I like living in the Qualman as a current resident. John is current management and he’s always been attentive to any issues I’ve had. I like the apartment, as it’s quite spacious and the neighborhood is great.

I have been living in the Qualman for a few years now. I am still a resident and plan on moving out if they try to raise rent significantly when my lease expires. The on-site appartment manager is nice but hard to reach, not around much, slow to get back to you and not really much of a manager at all (it seems like they got the position only from knowing someone at the Gibraltar agency). Gibraltar has also been trying to charge me added fee's for water, sewer and garbage (which are included in the rent per my lease) and then trying to charge me late fee's for not paying them. This has happened a few times now (I have yet to pay either) and I will be taking legal action if they try the shenanagins again. I have been lucky with my apartment thus far. No problems with any of the appliances, plumbing, windows or electrical, although many others in the building have encountered some, if not all of these. The building is over 100 years old and the wiring definately should be updated (I truly believe it is not up to code). The rent (for square footage) for my apartment is a bit cheaper than most other apartments in the area and they allow pets, which is the only reason I moved in. I like living in the area but if I can find a cheaper place (or about the same price), I will be moving out at the end of this lease cycle due to the poor management practices of Gibraltar. The people in the building are all nice and easy to get along with and there are no noise issues from the other units that I have experienced. Parking can sometimes be an issue on certain occasions (the building is accross the street from a small school - parent teacher conference days tend to take up all parking within a 5 block radius). There are a few resident homeless people that wander the neighborhood but tend to keep to themselves. Summer weekends can get a little noisy when the bars close down at 2 am, so if you sleep early, might want to consider a different location (never has been an issue for me). One thing that I really dislike is the fact that there are 3 large plumb trees in front of the building. Summer time brings plumb covered sidewalks and they get completely covered. The nice thing about it is Charles, the awesome, unofficial, grounds keeper is constantly cleaning the sidewalks off by spraying them with water while he is maintaining the lovely plants, shrubs and flowers he so carefully plants in front of the building. My hat is off to him for making the place look nice all year round. All in all, I find the place to be quite tollerable for my living situation, minus the management portion of the things. There are several tenants in the building who have lived here for 5 + years, so that does say something about the place. If you are looking for a top notch, newly built Avalon appartment, then you will not like this place but if you are looking for an average appartment with decent rental rates, take a look... I rented from summer '06 through winter '08. ...

When I moved into the Qualman I was happy to find really cheap rent, even though the building was kind of shabby. A few years later the building is even shabbier but the rent is no longer cheap. I'll be moving out at the end of my lease. To be fair to the current owner, the Qualman has clearly suffered many years of neglect and it would take some serious investment in repairs and improvements to turn the building around. However, in the time I've been here very little progress has been made. We hear a lot of tales about what repairs are in the works but not much happens. I've attached a list of the building's problems at the bottom of this review - take a good look before you consider moving in. Also consider the rent. Yes, it's still a little below your average capital hill rent. But the quality of the building is way under average. Keep in mind too that this isn't the safest or quietest area of capital hill. Also, the smaller, cheaper one bedrooms are about 500 square feet - closer in size to a studio than your average one bedroom. All in all, you are not getting a bargain. Another knock against the Qualman is Gibraltar management. The resident manager is nice but powerless. The rest of Gibraltar management isn't so nice. They don't respond promptly to requests. They've entered my apartment without giving proper notice (I'm not even sure why they entered - nothing was repaired). And they did not give me proper notice for the last rent raise. I would not recommend living in a building managed by Gibraltar. Qualman Problem LIst *The wiring is so bad that blackouts and lights dimming are common. *The plumbing gets clogged up regularly - both in individual units and in the laundry room. *Water pressure is low and hot water is inconsistent. *The floors are squeaky and soft in places. *The hardwoods desperately need refinishing - in my apartment they are stained in places, splintering in other places and are very difficult to keep clean. *The old sash-style windows are falling apart – the panes are loose in their frames. You have to be very careful when opening or closing them and they're scary during a windstorm. *The heating is incredibly inconsistent - Some apartments are chilly all winter. Mine will hit about 85 degrees if I don't open my windows and cover the radiators. *The heating also fails completely on a pretty regular basis leaving everyone without heat for several hours at a time. *The building has an exhaust system with fans built into the kitchens and baths but it's luck of the draw whether the ones in your unit will work or not and management won't repair them. *Many of the appliances are older and don't function well. My refrigerator is a relic from the 70s that sounds like an airplane taking off when it runs. It isn't even frost free. *The washers and dryers break down regularly and are often out of service for more than a week. There are only 3 of each to begin with so it's a big problem when one is out. I rented from fall '05 through spring '07. ...

The building is falling apart and the management is slow to even attempt repairs. When they do, count on a very poor attempt being made. The laundry facilities have also broken down many times, often not being fixed for a week. The hallwway lighting has gone as long as a week illegaly non-functional and then replaced with bare bulbs hanging from wires. They recently have tried assigning every tenant a "fee" for "so called "underpaid" water, sewer, garbage. None of us has any lease agreement requiring this. They are crooks, make no mistake. They even let a major flea infestation go on for over a month and one tenant recently had sewage leaking from the apartment above for almost 2 months. THey have the gall to raise rents almost 30% over the last 2 years! They should be shut down by the city. I'll be moving as soon as I can afford to. NEVER rent from somewhere managed by Gibraltar. ...

totally falling apart and the management won't repair things. No parking available. I rented from fall '05 through spring '06.