Apartment Review for The Reserve At Clarendon Centre - Arlington, VA

Lived here for two years. 2 bedrooms, 2 baths. There are a lot of positives to the building: -Very well kept place -Staff was always very nice and competent -Maintenance was 100% on top of things and fixed problems that day- our AC went out on the weekend once, and they called someone in from home to fix it (unknown to us until later). - Great balcony -Big bathrooms/soaking tub -Great rooftop - Loved the great room and appreciated the HH/breakfasts they put together- it was much appreciated! Felt a little more like a community. - Did I say the concierge/maintenance staff yet? -Tracking packages. Never felt anxiety about packages arriving. - Location, location Just ok: -The apartments were just fine. For the price, I would have expected higher end appliances, etc. They were, however, fine. -Gym is small and, even after updating in Spring 2008, at least one machine was always on the fritz. -Pool and outdoor shared outdoor space is heavily restricted. -You have to pay to bring a guest to the pool!!!! - The pool is only open Memorial to Labor day, regardless of weather -The theatre is a neat option, but you have to put a huge deposit (returnable) down and the one time we wanted to use it, it was broken, which apparently happened a lot. Bad: - Re-signing policy. It is a publicly traded company and requires that you re-sign a lease three months ahead of time, if you re-sign. They offer a price based on projected market value of apts three months ahead of time. Ours was up 13% the first year, though they came down 1% after speaking with them. Their offering prices change EVERY Thursday, according to the market. -The Carpet. The carpet is nearly white and we believed to be low-quality. We were very good/gentle to our apt and the carpet was filthy from everyday use by the end, despite our bi-weekly vacuuming. I would highly recommend that you take pictures before AND after, even though they do the same. We were charged for stains that were not brought to our attention after turning over possession and, well, its a longer story, but take this- cover your self with the carpet. Its not made to hold up for long. In the end, the building is a business and if they have low-quality carpet that looks like it took more-than-normal wear and tear, they can justify replacing and then re-rent at a higher price. The renters lose out here. We talked to other people in the building who seemed to have similar experiences when switching apts and when moving out. Be aware. - Moving out. We had a number of problems when we finally moved out, ie when they were no longer making money on us. We were given a list of our remaining charges that was 14 pages long and did not make sense. I even had an accountant friend look at it. I made an appointment to go over it, and had to call six times before speaking with and securing a meeting with a building rep. That was not their attitude when we moved in. I spent an hour with one of the property management team members and he was unable to explain a number of the costs. We both had calculators and the math was not adding up. According to him, he had to approach the property manager and the corporation's accountant to explain the pricing. We did, however, eventually get a full explanation. Bottom line- We really liked the apt, the building and the area, but I would caution any renter to safe guard him or herself when entering into a lease with Equity Residential, especially when it comes to moving out, which starts at moving in. Tough to think about at the beginning, but it is important.