AVA Van Ness Apartments

In short: Go elsewhere!

When I moved here in 2016, it was great. Previously, there were fun events like happy hours, dog meet ups, etc. Since then, it's gone downhill.

First the staff here rotate SO much. it's impossible to make any meaningful connection with the AVA staff here. I used to know the staff well which really assisted me in rent hikes and other concerns. Now, they care more about their assets than about the tenants. In response to our concerns, they follow up with "we're new,... sorry...not our problem", which is a lousy excuse…They have been here for 6 months.

Tenant and management communication is basically nonexistent. The only way to get an answer anywhere is to storm down to the office and demand their attention.

Donovan, the maintenance manager, is extremely rude. It took me several times to convince him that I was right about certain things in my apartment that he did not believe me about. During a meeting with concerned tenants, he scoffed at us as well.

There were a dozen break-ins in 2018 alone. In order to understand why security stinks, we wanted answers. The manager gave me some crap reason "to give us privacy" for not having cameras at floor entry points, but they don't mind putting cameras everywhere else.

When the 2020 pandemic hit, they cut about 75% of the amenities and STILL charged the full amount. It was about $500 a month for a really crappy printer and maybe a tennis court (if you were into that...I wasn't). In addition to taking away access to the pool, they controlled the grilling area, cut off common areas, and stopped delivering to our doors.

The fire alarm was pulled every day for two weeks in Winter 2022 by a person who lives here and is mentally unstable. Absolutely nothing was done about it and she is still here.

I'm sure it's well known that there were mass shooting attempts right on the fifth floor in this building in 2022. Management told me "we're new, not our problem. This can happen anywhere." without even the slightest bit of empathy. This clearly showed that they don't care about anyone here. I was locked downstairs when that event happened WHILE the shooter was active in my building. It was terrifying.

We had a neighbor AVA facebook group which was fine but now they now control and approve posts on our Facebook group, so tenants cannot voice their concerns. It is now up to them to decide what comments are approved or not, further limiting us.


Read More

My husband and I used to live at AVA Van Ness from 2018 until May of 2022. We were hoping to stay longer, especially since the front desk and maintenance staff were kind and it's a convenient location. However, there were a constant string of issues that put our health and safety at risk so we decided to move.

Some of those issues include:

-20% rent increase within a year. It was not worth renting out a 700 sq ft, unrenovated, one bed apartment.

-Continuous cockroach issues that never got... resolved. Since October of 2021 until our move out, we took out items in kitchen and bathroom, have ORKIN spray the affected areas, find them again well after the spray took effect, and repeat. We couldn't really utilize our kitchen.

-Safety issues. From break-ins to the active shooter in April 2022 to expired fire extinguishers on every floor. We, the tenants, asked for change and clarity after every incident like routine security and more cameras and better communication, but AVA never did anything about it. After the active shooter in April, they offered to look into counseling services for its tenants in an email to us, and provided us coffee and donuts the next day after the shooting. Then, that was it. Nothing. No update, nothing offered to tenants after a traumatic experience.

-Lack of communication from the building. There were a number of safety concerns and incidents that occurred but we never heard back from the complex unless the tenants bugged AVA. During 2021/2022, there was a dumpster fire that occurred in the building. The only reason tenants found out the cause of fire was because we had to ask the firefighters ourselves and pick up the missing information.

Moreover, the high turnover in management often caused miscommunication to its tenants. For example, when my husband and I moved out, my husband turned in the move out notification form and was told that was it. Then, three days until our moveout, I noticed AVA's emails kept referencing a "move out" packet. When I talked to the office, it turned out that upon turning in that notification, we were supposed to receive a packet with information, including two inspections upon moving out. We were only able to get one in before moving out.

This is just the gist of our experiences in AVA, and we wanted to make everyone aware of them. I understand no place is perfect, but, at the very least, we deserved a safe and healthy environment to live in. Read More

Please do not spend your money at the AVA Van Ness. It's not worth the headache.

In the last 2 years, there have been an increasing number of violent and/or illegal incidents from tenants. From the Van Ness Sniper to an armed kidnapping, to fire alarms being pulled by tenants at 3 am for a week straight, to tenants having mental health crises where they are yelling about "having guns in their possession and are looking for an excuse to use them". The AVA has made big headlines over the last 6... months.

Despite desperate pleas for better safety measures and more communication from the building, tenants are being silenced through their Facebook platform and met with endless excuses and corporate boilerplate emails that read "for safety measures don't let strangers into the building".

These incidents are not handled with the seriousness and care they should be. Tenants are being ignored by both Avalon Bay Corporate and the building management. Please do not spend your money here - it's not worth the fear and headaches you'll inevitably endure during your time here. Read More

They increased our rent 16% from the previous year (over $400 a month) for a unit that has not already been renovated. This is after constant security concerns and all but 2 front-desk staff members quitting. A shooting occurred in the building 2 months ago that resulted in SWAT having to escort people out, and the building's only response was to hire 2 security guards for 2 days.

We were so happy to receive our approved application, with no security deposit required (don’t worry, they get you later)! The patio was a huge benefit and the Van Ness neighborhood is lovely and convenient. The honeymoon however, did not last long. Quite quickly we were introduced to our infamous neighbor (who I’ll refer to as “Nita” for privacy reasons). Nita loved to do her drugs, smoke cigs openly in her apt with the door open or in the hallway, yell and scream when disgruntled, and even... take her clothing off like no other residents lived on the 8th floor. One day we saw Nita in the street, angrily yelling at a car and flashing passersby’s with her pants at her ankles. Nita was constantly attracting the police due to her inappropriate and illegal behavior. They were constantly on Connecticut Ave with her or in our hallway trying to track her down. At one point, Avalon did try to evict her, serving up a novel sized list of lease violations. Yet, this did nothing and we had to continue watching her chum it up with front desk staff (that she frequently verbally abused on her benders). Management was not only derelict about Nita and her consistent ability to make our home feel unsafe, but also ignored building and safety issues.

While living in the building, a slew of break-ins occurred. Management blamed the residents for this, saying we let people in that we didn't know. Management only responded to the issues of the main building door not completely closing (allowing people to come in) when enough complaints/stories of the break-ins flooded the buildings facebook page.

Overall, our experience could have been worse, however, with it being a renters market in DC, you can easily do better. Do yourself a favor and avoid this building, it's just not worth the headaches that come with it.

Pros:
Van Ness is a great neighborhood
Everyone gets a patio

Cons:
Safety of the building
Community respect for cleanliness and noise
Not worth the money-sold on the hope you get an updated unit (appliances are ancient and a fire/safety hazard)
Laundry constantly broken
Elevators constantly broken or reserved
Huge move out fees for cleaning/carpet replacement
Read More