Paramount

We received a coupon from CA tortillas and we decided to take a walk at the paramount apartment after our lunch at CA tortillas. A great informative session with Berry and We received a great tour and it is a great established apartment campus. A lot of activities and amenities for the residents. I would like to move in after the tour.

I work on site full time and am very happy with the property location and up keep. Management is courteous and responsive to issues. The park area with the interactive fountain offers a very unique experience for those around the park area.

Beautiful property with great amenities in a prime location. Also, The new property managers that have taken over have completely turned this place around. I’ve been living here for over a year and this new team has done more in the last couple months than the old team ever did. Don’t hesitate to check this place out.

Complete and utter disaster– I have never written an apartment rating before, but I can’t sit on the information that I have and allow this to happen to someone else. Please, PLEASE look elsewhere. The «luxury» apartment community that Paramount is attempting to portray is a complete façade. I have horror stories for days, but I’ll give you the cut-​and-​dry:
— Complete lack of communication between management and leasing (2AM fire alarms sounding, fire trucks arriving, evacuating residents for an hour during last year’s winter storm, AND NO MEMO OR EMAIL SENT BY PARAMOUNT STAFF EXPLAINING THE SITUATION – this happened on 3 separate occasions.)
— Filthy common areas; animal feces in the hallways and elevators; diapers and random trash left in the entry and hallways; stained common area carpets/​walls
— Paper-​thin walls through which domestic disturbances can be heard on a weekly basis (I actually put Moco’s direct line to non-​emergency police as a contact in my phone after several violent occasions next door.)
— Incompetent leasing staff, whose attitude ranges from completely aloof to rude and dismissive; (In mid-​December, when my apartment was 97 degrees with heat turned off, a leasing agent claimed that the recent warmer temperatures had warmed the concrete building, and thus turned my apartment into a sauna – he also claimed that, since he is working on his engineering degree, he understands how heat conduction works – good luck that degree, bro…)
— When issues were not resolved, even after police involvement, I asked to speak with someone higher up than the property manager. The PM gave me his wife’s personal cellphone number, as she is supposedly the «director of operations.» She was outraged that I’d called her personal line and told me that she could not address my situation because it was her «day off.»
— After all of the headaches, my attorney advised me to simply pay the $ 3000 fee and get the hell out of there

Ever heard of the expression «Everything that looks good to you isn’t necessarily good for you.» That’s exactly how I feel about the Paramount because the outside looks very appealing, but the insides are terrible and will have you regretting that you signed that lease.
I moved to Paramount back in October 2014 after conducting a search of the highly rated apartment properties in the area. Jim, the Assistant Property Manager at that time, had assisted me with my entire move-​in. Jim was excellent with helping the residents and ensuring the residents had everything they needed. He kept everything together at the property and for some strange reason, the leasing office had sadly notified us that Jim was transferred to a Kettler property out in Virginia. This was a crushing blow to the property because he performed a lot of the grunt work that continued to solidify the resident’s living experience. When he left, the quality work down hill quickly.
1.) I continued to have parking issues where other vehicles would parked in my assigned space located in the gated parking garage. It was getting very aggravating when you arrive home late from work, just to find an unknown vehicle parked in the spot I pay monthly for. You’re then forced to find parking on the street, where I later learned from another resident that there was a rash of vehicle break-​ins on the street. Whenever I contacted the leasing office about the situation, they wouldn’t take any actions on the individual parking in my space. At least when Jim worked there, he would place tow stickers on the vehicles parked in my space. With the new property management, their attitude was pretty much like what do you want me to do about it?! I asked the leasing office on several occasions to the tow truck company that is contracted with the property so that I could have any vehicles parked in my spot towed and they wouldn’t release the number to me. I noticed that several of the residents who had reserved spaces in the garage would post ‘RESERVE PARKING’ signs in front of their space as a warning to other residents to not park there. When I noticed this trend, I quickly knew the issue with parking was getting out of control.
2.) I recently discovered that Studebaker, the submetering company that Paramount is contracted with to bill it’s residents for water use was overcharging my unit. My water bills was anywhere between $ 50 – 70 dollars a month. I knew the amount was too high because I had just recently moved from an apartment complex in Germantown and my water bill was anywhere between $ 12 – 20 dollars. When I brought this issue up to the leasing office, their response was that they had nothing to do with the billing, that it was all on Studebaker. I took that information spoke with someone at Studebaker. I told them that I felt as though I was paying way too much for water usage. Studebaker requested to have the water meter in my unit be replaced. I had to wait nearly 3 months for a brand new water meter to arrive. After the water meter was replaced, I continued to receive high water bills for a few more months. I asked Studebaker to send me a record of my water usage and provided me with water readings for the past 3 months. I researched some information on the WSSC website (Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission provides water for the area) and found out that based on the average usage of water I was consuming, I should have been only paying about $ 15 – 20 dollars each month for water. I provided Studebaker with all of my fact findings and they were forced to issue me a credit for all of the months that I was being overcharged. I partially blame Paramount for this because they are contracted with these thieves. Paramount provided me with absolutely no assistance on this matter. Since Paramount didn’t assist me with my own investigation and since they’re still contracted with them after having factual evidence wrongdoing, that leads me to believe that they were in on it.
3.) The back stairwells smell like ammonia, like people’s pets have been urinating back there. I won’t say that someone allowed their dog to poop in the back stairwell because the dog might not have been able to hold their bowel movement, but I will say that the dog owner never came back to get the dog poop up. Whoever the triffling nasty resident was, they left the dog poop right in the stairwell where it was very unpleasant.
Honestly, I won’t be renewing my lease. I refuse to pay all of this money and the leasing office neglects to stay ontop of the issues occuring at the property. I’m paying close to $ 2,000 a month. I expect this place to have superior customer service and high quality furnishings. Maybe Kettler can bring back Jim and make everything better.

