Anti-Recommendations - Cleveland House

Cleveland House - DC

1. This place is way too overpriced. They'll suck people in with low-rent deals and then zap them with huge increases (I heard some people got up to $1,000 a month increases) when their lease is up for renewal. That's horrible, and a cheap trick ("bait and switch" almost) to bring people in with better rates and then sock it to 'em the next year or later. Don't know what my increase will be yet, but I'm frightened about it.

Worse yet is that there's supposed to be a bunch of construction next to the property starting pretty soon. The hotel next door to the back and/or side of the property is starting a multi-year construction project, so it's gonna be even way noisier than usual around here. It's been bad enough with all the college kids that live here having party after party after party (Animal House ring a bell?), in addition to all the noise from other construction here in the building itself. (Garage construction last year was just AWFUL!) Management doesn't take much interest in helping those of us who want to call this "HOME," and rather seem to cater to cramming even more college students in here. Luxury this is NOT! Pricewise, you'd think it would, but it definitely ain't luxurious living in what feels most of the time like a high-priced college dormitory.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that a one bedroom is up to $1800 or $1900 a month now and parking is $160 a month. The garages are filthy, too, and we've had lots of flooding occur down there every time it rains...yukky, yukky STINKY (sewage-smelling) water you have to wade through to get to your car! Eeeewwww!

2. I started out liking this building. The staff is nice; there's a doorman at all times; the location is great, it's mostly quiet and a bit out of the way. BUT, here's the problem --- once they have you, they jack up your rent dramatically every year when it's time to renew. And, if you want to renew for less than a full year, they jack it up even more. It's outrageous!

Despite some good things about the place, I would never have come here if I knew they would exploit me this way. I would NOT recommend the place, avoid this building! I was dumb enough to refer a friend here in my initial year, before I got hit with my first massive rent increase. My friend moved out after a year and was mad at me.

Oh, and yes, there was a problem with rats in the walls for a while; they spent months fixing the parking garage and somehow didn't figure out how to drain it, so it floods every time it rains now; when Archstone came in they repainted the halls in hideous colors; and, they put ridiculous oversized fire alarms in each unit.

3. The place is falling apart - quite literally. There was a humongous hole on the side of the building for months on end. The hole was dug supposedly for the owners to do something about all the plumbing problems in the building. Well, it apparently didn't solve much if anything. Then, just a few weeks ago, all hell broke loose. Apartments have had massive floods and the lobby did too. The overhang over the driveway on the north side of the building caved through too. ... This place used to be nice a very long time ago from what I hear, but it's been all downhill since the company ArchstoneSmith bought the property.

This place is way overpriced for the neighborhood. I'm glad I've lived here long enough not to be paying top dollar like all the new suckers who now call this place home. Go buy a huge house for the ripoff rent prices they charge here, or just find another building - and not an Archstone building either.

Oh and by the way there's no "doorman" here anymore either. The guy who used to be the doorman still is here in bodily form but he ain't doing doors anymore. Besides, who needs a doorman when the company allows contractors and tenants to leave doors open to the outside on places like the loading bay on the 1st floor? Anyone or any thing could walk right in. Some security system...ha!