Kanso Silver Spring

Let me start off by saying that I have never written any kind of review before. However, I feel the need to inform people about Portico's corrupt practices. Portico has the WORST customer service I have ever experienced.

In July, I signed a lease on an apartment and TWO days after signing, I found out that I was accepted to law school out of state. I informed the rental agent that very day and then the nightmare ensued. I hadn't moved into the apartment or even picked up my key but the company… tried to hold me and my family liable for three months' rent.

Portico had a legal duty to mitigate any damages by putting in a good faith effort to rent out the apartment. They NEVER put the listing back on their website. Despite numerous efforts to tell them that they were violating their legal duty, the management company did nothing.

Throughout the whole process, my family and I would try to talk to them and they would ignore our calls and emails for weeks at a time. When we were able to get someone on the phone, they were completely nasty.

There was also a provision in their own contract that should have only had me pay the actual damages or one month's rent for the cancellation but every time I pointed it out to them they pretended like they couldn't see what provision I was referring to. They refused to honor their OWN contract.

After about a month we finally ended up paying a little over one month's rent (which is what we offered to pay in the first place) but the entire process was unprofessional, degrading, and beyond irritating. It seems as though these kinds of unlawful practices have happened to others as well but it would cost more money in legal fees than its worth to fight it... and Portico clearly knows that and uses it to take advantage of people.

If this is how they treat someone who hadn't even moved in yet, I can't imagine having to deal with them as landlords. If you have any sense of self-respect, DO NOT MOVE IN HERE. Read More

I've looked at most all of the apartments in the area & Portico remains the best value because of:

*Competitive pricing,
*Large Unit Size,
*Great apartment layout,
*Convenient location close to downtown Silver Spring, grocery stores, theaters, restaurants, Metro, MARC & Buses,
*Great Amenities without an amenity fee,
*Ease of Leasing & Utility Set Up, They have a portal that makes leasing & utility set up quick & easy.
*Professional & Competent Management. NOTE: They actually send you an… email answering your question instead of sending a canned email message telling you to come to the office.
*Fast & dependable maintenance crew
*Free Bike Storage in garage

The apartments & the common areas (lobby, business center, resident lounge, patio, garden, gym, halls, elevators, mail room, trash rooms) are renovated, clean, well maintained & attractive. Every unit has modern, matching appliances (Dishwasher, Refrigerator, Microwave, Washer & Dryer).

The units are larger than most; for example most studios in the area are 450-475 sq ft. The Portico studio I rented was 560 sq ft & about $300 cheaper than other studios in the area. I have signed a new lease for a 1 bdrm 1 bath with den that costs less that some studios in the area, has a better layout with more square footage & an excellent view.

The gym area is attractive, the equipment is in good working order & there are nice amenities like drinking water, TV on the exercise equipment & stuff to clean the equipment.

The Resident lounge has a full kitchen with industrial ice maker so you can throw a substantial party there. There is a pool table, a shuffleboard, a large HDTV with lots of TV channels & strong WiFi.

The patio area, while small, has two industrial sized grills & lots of patio tables available.

There is a small business area which I have had problems logging into previously, but once you get the login difficulties squared away, it is great. You need to bring your own paper as some residents use up all the paper. You can get free tea & coffee in the business area.

The lobby area is attractive & quite comfortable for receiving guests.

A few negatives:
1) Parking is expensive
2) Heating units are a bit noisy
3) It might be nice to set up a sheltered smoking area in the back patio

The first time I came to Portico, I did all my lease arrangements while living in Iraq. This time I lived locally. No problems either time! They are the best! Read More

I have lived at this location for a little over two years now and have loved every minute of it. It has been the best living experience out of any apartment building I have lived in since college. To list out some of my top reasons for loving this place:

1. The management is awesome. They are so attentive and kind. They do what they can to keep their residents happy and the building in order. The staff also puts on a lot of community events and will even provide limited time deals with local… venues like LA Fitness.

2. The maintenance staff is quick and responsive. I have one particular example where it was very beginning of summer and my AC broke. Within 30 minutes of me submitting my maintenance request one of the staff reached out to me to help resolve the issue.

3. The building is quiet and my neighbors are friendly.

4. Mixed demographic in the building. There are a lot of young families and young singles in their 20's and 30's.

5. The building is super close to the metro and to the downtown area. I would say about a 3-minute walk to the metro and 5-minute walk downtown.

6. Speaking of the downtown area... it is so nice! There is always something going on or a new restaurant being built. On weekends, there is a farmers market, which features locally grown produce, local bakeries, and wine tastings from Maryland based wineries.

Downsides:

-The rent is a little high but so is everywhere else. When you compare the rental price to DC, it is almost the same except for the fact that you get a lot more space.

All in all it's a great place to live if looking to live in the downtown SS area. Read More

Portico bills itself as "luxury" apartments, and the almost are. The apartments are very nice. And for the price and the area, you really can't find a much better deal. The location is amazing of course, though to be honest the amenities are a bit lackluster. There's no pool, two mediocre computers downstairs with a printer that sometimes works, and a decent sized gym. The office staff can range from helpful to unhelpful to downright incompetent, but it's never been a huge issue.

Overall, I… would recommend living here if you're looking for a place for 2-3 years or so, but I can't imagine being here long term. Read More