Been living here for almost a year, and my experience has been almost uniformly positive. I’m surprised to see so many reviews complaining about the staff, because I have had nothing but good interactions with them. There has been a lot of turnover in the office, but that’s been the norm in my experience when it comes to apartments. Everyone has been helpful and courteous, and they humor my dog when she comes to visit, which she likes to do several times a week. I haven’t always gotten a prompt notification about a delivery, but I’ve seen how many packages they deal with on a daily basis, so I cut them some slack. If I’m really concerned about getting something right away, then I track the package through the shipper. Not a big deal.
I find the rents to be very reasonable, and not much higher than some of the more basic complexes in the area. I live on the top floor of my building, and there *have* been some issues with cracks in the walls appearing as the building settles. I consider that normal for new construction, though, and I’ve never had an issue with maintenance coming to repair the cracks in a timely fashion.
Here is a list of the things that I most like about living here:
— Controlled access at building entrances and garages
— Assigned parking spaces
— Cleaning service takes care of the common areas on a daily basis
— Amenities (pool, club room, movie theater, tv room, etc.)
— Very pet friendly (lots of dogs)
— Finishes (granite countertops in kitchen and bathroom, good tile on bathroom floor and shower)
— Energy efficient (never had an electric bill above $ 70)
— Elevators in both buildings (one of my dogs is 14 and can’t go up and down stairs easily)
This isn’t to say that the place is perfect, but any complaints that I have actually relate more to some of the other residents. Noise can be an issue at times. My apartment is above the main entrances of both buildings, and it’s not uncommon for people who going out to linger in front of the doors and have loud conversations late at night. There’s been a problem with people not picking up after their dogs, but management has been working on combating that and it seems to have helped. Some people aren’t very considerate when it comes to the common areas, either by making a lot of noise or by not cleaning up after themselves. Nothing too serious, but it can get old after a while. Still, you have to expect some of these things when you live in an apartment.
I’ll be renewing my lease when it expires in a couple of months. I recommend the place, and I suggest that people check it out if they are looking for digs in the Gaithersburg /​Germantown area.
Oh…I’d be remiss if I didn’t warn everyone that there is a Bruester’s ice cream shop directly across 355 from the apartments. That could be a real problem if you have a sweet tooth and very little willpower. Trust me… I speak from experience.

I have two friends who are currently living at the Paramount and I am there almost every day. I think the staff could do a better job at being interactive with not only visitors but residents as well. That is probably the only complaint I have about the paramount. I think its a great environment otherwise. It is always kept clean and very quiet once the leasing office closes. I noticed that some people are complaining about the noise but I have not experienced any of that after spending the night there several times or just hanging out during the day. Its very exciting that residents now have all these shops that are opening downstairs. Barking Mad will just top it off. Keep up the good work !!!

I am the resident of this apartment. I would not recommend this apt complex to anyone.
The sound insulation is really HORRIBLE. I can hear the noise everywhere. I can hear the footstep of the person who living upstairs walking day and night. I can even hear my neighbor snores every night and make me sleepless…

I don’t think there’s much more keeping me here except a 3 months rent lease breaking fee.
Since I’m waiting outside for the fire truck to leave on the middle of the night so I can return home I’ll buttet point my grievances…
1) very little communication between staff and residents. We’ll sometimes get a note in the for bit most of the time things are posted on the elevator and mail room.
2) severe disorganization in the office. Above is an example. Our parking was assigned yet we need to tell them? When I moved in, I was assigned a spot that they thought was open… Incorrectly. When I went to go to work the next day my car was blocked in and I was late on my second day. When I went to move spots recently when I bought a new car, Scott hasn’t a clue where to put me into I suggested what I thought was an open spot. He simply told me it would be OK. I didn’t see him write it down or open the map so I’m sure there’s no documentation. This isn’t the only time. There have now been THREE times I’ve been awoken in the middle of the night by fire alarms. Kind of severe right? Never found out why. Another thing? They waited months to tell me I never signed a lease addendum… You’d think they’d want my John Hancock on that.
3) major office staff changes more often than Katy Perry changes costumes in a concert… This is why we’re so confused! And you lost Jim who was, I swear, one of the only competent people to ever work here.
4) package notifications! They keep the packages on the office which is very inconvenient for me. They’re supposed to email us as well as call us on this. Ice spoken to them a number of times… I guess they’re working on it. I’ve only lived here for 9 months… Heard that the entire time.
There also have been a few little incidents. Several nails and small metal pieces lying around the garage floors, dog poop left in the hall etc. Also, shoddy construction in general. I’ve had to have my walls fixed for cracking as well as now they’re digging into the drywall and ceiling to figure out why there’s water damage.
I’m sure I’ll think of more as I get out of the fog from being yanked out of a dead sleep but I think I got the major points.

