Apartment Reviews for Earle Manor Apartments - Wheaton

Whoever wrote the other review here obviously has a personal problem with someone. This place is a gem. Hey, it's an apartment complex! The two buildings are similar and were built in I believe it was the early 60's. While everyone else was putting up drafty, noisy, highly flammable garden apartments at the time, these two gems from another era popped up for some reason. Designed for the city, they sat here and waited for the city to come to them, which it finally has. Rock solid brick and block construction (I'm with the local fire department and have inspected them before I moved here recently) with plaster walls, they are very quiet, although if you live near a stairwell you might hear the occasional kid clumping down the steps. Again, it's an apartment! Other than that it's been as quiet as the last house I lived in (in Laguna Beach, CA, detached place) so it's quiet. The units are also huge! My two bedroom is around 1000 square feet, 20' living room, huge formal dining room, room for a small table in the kitchen, and two enormous bedrooms. Heat is forced air from quiet convectors (I love those things). Bathrooms and kitchens are in transition but decent and serviceable at the least. I have seen exactly on German cockroach (those little tiny ones) since moving in and he expired while I was getting a paper towell to mash him. Carpet is nice grade, my place is on the dreaded "T" level, meaning I have a large patio surrounded by greenery. Lots of large (casement, but they seem to be tight) windows. <P>
Management has been great to me, helping me with a cross-country move with short notice and lots of complications. Michelle could not be easier to get along with, and her (apparently new) assistant is excellent. Current maintainance guy is nice, and gets things done, but it's one man against 140 aging units, so if you want instant service you better have a good reason. Otherwise be patient or fix it yourself. <P>
As for the "drugs" comment, I have seen nothing to even remotely suggest such a thing, and even if it did happen it wouldn't be because management "allows" it! <P>
The place is like a DC apartment community, which means it is more like home and less like a corporate-driven mass of sheetrock and partiers. It's nice, the residents have been uniformly friendly, it's right on Georgia Avenue yet living in the rear I barely am aware of the traffic. And if location counts - which it does - it's a couple blocks to the Wheaton Metro stop, same distance to Wheaton Plaza mall, and to tons of great restaurants. About a 5 minute drive to the beltway and 3 miles to downtown Silver Spring and DC. <P>
A secure building (you have to have a key to enter the lobby or else be buzzed in), I don't have the slightest concerns about safety here. Parking is plentiful. The price is on the low side, which is probably based on the age and lack of some basically useless amenities. Someday the place will be upgraded, sold off as condos and there will be one less affordable, truly classic (and still kinda classy) place for renters who love the feel of the city but can't afford to live in it. <P>