Ellie J.
Google
Unprepared, uncommunicative, and unprofessional — that’s been my entire experience with Blackbird. As I write this, today was supposed to be my move-in day. Instead, I showed up to find that the unit they assigned me was not the one I agreed to lease.
Bertha, one of the leasing staff, told me the apartment I was shown was “identical,” just with a slightly different closet and balcony. That was completely untrue. Not only was this a completely different unit but it they tried to move me into an ADA (or a unit tailored to accommodate people living with disabilities) which no one ever mentioned, and to make matters worse, it was unprepared to which I only found out because there was no dryer installed. When I pointed it out, Bertha seemed surprised, like they hadn’t even realized it themselves.
After haphazardly admitting the mistake, Bertha said she’d reach out to the property manager. It took TWO HOURS for him to respond because there’s no leasing office or on-site staff at this property. Mind you I was, fresh off a flight, standing outside with all of my belongings, waiting.
And honestly, this lack of communication and disorganization didn’t start today. Throughout my entire application process, I constantly had to follow up because my emails and calls would often go unanswered until the next day and even then it was me having to call back. I can’t count how many times I was told “Bertha will call you back,” and she just never did.
On move-in day, I even had to wait 20 minutes for someone to show up to the building just to let me in. That alone tells you how inconvenient it is to rent in a so-called luxury building with no leasing office, no concierge, and no real support. I was never informed of where the loading doc was let alone if there was one at all. If something goes wrong — or even if you just have a question — you’re basically on your own.
After hours of waiting, confusion, and zero urgency from their team. Angel, the other shadow manager, finally called to inform me they would not provide me with a unit . I ended up having to scramble to find a place to stay for the night because they completely dropped the ball.
If you’re thinking about moving here, please take this as a warning:
1. Leasing staff are only reachable by phone or email and rarely respond promptly. Expect to chase them for updates.
2.There is no concierge, no on-site office, and no security staff despite the building being marketed as “luxury.” Anyone with a fob can easily slip in and out especially since the bottom floor is a public food court.
3.Communication breakdowns are common. Accountability is nonexistent.
As frustrating as this entire experience has been, I’m actually relieved it didn’t work out because the more I saw, the more it became clear that living here would’ve been a huge MISTAKE.
I strongly DO NOT recommend the BlackBird Apartment property in DC.