As far as appearance when you walk into this place is actually stunning! One building has a Victorian style apartment and the other is modern and chic. Only good thing about this place! The residents of the community are very discriminating and closed minded so if you don’t fit into a certain profile you WILL have an unpleasant experience. You are promised a lounge and amenities that are supposed to be open 24 hours and they are not. You are charged for parking in a garage that is unsecured (do too many malfunctions) and un regulated. Several times people were parked in our assigned space… I have had several guests get tickets for parking on the street in places there were supposed to be avaliable. The second month living there I received a letter saying that I owed over 500 dollars in rent, which was impossible because I moved in with a special giving me the month for FREE. There is a gross amount of negligence among staff members and little to no communication… If you try to call their office no one will answer and you will always get a voicemail message. I have called several times about business related issues, left voicemails and never received a return phone call.(unless it regarded me paying them money) I have even hand written a letter and drop it off at the office and never received a reply! (being a minority person I have to either think that this is gross incompetence or racism?) the cleaning staff either does not speak English or is unfriendly because they will never reply to greetings such as hello and good afternoon. On the weekends this place is the worst, I guess their maintenance staff doesn’t come in until Monday… I have smelled the odor of garbage in the hallways and have literally seen animal unire stains in the elevator. I can continue with legimate complaints in this review but hopefully I’ve shared enough of my experiences to show you that this unsavory place is to be avoided at all costs, you’re better off moving back in with your mother.

This apartment complex has been an nightmare. Nothing is up yet. California Tortilla was suppose to be up by July and until today, it still isn’t open. The club room has limited hours, the business center has no printer so, there’s no point in me using the computers in there, no alcoholic beverages in the clubroom and the terrance which sucks.
Management is horrible. I barely see the property manager and the leasing consultants never know anything when you ask them questions or they usually just give you b. sed answers just so you can leave the office.
I regret living here and I can’t wait till my lease is up. Come on, May 2015!!!

These guys have been great! My husband and I just moved in and the apartments are beautiful. We got a great deal on our rent and the staff was wonderful throughout the whole process. We moved from the King Farm area apartments and these apartments are a world above. They have real stone countertops and better appliances. The place is maintained really well and the one problem that we had with our AC making noise, I emailed the staff and by the time I got home from work, they had already fixed it. We’ve also noticed that the apartment itself is very quiet. While we do not have anyone living above us now, we do have people to the sides and we have not heard even the faintest noise coming from either side. We are very happy with our new home and are very glad we made the switch. The better rental price and quality of the apartment makes up for the little extra commute time to Shady Grove metro.

The Paramount was truly a hidden gem to us. My wife and I had been looking for a new apartment for about a month when we happened upon Paramount355 by going the wrong direction and needing to make a U-​turn. Once we decided to walk in, we were greeted with such a welcoming manner by the leasing agent (Alicia). She took the time to walk through all of the available options based on what WE needed in an apartment, not just what she thought would get us to lease. Alicia’s professionalism and personality were huge factors in motivating us to lease, not to mention the beauty of the property/​community. In looking at a few other properties over the following few days, it was evident to us that we were comparing these other properties to The Paramount. We leased with Alicia a day later. From the first visit and on through to our move-​in, all of the staff here have been pleasant and helpful beyond all of our expectations.
Having been a resident for five months now, I can surely state that we couldn’t be happier with our decision to make The Paramount our home. The staff has continued to treat us like we are valued tenants, and the neighbors here make us feel as though we’re a part of a community — which is extremely rare in the D.C. area. As the retail stores and restaurants are on the verge of opening, we look forward to what The Paramount at Watkins Mill community has in store.

Still haven’t received my check and no one, not even the manager, can give me even an estimate of a date of when I’ll get it.
The manager Megan said that the check had been mailed overnight on 8/​14, but I haven’t gotten anything in my mailbox or the mail room in my current apartment. Called back twice to verify that they have the correct mailing address and they do.
Have placed multiple calls and left multiple messages to the staff there and it’s always the same story of reassuring me that someone will call me back, but no one ever does.
This place sucks.