Vista on Courthouse Apartments

I’m not sure why Vista is not rated 4 stars or higher. The apartments in this complex are amazing since the building was originally built to be condos. I lived in a 1bed and 2 full baths that I enjoyed for two years. The apartment is spacious, the maintenance issues are taken care of same day or next at most, plus you have the friendliest people you can encounter in the leasing office and concierge. The location is just amazing. While not in the heart of Clarendon, it is 4min walk to the metro and 7minutes walk to Wholefoods. I love the fact that is secluded from down town Clarendon but in the same time it is steps away from it and from all the action, restaurants and bars. Vista truly has been a great place to call home for a while and iam very happy to rate it. You would not regret living here!
Best wishes!:)

I had a truly horrible experience during my 4 years living here. If I could give The Vista on Courthouse a 0%, I would.
The building is an expensive slum, but your tour will portray it as a wonderful place to live. It’s not, it’s awful.
The indoor air quality is terrible enough that your eyes will burn, and your stuff will be covered in a black film of soot within the first few months of living in your apartment. I had several eye infections while living here. The mold growing in the *uninsulated* walls gave both my girlfriend and I chronic allergies and fatigue.
Our CO alarm has gone off no less than 5 times while living here. Building maintenance claims «it’s just dust» causing the alarm to malfunction. We’ve had 3 different alarms return the same results. The last time maintenance came by, they accidentally disabled the device.
The water main broke in our building this winter, and there were all kinds of plumbing issues. Multiple times, we were left without water for a day or more. Brown sludge shot out of our faucets.
The windows don’t open more than 6 inches in the units. The windows don’t stay open – they slam shut. This has led to numerous complaints but property management has never done anything about it. The stove exhaust fans don’t lead to the outside, so they’re completely useless. Your smoke alarms will go off any time you turn on the stove.
There’s dog feces all over the property grounds at all times.
During our first year living here, the building maintenance team came in to inspect the water damage in our walls. Our blinds kept falling because the drywall was rotting. Maintenance informed us that our walls were infested with mold – the contractor failed to insulate the building properly. They told us they needed to tear down and replace our walls.
We couldn’t live in the apt during repairs. The building management refused to compensate us for the inconvenience.
The parking garage is unsafe. The garage door stays open for days on end. Cars get broken into regularly. Peoples’ bikes get jacked.
My girlfriend’s car got two flats due to debris on the ground of the garage.
The building is terribly ventilated. The hallways don’t have vents, windows or AC. The units are built on top of the parking garage, which also has no windows, and the fan system isn’t used. There’s a film of soot and mineral deposits that cover the cars.
Each year you stay here, the company raises your rent.
Equity forces you to buy renters insurance from a company they own.
The hallways are covered with mold and mildew. To hide this from prospective renters they repaint the hallways every few months.
Last fall, I found that my dishwasher was leaking and my kitchen sink was clogged. Maintenance came up, fixed the leak, and dumped in some citric acid cleaner. They also dumped in some Draino to unclog the drain. When I returned to my apartment, the air smelled like lighter fluid, I immediately felt dizzy and my throat burned. When I called maintenance to ask what happened, we figured out that they accidentally mixed Draino with citric acid – which apparently creates a toxic gas. I called poison control and it was a whole ordeal.
I stopped calling maintenance after that terrible experience.
When it comes to rent payments and costs, it’s like everything else here, a totally expensive nightmare (complete with hidden fees!).
The company uses this bogus «RUBS» system for utilities. The rub is that they will charge you above market rate no matter how little electricity or water you use. This is because they base the cost on the entire community’s usage – not on your own. This is great when the water pipes burst and the lights are on in the common areas ²⁴⁄₇.
The company often makes errors when charging you for rent and other costs – always on the end of overcharging you coincidentally.
The gym is disgusting and falling apart. The equipment is all old. ²⁄₃ Ellipticals are totally worn out.
The property management consists of the same group of people as the leasing office. Yet another delightful conflict of interest – and one that indicates where their focus is. They don’t care about residents, they care about putting on an enticing charade for prospective renters.
They conveniently change their management staff every year. Each time they change, the staff claims to have no idea of the building’s problems. After 4 years (6 property managers!) it’s clear this is just a way to avoid fixing anything.
Don’t be fooled by the few positive reviews. Equity is utterly concerned with their image, so it makes sense that their employees troll review sites. They use a variety of ploys to improve their horrible reputation. They’ve started holding a «competition» for residents to submit homeade videos on «what they love about their apartment.» They award the winner with $ 1500. How objective.
Live somewhere else.

