425 Mass

We've been living here for three years and love it. The staff here are incredible — June and Johnson in the front office are great and help to manage things when they come up, and Caroline and Charles manage the front desk so well.

Maintenance:
There's an online portal for requests. One day, our fridge started to leak, and they brought by a brand-new fridge and installed it within an hour at no additional cost to us. We have also had a new washer/dryer installed and they brought it by the… same day. I can't rave enough about how great the maintenance team is here.

Maybe two times during the three years we've lived here, the AC went out for the whole building, which can always be frustrating. However, it was resolved within a few hours, and we got regular updates via email on the status. I have a health condition that is worsened by heat exposure, and when I let June in the front office know that our AC was out, she immediately sent someone from the maintenance team to check on our apartment and make sure that it got fixed ASAP. The staff here do a great job of showing you how much they care.

Restoring and refreshing amenities:
The team here cares a lot about making sure our rent money is not wasted. Since we've been here, the roof and pool area have been completely remodeled and redecorated to keep them looking fresh. The hallways have been freshly painted, and new carpet has been installed, and they now have a vacuum robot to keep things tidy. Our front door was even painted a new, brighter color, and we got new smart locks and thermostats in all the units.

Pets:
This is a pet-friendly building. I've never heard dogs barking, though — the insulation between apartments is good enough to muffle any noises.

Packages:
Package delivery at reception is prompt and helpful. The only issue is that, occasionally (due to shipping issues or delivery driver confusion) food deliveries do sometimes end up next door at 401 Mass, but that's on the drivers and not on the staff here. The front desk team manages packages well and sends an email/text when something arrives.

Overall impression:
It's not an inexpensive place to live, but we've felt like we definitely got our money's worth. The apartment feels safe and comfortable, and the community is great. If you move in, please be kind to the front desk team in particular — they put up with a lot, and they are spectacular! Read More

Wish I could post pictures--you would see what "luxury" means to Equity!

Equity Apartments and its property manager, June, failed to disclose that mold is a recurring issue in this complex. Look at the other reviews--I'm not the only one that talks about this.

After living there for just under three months and feeling sick all the time, I moved out after discovering my apartment was infested with mold! Equity did a shoddy remediation, and I had to leave. This cost me thousands of dollars,… wasted my time, and caused me a lot of stress. Now, they still do not want to reimburse me for my loss!

Consumers and tenants have rights. I am now letting the public know the dirty little secret they don't want you to know. There are better options in the area. Walk on by 425 Massachusetts!! Read More

The one thing I really like about this apartment is their maintenance team. They seem to be up to the job. Most of the service requests will be taken care in the next 6-48 hours. But don't be fooled by the less-expensive prices of the units here (for studio and 1,5BD2BA, 2,5BD2BA) compared to some buildings in the same neighborhood, because you will have to spend around $150 monthly for utilities (HVAC, sewer, trash, water, etc) that's on top of your electricity bill and amenities fees. The… apartment pays nothing for its own utilities, the tenants are paying for all of it. It is also not the safest apartment too regardless of the high-income requirement to be a tenant (you need to make twice of the monthly rent). There has been problems in the parking garage too that people are loosing their belongings from the car. Some people are loosing their shoes from in front of their units. If we can get out of lease early without penalty, we would. Read More

Lived there for 2 years. It was mostly fine. The leasing staff are not the worst I've had to deal with in DC, but also very far from the best. If they can make their job easier by making life hard for you, they will. Complete apathy and zero ability to move quickly on anything. Their most frequent excuse for not getting anything done is that they're out of the office (they don't work traditional M-F, 9-5, which is fine because then the office is open a lot), but it means that there's a… minimum week turnaround time on any request or issue you have. I've had multiple issues with them accusing me of being non-compliant with renter's insurance, etc. and despite me sending the documents 4 times, they still couldn't get organized enough to find it (I had to escalate this particular issue to Equity Residential corporate because of their lack of professionalism). Generally, the leasing office and front desk agents are pleasant, but mostly non-responsive or slow. The maintenance guys are the exception to this: quick and professional every time.

The location within the city was great; although the grocery store options nearby are sad, there are a lot of bars/restaurants and it's convenient to everywhere in the city. The units are fine; dark (almost no natural light) but otherwise spacious; not a great floor plan for roommates and noise carries between the rooms like crazy. The amenities are great; rooftop and gym always clean.

My general feeling of this apartment building is that the leasing office (or maybe it's Equity corporate) will stonewall you and slow everything down in the hopes that they can get you to give up/give in and pay more money. I didn't have a ton of issues while living here, but every interaction with building management left me frustrated. The rent is getting astronomical for this place, and it is almost the oldest and shabbiest building in the neighborhood with CONSTANT construction and road closures not due to end until at least the end of 2018.

If you're ok with a frat house vibe, price gouging, and slow, sometimes incompetent service, this place is fine. The location is unbeatable, and I generally enjoyed living there. My move-out experience has left much to be desired. If there's another option nearby that has better management staff, I'd probably rent elsewhere. Read More