Lived in an apartment at in DC. All units are excessively rat infested, and of course there are roaches. Once there was a carbon dioxide leak in the building, the property manager was angry and told me that the fire fighters were wrong to turn off the gas, and that the fire fighters didn't know what they were doing. I'm sure the positive reviews are company employees, and family members. This company strictly cares about the bottom line, not the families that occupy their overpriced units. read more

Customer service is great! However, I spent 6 years in a basement apartment with non stop bugs, (I've experienced 8 different species of bugs, in my unit) MICE !!! Re occurring dust and DIRT , cock roaches out side of my apartment door. Dealt with occasional floods from storms and neighbors leaving there water on :/. It has always been a complete mess to deal with. The amenities could be a lot better and I believe they could've kept my building a lot cleaner. Glad to finally say my nightmare is over. read more

Greedy and lazy service provided to their residents. I had a leak in my ceiling which I reported. For a week they told me a plumber was coming out to fix and then a my bathroom ceiling collapsed entirely. I called their emergency maintenance line, no one answered. I went three whole days without hearing from management while my apartment was inhabitable. No housing accommodations were offered. read more

WC Smith is easily, without a doubt, my favorite company in the world. Their customer service department are some of my best friends. I call them on a daily basis, not to complain about anything to do with the buildings or the life-changing experiences I've had in their buildings, but because they are truly my friends. I always had a hard time in school making friends, but since I moved into my new apartment in a wc smith building I have a whole team of best friends, and I can call them any time I want. The building could not be better either. It was in my new apartment where I truly discovered my sexuality along with my boyfriend Esteban. I met him in the lobby, and it certainly wasn't love at first site when he followed me up to my apartment, but Esteban is persistent. He kept coming back every day for two weeks, until I finally decided to reward his persistence and invite him into my apartment. When we got in the apartment, we sat on the couch together to talk. I asked him his name and before he answered he looked me in the eyes with a passion I had never seen before. I don't know if something was in the air, or if the apartment was magic, but I leaned in for a kiss and he kissed me back. That was the first time I kissed Esteban. Since that fateful day, Esteban and I have had terrific sex in and around the building. First it was just my bed, then the floor, then the shower. Before I knew it we had had sex on the roof, in the pool, even in the front lobby in the dead of night. The pool was certainly our most wild sexcapade. Another gay couple who lived in the building came to the pool and saw us. We stopped, and acted as if we had done nothing wrong, but instead of scorning us the handsome men asked us "hey boys, can we splash some ass?". This was the best night of my life. One of the men, Andrew, drowned that night, and I truly do miss him dearly. This building has been so good to me, from helping me discover my sexuality, to bringing Esteban into my life, and for permanently loosening my butthole. I cannot wait to call my friends in the HR department tomorrow and tell them about the great review I wrote. read more

If you like to come home and take a nice hot shower with hot water this is NOT the place to live don't even apply you will be pissed off soooooo.... many days and nights the apartments are nice but they can use some upgrades here at the Oaks REAL BAD!!!! Look else where first even if you have to pay more it will be worth it to have working hot water. read more

After I submitted my application, a WC Smith employee reviewing my application called me to make sure I'd submitted all of my income sources as she described me as being close to meeting their income requirements. Well, she was correct, I hadn't included income from a side job which ultimately got me in, so I was extremely thankful. The things I like about my apartment include a power flush on the toilet and the heat that we cannot control on our own, that has never been too hot, but just right during the coldest of winter days these past few weeks. Our lobby is awful looking. On the other hand, their property called Hilltop House, a 15 minute walk away, has a lobby that says, "Important people live here." My building, Alpha House, has mostly Spanish speaking residents, and it makes me sad that we cannot have something beautiful. All WC Smith would have to do is change our chandelier and update our mailbox center, as the entire thing pulls from the wall when we open our individual boxes. Changing the carpet on the hallway floors to a thicker, high quality type would be great too. Noise can mostly be heard through the ceiling but not the side walls. We could use a community bulletin board in the laundry room. The on-site manager is friendly enough and cares about your packages. WC Smith should think about our curb appeal and how it could be improved. They do do better for other buildings. If you consider the neighborhood when you're submitting your application, it will help you make an informed decision. read more