Terrible customer service. They are out to mske money and do not care one bit about their residents. Cannot wait to move out

I have really enjoyed my time over the last year and a half or so at Vista. The apartments are beautiful, updated and spacious (and come with washer/​dryer in unit). The front desk folks are incredibly nice, along with the Building Manager. All of my maintenance issues were fixed within 24 hours. The major complaint is the drastic rent increase from year to year. They really attract new residents with a fair first year price and then increase the rent substantially (I haven’t experienced it as badly at previous places I’ve lived). They definitely target a lot of their programs to families which seems to be only a small portion of residents. I enjoyed the pool (gotta get a seat by 11 am) and the gym. Overall, I felt safe here and really enjoyed my time at Vista.

By the time I had moved during the summer of 2013, none of the major issues with this building were addressed.
As others have mentioned, there were numerous break-​ins of residential storage units in the garage. It took the management team quite a bit to notify residents of the safety issue; one resident took it upon himself to post notices around the complex. The management team promptly took them down. After 1 or 2 more break-​ins, the office finally sent out a notice.
While the management team did conduct a parking audit, forcing everyone to get new parking stickers, enforcement remained weak to non-​existent. I still saw many cars parked in the garage without the proper parking stickers. Several residents were over heard joking that they never bothered to pay for a space because there was no need. One car sat on the lower level for several months before someone finally posted a notice on it. Still, it remained for a few more weeks before being moved.
The windows in my unit were NEVER fixed, despite the below response from Jennifer.
People smoking in and around the complex was a continuing problem that management seemed to have no answer for. They sent out notices, but nothing ever happened. Pet management also continued to be an issue; management sent out several notices of pets being allowed to go to the bathroom in hallways and the garage.
The always troublesome key fob system continued to wreak havoc. I ended up getting locked in the main storage area cage in high temp/​high humidity weather for about an hour. Yes… really. Once alerted by another resident, the on-​duty staff (Lindsay) did as little as possible as slow as possible. She did not recognize an emergency situation, getting enraged at me when I asked her why it took so long for her to help. Her reply, «I had an important phone call» as I stood there dripping wet and out of breath. Management never offered anything more than simple apologies.
I truly hope things have improved since I moved out mid-​summer 2013. The area is a great place to live. Accessible restaurants, metro station, and highway.

My husband and I have been living in the Vista for almost two years, and we couldn’t be happier. The first person I met was Carol, the daytime concierge, and from the first day and everyday following, Carol has always greeted us with a smile and «Good morning». Carol is great with keeping us up-​to-​date with any information on fun events that are hosted in the building — happy hours, yappy hours (for dog owners), movie nights, etc. and updates on renovations in the building, ensuring that all the residents are kept informed. The management team also send out emails with important information about what is going on in the building. If we ever need something done in the apartment, I have always gone to Carol to set up a work order and the work is completed in a timely manner. Shelby, the weekend nighttime concierge, and Grover, the weekly nighttime concierge are also fantastic and very helpful.
The entire maintenance staff is wonderful. The building always looks immaculate and as already stated, work orders are completed in a timely manner. The staff are very accommodating in working with my schedule, since I have pets and like to be in the apartment when work is done.
The building is very pet friendly. Unfortunately, there are no fenced in dog parks, besides the park in Clarendon which I do not recommend. But, the surrounding area is really nice and safe to walk your dog.

