Apartment Review for Camden Fair Lakes - Fairfax, VA

We rented a 3R, 2BA unit at Camden Fair Lakes for several months in 2008; from our experiences, all I can say is: "Don't do it--look elsewhere!" Our first day was a sign of the troubles to come: the prior residents hadn't returned their keys, and the office claimed they had no other key & we'd have to "take it up with the prior residents" or pay $100 to have the lock drilled. There's no noise insulation between units; we constantly were treated to the sounds of the kids upstairs running and playing, and to the dogs across the hall barking. The appliances are the cheapest available and just barely functional; the units had no microwave, either. The ceilings are high, and there is crown moulding in the living room--but that's an illusion of refinement! Our heat didn't work for weeks; maintenance claimed it was working despite the unit dropping into the 50s. I eventually figured out a valve wasn't properly set and fixed the heater myself! The apartments nickel and dime you; in addition to rent, you have to pay a mandatory $30/mo. "Valet Waste" fee to have trash collected at the door (which attracts rats to the hallways!)--that's on top of a separate trash removal fee. We only sporadically got the actual bills for services like trash & water; we'd get a "second notice" stuck in our file--once for charges which hadn't even happened yet and were dated 10 days in the future!--instead. Management had massive turnover while we were there, and were overall fairly unresponsive; they encouraged e-mail but rarely responded, and phone calls led nowhere. Only sending registered letters got anywhere with them. On safety: one night, we awakened to sounds of gunshots outside, and when we reported the same to the management, they shrugged it off. They also charge you $500 for the "convenience" of a pet (non-refundable, not applicable to any damages, etc.) plus $50/mo. in pet rent, so they are NOT pet-friendly by any means. Residents are also bad about not scooping poop when walking their pets in common areas! Overall, I cannot recommend this place. The location is fairly convenient, but that's really it.