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Where do I start? Throughout my 6 month experience at my residence , the property manager has been difficult to work with. On numerous occasions I have had to call the management office to have minor repairs handled in my home. In the fall, I had a mice infestation in my unit. It took several calls to the property manager and the management office for this problem to be resolved. Absolutely ridiculous! As a public health professional, I am very aware on the types of diseases that come with rodents and it was very unsettling to have to share my residence with rodents. The slow response was quite disappointing. During this time, I also voiced concerns regarding my front lock as I was not able to lock it from the outside. It took at least two weeks for the property manager to come to fix this issue. This is unacceptable as this is a safety issue. Where is the sense of urgency? Currently, this same lock/unlock cannot lock from the outside. Furthermore, the screws on the front door are very loose and the front knob is wobbly. Additionally, the knob on the screen door has fallen off several times. Imagine having guest over your home and for the DOOR KNOB to fall off!!! My door can easily be kicked down. EASILY! One evening, I feared that an individual was trying to enter my unit. I am a single, 4'11 petite woman and I feared for my safety. My door was being shaken & banged on. Naturally, I called law enforcement because: 1. The property manager is useless 2. My safety Nevertheless, I did my due diligence and called the property manager about this issue and informed him ONCE AGAIN that my front door and locks are not secure. I also informed him that I have a window that cannot close since I moved into the residence. It is a cold winter and I have to wear layers in my own home as a result of this. It has been almost a week since I've called and I have yet to see my knobs, locks and windows fixed nor have there been any follow up. There has also been an issue with privacy. I had a short term guest in my unit and she informed me that while she was doing laundry, an older male (non-resident) approached her and told her that the property manager informed him in which unit she was staying. This is a man that neither I, nor my friend knew. Yet, simply because he showed interest in my friend, the property manager deemed it appropriate to disclose her location to his friend. This is extremely inappropriate, unprofessional and reckless. In a time where sexual assault is becoming more prevalent, I am extremely disgusted at his recklessness to disclose such sensitive information. Under no circumstances should the property manager disclose the location of a resident to anyone. This was quite alarming. As a new resident in this building - one who pays rent on time every month, I am extremely disappointed in this type of inaction, lack of urgency, poor customer service and quite frankly, negligence on the part of the property manager. During my first week at the residence, another resident informed me that it was a task to get the property manager to act when there was an issue in her unit. Thus, I am not the only resident with an issue. It is quite difficult to retain tenants when there is such negligence and carelessness occurring at this property. I am seriously considering breaking my lease or exploring alternatives. I should not have to beg, plead or escalate these issues to get a response. Enough is enough. Do better. read more

Been living at a WC Smith property in DC for almost a year. They are always very responsive when we've had any issues or questions. Santos and the maintenance workers are incredible. They are so kind, efficient & always make an effort to come out the same day to fix anything. It's super easy to pay rent online and request anything we may need from our properly manager. We've really enjoyed living at a WC Smith property. read more

Washington View Apartments, The worst I have a good credit score cleared all background searches, high salary but was rejected from RentGrow the Tenant search company they use. The property did no explaining after I was told to bring my profile for explanation and to see what they could do. I was given a letter by the property manager without explanation. She did no explaining of the items that caused the rejection, I was told to contact RentGrow. DO NOT GO HERE IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE , I waited 7 days for the response after calling multiple times. This property needs to do better and train on the reports from RentGrow. The security deposit was surposed to be 500-1350 depending on the report I was not offered anything. This industry needs regulating all properties require different standards. DO NOT WASTE YOUR $50 APPLICATION FEE!! read more

