Signature Properties

First of all, I would have loved to finish my scheduled stay at their property. The apartments were just as pictured online, it was a safe area, close to the metro and tons of fun things to do. However, due to unforeseen circumstances not in anyway Signature Stays fault, I had to leave my apartment that I had booked for five more weeks. It was no longer livable. Before this accident, the apartment could not have been better and I could not have been happier with my stay. After the incident, I became even more impressed with this company. They handled themselves not just professionally but in a way that showed they truly cared for all of their residents. Everyone from their maintenance to the leasing agents was amazing and made a horrible situation ok. Highly recommend this company and their properties. My only negative is that I didn’t get to stay longer. The apartments were great but the people of the company were even better.

I wrote quite an extensive review for signature properties over the summer. However, Unilocal has removed it. This makes me consider why there are mostly negative reviews for this business. Perhaps the other positive reviews are being removed for whatever reason. When I contacted Unilocal,I received an automated response that said my review was deemed not helpful even though it was legitimate. Interestingly enough even when I try to update that review or leave other positive reviews for this particular business, they are again not shown by Unilocal.
Signature properties was a fantastic experience all around.

Complete disaster. I «worked» with Maryam from the start as a property owner trying to list my place and she told me all she needed was 30 days and she could get my place rented for $ 3,500 with parking. After 30 days of no activity I finally searched the website to see if it was listed. It was not even listed on their website. After calling and emailing her about it several times she finally responded with a passive aggressive link to her internal system showing the property listed at the wrong price in the wrong neighborhood and the wrong details about the unit. Even after dropping the price there was never activity and it never got rented. Needless to say I was looking elsewhere as soon as I saw that it wasn’t even listed in their webiste and I got it rented myself, but I lost about a month with Sig Properties. Maryam might actually be the owner too so if that’s true then it’s utterly hopeless to have a good experience as a property owner.

I spent three months at the 605 P St. NW house in Shaw. First, the advertisement falsely states that the apartment is in Penn Quarter. I understand that some rental companies like to fudge location details, but this was completely misleading. Penn Quarter is over a mile away from this apartment and the neighborhood was actually somewhat dangerous.
I also had several issues getting in touch with anyone when I had issues. I waited two hours for someone to show up with a key on my first day and I was double charged for my final month.
Corporate housing is expensive because one can expect a higher level of service. This service was not at all provided by this company.

I did a 2 month internship in DC and after much searching (and even a scam by a listing on Craigslist) I decided on a Signature Properties apartment located at West End Residences on 24^th Street near Georgetown. I called the office several times and each time someone answered and worked with me on on finding an apartment that was in a good location for me. They left the keys for me in an envelope at the front desk and I had absolutely no trouble with check-​in. I had even asked for a parking space for the 2 months I would be renting and they even set that up for me. The apartment was spotless when I arrived and very nicely furnished. It came with everything, even a good selection of cooking-​ware, leather sofa, and a balcony! I was very happy my entire stay and very sad to leave. The only downside was the price of the apartment and the absurd lodging fee the District of Columbia imposes on residents who are renting for less than 90 days. Although the apartment was very expensive, it was short-​term and in an amazing location so the price was definitely justifiable when all factors were considered. If I ever find myself back in the DC area and in need of short-​term housing I will definitely rent again from Signature Properties!

The Floridian —
I think many of the complaints other users have posted in the past have been addressed. The appear to have hired more employees and now have people in charge of coordinating the original contract, a different person in charge of coordinating logistics and questions during our stay, and someone in charge of maintenance.
PROS:
— Picking up the keys were straightforward — we showed up at the location on the Sunday of our move-​in and were able to pick them up (only downside of weekend pick-​up is the keys are at a different location from their office).
— The unit was as the pictures showed on the website. We were pleasantly surprised as the unit was larger than what we envisioned.
— Moving in was easy — furniture (primarily IKEA, but does the job), kitchen supplies, bedding, pillows, and towels were all provided. We only needed to bring our clothes and buy some everyday items (like soap, and paper towels).
— Everyone we contacted via email was generally very responsive and helpful.
CONS: No real negatives, just some things to be aware of
— The short term lease was definitely more expensive than a sublet, especially after factoring in the DC hotel tax; but dates are more flexible and furnishing is much better
— Wall art and decorations were a bit odd, but not a big deal

Where to start: False advertising (apartment was half the size advertised, and there was nothing I could do or say that would convince them of the validity of this small detail), saying that they didn’t receive my check and then cashing both, and saying that they had only cashed one (I had to send them copies of the cashed checks), refrigerator that made horrible noise 3 feet from my head, and a complete unwillingness to fix it or even admit that there was a problem.
After finally threatening to go to small claims court (which I was very close to doing), I was able to get out of my lease and moved to a place I found on craigslist.
I think this whole ordeal shaved about a year off my life, due to the stress involved. I only wish I had read these reviews prior to booking.

