Luxury apartments? You've got to be kidding me. Let me tell you what you are getting into if you sign a lease here:

1.) Extremely slow repairs. Apartments have had leaking windows for 6 months or more (since Jun 06) and no repairs have been made. This problem is affecting many tenants and the management is ignoring the complaints. Forget about that 24 response time for repairs. Ain't gonna happen.

2.) Draconian towing policy. Don't even think about having company over. The visitor parking is insufficient, and your guests will be towed. It is a $100 impound fee, and this is a cottage industry for Dominion Towing. Their trucks circle the lot like vultures and tow anything that they can, even though there is plenty of available parking. On a typical Saturday evening you can see multiple tow trucks hauling off 20+ cars. Even if you live here, don't forget to put your permit on your windshield, or you'll be towed too. If you need a rental car for any reason, better park across the street at the mall. Don't invite your boyfriend / girlfriend to spend the night unless you want to drive them to the impound lot the next morning.

3.) Your rent WILL go up substantially each year. I lived in an Archstone property for 2 years and my rent went up $200 per month both years!!! This is a much higher rate than inflation or cost of living. Other tenants living here share the same experience. The management will never tell you this upfront. Ask yourself if you can afford this before you move in. Take it from me, the management WILL extort you into paying more rent because they know most people will chose this over the hassle of moving out and finding a better place.

4.) Management is horrible. I mean horrible. They could not care less about you or other tenants. You have leaking ceilings? Better buy some buckets because they aren't going to be fixed anytime soon. My ceiling actually collapsed due to rainwater and a leak in the roof. It took them two entire days to get a cleanup crew to my apartment just to pick up the debris (insulation, sheetrock, mold, etc). It took them over a week to repair it (24 hours for repairs, huh?). Rules like parking policy will change every year and you will be expected to comply. They believe that because of their location to the metro and shopping they can treat their tenants like scum.

STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE (and all Archstone properties)!!! It's a free world, and everyone learns by making mistakes... But I've already made this one for you and I am trying to help out anyone who's willing to listen. If you think this is the place you've been dreaming of, I wish you the best of luck. Don't say you were never warned though...