Sage Modern Apartments

"Title: Disappointed with the Management and Facility Issues Review: I believe in providing transparent feedback for the benefit of potential tenants, especially when faced with a series of issues during my stay. Firstly, the apartment's infrastructure leaves much to be desired. Since moving in, I've struggled with a significant ventilation problem in the bathroom. After showers, the dampness doesn’t clear out effectively, causing an alarming level of humidity. This isn't just an inconvenience; my dehumidifier collects over 1.5 liters of water in a 24-hour period, and this excessive moisture has exacerbated my rheumatoid arthritis. Despite numerous reports over the last two months, there's been no resolution. Moreover, the 17th-floor garbage room is malfunctioning, leading to lingering trash, pests, and an unbearable stench. When I sought assistance for this, my interactions with the apartment manager, Erika Worden, added to the frustrations. While I endeavored to assist her in communicating with other Chinese tenants, any misunderstandings that arose were unfortunately misattributed to me. Honestly, I'm deeply disappointed with the management and the state of the facilities here. For those considering this apartment, I’d advise a thorough investigation and caution. As for me, I hope my experience brings about some needed change and awareness. Photo taken 8/31, actual repair date 9/7 after 2pm. Glad I took the photo. UPDATE: This apartment has had more and more problems over time, including delays in the maintenance team's repairs to the utilities. The garage of the condo has not been serviced for a month and we have paid the most expensive parking fee in the neighborhood (about $300) and have enjoyed a month of unsecured garage open to the public at all times. I don't understand how the maintenance of the apartment can be so slow. Also, due to the decline of the communal environment of the apartment, the apartment has made nighttime use of all communal facilities a restriction (which was a major consideration for me as a resident). The security of the apartment could be improved as well, with residents' packages often left unattended. The elevator in the apartment is also problematic and in many cases does not require a key to access the levels. Advertising cards can often be found in the building."

"I have been living here for over six months now. At first it was nice for a month when the building was half occupied, but it has gone downhill since then. There are a lot of noise issues with repeat offenders having parties until 3am on the weekends. In the bedroom, the noise echoes and bounces around so even if neighbors drop things, open the closet or move furniture around, I can hear most of them. I can let normal life noise go like cars, dogs, and storms, but due to talking and yelling my sleeping cycle has been messed up. The rooftop is always covered in trash like empty beer bottles and cigarettes which is a non-smoking building. Tenants leave food waste in open containers and large amounts of pet waste in the trash room over just throwing it down the trash chute. Especially pet ones smell horrible. You can smell cigarettes and marijuana in the halls and elevators as well. People slam their doors pretty consistently all through the night as well. I think they are students so they don't have to get up at 5 am to commute to work. There are a lot of packages just left all over the ground floor with some left right outside the door where any passerby can grab it. The elevators are always busy so add an extra 10-15 minutes to your commute as well especially during mornings and 4-6pm. As there are more than 2-4 people per room so all the amenities are taken up every day so you won't be able to use any of them and they are always left covered in trash left by tenants. There is no 24hour concierge so food and packages are just left anywhere delivery people can find. For sometimes days at a time. The rent is very high for a luxury apartment with our the niceties of other similarly priced apartments. The leasing team cannot do anything as I think the owner basically tied their hands with policies. I am just waiting for my lease to be over to move to another apartment in the area."

"The property is beautiful and the leasing team i have worked with Erika, Jewell, and Jailene are AMAZING! My drawbacks that i have experienced are with in the past month in a half have come since a high population of international students have moved in. They smoke a lot, they have large parties that overwhelm the roof top, they do not dispose of trash and recycling properly. I believe the cultural differences and age demographic are starting to make Sage inhabitable. Due to the students inconsiderate behavior on the roof top our amenities are no longer 24 hours which is unfair. Things were great until August and I'm afraid I will have to break my lease and find a new home if Sage does not get a grip on the behavior of the students. If the residents concerns fall on deaf ears I will update my review to 1 star."

"Sage is a beautiful building, but there are some serious downsides and I would not recommend living here. As noted by other reviewers, there are ventilation problems and no ability to turn on an exhaust fan in the bathrooms. I wonder if this will lead to “sick building” issues. In my case, the master bath and adjoining master closet are very humid. Towels will not dry in the bathroom, they remain soaking wet and I have to take them to a bedroom with direct sunlight to dry. I also run a humidifier in the closet because my clothes became extremely damp without it. In addition, I’ve had to DIY a solution to the GE refrigerator, which emits a high pitch noise for 30-40 minutes at a time about every 2 hours. Maintenance was so responsive, switched it out and had the GE tech come by, but evidently it’s normal for that model which is used throughout the building. The noise really bothers me (my friends and family also confirmed they heard it) so I’ve purchased an air purifier and three white noise machines to drown it out, as the sound bounces into every room in the apartment. I was told by the leasing team that this building was designed to be more of a budget building hence the lower quality appliances. I certainly do not feel that it is marketed or priced that way so there needs to be much greater transparency in that regard. As also noted by another reviewer, the building is technology based, meaning you use an app on your phone to access the front door, elevator and your apartment, and a different app to access the Amazon lockers and the package room. A fob is available for purchase but costs $100 per fob. I have not yet had major issues but having to have your phone out all the time is annoying. I will also note that during a recent five hour power outage in pentagon city, my phone nearly died (building has emergency generator power but does not power the units) and without the fob I would have been unable to leave/lock my door/regain entry. It also took over two hours for building management to send an email acknowledging the outage which is concerning from an emergency preparedness standpoint. Back to the technology, I would recommend offering the fob to residents at no additional charge. Wifi is part of the building and provided by Single Digits. It is ok, not as fast as something like Fios and I do experience some slowness which is an occasional challenge as I work from home most days, but it’s not a dealbreaker. There is no doorman in this building, the absence of which I notice in things like the package room and mailbox area (which can be strewn with packages in no apparent order) and tenant behavior in the lobby; like bringing large carts in the lobby and up the non freight elevator, then leaving them in front of the building. I’ve observed this even after the building sent a note saying that was prohibited. In addition, one of the outside doors to the lobby frequently does not close. This leaves a loud beeping sound that doesn’t stop and it allows anyone to enter the building. I do not feel secure in this building. I also concur with another reviewer’s comment on the state of the trash rooms. I have lived in three other high rises and never experienced this level of messiness and raw trash in the trash room. Finally, although my leasing process was smooth, I was dismayed at the end of my first month to be told I had an unexpected $500 charge. I was originally told I had not paid the pet deposit, but when I produced documentation that I had, it was explained that an error was made in calculating my move in costs. While the leasing office spent time explaining it, I could never get the math to add up quite right and am left with an uneasiness that I am somehow being overcharged and the rationale for the fee was a moving target. Understanding that mistakes happen, it is a lot to be hit with that type of expense out of the blue and I think it hints at unfair contracting practices."

"This is by far the best place I have stayed at in terms of convenience, proximity to a lot of stores essential to me, and looks. I have been here for almost a month and love everything about Sage. Also had a pleasure chatting with Jewel and Erica during the leasing process."