Washington Intern Student Housing

My institution has used WISH Housing since 2009 and found them to be terrific partners. They do business fairly (it is a family-​run business) and respond to problems quickly.
Yes, it is expensive to live within blocks of the U.S. Capitol building, and yes, WISH provides student housing and not luxury apartments. But my students wake up every day and see the Capitol looming over their front yard and when the dishwasher breaks a new one is installed the next day.
One thing that may be worth noting: WISH deals primarily with a clientele that is not well-​versed in the basics of neighborly living: college students. Sometimes WISH gets a bad rap because they gently enforce basic rules and procedures (all of which are clearly noted on the housing contract). In return, spoiled and un-​savvy tenants do what they do well: complain.
Again, I’ve used them for over five years and have been very happy.

Laughing at reviews that expect plenty of space, new facilities, totally safe neighborhoods and no bars on windows in DC. Get a life, this isn’t the suburbs.
We lived here a few years ago and it was expensive, but so is DC and you pay for the convenience of a very short term lease.
It was fine.

I applied with this program 3 months in advance, and was given the run-​around and ignored up until 2 weeks before I needed a place to stay.
Nearly every email I sent to follow up on my application was ignored, every phone call that I made was answered with: «I will have an answer for you by the end of the week, it shouldn’t be a problem.»
I found them to be extremely unprofessional and they were not responsive to my applications or attempts to communicate with them. Also the fact that their representative had me believing that there would be no problem finding me a place to stay until two weeks before my expected arrival date, left me in a very difficult situation.
I would not recommend this organization to any intern, and highly suggest finding other arrangements if you would like a pleasant experience with professional people.

I’m surprised no one has written a review of WISH housing yet, so here we go.
First, do not believe the pictures on their website. While some of their exterior photos may be accurate, their interior ones are not. Most of the furniture and appliances are very dated! (This may not be the case in every townhome/​apartment. I’ve seen some with flat screen TVs and better furniture)
Housing is located in different areas, have radically different furniture and square footage but the rates remain the same. It just doesn’t make sense.
Also, they have a cleaning service that comes in once a month, while this is very convenient, the cleaners often move personal belongings around and leave your apartment door WIDE OPEN. This has not only happened to me personally, but to many other interns I’ve met with WISH housing.
If you’re coming out from out of state, like most interns are, WISH seems like an easy option, but for the amount of money you pay, Craigslist would probably be a much better option for housing. Also, you may want to ask the office you’re interning with if they have any housing tips!
I can go on and on about them! Just remember WISH should be your LAST option!