The Beacon at Waugh Chapel — Local services in Crofton

This review is long over due! My family moved into the Beacon April 2020, and at the time I thought it was a great decision because of the location an what looked to be a very nice complex. We loved the area and the ease of being able to walk to Target, Wegmans and the other clothing and eateries. We lived in the back of the complex, and it was an interesting year! The stairwells were often not cleaned, dogs in the building would do their business, and despite the owners not cleaning it up it would often take days to a week for the cleaners to clean it up. I often called the office to complain, and would be told that they would take care of it.

We lived on the 3rd floor below the neighbors from HELL! They were the most inconsiderate people that I have ever encountered in my entire life! Over the 365 days that we lived there we contacted the office to complain at least 300x, several days per week, to no avail! We had a meeting with Donna (the office manager) and was told that because of COVID that it was nothing that they could do other than to tell them to stop...which was pointless because that didn't work!

I am a retired disabled veteran and the fact that I had to be home every day and listen to the bumping, stomping and running on a daily basis was disgraceful! Most days and evenings I would have to turn the TV up to drown out the noise in the apartment above! To make matters worse we received mail for the former tenant and during our conversation he told me that he had endured the same level of noise during his time in that apartment! My question to myself was why would they put another family in that apartment to have to deal with this long term problem!

In addition to the excessive noise, they were the only family in the complex that was allowed to have containers, boxes and other junk on their balcony, while others like our family rented storage units inside the building!

There's more, a few months before we moved a couple moved in next door, and one or both were weed smokers! Yes, they smoked marijuana in the master bathroom and guess what...the smell would be overpoweringly strong in our bathroom and bedroom! Before they moved in my husband smelled marijuana smoke coming from the 4th floor stairwell several times and he even found some paraphernalia on the steps! For the amount of rent that we paid (and paid on time every single month) this experience was absolutely horrible!

Now on to the office staff! Elizabeth was very nice when we came to see the apartment and when we first moved in, but it wasn't long after that her attitude turned very sour! It always seemed like my husband or I was bothering her if we came to the office or called...disgraceful! Sierra was very nice all the time, I actually felt bad for her because it seemed like she was put out front to take the hits. Nevertheless her demeanor was always pleasant from day one! Donna the office manager seemed not to have much power, but she was generally pleasant.

In closing, today I received an email from Elizabeth with a ledger informing us that we would not be receiving our $650 security deposit back and in addition we owed an additional $229.32! When I inquired she said it was due to the carpet being damaged! First of all there is no way that as cheap as the carpet was that it cost over $800...and to top it off she made sure to inform me that if I didn't pay by the 15th that it would be sent to collections! The nerve after the hell of a year that we endured at the hands of poor management and horrible neighbors, and after paying rent (over $33,000) on time, I get threatened to be taken to collections for $229.32! Give me a break!! I read a review from a previous tenant that this same thing happened to them, and I should have taken heed! Would I recommend The Beacon at Waugh Chapel? No, renter beware...RENT AT...

So, my husband and I moved into the Beacon in February 2015. My husband was pleased with the space, and over all is sad to have to leave it behind us as we move overseas. He feels the management company is quite good at what they do. The location is what really makes the property so well remembered for him, and the maintenance staff was phenomenal - they never made us feel as if we were inconveniencing them when we called them for an issue. The price for the space was a little lopsided. We installed our own ceiling fans mostly due to the fact with the way the kitchen and windows were set up, if you didn't have the windows wide open and the fans on when you cooked there was a pretty high chance you would set off the fire alarms. Awesome that they are so sensitive, less awesome when you first move in and have no idea that will happen. The add-ons to the rent were actually fair, pet rent is an additional 50 dollars and when you've got two cats that evens out nicely, storage was 60 and for us indispensable as we've got a household and a half's worth of things (one of the joys of moving a lot overseas and back). We considered a garage, but that rent was just too high for a single space to put a car in. Our property management team changed twice I believe during our two years at the Beacon. I quite liked our first team and the last was - they were a bit awkward to speak to? I always felt a little judged, when I spoke to them one on one. For military E-4 and below - this will push your BAH, so maybe try a different property or get a roommate you really like. We can't speak to a split lease so that's something to research. It is also frustrating to get the management team to work with you on the 30 days notice for a PCS, they need your orders and this can get hairy when orders or late or come wrong and you don't have an extension on your RNLTD. A notification of assignment will not be accepted for the 30 days notice keep that in mind if this is your first time in Maryland for an assignment. It was frustrating for us specifically because we had trouble with the TMO shipment dates and ended up going beyond our intended move out - but did in fact inform the management team the moment the issue came to us.We were worried we'd have no time to clean, it was implied that it would be more convenient for them if we left the same day we were moved - and you need to make sure the apartment goes back to them as close as humanly possible to the way you got it. The list of charges for an uncleaned/damaged apartment were kind of intense. More intense to me than that of a military property. Blake did work with us to extend two days beyond our original move out date but it was just a tense and thankfully short period of time where it was schrodingers move out date. That particular interaction didn't sit well with my husband. To speak to the noise - we didn't have a problem? We often heard our upstairs neighbor's child and/or pet but other than that there wasn't any issue for us in that respect. On the weekends people got rowdy - it's a weekend, it happens. I've had more problems with noise in shared military housing than we did here. I can't really pinpoint what soured the property for me, I loved Willie and his maintenance team, the location was perfect for us - just something makes me really happy to leave it behind. And not in the traditional new adventure excitement way. All in all the Beacon was a good temporary home for us, but I don't think we'll be going back when we return from our...

Tenants and Future tenants BEWARE.

The Good: There are limited options for rentals in this area and The Beacon is great option given its location to shops, restaurants and commuting to Baltimore, Annapolis and DC area, and the apartments are of the best quality for the area. Leasing staff is nice. Maintenance is nice and typically quick to respond to any issue.

The Bad (Management): Prior to our move-in our apartment was extremely dirt even though Management had a cleaning crew clean the apartment before the start of our lease. We paid for our own cleaning crew to do a deeper clean and provided an invoice and pictures documenting that it was evident the apartment had soot damages in the kitchen area which caused some stains on countertops which are not that noticeable or effected us (kitchen and non-primary bathroom). Being easy-going people and not wanting to bother Management we did not disclose that we had a cleaning crew and that they discovered soot damages/stains. We paid our rent on time and were always friendly to the staff. We move-out of the Beacon due to unexpected life changes and we receive our full security and pet deposit back since there were no damages; however, we were charged 40% or $1,600 of the bill for Management to replace kitchen countertops (kitchen and non-primary bathroom). We had documented proof (timestamped emails, invoices and pictures) from the cleaning company we hired backing-up everything I have said; an unbiased 3rd party. Because we did not disclose the damages/stains the Beacon was unwavering in their pursuit to receive 40% of the bill or else they'd pursue collections. Even though the Beacon may be legally or technically correct with their ability to pursue a portion of the "damages" they acted unethically and were unwilling to compromise. We have paid the full balance of our move-out statement but this shows Management's true colors to take any chance to collect a buck.

Let this be a cautionary tale, disclose EVERY possible detail in your move-in inspection even if it seems unimportant. We got burned and don't want this to happen to...