AVA U District

I thought it’d get better. I should have not signed the contract last year.
The neighbors are just getting worse and worse.
I feel like I’m living in China now.
Every night I could hear those chinese speaking super loud especially the ones right next to my apartment.
I don’t know if the walls are too thin or my ears are too good.
Also whoever is living on the 6^th floor (the one right on top of my apt) is CRAZY.
She’s like having an elephant parade everyday.
The way she walks… no comment.
My family or friends came to my apt also mentioned about this lady.
I wrote a note for her and left it in front of her apartment, but apparently it doesn’t work!
She sometimes wears heels and just walks around the apartment. (thats how I figured its a lady) and we have HARDWOOD FLOORS!
I know the company needs to make money and isn’t supposed to pick their clients…
BUT DOES AVA EVER TELL THEIR FUTURE RESIDENTS WHAT THE RULES ARE?
I’m writing this review at 4am because the couple living right next to my apartment woke me up. (now please think about if you have work/​school tomorrow morning… how’d you feel?)
I pay 2100 every month for this kind of experience. No thank you.
Definitely leaving this place in 2 months.
Don’t live here if you like quiet and clean environment and friendly neighbors.
(actually anywhere near UW is probably a bad idea if you aren’t a UW student)
Feel bad for the managers and maintenance crew. Thats what you guys gotta deal with everyday. People being disrespectful and destroy a lot of things (garage door and garbage room).

I’ve lived here for almost a year and a half and love this place. Staff is great and helpful, living spaces are great, gym is bigger than most apartment gyms and the views aren’t bad either.

DONT LIVE IN AVA! If you are thinking about live here, BIG NO! The AVA Apartment garage gate is not fixed until this morning. My car was broken by some random guy yesterday because the secure gate was widely open for almost 1 week. The damage will cost me $ 500 dollars on repair the drivers window. Manager, never send out any notice that the gate is not working so anyone can get access to the whole building. When I sign the contract, they told me this is a secure garage which managed by parking service. Where is the parking guy when my car was broken? DONT LIVE IN AVA unless you are ready to see the damages on your car. The office always tells us «you are on your own risk» if your car get damaged, even you pay $ 125 for parking. As far as I know, 5 of my friends’cars been damaged recently. Office do not take any responsibility even it is their fault!!! I will keep posted here with their response and the way they deal with this.

Apartments are quite nice, though quite expensive… most likely some of the nicest and most expensive in the U District. Market pricing has driven rents up as much as 50% year-​on-​year, and AVA hasn’t hesitated to take full advantage of it. The complex is filled predominantly with young (international) students, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise, given its location. The staff has always been friendly and fair, but big-​business oriented. Service/​maintenance requests are handled timely and professionally. They also do a mighty fine job keeping the place clean and tidy, which, given the clientele, is not an easy job.
My one warning is to not live anywhere even remotely close to the gym (north side of the east building). Folks routinely drop weights and bang the machines, even late at night (the student population seems to enjoy lifting late at night). The sound reverberates as far up as the 5^th floor, and I know of people in the south building that can hear it as well. Staff has posted small signs in the gym in response to complaints, but those signs haven’t helped. While all other common areas close at midnight (apparently due to the difficulty of cleaning them following late-​night parties or whatever), the gym remains open 24/​7, and I am routinely woken up by the loud thuds/​bangs of someone throwing a couple of 40lb hand weights to the ground… or the repetitive clang of someone using a weight machine (incorrectly).
It speaks to the larger issue of the general consideration most of the residents have for other residents: very little. People routinely smoke by the front door and in the central courtyard, flicking their cigarette butts right on the ground… right next to this almost brand-​spanking new complex. Many won’t hold a door or an elevator. Some let their pets urinate and poo in the hallway. They themselves puke and don’t bother to clean it up. Very little respect for themselves or their neighbors. Meh, youth is wasted on the young.
Sound-​wise, the apartments seem very well insulated side-​to-​side, but I can hear people stomp around upstairs. Aside from the noise from the gym, I don’t have much if anything to complain about re: noise from residents. The company made a bad decision (in my opinion) by painting all the walls with cheap, non-​latex paint (except for the bits in the kitchen and bathroom). You can’t rub against a wall without leaving a mark, and while a Mr. Clean magic eraser can help, it isn’t nearly as good as with latex paint. As with almost any place, summer heat can be an issue. Hallways on the lower floors were regularly 80 – 85 degrees… upper 80s/​low 90s on the top floors. (Handy thermometers in the hallways let you know just how miserable it is!) Unless you’re in a corner unit, air circulation will be a problem… and god forbid you’re in one of the west-​facing units with only one window.
All other aspects of the units and the complex in general are pretty slick. But I think if you’re a savvy shopper, you can probably find comparable apartments for quite a bit less. This complex knows its market: foreign students with well-​off parents (just take a walk through the parking garage…), and it prices its units as high as it can with the confidence they’ll pay. And they do.
Update 1÷20÷15: I’m about at my wit’s end… popping sleeping pills every night for the past three weeks due to incessant noise from the gym. The bangs have been getting progressively louder and extending later into the night (1am last night). If you choose to live here and want to have anything close to a normal adult’s sleeping pattern, do not live anywhere near the gym. They simply do not regulate its use.

Party apartments alert!
Everyday from 6pm to 12am, the disco sounds from certain apartment in the west building will make you feel like living near a club. If you are not a student, be prepared.

First, everyone is rude. The guy in the front and the manager in the back. Horrible customer service. Second, the girl who showed me around told me that if I was a student that I had to pay an additional deposit no matter what because I was a student. Pretty sure that’s illegal. If I add a consigner and qualify I shouldn’t have to pay a «student» deposit.
Ya they have nice amenities, but the rent is ridiculous and the people are horrible.