Apartment Review for Hill House Apartments - Washington, DC

DATE OF REVIEW: April 2010 Formerly the property management company here at Hill House Apartments was Cafritz Company. In November 2009, Borger Management became the "new" management company. However, the only difference is the name. That is because Borger hired the same "property manager" and also the "resident manager," both of whom were formerly employed by Cafritz. The two of them are (according to the resident manager herself) "tight." So nothing has changed for the better. And nothing CAN change, because these two snarky, snarly, sneaky characters cover each others tracks. These are people you do NOT want to deal with on a daily basis by living here, because they clearly have NO regard for the tenants who pay their salaries. Nor do they show any regard for our super maintenance specialist, who represents the ONE GOOD THING about Hill House. Unfortunately, the resident manager makes life so miserable for him, he sometimes takes sick days just to get away from her. The resident manager literally sleuths for things to hassle residents about. Every other week, there is yet another "NOTICE" shoved under our doors or taped to the elevator doors -- literally forced in our faces -- to enforce mindless "management policies." She treats residents here as if we are children, or boot-camp recruits. (I have been told that she was formerly in the military; her overbearing, authoritarian attitude seems to reinforce that rumor.) It is comical that they tout these apartments as "luxury suites." How can that be? None of the units even has a dishwasher or a washing machine. And the "wood floors" are outdated parquet tiles. The kitchen counter tops are some kind of cheap speckled laminate. The vents in the bathroom, and beside the kitchen stoves, are caked with lint, dust and debris. The paint inside the apartment walls is cracked and peeling. The closet doors constantly fall off the tracks. There are holes in the window screens. And despite the heat (or the age of the elderly tenants), management refuses to turn on the air, or even to allow access to the rooftop sundeck, until May 15. Ask for something to be repaired and see how long it takes for the resident manager to respond to those requests. (Most definitely, do NOT expect her to respond with even a shred of courtesy.) It took three years for management to replace the cracked parquet tiles throughout my apartment. I also had to wait two years for them to respond to my request for replacement window blinds, because the blinds that were here when I moved in were yellowed and cracked by age and sun. Even then, they did not replace the blinds. They just had the maintenance specialist take them outside and spray them down. The blinds will not even stay up in the raised position unless I stand on a chair to tie a knot near the top of the drawstring. Aside from the location (1/2 block from the Metro), there is not a lot to boast about except the view. But that all depends on the location of your apartment. If you live below the third floor, facing D Street, you might have a view of lovely row houses -- if you are on a windowed wall that is not blocked by the towering trees. But if you reside above the third floor, you have a panoramic industrial view of the polluting Capitol Power Plant and the freeway traffic. Windows in many of the apartments face alleyways, or the office windows of the Republican quarters. In the four years since I took occupancy, my rent has been raised four times, an increase of almost $250 to date. This past February, management actually attempted to raise my rent without providing me with the legally required 30 days advance notice. I had to fight them on this by filing a complaint against them with HRA. Ever since, they have retaliated against me in every way they can. "Management" has also declined to offer many "services" that were originally provided during my first two years of occupancy. Recently, she attempted to force residents to sign a "Package Receipt Agreement" to prevent her from being held responsible for any packages she receives that do not find their way to the recipients. If we did not sign those "agreements," she threatened to refuse all packages delivered to us here at our home addresses. What is most amazing to me is that I have ALWAYS paid my rent at least a week before it due. More often, I pay my rent several weeks in advance of the due date. But guess what? The property manager and the resident manager have both made it quite clear that they do NOT appreciate having tenants who do pay their rent in advance. In fact, they will not allow me to pay my rent more than two months in advance. Within the past year, four of my former colleagues in the building have moved out because they became infuriated and fed up with dealing with this hateful resident manager we have had for the past 18 months. Now, I am looking elsewhere because there are a lot of other new apartments in this neighborhood that offer a LOT more, for a lot less money. The way I see it, if management is intent on making your life miserable, why support their pitiful management practices by paying out the big bucks for what is essentially, nothing more than a convenient address.... I could go on, but hey, take a tour of this place, and keep your eyes open, so you can spot the flagrant misrepresentations they make on their Web site and in their ads....especially in terms of the PRICE. In terms of the AMENITIES, they do not even know the meaning of the word.....