I've lived in a condo building managed by the William C Smith company for several years. I've worked specifically with their employee Ed Mace - he's been terrific. Not only does he fix any issue the arises promptly and effectively, he's also always looking ahead and taking care of issues well before they become problematic. Our condo is very well maintained and in great shape, and I think it's in large part thinks to him and his company. It's also easy to make HOA payments on their website each month. I'd recommend them from my experience! read more

I've lived at 1818 Riggs for 2 years now and don't have many complaints. Sometimes maintenance requests took 3+ days and sometimes less than a day, it was hard to predict. When it did take a while, Raj or Steven Charlop were usually responsive throughout the issue. We did have a couple of weeks last year when heat wasn't working properly on the entire second floor because they didn't realize the steam wasn't cranked up high enough (thank goodness it was only fall), but it's been working fine since then. I had to rent sight unseen and sent a friend to look at the apt, Raj was very accommodating and the leasing office was able to secure my lease from afar. They did switch the rent payment website recently but I haven't had issues with either online portals. As far as general building cleanliness.... recycling overflows from the bins in the basement from time to time, but other than that the hallways are mopped/waxed and kept fairly clean. I'm overall happy with them, I'm in the market for a bigger place and am trying to keep WC Smith on my radar. read more

I have lived at Hampton Courts for over 4 years and I recommend it to anyone looking to move to the area. Here's what you can look forward to when you live here: An extremely well-maintained building with the most personable, responsive and wonderful property manager, team and maintenance folks to ever exist. Truly. The staff here (Julie, David and Tite, especially) are each incredible. We used to live in another WC Smith managed building - which had a pool, gym..etc, and happily traded it all and would do so again to live here because of how amazing the staff are and how well they care for the building and the tenants. During COVID times, I have felt truly cared for and safe. Beyond the wonderful staff, you will find affordable apartments that have high ceilings, big windows (yay for your houseplant babies!), beautiful hardwood flooring and charming details. Julie has even worked to update each apartment to make the kitchens/living spaces as open and functional as possible. In our four+ years living here, we've never seen a roach, we've never had a maintenance issue that wasn't immediately taken care of, and we've never had a complaint. The building has diverse tenants that are respectful. You can walk to downtown/Adams Morgan/U Street/Shaw/Columbia Heights/Metro with ease. read more

This construction company has been extremely difficult to deal with. I purchased one of their new condos that they build. They said they will repair things that I discover once I move in. I've provided them a list of things that need repaired and now they won't respond to me. Once you've paid and moved in, good luck getting any assistance from them. They were non-reponsive before I settled, now they act as if I don't exist. Be very cautious when dealing with this company. read more

This company is incompetent and rude. They pushed a new rental portal without adequately addressing their payment systems, then try to force their residents to pay "late fees," which is borderline corrupt. I would not recommend this company to anyone. read more

