Review History for Nikkerdoodle

Gateway Apartment


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Nikkerdoodle

Resident 2009 - 2010

3/20/2011

Why oh Why did I re-sign my lease?!!?!? (UPDATED)

Update: I thought that I would update my post now that Irvine Company has taken over and has been here for a few months. Here are updates on my previous issues: - Fire Alarms: This was still horrible at the beginning of 2011. It turned out that not everything was disclosed properly to Irvine Company when Archstone sold the property and they weren't aware of faulty fire alarms or bad wiring. For the most part they have come under control. The only time I personally experience fire alarms now is when there is an actual fire on property and Irvine Company usually posts an update on the myrentalliving.com website notifying the residents of the situation. - Loud Neighbors: While this is nothing that can be prevented it is still an issue. I can't hear my neighbors next to me at all (unless their doors slam) but the upstairs neighbors i can still hear. The tenants that used to live above us have since moved out and someone new is now living upstairs. They are much quieter than the previous tenants but if something heavy is dropped or someone is running around upstairs we can hear it. - Security: SO MUCH BETTER in my opinion. I'm not sure who Irvine Company brought in but they allowed the nightly security team to have the golf carts so they can patrol/respond much quicker. I've also seen the security chilling at the front gate to see if cars follow a resident in and he stops them to see if they are residents (AWESOME!!!). We have still had some thefts in the complex (Friend/Neighbors bike was stolen) but there's no way to tell if this is an outside job or a resident. - Parking: Still horrible. Irvine company has tried to help this out by making sure that Silvertrack is monitoring for the Level Restrictions (to where you can only park on your level or the levels above you, so 4th floor tenants can't park on the first floor) which Archstone never stayed on top of even-though they created the rule. There is not much that Irvine Company can do about this until the contract that Archstone initiated is completed. **CAR RESTRICTIONS** this is new. Personally we didn't have an issue with this because we only have 2 cars but Archstone used to let you rent another spot for an additional $50 a month if you needed to go over what was allowed for your apartment size. This created an issue because you now had 3 cars looking for 1 spot on the first floor...type of thing. Now Irvine company is limiting it to where there is only 1 car allowed per bedroom so 1 bedrooms only get 1 car spot. 2 bedrooms get 2 and there is apparently no exception to that rule. While i can see where this would be really frustrating for some, i think it's needed with the limited parking that we have. -Amenities: Personally I have just stayed away from the pool. It sucks but whatever. The BBQs near my apartment seem to be cleaned all the time which is nice. The gym equipment for the most part is kept up with. I think that we have less kids playing in the fitness center now though. Business Center got all new PCs and has worked well for the most part. I went in to fax something the other day and the machine wasn't working so I went into the office and they were happy to help me with faxing it from their machine and they informed me they were in the process of getting a new fax/copier for the business center since that one was having so many issues. - Staff: Is a hit or miss for me. Some people are super helpful and willing to listen to your frustrations and others I have not had that experience with. Whitney has been awesome so far. There was an issue with my bank/rent and after getting some documentation to show the issue she was able to help me out with the fees that were being attached. She has also been helpful in talking through the parking issues i've had with Silvertrack (where it seems as though the are never there...). I have had friends who have had great experiences with the Manager but I personally haven't had any communication with her. Other Stuff: - We can now pay rent online!! This was something that Archstone previously offered but when Irvine Company took over it was taken away until they were able to update their computer system. - Lots of free activities. Archstone tried to put on resident appreciation events but to be honest i think that Irvine company is doing a MUCH better job of this. PLUS most of the events that are hosted on site (or off site) are free for residents which wasn't always the case with Archstone. All in all, Irvine company is TRYING to turn this place around for the better. I feel i get quicker responses on things than i did with the previous management company but from what i was reading in other comments it doesn't appear that others feel that way. If anyone has any additional questions/concerns please post them below and i will try my