We have been the the Alta condo PH3 for a week and have had nothing but problems. First, apparently this bldg does not allow leases less than 6 months. Sig Properties, when contacted by bldg mgt, told them we originally had a 6 month lease but changed our plans. Not true, our lease was originally, and continues to be a two month lease.
2^nd, and more importantly, this is NOT a two bedroom condo. It is a studio with a futon on a landing. We were assured, in writing, that this unit is 2000 s/​f exclusive of patio space. It is much closer to 1000 s/​f. There are no doors in the unit except for bathrooms. We are tripping over each other it is so small. The funiture is basic Ikea, fine but nothing special.
3^rd. Apparently Sig Prop has a very poor relationship with The Alta management and tenants. We are harrassed by a tenant who is furious with Sig Props continuing to place short term renters in the bldg in violation of Bylaws. Constantly being threated by a neighbor does not create a relaxing home atmosphere. The Bldg Mgr did inform us that Sig Properties is well aware of the rules and refuses to obey them. The Alta will be fining them heavily.
4^th. No one at Sig Prop seem to take responsibility for anything. It’s always some one elses fault. We are paying an exhorbidant amount of rent for a place we did not receive. We now have to wait for an employee to come back from vacation to discuss the misrepresentation of this property and an appropraite rent reduction. We do plan to take this to a higher level if it is not resolved quickly. I was told by Maryam that any reimbursement would have to come out of the pocket of the person who (dare I say illegally) rented us this place.
5^th, the BBQ and Fitness center are not existent. Requests to at least replace the BBQ have gone unanswerved.
I have never seen such gross misrepresentation and questionable business ethics. Once they got our check, they checked out.

I stayed in one of their apartments for two months. Everything went just fine. The apartment was great and had recently been refurbished. Any questions I had were promptly answered. The apartments at 605 P Street NW are good value.

Upon arriving in DC from NYC for a two-​month period, I needed a place to live close to the subway and in a relatively decent part of DC. I found one through Signature. The place was nice, albeit in a part of the city where not much was going on, but that’s not Signature’s fault. Some neighborhoods are just dead.
The website showed two pictures of the apartment, and though the apartment did look somewhat like the pictures, it was much smaller than I anticipated. The bedroom, if you could call it that, fit almost nothing except the bed and nightstand. For my entire two months, all my suitcases and luggage were stowed in the living room portion.
The primary reason for such a low rating is the way Signature conducts business. I had a late arrival and they requested I pick up my key from a random condo building on U Street. There, the concierge was unable to find the keys for a good 30 minutes. After several phone calls to whomever he knew at Signature, the key was finally located. I knew things were off to a rough start.
Fortunately, I had no maintenance/​utility issues while I was there so I did not need to request any help. When I checked out of the rental, I went through their normal check-​out protocol as they instructed. I had paid for the last month in advance and had no further money to pay… so I thought.
Three weeks after I left, I noticed an extra charge of almost $ 3000 on my credit card statement. When I contacted Signature, they said they did not charge me for my second month so they were doing it now. A simple click to my previous month’s statement showed that was false– I was charged for both months I was there. Maryam then asked for a copy of my statement. I would never give this out to anyone, as even the police need a subpoena to obtain private financial information, but I was overseas and reluctantly emailed her my statement only because it appeared to be the only way to get my money refunded. I noticed Unilocal’s previous negative ratings for this place, one of which attributed Signature’s faults to being a fledgling company. But that was written in January 2011. By now they should have squared themselves away. They haven’t.
My office sends slews of employees to DC every few months and Signature can be assured that I will refer not a single coworker to them. Save yourself the headache and find corporate housing elsewhere. There are plenty of other options.

