AvalonBay, the new Archstone Smith

So now that Archstone Smith has lost its independence and name. From Wikipedia:

In November 2012, Equity Residential announced a deal to acquire Archstone from Lehman Brothers; this deal was closed for $9 billion on February 27, 2013. As part of this deal, Equity Residential acquired 60% of Archstone's assets while the remaining was acquired by AvalonBay Communities

So you're thinking that "hey, this AvalonBay building seems like a nice place." I have gotten two notes from people telling me about bait & switch practices in AvalonBay units. And an obsession with charging people for carpet changes after they leave for damages that either don't exist, or that are part of living in an apartment for a year or two.

So if you're looking at an AvalonBay building, make sure you look carefully. And make sure you take a whole lot of photos of the carpet before you leave.