Staff: This review has been a long time coming I have lived here for 21 years. I wanted to continue to work with management however since 2012 it's been the same sour service. It's my basic right as a tenant and according to WC Smith, customer service is Ridgecrest Court's best amenity. That's definitely a lie!!! Hopefully, management can benefit from the same constructive criticisms it's been receiving all along. Long story short, I don't love where I live, management is arrogant and very dismissive check out what some of the other reviewers are saying. You'll see management complaints, roach and mice infestation complaints don't ignore them when making a decision to move here. Especially, if you can find somewhere better. Reviewers are saying things like "avoid management at all costs" and I agree but it is impossible to have a happy life with current management. Another reviewer referred to the man at the office as a "dreadful human being" and another stated "he can be flat out rude" yet another reviewer stated "staff talks down to customers like children" and I definitely agree. What you will get is a newly renovated apartment, however, it may be next door to someone who possibly has mice and roaches crawling everywhere. One reviewer stated they caught at least 10 mice. The mice and roaches are in the walls, ceilings, radiators, and coming out of the light fixtures. What management will tell you is the exterminator comes every Wednesday don't fall for it. It's just a band-aid to ignore and pacify, the real problem and avoid being sued. It is a violation of the leasing agreement and they need to be held accountable, for getting these pest infestations under control, both inside and outside the buildings. When you first move in management will sweet talk you and practically kiss your butt to get those good reviews. They will cater to you at the drop of a hat (this will work in your favor). So that they can drown out the negative reviews about them on this page. They are not all bad and have interesting personalities but their level of professionalism and customer service is severely lacking. This office had really great non-managerial staff in the past, but if their customer service was top-notch I knew they wouldn't be around for long. They all find new jobs making more money, the excellent staff never stay too long. Noise: The walls are very thin and you can hear everything, like your neighbor, talking, coughing, screaming, cursing, their tv, music and adult activities. It can sometimes sound like they are in your house. Having noisy neighbors will ruin your peace. It's been a problem in the past but it can be tolerable depending on your neighbors. Grounds: The grounds are visibly pleasing, kept clean, and maintained well. Sometimes neighbors throw trash, spit, leave cigarette butts, beer cans, food, and even dead mice on the front porch and in the hallway. But for the most part, they are kept clean. Safety: There are police that patrol the property. I guess I feel somewhat safe, the police seem to be there to protect management from dissatisfied tenants and write tickets/tow. And to make sure things don't get out of pocket at the rental office. They don't do much of anything else people still loiter, and sell drugs, despite their presence. Something is better than nothing they are getting paid. Neighborhood: Two Metro stations are nearby, the Giant grocery store, banking, and small take out restaurants. A bike and walking trail at Oxon Run Park is not too far. T The Arc, YMCA, and Boys and Girls club. Close to major highways. Maintenance: Sometimes they cut corners or don't do a good job. However, they do a satisfactory job most times. They're overworked and possibly underpaid men. I spent a lot of time learning how to do stuff myself because my apartment has not been updated in over 20 years, and with the number of repairs that needed to get done, I could tell they were annoyed. I was having to have them do the same thing two and three times. Like wall repairs, caulking baseboards, and stuff like that. They jump to get the new renovations done but don't want to repair/upkeep older units. read more

Well they're really BIG. They claim to be "the most experienced and capable property management firms in the Washington metropolitan area, WC Smith manages over 10,000 rental, condominium and cooperative units valued in excess of $1 billion". Great. They manage my coop building. Absolutely underwhelming. Calls are not returned and I have repeatedly been billed by external vendors for things for which WC Smith should be responsible. Their own online "resident portal" is not updated with usable information, though it sounds good The latest is that I am being billed for arrears two months of my monthly fees, to the tune of over $1000. It is a bit of a mystery how this occurred as monthly fees are paid electronically. According to the company, this is something missed when I first moved in over a year ago. But what they lack accounting or timeliness they make up for in gall. They raise this arrears issue over a year later and then assess me a $25.97 (?) late fee. Nice. But they're really BIG! I have no choice but to deal with these folks - but if you do have a choice, maybe go elsewhere. read more

I have been renting apartment for 5 years, that is one of the WC Smith property. The worse experience that I ever had in my entire life, and I rent a lot all over the globe. Building maintenance stuff is very professional and highly effective. The problem is the management in the head office on New Jersey ave - very rude, not polite, they doesn't do their job at all. Good luck reaching them out and get any help or information. You can easily find better and cheaper apartment in DC without all these stress that they will put you through. One the tip of it, last year we have several robberies at the same time in the building, management didn't do anything!!! Only when all tenants pressed to improve security - they bought new uniforms for building stuff and installed cameras randomly - wow feels really protected like this... read more