I moved up from the SE US last spring and signed a lease at Vista without even seeing the place. Victor went out of his way to send me photos, room measurements and everything to help me prepare for move in. The day I arrived, I was greeted by the nicest smiling face, her name is Carol and she works the week day concierge. She’s the absolute greatest thing about this place. She goes out of her way to do everything she can to make you feel welcome. The staff has always been super friendly since day 1. I’ve not experienced any problems with the garage doors not working as some reviews mentioned, although we have had thefts from the garage/​storage areas that are access controlled.
PROS:
–Location is good, not the best in Arlington but it works
–Staff — top notch
–Water pressure — good, strong hot showers (super plus)
–Kitchens are pretty good with good cabinet space
–Lots of light
–Big garden tub
–Nice pool with grills*
–Wired for FIOS
–Patios
CONS:
–Big gap under doors means you hear and smell everything
–Very sensitive smoke detectors with literally 3 – 4 speakers in a one bedroom unit. They’re loud, they go off easily and they’re very obnoxious. You will hear them from any unit in the building. Guess it’s good you probably won’t die in a fire but just cooking in a hot wok will set it off.
–They go overboard with being «family friendly». I like kids and all but every thing they do is designed for families with kids. You’ll get multiple email during the summer about the pool. No alcohol, watch your language, remember the children, etc. Same with property events — they have a nice theater and have movie nights often — however these are also always kid friendly. I would guess that about 15% of the units have kids however you would think it’s managed by Walt Disney sometimes.
–Grills, only open when the pool is open making grilling obsolete after 7−8PM and outside of Memorial Day-​Labor Day.
–Elevators are s-​l-​o-​w
–TVs on gym equipment have inconsistent channels, some only 2 – 3 channels.
–Neighbors aren’t very friendly. Most won’t even say hi or glance at you, I guess this is a DC thing.
–Floor to ceiling windows are not very efficient in the winter, gets very cold.
–No HVAC vent in bathroom, also gets very cold.
–On site dry cleaning (To My Door cleaners) is just terrible. I have to re-​iron every shirt they send back to me
All in all, this is a good place to live and I enjoyed it for the most part. If you’re looking to be in the thick of everything though, this isn’t for you. If you’re looking to be close to everything, minutes from National and the Metro and need a very family friendly place, this is for you.

I just moved here 2 weeks ago and I love this place. It’s nice and quiet and the walls are pretty thick since I don’t hear my next door neighbors. Doug, their manager, showed me around the apartment, and I immediately fell in love with it! He was really nice and quick in processing everything since I wanted to move in right away. He pretty much got everything processed within less than 24 hrs and called me a few times to let me know how the process was going. Needed help with registering online to pay for the lease and he was very patient in showing me how. They have a 24 hour front desk staff, and Carol, I have to say is the best! She’s so friendly, helpful, and simply wonderful! I’m new to the place so she really took some time to explain the area and recommended a few restaurants.
I checked out a few other apartments and for the cost and size of this apartment, I got the best deal. Other apartments were way too small but cost way too much. I love the layout of the apartment. I fell in love with the kitchen and the walk in closet. The kitchen is very large and has so much space The appliances are very nice.
The apartment is along highway 50. At this moment, there is construction going on. My windows face the construction. It doesn’t bother me. They’re really not too noisy and I hear they should be finishing up around October or November. The metro is super close by, only about a 5 – 10 minute walk. The path going to the metro is uphill so be aware, but it’s honestly not that difficult. Love the location of the apartment. On Saturdays, they have the Courthouse Farmers Market and it’s a block away and also close to the AMC movie theatre and to tons of restaurants and CVS. I try to walk everywhere and Clarendon is only a quick 10 minute walk.
Parking is pretty expensive but that doesn’t surprise me. It’s a secured garage. You don’t get a reserved spot which sucks since I pay so much but there are plenty of spaces left open.
This apartment is super dog friendly. Almost everyone has a dog and they’re very well behaved. They keep a jar of treats at the front desk and I don’t really hear the dogs at all. Once I heard a dog whine, but that was it.
When you get a package, you get an email and they’re so quick in sending it out! All payments are made online. Haven’t had any maintenance request but those are done online too.
They have a nice, clean fitness room with very good equipment in an air-​conditioned room. I work out in the evenings and I’m the only one there.
I know I just moved in but everything is great so far. Will keep updating if any problems arise.

Worst experience with service I have ever had. I had to have mold removed twice from my apartment. My property was damaged. Maintenance left my door unlocked numerous times after service. Property management was the worst I ever experienced. No matter how nice you think this building is, don’t live here. They will rip you off. I wish I could give it a zero.

