reviews about my experience. It is clear that she is simply a mouthpiece for higher-ups like Ron Nichols (her boss), who has ignored all my emails and has never spoken to me directly. After speaking with other tenants, I have learned that I am far from the only one experiencing this issue. Some residents have been dealing with mice for years, while others have been told similar misleading statements by management. One neighbor even told me he had to remove a pregnant mouse from his home. Despite this, Sheila Mackle and her team continue to claim this is not a widespread issue. Why This Matters? This is not just about mice; it is about a management team that refuses to take accountability and does not care about the well-being of its tenants. Settlers Landing is falsely advertised as a luxury living space, yet tenants are expected to tolerate infestations and mistreatment from staff. Not only that but then want to spike the price up by 200$ when you want to renew the lease, as if they are worth it. I am already paying for a 1 bed room for +2000$ for mice to be living with me. That is unacceptable. The mice is the biggest issue but, I still have dealt with no heat for three weeks (during a winter storm I might add), gnats, paying fines for trash when the trash service does a poor job of picking up trash overnight, water pressure low and more. But those issues to me at least are minor compared to where I draw the line which is mice. I have now contacted the St. Mary's County Health Department regarding this issue, and I urge others experiencing similar problems to do the same. If you are considering moving here, think twice. Management will gladly take your money, but when problems arise, they will gaslight you, ignore your concerns, and leave you to fend for yourself. Save yourself the frustration and look elsewhere for housing. Settlers Landing is not worth the headache or the price. I promise you this is not luxury. Please find my pictures and email attachments to everything I am saying as proof that this is not the best apartment for the price they are asking.

This apartment is infested with rats and the people in the leasing office act as if it's a common…read morething. Maintenance doesn't make any real effort to eradicate the issue and pest control doesn't come out regularly to address the issue. To call themselves luxury and charge and exorbitant fee no one should have to live in an apartment with rat traps in every corner.

I loved it at first, but I did not meet a requirement. I do understand these policies and am fine…read morewith it. However that leaves no excuse to treat someone like trash and be rude! I spoke with Cameron who one of the consultants/manager and he was very rude when I called and miscalculated a number and denied my application. Please prepare for terrible customer service as well, not only him but the receptionist was rude too.

We were shopping around for a long time for a place we could call home, we finally found The…read moreApartments of Wildewood. They have a awesome location in Wildewood. Family oriented and quiet! The staff is excellent. I primarily dealt with Mr. Swan who is the property manager, he was so helpful and patient with us. I asked a lot of questions and he answered them all. The apartments was in perfect condition. I couldn't believe how awesome it looked when they told me the age. Maintenance does a wonderful job on the upkeep. I will highly recommend this community to all my friends and family!

This review is a reflection of my experience living in 18219 Bauer road, Lexington Park, MD 20653…read more Hal cole real estate leased me this property for one year: August '16 to July '17. High rent cost relative to the quality of facilities, along with poor house management, very high utility costs and inefficient, dated appliances is why this company earns such a low rating from me. The only redeeming value of the property of discussion: the beautiful view of Milburn creek along with the fact that our landlord wasn't around that often. Also known as clam house, 18219 Bauer road was constructed in 1978 (if my memory serves me correctly). It is owned and rented out by Hal Cole, who is also the landlord. He disclosed the "possibility" of lead paint in the house. NOTE: Hal Cole real estate also leases apartments in Wildewood, MD near Lexington Park MD. I can't speak for the quality of these apartments but I hope this review can help with any questions you might have about the company. The house is one of the very few options for students at Saint Mary's College of Maryland to rent for an off campus experience. The house is about 2 miles from the school. Naturally, most of the past tenants have been college students. The total rent for this 3 bedroom 2 bath house for was $1600 a month. My average monthly cost was roughly over $600 due to expensive, inefficient utilities. The washing machines, dishwasher and refrigerator are all more than 25 years old, no doubt. The air conditioning and heating of the house is also extremely costly, as the house is poorly sealed and is very drafty. My moving in experience wasn't at all pleasant, since there was hardly any cleaning of the house during the switching of tenants in August, 2016. The only thing done was a rented carpet cleaner treatment. See pictures of the carpet that I left on this review. What's worse is in my lease I don't recall there being an "as is" clause, meaning there would be some cleaning of the house between the switching of tenants. The only cleaning done was a "rug doctor" being used on the carpet throughout the rooms with carpet. Everything else was left as is. The house is rather decrepit as it stands, July of 2017. None of the ceiling fans outside of my bedroom were functioning. One of the locks on the front door has been broken since day one, and one of my bedroom window locks has been broken since day one. On top of that, one of the pillars on the front porch is completely missing. The master bathroom (according to my housemate) appears to have black mold in it. My housemates, in an effort to curtail the growth of the mold, use a dehumidifier to keep the otherwise dank and moist bathroom dry. The landlord never really humored the idea of testing it. The foundation of the house is appalling, as we have been fighting the influx of mice and ants for the entire year that I've lived here. We keep our food and trash secure, but that never stopped these pests from getting in the house. As I move out of this house, I can't help but be angry and disappointed at the living conditions of this house. Nobody should pay this much for a house in such a state of disrepair. This house is a prime example of poor landlord management and lack of accountability for the upkeep of one's own property. If you are thinking of doing business with this company, be advised that my experience was very undesirable. I also would completely urge any possible renters of clam house to stay far away. This place is entirely too decrepit and costly for it to be considered a good deal for anybody but the landlord. The only positive perspective i can gain from choosing to live here for a year is to hold my future landlords accountable for their responsibilities of the upkeep of their property while you're living there. I will likely never do business with Hal cole real estate ever again.

Barcraft Construction completely rebuilt our home in Maryland. Two story detached garage, finished…read morebasement, multiple bathrooms, the list goes on. Each project was completed in a timely, professional manner and we couldn't have been happier with the results. We never considered calling any other Construction company. Having said all that, my mother passed away 4 years ago and left me her home in rural West Virginia. It needed major work/updates. It is very difficult to find Construction companies in such a remote location. I spoke with Dave Butler, the president of Barcraft, and he immediately began planning how he could help me. He and his team traveled six hours and remodeled both bathrooms and finished the basement. Dave Butler carefully planned and implemented all the details for his crew to come to west Virginia. It was no simple task given hotel arrangements, no cell service, and limited stores. Anyway, the results are gorgeous and all work was completed in just 3 weeks! Dave and his crew will definitely work with you and will exceed your expectations! Dave and his crew have become like family to me and my husband and this latest project would never have been realized without Barcraft Construction. The basement is a true work of art. Don't hesitate- call them today! Linda Walker

I have had updates, improvements, renovations, and repairs done to my home since 1998 and I have…read morecontracted Barcraft Construction LLC exclusively. My experience with David Butler has been exemplary. Barcraft has undertaken projects to rebuild my front porch, rebuild and modernize my deck, replace our windows with new energy efficient models, finish my basement, renovate all our bathrooms with beautiful custom tile and new features, install a new roof, replace our gutters, and build a two-story detached garage. Over the years David always took a sincere interest in our lives to ensure our home updates exceeded our expectations. These experiences alone demonstrate the highest review rating. However the best aspect of Barcraft was realized when we were experiencing potential disasters and needed help the most. David responded immediately when we had a lightning strike with roof damage and again when we had water damage with a hurricane. Barcraft handled all communication with our insurance and expedited the repairs. Ironically our home is far improved after these episodes. I would strongly recommend Barcraft for practically any construction project. Richard & Linda Walker, Prince Frederick, MD