best to respond! :) p.s. Why am I updating: because I'm still planning on moving out and I've found that most of the reviews on this are of disgruntled residents and I will admit that i was really frustrated with a lack of response on all of my previous issues. It's been a while though and we are under new management so i though I'd try and let those of you looking for a new home know my honest thoughts about where Gateway is at now. Date posted: 9/4/2010 When i first moved in about a year and a half ago i was in LOVE with this place! Nice pool, fun management team, beautiful apartments, nice courtyards and it wasn't crowded so parking wasn't an issue. Now however is an entirely different story. Here is why i won't be re-signing again: - Fire alarms, fire alarms, fire alarms. Did i mention fire alarms?! Last night in fact we had a great one, alarms started at 3:30am and went till about 4:15/30. Sounds like a big fire huh! Nope! No fire at all, faulty alarm...again. We've been told that this would be fixed and we have yet to see that. And in my opinion, a faulty alarm is a fire hazard and they should be legally bound to fix or replace it. - Loud neighbors - We were told when we moved in that there was an entire slap of concrete between each level so that you couldn't hear the person above you. Not so much. Our original upstairs neighbor was super quiet, single person, no pets and now we have a couple with a surround sound and a dog and we always know when they are home. So much for that full slab of concrete. The other issue is inconsiderate people that decide to have a party on their balcony at 1am and it takes forever for security to get there. - Speaking of security... There is none! I mean sure, it's part of what you pay in rent and they can be seen when the pool is closing up but they are nowhere to be found when there is an actual issue. It also takes forever to report an issue and have dispatch notify the guard. We had Anaheim PD on site last night helping with the fire alarm issue and one of the officers told me they'd been walking around for about 30 min and didn't see one security guard the entire time. That is actually the norm...you can never find them. So this is most likely why we have lots of bike thefts and why my neighbor's car was keyed. - Parking is horrible - We get 1 assigned spot for a 2 bedroom apartment. Most of the time one of us has to park up on the 5th floor because all the "free" spots are taken. If you are only getting a 1 bedroom and have only 1 car or a car and a bike/motorcycle then you should be good. I still don't understand why the 2 bedrooms can't have 2 spots. They bit the structure big enough to house all the residents right?!? - Awesome amenities that can never be used - Why? Because there are certain groups that constantly have parties, every weekend at the pool so forget being able to find a chair or a cabana because they've been taken over. We did have a nice gym (2 in fact) until people let their kids run around and play on the equipment and break it. We also have a lovely business center that has teens on Facebook all day and then little kids come in and waist all the paper in the printers. - "Awesome Management" as posted in another add - Not so much. They hardly ever keep the residents up to date with issues or what's going on with repairs they've promised. our transition to a new parking company was horrible and lacked communication. When you go in to complain or talk to them about an issue (if you can get someone) they just blow smoke up your --- to appease you. Whenever you go into the office to talk about something it's just a response of "oh, we know" but NOTHING is ever fixed! As a matter of fact it is just a bunch of empty promises because they are too focused on getting more people (an not always the best people) into apartments and they aren't concerned one bit as to make sure the current residents are at least OK. I understand that you can't make everyone happy but when at least 75% of the complex is unhappy and ready to get our of their lease early that can't be good. IF you're just looking to get a 1 bedroom on the 4th floor and you can sleep through ear piercingly loud fire alarms (which to be honest have no sign of stopping) and you don't care to use any of the amenities, or ever need to talk to management about anything than this is your place! Positive Note: - I do love Sarah and Ronnie that work in the office. They have never been rude or unhelpful at all and they are actually the ones i prefer to go to now because i feel like I'm getting honest answers from them. - they keep poop bags stocked around campus for the dog owners to pick up after their pets. I appreciate this as a dog owner. - Management tries to do resident appreciation events/things. While it was cool and special at first now it just seems like an attempt to cover up all the issues that still remain unfixed. Renters Beware!!!!

    Review 58 out of 75

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