As a former real estate agent, I am surprised that Johnson Associates have not had their real estate license revoked. I lived at Wakefield at Courthouse and can honestly say, as a person who been affiliated with a workforce that required frequent moving, that this has been one of the worst experiences I have ever had. The unit that I lived in (including the entire building) is roach and mice infested. So much so, I found roaches in my clothes, in my bed, in my pantry running over my dishes, flatware, pots and pan (living their droppings in them all). They left their droppings over my kitchen counters. My work space on my kitchen counter was about the size of a large cutting board, and I experienced while preparing meals having roaches running over the counter, which left me no work space roach free. One day during the winter months I quickly grab my coat to run to the bookstore. Once getting into the bookstore I looked down and there was one of the those large roaches at the hem of my coat. On three different occasions, while working at my kitchen sink I felt something funny on my leg. I looked down and it was a roach running up my leg. Another time, I quickly grab a t-shirt. Again I felt something funny on my arm. Yes, again it was a roach running up my arm.
When I first moved in, having no knowledge of the condition of the unit prior to moving in, I was quickly confronted with the truth. In response, I made a special trip over to the management office to request something to be done to correct the problem. After they got through laughing at my request, the building maintenance person very sarcastically, that NO he had no intentions of doing anything about the problem. At that point, and because I did not have the financial means of moving out, I went Home Depot, bought the necessary materials and did all the repairs that I could do to correct the problem. You might wonder if they agreed to reimburse me for the materials. The answer is NO. Sometime later, out of the blue, they sent one of the painters over to look at the unit. The painter did confirm that I had done a very good job with the repairs. But despite that, the roaches did not stop. As for the mice, I could hear them in the walls, but I never saw one. One last thing, the roaches coming out the drains in the sinks, bathtub, and kitchen sink became very troublesome at times.
After talking with the neighbors, I came to realize that I was not the only one with the problems. In fact, one couple spent three days on their lease; one evening to move in, stayed a day and fought the roaches, and moved out the following early morning. The father of the woman told me that they had so many roaches they could not bear another day. Another tenant recently moved in and she shared with me that she had bought some new leather shoes and the mice and eaten into the leather. Additionally, I learned shortly after moving into the unit, that the previous renter that lived in the unit had to move because the ceiling fell in due to water damage and that he had lost many personal items.
As I mentioned before, having been in the real estate business, I am quite surprised that they still have their real estate license. Not only because of their inability to maintain the properties, but also the way they do business. I found that once I had made an agreement with the man that oversees the rental department, it in fact did not constitute an agreement. He would emphatically deny previous discussions, and did go to the extent of stooping low enough to create a situation which made it appear that others where to blame; meaning having sent my rent to him, only for him to return my bank checks/postal money orders and then charge me a late fee. Additionally, myself and at least another person experienced having him to raise our rent without notification and multiple times with a couple of month apart. He did other things that could be classified as "a strong case of selective memory" or just being "least than honest". Any way you look at it, he purposely manipulated things that took the spotlight off of him.
If you are looking at this property to rent BEWARE! Read the other reviews. The rent might look tempting, but in the long run, your frustration and anxiety of the living conditions might far out weight a few rent dollars. But if you don't mind having your garments eaten into by silverfish, mice and roaches, and you have a lot of time on your hands to stay in a constant cleaning mode (because roaches carry diseases not only in their body but on their legs as well - this is from living in sews, water pipes and in the ground) then go for it. You will regret it.
I regret for having to give them a one star. read more