My husband and I moved to Vista from NW DC. We absolutely love it here. The front desk staff and leasing agents are fantastic. They are knowledgeable and helpful.
I’m surprised at previous comments about the noise level. We have not hear any of our neighbors nor have we heard any noise in the hall. Maybe our end of the building is just quiet!
This apartment building is great for dog lovers. Very pet friendly and lost of green space to take walks.
The neighborhood is amazing! Close to shopping, restaurants and metro!
We really love it here and would highly recommend Vista on Courthouse!

We have lived here for over a year. I have some good things to say about the building:
It withstood an earthquake (but apparently, so did just about everything else).
I haven’t had the front desk lose a package.
The front desk staff are really helpful and super competent.
Most of the people are friendly.
The apartment layout works well for us.
Closet space is nice.
Building is fairly new so you don’t have 20 layers of paint on everything.
The gym is decent.
Super Dog friendly.
Location is great.
Now, for the downside:
–They tried to raise our rent 20% for our second year. Our first year was not low rent, either. After some discussion, it was raised 14%. Rent here is based on fair market value of the square footage and bedroom number. So, drastic increases in rent are not uncommon (we’ve spoken to numerous people who’ve had their rent skyrocket and had to move, as well as, others whose rents have skyrocketed and ended up eating it.)
–You hear everything that happens in the hall. There is a good inch gap at the bottom of your front door. No idea why it’s there (I hope it’s for a good reason like a weird fire code or something), but you get to hear everything that happens in the hall.
–You get to hear your upstairs neighbor flush their toilet. Super fun.
–Their «secure parking» was a joke. The garage door, which never worked right, apparently, would remain stuck in the open position… for weeks at a time. In fact, we had people who weren’t tenants parking in our building. As a fix, they had people towed… or threatened them with towing. As far as I know, no one was offered or given a break on their monthly parking fee. They finally installed new doors. Maybe they’ll work. Time will tell.
–They told people that when they moved in, their maintenance people could hang ceiling fans, etc. They failed to mention to some of those people that they were short maintenance people and could not accommodate those requests until they were staffed again.
–The parking garage’s lower level smells of must and mildew. When it rains, there is a huge pool of water on the bottom floor of the garage. It reeks.
–They did away with their 24 hour staffing of the front desk. Three nights a week, there is no coverage. You have a choice: either put your name with apartment number into the buzzer box or come down at night to let people in. So, if your mom is flying in for a visit with her new grandbaby, and her plane will arrive late in the evening, you can either display your name and apartment number for the world so you can buzz her up, or wake up your sleeping baby and go down and answer the door. Yay. And, yes, this is a real scenario that I get to have fun with in a few weeks.
–The trash room’s floor was covered with maggots over the Labor Day weekend because the trash chute was overflowing. Over weekends, and in particular long weekends, the trash chute frequently overflows.
–Their corporate culture of «prospective clients are better than current clients» trumps customer service every time. When I went to express my dissatisfaction that one of the chief reasons we moved into the building (24 hour coverage of the front desk), I was asked, «Well, do you get many visitors?». Really? You didn’t even try to sell me on «we switched resources so that there is another leasing agent and this is how it improves your life.» I was also offered the regional manager’s email. He just said, «Sorry you’re unsatisfied».
I’ll probably be written off as «bitter’. I’m not. I’m highly disappointed. We really enjoyed our first few months here, then services declined. Our issues were met with a really bad attitude.
Between their rent increases, the seeming disinterest in keeping current clients, and their general smarmy attitude with regards to customer service, I would not rent from them again. If we could have logistically moved out, we would have. The perks of living here do not outweigh the attitude. :(

I’m surprised to be the first review. I feel obliged ’cause its so different from my last experience, at the Palatine.
This is a new building, which I think was supposed to be condos originally, so the walls are thick and finishes are good. The building is also really tech friendly… you get an email/​text when packages or messages come through for you, and maintainence requests are online and quickly answered.
My apartment layout suits me well, and is plenty of space. Plenty of parking, though I still think its BS that you have to pay in the first place (having lived in a lot of places besides DC, it seems like a BS way to squeeze you for extra cash). Free bike parking, which is a nice little bonus the more expensive building I lived in didn’t offer.
Only downsides are that it’s close to the highway and can be noisier than i’d like, though insulation makes up for it in part. Also, compared to most cities, its overpriced, but the neighborhood’s great.
Glad I made the move, fo-​shizzle!