Avalon Potomac Yard

I lived here just shy of two years and am finally glad to be out. No need to repeat all the negative comments about this place, but please note that all are true: -management frosted/locked doors and you have to make an appointment to speak with them. If you do speak with anyone, nothing is ever done about complaints (I made numerous complaints, with video evidence) of consistently barking dogs well into the night and nothing was ever done. -Garage doors have been broken 90% of my stay with property being stolen or broken into -What exactly is the bldg cleaning crew being paid for?? Constant trash/pet mess and glass in hallways, trash rooms, garage for weeks before being cleaned -Elevator was always broken -Fire alarms were constantly going off at all hours -Final straw: I asked about the rent increase before making me final decision to move out about 4 mos prior to renewing and they said they couldn’t tell me what the amount was going to be. I ended up finding out from my neighbor who had the same floor plan. Rent was being raised $300+ and didn’t include the $100 parking fee (which also went up, was previously $75). When I moved out, I patched/painted and cleaned my carpets and did a move-out video. I had no pets and wore no shoes in my apartment. When finally contacted about final move-out and security deposit, they took black light video of two tiny spots on the carpet and said they had to paint a small patch left on my front door from a 3M strip (all of this info I had to request as they didn’t provide a break down of what they were charging me for originally). They took my security deposit and charged me another $255. I also asked to submit my move out video and they told me they didn’t take anything from residents. My place was spotless when I moved out and this proved the shady business they’ve been conducting from day one. Not to mention, they must need the money since so many residents have bailed and there were many empty units. This place is very expensive and is absolutely NOT worth the price, aggravation or lack of services, as many others have mentioned. It’s too bad as the location is great and I would have paid the extra if the management wasn’t so slimy and shady. So glad I left when I did!

UPDATE 11/6: I moved out of Avalon Potomac Yard on August 28 and have NOT received my itemized list of deposit deductions and remaining deposit amount. I have called the billing office 3 times with no resolution. They are "expediting" the check now. Per VA tenant law, I should be entitled to the full deposit amount as we are well beyond 45 days of having moved out of the apartment. Avalon blames USPS - they actually had the WRONG address for me initially and said the check was lost in the mail twice now even after updating with my correct address. If you make the decision move here, do not get a parking pass. It costs $75/mo. Park on the street as the garage door has been broken for over 7 months and cars are being broken into in the garage. Fire alarms go off on a regular basis causing full building evacuations. The leasing office staff keep their doors locked and shades down - you cannot stop by the leasing office without an appointment. Full disclosure I am in a one bedroom with a den and my rent is being raised $300/mo if I renew for the same unit for 13 months. No negotiation whatsoever. Do not overpay for this place. You can rent a townhouse in old town at these prices. UPDATE: Leasing office did not input my forwarding address correctly in their system after providing it to them twice, and I have yet to receive my itemized deposit deductions within the 45 day window. When I reached out to them they directed me to their "billing" line and were unhelpful. Be aware of these business practices and quadruple-check that they have your forwarding address correctly noted upon move out.

Avalon paints a pretty picture when you’re moving in, but it’s a company that doesn’t care about its residents. They have fogged up the glass on the office to hide that no one is there (they claim there is someone there during business hours - why don’t they answer the door or the phone if that’s true?). The garage door is a problem. In the year we lived there, it worked less than 6 months of the time. They also claim it’s a non smoking building but refused to address the weed smell permeating the entire 701 building. The summer of 2023 they have had a series of break ins in the garage with lots of cars and personal property damaged, and users in the FB group who suggested getting a lawyer were removed from the group. Despite the break ins and the weed smell, they refused to have staff on site to handle these issues. At one point a homeless woman was living in our lobby for 3 days. There are constantly puddles and poops from dogs on the floors of the building and more than once I found vomit in the hallways. While this was eventually addressed by maintenance, having a better and more involved staff would go a long way toward making this a decent place to live.

My wife and I moved here 3 years ago...and thankfully our lease is up and we're moving out. When we first got here everything was amazing, then it slowly went down hill. Elevator was always breaking down. They would rent out the common space to people that didn't live there. The garage door would never work and random people were coming in and breaking into cars. The front entrance and courtyard doors were rarely shut...more random people coming in. What made everything worse, is that they closed the front office and made you make an appointment if you had an issue, making them conveniently unavailable.

