Varsity on K Apartments, washington-dc

I was about to sign a lease here and thank GOD I didn’t! They never pick up the phone, never respond to emails, and I was completely left in the dark with my lease and nobody to answer my questions. Their fee’s and the policy’s raise red flags and the building looks murky anyway. Heard there’s rats on the first floor which are in the basement mind you, and utilities vary based on “usage” but can be 300+ a month. Too overpriced for such horrible management.

This apartment is absolutely terrible. I don’t even want to give it one star; it deserves zero or negative stars. First, the dryer was broken for almost four months. I reported it to the maintenance team multiple times, but they kept delaying and ignoring me. They only replaced the dryer AFTER I already decided to break my lease and move out—by then it was completely useless. Second, because the dryer issue was never fixed properly, mice got into the apartment. I saw mice three times total. I reported it the first time I saw them, but it took a full month for anyone to respond. They didn’t take it seriously at all and even told me it was “normal.” Third, the property manager never replies to emails. I sent countless messages and got almost no response. The worst part is my security deposit. They initially sent me a deposit check, and I deposited it into my bank. Two days later, the money was unexpectedly withdrawn from my account for no reason. The bank told me the issue was with the apartment’s account. I suspect they gave me a bad check. This situation has dragged on for two months, and I still haven’t gotten my deposit back. It’s a large amount of money, and I believe they are intentionally refusing to refund me. I will be filing a claim against them in Small Claims Court to get my money back. Also, I’ve seen many other reviews online saying the same thing—they refuse to return security deposits. I still have evidence for all four issues, including photos, audio recordings, and official bank documents. Do NOT rent here, especially with this management. They are unresponsive, unprofessional, and completely unreliable.

I moved my daughter into this apartment complex two summers ago after she left GW housing, and she’s chosen to stay there again this summer. It’s definitely one of the better options in the area. It’s actually the only place we liked with an in-unit washer and dryer which was one of her non negotiables , and it had enough space to comfortably fit all of her belongings. While it is a bit on the pricey side, I think it’s worth it for the location since it keeps her close to campus. If convenience is a priority, this place really delivers. We were able to handle everything related to the move-in process and paperwork from out of state, which made things so much easier. Utilities, internet, and furniture were all set up before she arrived, which took a lot of the stress out of transitioning to off-campus living.

Your utility bill will be over $500/month!!!!! (along with every other hidden charge they could imagine) They charge utilities based on the cost for the entire building and charge you heinous fees for any mess left by other residents in hallways. They charge you for all of the empty units (which is most units because Varsity totally sucks), nobody wants to live there and the team is as incompetent as they come. They include huge hidden fees like a $150 window fee which is charged for all the units with windows, because the first two floors are actually underground. They charge monthly for shotty furniture and charge you if you want it removed along with multiple other absurd fees. They will try to charge you other fees if you don't notice like a $500 fee they charged me for move-in which they later removed and "apologized for the mistake". DO NOT TRUST THESE CROOKS!!!!! Absolute worst apartment in foggy bottom. Extremely rude and incompetent property manager who is never present on property and doesn't answer emails, Shawneek, she is truly an awful woman. She refused to meet with me until I cut off one of her tours and then canceled the meeting afterwards as well as the next 2 follow up appointments as well. When I moved in my room almost everything was broken, every faucet was loose every drain clogged, the toilet was in utter disrepair. HVAC hasn't worked properly for month throughout summer, and utility bill is still outrageous. It took 6 months to give me the key to my mailbox after asking every single day.

I would give 0 stars if I could. Do yourself a favor, find another apartment. I've been waiting to write this review until I was fully moved out, and now it's time to share my experience. The management should be fired and investigated. Let me give you the highlights of my dreadful 12-month lease: - Heating broke for weeks in the middle of winter. - Hot water was broken for weeks at a time, occurring up to 10 times throughout my lease. - AC constantly broke, causing unbearable discomfort. - Dishwasher fell out of its socket, and instead of fixing it properly, they just glued it back in, which caused holes that brought in RATS. - Severe water damage in the common areas. - Trash room is filled to the brim and is disgusting. - Elevators break constantly. My roommate overheard the management talking to elevator maintenance, and the maintenance guy basically said this elevator is incredibly unsafe and should be completely replaced for the safety of the residents. - literally everything falls apart - my handle to my shower would fall off all the time. When my apartment became essentially unlivable because of the RATS and no hot water, I lived in an Airbnb for 2 week. I was literally calling management everyday for updates on fixing my unit and their response was completely unhelpful and incredibly disappointing. They would literally dodge my calls at one point, even thought there was rats in my apartment. In the last 4 months of my lease, I had to switch units because my original unit was essentially uninhabitable (no hot water and rats). When the RATS came in, I tried calling management, and no one answered. I called dozens of times for days and barely got a response. When my shower broke and would not stop running, I tried calling and calling, but still, no response (I attached a photo of the shower running and the handle broke off - that happened all the time btw). I don't blame maintenance, I blame management for their inability to provide enough maintenance support and their genuine lack of care and concern for the well being of their residents. The management is horrible, and they did NOT uphold their end of the lease, failing to provide habitable living conditions. The only redeeming quality of this apartment is Andrea, the head of maintenance – they should have him run the apartment. ALSO! side note - the 2nd floor is actually the basement....... No one even told me. The first floor (or street level) starts on the 3rd floor - that should be informed PRIOR to signing the lease. I added some photos, but honestly, they don’t even capture how HORRIBLE this apartment is. I highly recommend residents that are unhappy to take photos - I didn't have much but these photos are still so telling...