Avalon 555 President — Local services in Baltimore

I was truly excited about moving into unit 401 it was beautiful and in a perfect location for my partner and I. But what followed was one of the most disappointing and chaotic leasing experiences I’ve ever had, and it ultimately led me to walk away from the apartment on move-in day.

1st Walkthrough (Oct 2, 2025): Dirty & Damaged Our leasing agent, Shanerria Pittman, assured us before our first walkthrough that the apartment had been cleaned and was move-in ready. It was not.

We found: blood on a bathroom light fixture/wall, rust on mirror fixtures, trash on counters, used pad wrappers in drawers, shower discoloration, dirty cabinets and mirrors, a broken kitchen drawer, scratches and dents on the refrigerator, scuffs on walls throughout, broken blind chain tensioners, a foul odor from the washing machine, scratches and paint splatters across hardwood floors, a warped oven drawer, and a dirty, scuffed microwave.

We documented everything and submitted photos. Shanerria said it would all be cleaned and repaired before the second walkthrough.

Second Walkthrough (Oct 3, 2025): More Problems, Little Progress Again we were told the apartment was clean. Instead, we walked in to find Shanerria herself hand-cleaning the unit. She admitted only the specific items we had listed were partially addressed and said if we wanted everything fixed before our move-in (Oct 4), we’d need to consider delaying.

When I asked about concessions for the inconvenience, Shanerria scoffed: “You haven’t paid for anything yet.” This was false — I had already paid the security deposit.

We also discovered new issues: water-damaged baseboards, damaged doors, misaligned kitchen cabinets, dirty/damaged kitchen drawers and dishwasher, scuffed living room column, dust on light fixtures, paint splattered on floors and cabinets, scratched microwave panel, dust/grime behind the washer/dryer, and more scuffed drywall and dirty baseboards.

During this visit a maintenance worker, Joseph, came in to “fix” the broken kitchen drawer; we saw him working as we left.

Move-In Day (Oct 4, 2025): Nothing Was Fixed On move-in day, we spoke with property manager Lance Kerr, who assured us everything had been cleaned and repaired “to our satisfaction.” This directly contradicted what Shanerria told us the day before.

We gave Avalon the benefit of the doubt and did a third walkthrough. The apartment was in the same state as before: nothing new had been cleaned, none of the new issues addressed, and the “repaired” drawer was still broken.

When we reported this to Lance, his only response was a dismissive “mmm.” He suggested we just sign the lease and fill out a move-in checklist so we wouldn’t be liable later. When I asked again about additional concessions, he refused, citing the Fair Housing Act — an inaccurate use of the law. My request was about poor service, not discrimination.

General Staff & Communication Issues Beyond the unit, communication with staff was awful: The support line redirects to the website even for nuanced questions. The leasing office rarely answers calls and offers no callback. You must keep calling until someone picks up — often no one does.

Even after all this, I still tried to work with Avalon. Lance told me he’d be there until 5:30 PM if I decided to pick up the keys. Later that day, I called twice with a simple question about whether delaying the move-in would affect the rent price we’d locked in. No answer. No callback.

The unit may look great in photos, but Avalon completely failed to deliver a basic, move-in ready experience. The apartment was dirty, damaged, and poorly maintained. The staff was unresponsive, disorganized, and at times dismissive and disrespectful.

For nearly $4k a month, I expected professional service, clear communication, and a smooth onboarding process — not three walkthroughs, two failed cleaning attempts, and legal misdirection.

If this is how they treat prospective tenants, I can’t imagine how they treat long-term residents. I would not recommend Avalon 555...

I’m a professional Consultant who moved into Unit 1520 (1BR/1BA 600 sq ft) at 555 President Street. To preface this review, please note the statistics below:

Move in: 11/19/2022 Move out: 12/18/2024 1st Lease Rent: $2061 (+ $150 parking) 2nd Lease Rent: $1985 (+ $155 parking) Lease Renewal Offer: $2320 (17% increase) Total Rent Paid: $28,743 + $25,680 = $54,423 Total Utilities Paid: $4727.22 (unit came with no lights installed in the living room or bedroom)

Living at Avalon 555 was great, until it wasn’t..

We decided to move here after touring apartments in the area with the amenities and physical appearance of the property being our primary determining factor. The unit itself was small for two people, however, my partner and I decided to make it work since we didn’t plan on being in the area long. I was immediately approved for the unit but my partner didn’t get approved as a co-tenant (weird) so she was never able to be added to the lease. This left us with ONE key across 25 months of living at 555 which was extremely annoying because you need a key to get around the property. Given the latter, it didn’t take much time for us to outgrow both the unit and the apartment’s amenities.

