Moving to Silver Spring MD.....HELP!!!!!!!! (Columbia, Germantown: section 8, apartments, rentals)

[aawoody]

My husband and I are being moved there with the Army and we have narrowed down our choice to Ashford at Woodlake apartments but not being able to see the place for ourselves is a bit nerve racking. Ive read the reviews about roaches, mice, shootings, crime in general and need to know if this is all just blown out of proportion or is it really that bad. Please give as much input as possible. Thank you!

[diplomat74]

the closer to downtown silver spring the better, anywhere near burtonsville or white oak I would avoid. Not the worst area but also not the best alot section 8 housing.

[itinérant]

As a general rule, SS gets nice the farther southwest you go. You are NE, so you are not in a terribly desirable area. It's all relative though.

[dcvtss]

Do not live here if at all possible, Castle Blvd consistently has the worst crime in SS if not in Montgomery County altogether. Where will you be commuting to? Commute times are a huge issue in the DC area, and next to safety are a top priority to consider. If you want that general area I would recommend the parts of Laurel west of Route 1.

[Smiley32699]

I lived at Ashford at Woodlake for two years (2008-2010), and I assure you that all of the things you have read online are TRUE. In addition, you can do a simple web search and read about the woman (I believe her name was Simone) who was murdered on the walkway of an Ashford at Woodlake apartment building in August/September 2009. The roaches are very bad, the apartments are very old (early 1970s construction--you can hear EVERYTHING through the walls), and the entire grounds are NOT safe; some of the residents jam the doors with coins so that the doors to the buildings are open 24/7, and the intercoms NEVER work. The cops are over there ALL of the time. One of the buildings even burnt down when I lived there; the Red Cross had to put people in housing because Ashford wouldn't cooperate.

Getting back to Ashford's scam, they don't show you anything but the model unit because they probably don't want you to see one of the REAL apartments with roaches running up the walls. Oh and by the way--the maintenance people are incompetent; your broken stuff WON'T get fixed even after a few maintenance calls.

Don't be in a rush--as I was--to rent an apartment from Ashford (the Donaldson Group). You will be VERY sorry that you did.

I even had an alarm on my apartment. If you MUST move there, I'd recommend that you do the same.

And, their rent specials are just not worth the headache. The management is stupid (yes, I said stupid) and untrustworthy. They do things like lose checks routinely and then tell you that you never paid the rent on time or at all. Just don't do it.

I've heard similar things about all of the apartments on Castle Blvd., and some of the ones on Robey Road. They all have some serious crime problems. Even police officers call the Route 29-Briggs-Chaney--Castle Blvd.--Robey Road area "the anus of Montgomery County." The prices are reasonable, but the concentration of apartments in that area with the low prices attracts people who probably are of lesser means, and many who are quite unseemly (regardless of race).

The TD Bank on Briggs-Chaney has been robbed more than a few times. There was a shooting in broad daylight right outside the Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant in the mall at 29 & Briggs-Chaney Road.

If you need to rent in MoCo, consider renting a house or townhouse if you can; from what I've been told by many people, MoCo apartment buildings have quite a few roach and rodent problems. For apartments, you may want to look at certain parts of Columbia or Laurel (Howard County); in MoCo, Rockville (Rockville Town Center or near Twinbrook/NIH/White Flint); King Farm in Rockville, and Bethesda. Can't speak with any knowledge about Gaithersburg, Germantown, or Olney.

If you are looking in "Silver Spring," (post office boxes) the general rule of thumb is the farther south and west, the better. I would stay away from the following areas when renting (and maybe for buying a place too): Castle Blvd/Robey Road/Briggs Chaney/Rte. 29; White Oak/New Hampshire Ave.; Langley Park; Aspen Hill; and Glenmont.

In Silver Spring, you may have some luck in Downtown SS (DTSS) (but I would still read the reviews; some buildings are "spotty"), Forest Glen (not many apartments in Forest Glen, but there are some condos that may be for rent); Wheaton, which is a "transitional" area on the upswing--you may want to check out the Archstone (but I understand it's expensive).

There also may be some rentals in the town of Kensington (don't mistake it for "Kensington Heights," which is essentially Wheaton) too.

But for God's sake, DO NOT move to Ashford at Woodlake (or anywhere on Castle, Robey, Greencastle, or Briggs-Chaney road near Rte. 29).

If I can give you some advice, it's this: You get what you pay for around here, and even less.

[unhappyrenter21]

We moved from florida rented here at ashford bcuz my sister in lived here well we finally started working about two weeks later, we rent a one bedroom and a den, everyone at the offices was very nice at first, i admit we have had to put up with lots of things broken in the apartment that still havent been fixed we had to deal with a bed bug infestation were we had to back everything up flip our mattresses three times we have been here a year the main door to the building suppose to be licked for our security yea lol! The kids (teenagers) that hang out on the stair wells braked them the sair wells are always fills with teenagers smoking pot and if not just when u walk in the building the first smell that hits you is "marijuana" ive called the office so many times regarding this issue or the hanging out in the stairs till four in the am daily you cant even sleep cuz if u go out and say something they curse u out, theyr there talking at all hours of the night tja office does nothing the ONLY TIME the office is available is when it has to do with ur rent. So my advise stay away from ashford its a highly danergouse place to live and they drug selling happens all day long they dont even hide from you it happens in ur presence. Im not renewing our lease even if this was the last and only place to live id rather go under a bridge