Strickland Farms Apartments

I signed a lease Strickland Farms Apt. 2/18/2011 and moved my belongings on 2/19/2011. While setting up my new place I began smelling MOLD near the back door area. My fiance and I began searching for the source of the smell and to our surprise, the carpet was discolored due to water damage. I immediately called the office to report the findings. First thing that Monday morning I went to the office to report that the apartment had MOLD in it and that I needed to be relocated. Please note that the most distinctive way to know mold is present is the smell. It was clear that rain water got into the apartment and that the wall had to be filled with MOLD. Diana the property manager called a carpet cleaning company to ""test the home for MOLD."" A carpet cleaning company is not certified to test or determine if MOLD is present in a home. I left countless messages for the corporate manager in VA and she would never return my call but direct Diana to address me. How unprofessional is that!!!!!!!!!!! Please do not move to this place. They finally let me out of my lease after only having ownership of the apartment for 6 days. To top it off, THEY WOULD NOT GIVE ME BACK ANY OF MY PRORATED RENT OR DEPOSIT!!!!!!!!!! I never stayed one night in the apartment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I contacted Trouble Shooter, 5 On your Side, BBB, Atty General's Office and several other agencies to resolve this situation but they still stole my money and I ended up having to hire movers to get my belongings out of that MOLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! more

Well, it was. And I should have known better. There has been a change of ownership and some staff, but unfortunately the management was allowed to remain, which is one of the worst parts of this living experience. Allow me to explain. The manager has lied to me on several occasions. For example, before I moved in I inquired about the severity of the electric consumption of the 2-bedroom loft apartment. She responded that she had never experienced, nor was aware of, any power bill in excess of $150 even on a high month. This mantra was repeated even after our power bill escalated over $500 a month in the summertime. Two separate maintenance men who politely assessed our situation assured me that this particular manager had indeed experienced power bills very similar to ours, and lacks the integrity to address/admit the issue with the residents. Our situation is not unique - these apartments have very tall ceilings, and are very poorly insulated. Our neighbors also complain of similarly high bills. If you are considering a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment in this complex, I strongly advise looking elsewhere. The rent is reasonable, but the utility bills will more than make up for the initial value. Additionally, the remaining management is particularly unprofessional. We have never been late on our rent or violated our terms of lease. Our management, however, still deems it necessary to follow us around in the dark in attempt to find something to fine us for. Rather than approach us personally about any concerns, grammatically horrific letters are frequently stuffed into our doors to notify us of anything they deem necessary. Their practices are questionable and unprofessional. Because of these issues, we will not be renewing our lease after only one year of residence. To be fair, there are strengths to the complex that are worth mentioning. The new maintenance men are especially capable, polite, and trustworthy. We appreciate their work, attention to detail, and consideration of our time and schedules. The apartment design is also unique, and has been a plus for us while we have lived here. Certainly we will not find another apartment (for the price) with a lofted bedroom and spiral staircase. Also, our experience here has been fairly quiet and is a credit to the complex design. We have not experienced much noise from neighbors or the parking lot area. Overall, we would not recommend this apartment complex. There are excessive hidden costs and excessive utility bills, effectively removing the value that this complex advertises. Management is untrustworthy and unprofessional, so take caution when doing business with them. more

Besides all the things listed by other users, the filth, the lack of maintenance, the ignored requests, rodents, insects, etc...\r \r The manager and staff are all sketchy, sketchy people. The managers' former tenant/""baby-daddy"" walks around the premises looking like an MS-13 member with tattoos on his neck and whatnot and enters in and out of vacant apartments all day long, with many ""guests"" visiting him at these apartments. He is quite obviously selling some kind of controlled substance out of these vacant apartments with full access to keys, etc. It is very scary and dishearteneing and there is nothing anyone can do. It is basically like working with the mob over here. \r \r In short, do NOT move into these horrible, horrible apartments. I wish I had listened to the reviews and not been bamboozled by the layout of the apartments. Pros: My lease is up soon Cons: EVERYTHING IMAGINABLE more

There are lots of Insect problems here and I cant figure out why. Might just be my building but others I've talked to seem to have the same issue. It may be the ""Pond"" area which is more of a water run-off. Either way I cant stand the insects and I'm getting out soon! more