For starters, in the 600 square foot unit we had no lights in the livingroom/bedroom areas and shared 1 closet. For the most part, the concierges were cool but one of them tried to steal our business inventory packages and the lady with the blonde hair and glasses is extremely rude (I wish she had the same energy when my mom was in town). Anytime we left or returned home, we had to utilize the parking garage which has a flawed architectural design — the garage is super tight to the point where if you are exiting and another car entering, one of you will have to reverse to make way for the other to avoid an accident. In addition to the screwed up architecture, there were many times throughout the lease where either one or both garage doors were inoperable. As a resident, it was very frustrating paying upwards of $2500 monthly between rent/utilities and having to worry about the safety of my vehicle in a city where car thefts are rampant. Moving on from the garage, the amenities on the 24th floor were always occupied by residents and nonresidents alike — One day, I saw someone from my job on the roof doing a photoshoot. She never resided at 555 or knew of anyone who did but told me she always snuck to the 24th floor to get pictures with her friends. I thought this was extremely weird and a huge safety risk. In addition, during the summer, the pool remained overpopulated to the point where there was only room to stand in place (not swim). These are issues that I decided to deal with, however, some issues I couldn’t deal with which ultimately resulted in our move.

Our utility bills became increasingly high and no one across Avalon, BGE, or Conservice seemed to care. Conservice is the third party utility management/billing provider at 555 and residents receive all utility bills from them. For the 684 square foot apartment, utility bills ranged from a low of $136.02 to a high of $366.65. The unit came equipped with no lighting in the living room, no lighting in the bedroom, and as environmentalist we were very intentional about our utility usage. Given the latter, we requested an investigation into the matter on multiple occasions with none being successful. In fact, the most insightful feedback that we received from anyone was 1 month before lease end and they said ‘it is strange, your utility bills are significantly higher than your neighbors but I don’t know why’.

It’s also worth noting, the 50 paged document that we received in the mail from a resident detailing the mold in existence throughout 555 in the HVAC systems. The document was very disturbing.

There’s so much more I can say in this review but I’m exhausted by the 555 team and my experiences. My move-out experience was clinical as if I didn’t spend upwards of $54,423 during our 25 months residing at...

A Candid Review of Avalon 555 President Street

I’ve lived at Avalon 555 President Street for about two and a half years, and while it’s a visually stunning property, let me be clear—this building is a mixed bag of luxury aesthetics and frustrating realities.

Let’s start with the front desk staff—they’re incredibly friendly and welcoming, but don’t expect your DoorDash to reach your door. Despite the elevators restricting access to only your designated floor, the complex insists that deliveries be left downstairs due to “safety concerns.” The result? Stolen food. Repeatedly. And management? They do nothing. Even when I was on crutches from an injury, no exception was made. So if you’re hungry, injured, or just hoping for a simple convenience—you’re out of luck.

The garage situation is another nightmare. It’s broken more often than it works, and while they’ve hired a security guard to monitor the garage, there’s no security within the actual building. Visitor parking? Forget about it. The leasing office staff takes up most of it, leaving residents to force their guests into expensive lots next door or onto the street.

Now, let’s talk about safety. The building is relatively safe, but let’s not ignore reality—there have been multiple resident robberies in the garage, raids within the building, and on more than one occasion, a resident was shot at right outside. You’ll also find a few well-known drug dealers living here, which only adds to the unsettling environment.

Noise levels? The apartments have great soundproofing between units on the same floor, but if your upstairs neighbor has a heavy foot, be prepared—it’ll sound like a herd of elephants above you.

Management? Selectively friendly. If they like you, great. If not, good luck. They gossip about residents, discuss inquiries among themselves, and sometimes their responses make you seriously question whether they understand or care about fair housing laws. There was even an incident where a resident physically assaulted a member of the management team, which only adds to the list of concerns about the kind of people living in this building.

Now, let’s get to the rooftop. It’s beautiful in the summer—but heaven forbid you bring guests. If they don’t look a certain way, they’ll be questioned and asked to prove residency or simply told to leave. Meanwhile, the pool pass rule isn’t enforced, so it makes you wonder why they bother hassling certain people while ignoring others. There’s also a need for a bathing suit dress code, because some of the women here are dressed like they just walked off the stage at Penthouse or Norma Jeans—minus the heels and dollar bills.

The elevators? Be prepared to wait. They’re painfully slow, and only two usually work at any given time. And while this is supposed to be a no-smoking building, the hallways constantly reek of marijuana, hookah, and other questionable substances.

Oh, and if you were hoping to enjoy the rooftop fireplace—it hasn’t worked in two years. The outdoor TVs? Can’t change the channel or adjust the volume. The TV in the lounge by the pool table? Completely broken.

Now, to be fair—cleanliness is where Avalon excels. The building is spotless. The common areas are meticulously maintained, and you can always expect your floor to be in pristine condition.

However, amenity spaces are constantly monopolized. The gym? Good luck finding equipment that isn’t being hogged. The private dining/office space? Certain residents treat it as their personal headquarters. If you’re hoping to work outside your apartment, just head to the second floor near the leasing office—because that’s your only option.

At the end of the day, Avalon 555 looks like luxury, but you’re still in Baltimore—and you will experience everything that comes with Baltimore, the good and the bad.

My lease is up in May, and I’m headed to Liberty or 414, where luxury actually matches what...