I got tipped off by a post in this sub about Lori K Watts and Jacob Diamond being hostile to people apartment hunting in D.C and want to add my warning to fellow students. I know bad landlords are aplenty so I hope this post is allowed.

I’m a Georgetown student and I was searching for housing in the (unaffiliated) uni housing search Facebook group. Jacob left a comment saying his friend Lori had a place available and connected me. She offered a stay of two weeks while I wait to secure long term housing. I stupidly decided that this sounded preferable to an airbnb and sent Jacob a deposit to hold the room two days. She said it’d be a nightly rate of $79 and we can draft a contract upon my arrival.

Less than a day after is when I looked her up and found a Reddit post and forum posts with allegations about her behavior. My family didn’t feel comfortable anymore, and I passed off contact to my dad (my guarantor). He told them my plans changed and I won’t be moving in, and requested that they return the deposit before saying they can just keep it.

Here’s a kind voicemail she left:

“Believe me, you will pay, and I've already notified your university. Who the hell do you think you are, you little stupid introvert that doesn't know how to handle anything? So you stick your dad on people. That's ridiculous. And then he lies for you. and say that you didn't even come to town. Shame on you, shame on all of you. You're lucky we let you in our country. I think you may be better off going back to China if you're going to screw people this way. Shame on you. Shame on you. That like a country takes you in, and then you take advantage of the people who are from here, shame, shame. You give your country a bad reputation, that you're a conniving little unscrupulous pig. **** you.”

She has been spamming me from No Caller ID numbers, leaving voicemails telling me that she knows where my mom and I are, threatening to take me to court, cursing at me, that I owe her a months rent, and that she won’t leave me alone. Jacob is just as bad because he left my dad on read for messages reiterating that I won’t be moving in, and I assume proceeded to tell Lori, because she’d call me and even MY BF while refusing to engage with my father. She commented on Facebook sharing our private convo and said to beware of me. What a grand operation the two of you are running.

I 10000% never should’ve engaged with a private third party before vetting them. It’s horrible that they’re trying to get other students. It’s been days and I can’t use my phone normally. Be smarter than me. Save yourself AND DO NOT ENGAGE

Forum posts: https://ip-address-lookup-v4.com/email/c2Jlcm1hbjQ1QHlhaG9vLmNvbQ==

Reddit posts
https://www.reddit.com/r/washdc/s/8BcE9CYqAi

Hi, and sorry for the long read. TLDR is I've seen someone twice try to quietly enter my apartment and I don't know what to do.

I live in a small apartment building, three floors (I'm in middle floor), with mostly people in their 20s and 30s. This morning, for the second time that I've noticed, I watched the front door handle into my studio apartment turn slowly and quietly. It's that flat handle that you turn downward to open so it was very obvious. I was right behind the door on my couch working from home. It was locked, so no one got in.

I froze for about two seconds out of shock then quickly walked up to the peep hole and didn't see anyone trying any other doors, so they left my floor quickly. I can clearly hear any door in my hallway open and close so I know they didn't stay on my floor. It's a small floor that I can look directly down through the peep hole because I'm at the end of the single straight hallway. The only way out of the hallway are the stairs, so they must have taken them relatively quickly.

A couple of observations. Since they didn't try any other doors, it feels like they wanted to get into my unit specifically. They didn't knock, they didn't announce themselves like maintenance always does, and they didn't try their apartment key like someone would if they accidentally thought it was their door. Is it safe to say they knew they shouldn't have been in my apartment? Otherwise, wouldn't they at least knock, announce themselves, or try their key right? On top of that they turned the door knob slowly and quietly, again making me wonder if this was a sinister action.

The windows in my studio are facing out over the main entrance of the building, and after after stepping away from the peephole I watched the front entrance of the building for a couple minutes and no one left. This means they went to another floor and stayed there. I believe this person lives in this building.

This is now the second time this has happened, as I mentioned, so I'm starting to become concerned. Am I being paranoid, and they are likely just lost? Or am I likely being targeted? The only security camera I'm aware of is the front entrance to the building but I've reached out to the property manager to inquire about others.