We have been living in a Signature Properties managed apartment for a few weeks and have been trying to deal with several maintenance issues from day one. Most seriously, the lock on one of the exterior doors is broken. Three different repairmen have said that the lock needs to be replaced, and Signature Properties has taken no action to repair the lock, in violation of the DC housing code. The manager has not followed up with the owner about this serious maintenance issue in a responsible or productive way. With such little regard for basic safety issues, Signature Properties is a lawsuit waiting to happen. We have also had a number of smaller problems (our apartment wasn’t ready the day we arrived despite booking several months in advance!) and found Signature Properties unprofessional and unhelpful.

As others have said, the customer service at this firm leaves a lot to be desired. I would recommend seeing the property you are considering in person, if possible, before signing any lease. I did not and the furnishings were decidely 2^nd rate – most of the furniture was very cheap and worn down and definitely needed to be upgraded. In addition, it was for very short people and I am of average height (5’9″) so there was no real comfortable seating. I ended up buying a chair for this corporate apt. so I could sit in comfort. Utilities, basic cable TV, and free internet access were included but the TV itself was small in comparison to the room. Also, the apartment had not been repainted before I moved in and I requested it to be painted over the holidays (both Thanksgiving and Christmas) while I would be out of town. That never happened even though I logged a maintenance request on their website and contacted several people in their office who said it would – as I mentioned this firm does not get the customer service aspect of their business. The amenities in the building (and location close to a Metro station and CVS and Safeway) where I rented this corporate apt were very good but had nothing to do with Signature Properties. It also took numerous attempts for them to finally get it right that I needed a monthly receipt each month to submit for expense reimbursement from my company – to me this should be part of the basic services they provide in managing properties but they seemed to consider it an unusual request. They need to tighten up their customer service processes so they can provide a much better rental experience to their clientele.

I tend to agree with most of the comments that others have posted. There was a great amount of confusion over my check-​in. My flight got in late and there were about 20 emails about if there would or would not be a lockbox on the gate upon my arrival. In the end, there was no lockbox, but the property manager met me with his Heineken in hand and showed me around, even invited me to join him for happy hour! haha!
My place is small and the furniture is made for people under 5’4″. I’m almost 5’9″ and all of the chairs and bed are SO TINY! I have to really get some momentum to get out of those little devils. The picture with the red chairs that someone posted, I think Sig Prop bought those in gross, because I have 2 in my unit as well. Absolutely everything is from Ikea from plates to chair to towels to sheets, I mean everything.
The place is pretty bare bones. No salt or pepper, a couple of plates, cups, mugs, toilet paper and towels. The price ranges vary greatly, so you can find something that will (hopefully) fit your budget. I don’t have horrible things to say, but I feel like the service, as others have stated, felt haphazard and a bit unprofessional at times. For managing so many properties, I would have thought they would have been more put together.

As a government employee seeking a fully furnished apt for a short stay, Signature Properties was overall a great experience. They were able to accept my fed travel card for payment as well as for required deposits. They nice thing is they do not charge for 1^st and last month up front – it was pay as you go plus deposits which worked out well for my monthly voucher. The pics on their website were spot-​on at least for the unit I leased. The building was great and the location was ideal. The unit was also nicely furnished and equipped. I had one bill that included all utilities, internet, rent etc – this was nice, better than having to invoice everything!
Check-​in and check out was a breeze and I did not have a reason to call maintenance of do any sort of shuffle that required real interaction with the customer service side of Sig Properties. I did have a lot of interaction with Maryam when one of my invoices was slightly incorrect – the problem was remedied within 15 minutes and I received a new invoice. Maryam was also very accommodating in seeking me a longer term alternative and she was open to some flexibility on the terms. Unfortunately due to my circumstance I could not continue my stay with Sig Properties.
I did a lot of research on pricing in DC on short and long term leases for fully furnished housing and Sig Properties were right on par.

I was recently looking for short-​term corporate housing and had a horrendous experience with Signature Properties. On two different occasions, a date and time had been scheduled to see a property, and then the agent canceled on me at the last minute and said it was no longer available. Including one time when I had already submitted an application to hold the property for me. I do not trust this company, and chose an alternate housing option to avoid doing business with them.

Completely unresponsive! I waited for this company to come on three different days but each time they were no shows!