Mount Vernon Square Apartment Homes — Local services in Hybla Valley

I have lived in Mount Vernon Square Apartments for 3 years. Over the years I have experienced a multitude of issues. The apartment itself isn't that bad. But the office staff and maintenance team move at a very lackadaisical pace in response to resident issues and have very poor communication standards between internal departments and their residents. If you would like to do anything else other than, be confined to your home waiting on maintenance or a contractor, I would highly advise you move elsewhere. (I have to be home because I have to be able to secure my service animal, he doesn't deserve to be kenneled every day on the off chance that maintenance might show up)

When I first moved in my apartment was infested with roaches, to the point they were crawling across my thigh while I was in bed. The solution was to send pest control over and over to put powder down behind my appliances and furniture. Needless to say, this did not work, I had to remedy the situation myself.

Maintenance Tickets are not tracked, whenever residents look at them, they just say that they are scheduled. Giving you no time to plan your life around maintenance (Most of the time an ununiformed contractor) to arrive at your apartment and halfway fix the issue. If you go to the leasing office, they usually have no clue about the status of your maintenance ticket and will just tell you it is scheduled. If you find your way down to the maintenance office where they have a maintenance secretary, they will insist they don't see residents and refuse to answer questions as it pertains to their department.

We had a water leak from the wall in our unit and maintenance explained that black mold was growing from it. (Which we could clearly see) When this issue was consistently brought up to the leasing office. The receptionist I was speaking to insisted that I was not looking at mold on my wall, despite having no insights about the situation. Eventually it was removed to soon come back with a water spot in the same place which was immediately reported and maintenance came back and explained that the water was there because the contractors didn't prime the wall. (Which made no sense) Come to find out they didn't insulate the utility closet which was causing the water to build up in the first place.

Lastly, my air conditioning unit has been down 2 times within the last month. Last reported on 8/30/25. Maintenance stated it was a broken compressor, and contractors would be dispatched to fix it. When I went into the leasing office to inquire about when they would be there. We were told that they were unsure and that if it is less than 80 degrees outside it is not considered an emergency. Since the ticket was put in there has been 5 days over 80 degrees (81,82,88,90,91) and when this was addressed with the leasing office, we were told that since the ticket was put in prior to the days exceeding 80 degrees that it is still not an emergency. On that same day Friday 9/5/25 we were finally offered 1 in window AC unit that only cools the kitchen.

All my things in storage were destroyed due to kids smoking and playing with fire extinguishers. The gym is only accessible during office hours 10a-6p while everyone is working. Frequently run out of pet waste bags at the waste station, so then no one picks it up and there is dog feces spread randomly.

These are just a few of the issues I have faced while living at Mount Vernon Square Apartments. I posted all this caution you before making this...

Started out okay. We were able to sign a lease and have a place ready when we moved across the country. When we first arrived, there was no one in the office to do a walk-through with us. We came back a week later but no one did a walk-through with us. We called several times within the first couple weeks to get someone to come fix some issues we noticed right away but eventually just gave up. When we got there, the place smelled like cigarette smoke and we couldn't get anyone to come help us deal with it. There were also holes in the walls and it was still unpainted. There were holes in the walls behind the cabinets in the kitchen. They didn't do proper calking in bathrooms and kitchen sink, under the sink the wood is warped from years of poor maintenance and water damage. The washing machine situation is a joke. There's one washer in the entire building and you have to go to the office to get a card to pay for it and to add money to the card. We ended up just using a laundromat because it was cheaper and easier. They asked us to clear out all the cupboards in the kitchen and vacate the property for two hours with all the kids and pets every 3 months to spray for bugs. We had an issue where the toilets backed up and flooded the apartment with sewage and we called the office and emergency maintenance line multiple times for like 10 hours before they sent anyone to check it out. When they did come, they chastised us for not walking over to the office to tell them we were having this issue, which I couldn't do because I had kids going to online school and I didn't feel safe leaving them alone to go to the office. To their credit, when they finally came to do something, they got it all cleaned up and replaced the padding under the carpet (but not the carpet itself) in a few days. That was the month we decided to look into buying a house just to get out of there. In response to the plumbing issues that were happening in the building and the other buildings nearby, they came up with a great "project" to "solve" the problem, they put plungers by everyone's door. The AC vent didn't have a filter, and none were ever put in while we were there. The neighbors smoked cigarettes and pot in their units and it always smelled in ours because of it. There was a big storm that knocked the gutter off the building next door and I called the office to report it. They left it hanging there for like 3 months before they fixed it. Never used the gym or pool, never used them. The pool is always packed. The parking got worse while we were there, they have tow trucks just constantly roaming and looking for cars to take. They even towed ours once even though it was properly marked with the parking sticker. There's cars in the lot taking up spaces that don't even move and the tow trucks leave them alone. Then they started offering "preferred parking" so people came and paid to take the closest spaces to the building, so everyone else parked farther and farther away. They're changing it now so that you have to pay them for Wi-Fi in the public spaces instead of your own Wi-Fi in the apartment, but the buildings are made of brick so Wi-Fi barely goes far enough for one unit so that's going to suck. The grounds are pretty nice, mostly, even if there are spots with big holes you can trip on and...

First let me start with the great things: Personnel: Adano Murray Jr is our Leasing Agent. He absolutely deserves 5 stars. From the very beginning he was available to answer questions and to clarify any confusion. He is a well of knowledge and extremely personable. He worked with our availability for move in, and he found us an apartment that matched what we were looking for. We still see him around the property, and he will stop and ask how we are doing and remembers personal, friendly details. The maintenance team is also fantastic. Any time there is an issue, they are prompt to respond and they are friendly and hard working.

Price: The price is comparatively lower than the surrounding area. It was hard to find another place that was a better price for the same amount of space and amenities.

Layout: I personally appreciate the layout.

Emergency services: They are quick to respond and they come in numbers.

Now for some negatives and the reason for 3 stars.

Construction: All of the walls and corners are askew. Most of the corners are not 90 degree angles and most of the walls are not really straight up and down. We can ignore the difference, but it does concern us about the quality of the build. The quality of other construction items such as caulking and painting, is also fairly inexperienced. There are gaps and overfills on the caulking, and there is paint dripped all over the hardwood floors.

Maintenance: There always seems to be something that we find needs repair due to wear and tear. It seems like the maintenance team is always here; from worn out door rollers, to flooding washing machine, to strange odors in the AC, to the door locks being loose. The place just kind of seems to be slowly falling apart.

Pests: We have had a cockroach problem since we moved in. The week that we moved in, our neighbors warned us that they were having an issue as well. We have had pest control come 3 times in the relatively short amount of time that we have lived here. To their credit, the size of the critters has decreased, but is now increasing again.

Emergency Services: They seem to be here quite frequently. Whether that's just an ambulance or firetruck, or the police coming because of the activities in the area. There have been some pretty anxious moments with police surrounding the area with helicopters overhead. Truthfully, that could happen anywhere, but it happens here more frequently than I would have expected. I'm just glad that the authorities DO deal with it, rather than leaving it to get out of hand.

Overall, the rating earns a 3 star review because, even though the price is competitive, it's not optimal living circumstances. We choose to live here to save up money, and we understand that that means making some sacrifices on some standards of living. But, I wouldn't want someone to be fooled into thinking that this is a 5 star establishment. That being said, the people give their best 5 star effort and are much...