Avalon is so conveniently located which would have been nice for my daily commute and shopping, however, I noticed several troubling things during the tour and application process. I personally love having the self-guided tour option so I can take my time and even ask current residents about their experiences, but it would be nice to have a leasing rep on-site to answer questions afterwards, which was not the case here. After taking the tour I had several questions (about the broken garage door, completely empty fitness center being remodeled, packages left in unattended piles in the lobby, etc.) but no one was around to speak with. I decided to go ahead with the application despite my reservations and assumed I'd be contacted as soon as I was approved since I planned to move-in within the week, but unfortunately this wasn't the case. I tried to get in contact with someone from the Avalon the next morning after my application was approved to sign the lease, and couldn't reach anyone by phone or email. Much later in the afternoon someone finally reached out to me, but since I was only 4 days from my move-in date and needed to provide the moving company with my final destination address, I actually went ahead and toured & applied to a neighboring luxury building instead. If it was this hard to get in contact with someone just to sign a lease and give them money, I can only imagine what it would be like trying to reach them if an issue were to arise... I understand that some days are busier than others, but this building management seems a bit more inattentive/indifferent than I'd expect at these prices. Considering this building has 23 available units on their site, you'd think they'd have someone answering the phones instead of sending all calls straight to voicemail. Also to charge full amenity and parking fees despite the lack of gym access (which isn't scheduled to reopen for another month and a half) and wide open garage seems odd to me.

For anyone looking to live here, I will give you an extremely honest review. The bottom line is they do shady business. I have lived here for 27 months and have witnessed this place go down hill first hand. Let's start with the core...management. In the earlier days management was inviting, friendly, and willing to help you. At one point in time you could walk up to the leasing office and get help. The glass used to be clear allowing you to put a face to the people operating the place you call home. Currently, the management team is less than desirable. They are not friendly, are not welcoming, and treat you like you're beneath them even though you're paying to live there. Not only did all the female staff leave (which means no balance), but they frosted the glass on the leasing office and made leasing office inquiries appointment-only. Think about that...you pay $2,000+ and you need to make a reservation in your own home. Add on the entitled attitude you get from the current staff and it's just not worth it. Second thing, the garage door is CONSISTENTLY BROKEN. During those 27 months the garage door remained broken at least 80% of the time. I was paying for garage parking which wasn't secure at all. The garage door is open when it's broken so anyone can get in. There is no security involved, but they will happily charged you for parking. Third thing, the technology package is terrible. Before they starting charging for the technology package I was using Verizon's Gigabit internet since I worked from home. I had no issues with my internet whatsoever. As they implemented a mandatory package they included Xfinity which came with a lower tiered service than what I was already paying. This increased my internet bill by $30/mo just to get the same performance I had previously. My lease ended recently and man was I relieved to be moving elsewhere. In summary, this place has a great location, but that's about it. Everything else is sub-par at best. Not worth it at the price they are asking. PS: When you move out, they use a UV light to find spots on the carpet that you are not aware of. They also do the move-out inspection without telling you so that you can't attend and verify their findings. This will be used to charge you for damages.

UPDATE 11/6: I moved out of Avalon Potomac Yard on August 28 and have NOT received my itemized list of deposit deductions and remaining deposit amount. I have called the billing office 3 times with no resolution. They are "expediting" the check now. Per VA tenant law, I should be entitled to the full deposit amount as we are well beyond 45 days of having moved out of the apartment. Avalon blames USPS - they actually had the WRONG address for me initially and said the check was lost in the mail twice now even after updating with my correct address. If you make the decision move here, do not get a parking pass. It costs $75/mo. Park on the street as the garage door has been broken for over 7 months and cars are being broken into in the garage. Fire alarms go off on a regular basis causing full building evacuations. The leasing office staff keep their doors locked and shades down - you cannot stop by the leasing office without an appointment. Full disclosure I am in a one bedroom with a den and my rent is being raised $300/mo if I renew for the same unit for 13 months. No negotiation whatsoever. Do not overpay for this place. You can rent a townhouse in old town at these prices. UPDATE: Leasing office did not input my forwarding address correctly in their system after providing it to them twice, and I have yet to receive my itemized deposit deductions within the 45 day window. When I reached out to them they directed me to their "billing" line and were unhelpful. Be aware of these business practices and quadruple-check that they have your forwarding address correctly noted upon move out.

Avalon paints a pretty picture when you’re moving in, but it’s a company that doesn’t care about its residents. They have fogged up the glass on the office to hide that no one is there (they claim there is someone there during business hours - why don’t they answer the door or the phone if that’s true?). The garage door is a problem. In the year we lived there, it worked less than 6 months of the time. They also claim it’s a non smoking building but refused to address the weed smell permeating the entire 701 building. The summer of 2023 they have had a series of break ins in the garage with lots of cars and personal property damaged, and users in the FB group who suggested getting a lawyer were removed from the group. Despite the break ins and the weed smell, they refused to have staff on site to handle these issues. At one point a homeless woman was living in our lobby for 3 days. There are constantly puddles and poops from dogs on the floors of the building and more than once I found vomit in the hallways. While this was eventually addressed by maintenance, having a better and more involved staff would go a long way toward making this a decent place to live.