Review for Avalon Fair Lakes Apartments

Make sure you read the reviews of "Autumn Woods" (which is what this community was previously called) to get the real scoop. Are they trying to get away from the poor reputation of this apartment complex by changing names'

They dish out a lot of b***sh** to prospective tenants. These guys are excellent with marketing but reality is different. Here are some things to consider when you look at their promotional rents or supposed great deals (be sure to read the last point)-

1. This place is NOT close to Vienna Metro. Bus service is infrequent.

2. When you move in everything looks so nice and shiny but they use very cheap quality material that soon starts falling apart.

3. Earlier we used to take the trash to the central compactor that's hardly a 2-min walk. Now everyone is REQUIRED TO PAY for VALET TRASH i.e. trash collectors come to your door to pick up trash and deposit it in the central compactor.

4. Cell phone signal is a major issue esp. for Verizon and T-Mobile customers.

5. Customer service is very poor. There is a new guy in the office who is clearly inexperienced but seems to be believe he has achieved something. He is very arrogant and rude! Even the central customer service staff is rude. Many times senior staff is inaccessible since they are in "meetings".

6. In numerous reviews, you will note Avalon's strange move-out policy. Essentially, the tenant is expected to leave the apartment in EXACTLY THE SAME CONDITION as it was when the tenant moved in. Beware if you don't do that. They will charge YOU big bucks to fix the place when it should be part of normal turnover of apartments.

I have friends who were charged hundreds to re-paint and completely re-carpet the apartment after move-out (read other reviews). They had other problems with Avalon but were scared to report them because they knew that final "damages" (which regular folks call "normal wear and tear") would be assessed by the property manager, and any complaints might result in "penalty" in form of higher move-out charges. Unbelievably, after you move out, maintenance staff individually SELF-REPORTS labor hours that they supposedly worked to fix the place and those are then charged to you. I hardly stayed at my apartment but was still charged a couple of hundred $$ to spiff up the place. wtf'

My recommendation- STAY AWAY !!

Here are some useful reviews-
http://www.apartmentratings.com/rate/VA-Fairfax-Autumn-Woods-755889.html
http://www.apartmentratings.com/rate/VA-Fairfax-Autumn-Woods-717952.html
http://www.apartmentratings.com/rate/VA-Fairfax-Autumn-Woods-746878.html
http://www.apartmentratings.com/rate/VA-Fairfax-Autumn-Woods-753249.html
http://www.apartmentratings.com/rate/VA-Fairfax-Autumn-Woods-722576.html