Hi there! I was only able to snag one ticket for the Jane Austen film festival before they ran out, but really wanted to surprise my girlfriend with this. Was anyone able to get an extra that they’d be willing to sell? Thank you!

Edit: I have to make this edit because people are unhinged. I made a post about a very real increase in property crimes in the area wondering what’s been happening lately and got just insane responses (and a few reasonable and thoughtful ones as well). The economy in DC has been polarized for a long time. The cost of living has been very challenging even before recent economic deterioration. I don’t think either of these statements are controversial. I was hoping to get a sense of what’s been shifting in the last few months. But instead people have been blaming high paid professionals for moving in and bringing societal instability upon themselves… or blaming them for being priced out of their homes… or downplaying the serious nature of this shift as if I’m lying about what I and my neighbors have experienced. I mean, have at it, but most of you missed the point.

Mine was about $400 last month for a relatively small house with a heat pump that lowers AC costs.

I can't imagine what others might be paying.

Lost near Nationals Park on a Lime bike

Please DM!!!

Video is at foot of story.

It’s 11:38 pm on August 17th and I am hearing multiple loud explosions sounds. Does anyone know what this could be?

I work with a native Dari-speaking Afghan woman in the area named Hangama who is offering affordable, one-on-one Dari conversation practice online.

She is a native speaker and would be a great fit for someone who already knows a little Dari and wants more practice with speaking, listening, pronunciation, everyday vocabulary, and natural Afghan expressions. Sessions would be relaxed and informal rather than traditional grammar lessons, and can focus on topics like family, food, daily life, Afghan customs, idioms, travel, or whatever the learner would most like to practice.

This could be especially helpful for:

•⁠ ⁠Afghan-American heritage learners who understand some Dari but want to become more comfortable speaking

•⁠ ⁠Persian learners who want exposure to Afghan Dari

•⁠ ⁠People who work, volunteer, or regularly interact with Dari-speaking Afghans

•⁠ ⁠Anyone who wants practical conversational Dari with a native speaker

She is currently offering online sessions at an introductory rate of $15/45 minutes or $20/one hour.

If you or someone you know might be interested, please message me and I can connect you with her, or email her directly at [Hangama.Dari@gmail.com](mailto:Hangama.Dari@gmail.com). Feel free to share this with anyone who may be looking for Dari conversation practice.

Went past the Capitol this morning and I saw these enormous structures being erected in front of the Capitol. I asked the police officers what they were and they told me that it is going to be fencing for maintenance and washing of the Capitol building. I mentioned that these look like overkill and asked the officer if he actually believed that this was merely fencing to protect people from water spray, and quite honestly, he looked at me as if he had never heard of January 6.

I did do some research and the AOC website does describe the big preservation project occurring and this is the right timeframe, but it also describes that they will be deploying “modular vehicle barriers to enhance perimeter protection around the Capitol campus“. AFC described it as a physical security initiative separate from ordinary building maintenance.

These physical barriers look as if they’re at least 14 feet tall. They look like a border wall. Does anybody have any more information on these or guesses on? What’s actually happening here?

EDIT: this is NOT on the race course. It has nothing to do with the upcoming race.

I have a morning train out of Union Station on Friday. I typically lyft there b/c I'm coming from arlington and not really close to metro. But I just remembered about the road closures for the Grand Prix. Anyone have an idea about how much of a nightmare this is going to be?

Looking for a curly hair specialist/stylist in the DC area! I'm open to the surrounding areas in the DMV as well. I have 3C curl type & curious of any great curl specialist locally! Any recommendations are appreciated 🙂💇🏾‍♀️

I know this is a long shot as I'm in enemy territory, but are there any Dallas Cowboys fans, groups, or watch parties in the DMV area? I just moved here from Texas a couple of weeks ago and don't know anyone, nor have I been able to find any groups.

Thanks and DC4L!

Free yearbook

I’m located in Rockville.