We've been living in a William C Smith (very well) managed property for over 15 years. The main office has always been extremely accommodating to my family's needs and requests, as well as other neighbors in the building who I've spoken to. I once lost my entire set of keys when I was on vacation in another country, and they sent their Shop over in hours once they were notified and changed my locks, and gave me all new keys. They didn't charge for this courtesy. We have asked for special requests over the years, and the property and the main office have always graciously accommodated all requests large or small. The onsite staff at the NW property that we live in, has maintained the same fine crew & management for over a decade. This very pleasant and helpful team of Onsite members all seem to be extremely happy at their job, (they've all been at the building for decades) and they always make you feel good with daily interactions; and the same at the main office; it is the same people and management, and always very,very nice and professional. We pay our rent online, and there have been a few random times that we did accidentally pay a few days past the due date; as an oversight on our part, and they have not ever charged us a late fee; and the few reviews that I have seen that aren't giving high stars, I really doubt from what I've read that some of the reviewers are being at all fair or reasonable. The rent of unit & parking space is very fair for this part of town, and any rent increases over the years have been actually unnoticeable, b/c they have been so low. The Onsite and main office have always treated us with great appreciation, courteous, friendly and professional service. The building is always very clean, extremely well-maintained; and also I have noticed many types of nice improvements made over the years, such as the large backyard out-door cooking area, with new grill & barbecue area, nice outside sitting/eating area; coffee & bagels in the lobby every saturday morning, and also nice new public hallway carpeting, that building has vacuumed once or twice a week, and then also professionlay deep steam cleaned, it appears to be about once a month, which is very nice to come home to. Also, they have one large (package) room behind the front desk dedicated only to receiving & passing out everyone's UPS/fedex,etc, packages; and there is always someone at the desk 7 days a week until 11pm, always ready to present you with all your mail and packages. I see literally hundreds of packages delivered every week to many of the Residents, me included, and I am amazed how they have it so well organized, as their system is fool proof, tracked with a list, and ready for you when you come home. We're been very,very impressed with this management company. read more

Rating = NEGATIVE FIVE STARS! The management is very unreliable, does not return tenants phone call and or written correspondence. I am senior citizen and rely on a walker to get around. By law, they can only raise my rent so much, so hey want to push me out. They are using one of their employees to get the job done, by having him harass me constantly, creating a very unsafe environment for me to live in one of their apartment buildings they manage around DC. I am even afraid to request repair work as I do not want this person even come close to me, he scares me! I had to call the police 2-3 times and they even talked to him once. I asked the owners/managers to move me to another building several times during this past months, no response. The property manager's wife had a baby about a month ago so he was off, according to the President of WC Smith, who "accidently" answered the phone as his assistant was on leave, so he had to answer the phone -- thus he has been aware of the problem over a month, doing nothing. These people are entrusted with managing several apartment building in town, they're not new to this business and obviously do not like elderly tenants who dare to ask questions and bring certain discrepancies to their attention. I would like to hear from you if you live in one of the buildings managed by them and if you can recommend a savvy attorney who is not intimated by their size and reputation, but believes even elderly tenants have rights and willing/able to represent them. read more

If I could possibly give this company less than one star I would. Dealing with the agents at the William C. Smith company has been a miserable experience. I've been trying to view an apartment at one of their properties for the last month. I have left numerous voice-mails and sent numerous e-mails to various people throughout the company to no avail. When on the rare occasion I was able to get someone one the phone they have been woefully unhelpful. No one seems to know anything. I would not wish my experience with these people on anyone. read more

Borderline Slumlords - easily one of the most inattentive, unorganized, poorly-managed companies I've ever dealt with in any industry. If you're in the DC-area, I would advise staying as far away from this company as possible. It's worth paying the extra couple hundred dollars a month to deal with nice people that actually care about your well-being and the upkeep of your apartment. From my one year of experience with them, here are some of the highlights you can expect when you sign your lease with WC Smith: (1) severe maintenance issues (i.e. mold, leaking pipes, exposed flooring, warped/rotten wood) with no prompt response or resolution by maintenance (e.g. took one month to repair a leaking ceiling) (2) basic lack of cleanliness and pest outbreaks (i.e. bugs/roaches in many of the apartments, rats in the trash area) with no prompt response or resolution by maintenance (e.g. took 6 months of requests to get an exterminator) (3) stolen property from "locked" facilities (e.g. I've had packages missing from "secured" mail room, my bicycle was stolen from "secured" bike room) (4) delayed delivery and/or lost mail, UPS boxes (e.g. management holds onto deliveries until it is convenient for their schedule to deliver packages; in one extreme case I had a FedEx delivery with a dated time stamp of February 18th that was not delivered to my door until April 3rd) (5) careless and borderline negligent company management that dodges calls, refuses to return voicemails, loops you in circles sitting on hold trying to get a hold of someone--getting a hold of President Obama is easier--you are simply a burden to them, there must be no incentives or motivation to help its tenants because it clearly shows in their service read more

after seeing a promising property on craigslist my roomate and i contacted Holli (at William Smith Co) and from then on had wonderful, catering service. Coming from NYC i am used to (and content, but not overjoyed by) little to no customer service, especially with rentals. Holli was super helpful, and the building (columbia heights) was in amazing shape and well managed. I was very pleased with my whole process and would certainly consider another property managed by them in the future---for now im so excited about the one I have with them! read more

I could not have had more of a different experience than the previous poster. I lived at 3333 Wisconsin ave - managed and owned by William C Smith and it was a wonderful place to call home. We had a doorman that knew everyone's name and deeply cared about the residents. The leasing agents were always on our side trying to make the residents happy (this is a rare mentality in property management). The building was always in great shape and the property manager was constantly trying to improve the building. It was great to feel like you could walk downstairs anytime and have a real conversation with the people in the office - not just feel like a number. When William C Smith sold my building and another company took over the management I decided it was time to move - I stayed for the staff of William C Smith not the building. read more

I lived in a William C. Smith building (The Dupont Apartments) for about 18 months starting March of 2012. I have never had a better rental experience. Hollie, the leasing agent, was very helpful and got all the paperwork done quickly. Carlton, the super, likewise made living there a delight. I also felt like the price was always reasonable, and the apartment itself was gorgeous - 11 foot ceilings! I got treated fairly and with respect, and they paid my deposit back before I even asked for it. I did not realize until I left how much better WC Smith is than several of their competitors, and I find myself now wishing I lived in one of their buildings. read more

Same experienc as Brittany, except that I'ved lived in one of their buildings for 8 years! I am switching banks and want to stop the automatic withddrawal for this month and will send a check. I can't get a response from anywhere, voicemail seems to go into thin air. It's pretty appalling that you can pay a company $100,000 over the course of 8 years, and still be such a bug they can't be bothered to answer a phone, nevermind call you back. read more

I have lived on several of William C Smith properties. This is the best apartment management company I've ever known and will continue renting from them. Keep up the good work William C Smith team. read more

well for one thing i rent from them now and i hate them at the moment i live in there jetu apartments which i had to come to no fault of my own because where i was at before they bought the property so anyway, they are so rude and mean to some of their residents and they just don't care about us at all they don't take partial payments they customer service sucks they are too high for one thing in this area it's a lot all i will say is don't rent from them find somewhere else better to go they suck ,and every time you turn around they want to take you to court it's just too much. read more

William C. Smith and company are doing a great job fixing up some of the roughest neighborhoods in the D.C. Metropolitan area. Making the places comfortable and giving low to middle income families decent places to reside in. It would be great if some of the tenants would appreciate this. And it would be even better to have professional, honest, non bias staff managing the properties. Sometimes the best thing for a new company to do is out with the old and in with the new. Bring in new employees. I am living in a newly renovated apartment and yes the neighborhood look fabulous, but they are putting some of the same tenants who use to live here into the new apartments which is a good/and not so good of an idea. You can distinguish between the old residence and the new ones. If you are elderly, a college student or working individual and are seeking low to moderate affordable housing then this is the go to company, but beware because it is 'affordable housing' which means you will encounter some people who are use to living in the old D.C. environment of rowdiness, loud and crazy conditions. read more