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A mixed bag - Read On
From:
-Anonymous-
Date posted:
2/26/2007
Years at this apartment:
2006
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2007
3 responses
The Arbors are a unique housing option in the Antelope/North Highlands/Foothill Farms area. A community of rental homes, originally designed as officer quarters for the now-defunct McClellan Air Force Base in the 50s and 60s.
First, let's talk about the positives.
The Arbors is an attractive community as far as corporate rentals go. It's landscaped
weekly, and the homes usually have a fresh coat of paint on them. The homes can vary in attractiveness from sleek single-family homes and duplexes that are stylish by 60s standards, with private carports in front. Others are not so attractive, the front porches facing a communual walkway, while the bedroom windows face the street, looking strikingly similar to a portable classroom.
The clubhouse features a small internet cafe, a home theater, and a 24 hour fitness room with iPod-ready TVs. The clubhouse is always in remarkable shape.
One of the features offered by the Arbors is a 24 hour gate guard. Until recently, the gate guard was to wave those with parking passes through, while checking the IDs of unmarked cars. (more on this later).
Inside the homes, from what I've seen, can vary. We were fortunate to receive a unit that had had its kitchen resurfaced and was very clean and nice throughout, although the hallway and master bedroom were carpeted, while the rest of the home was hardwood.
The Arbors also has a very generous pet policy, placing no restrictions on caged pets, and allowing cats and dogs.
Now the Negatives:
The staff was a mixed bag. We changed property managers in the middle of my stay, and one leasing associate was particularly unpleasant, by the name of Connie. Overall, the office staff was seemed to have a high turnover and you never seemed to be able to speak to the same people twice. Most were courteous, but they rarely returned phone calls as promised.
The Arbors' largest fault is no fault of its own. Antelope is a kind of buffer zone between the depressed slum that is North Highlands and the affluent suburbs of Roseville. There are parts of Antelope that are very sleepy and upscale.
Unfortunately, being located on Watt Avenue, The Arbors might as well have been in North Highlands. We hear a lot of police sirens every week. We now seem to have the Sacramento Sheriff's Department flying overhead in their helicopter leading a manhunt every week, beaming the searchlight onto the street, shouting a warning to stay indoors through a bullhorn. Once we had them literally on our front lawn with a police German Shepherd, chasing down some armed robbers.
After that incident, the Arbors, conscientiously, decided to beef up security. They closed a North gate that opened into the nicer suburbs (and provided a convenient shortcut of almost two miles to shopping) to all incoming traffic, and closed their main gates, not opening them except by the security guard. Unfortunately, this meant everyone had to user their keyfobs to open the gate. Most gated rental communities use a garage door style clicker, or even a barcode sticker on your car. To get home, you have to fish out your fob and hope not to drop it when entering the gate. The fob sensor was taped on and was obviously a quick-fix that was not well thought-out.
Meanwhile, the manhunts in the surrounding neighborhoods continue, and most threats are on foot, which doesn't help, since the Arbors is open to foot traffic through back gates.
Another small issue that bothers me is that, while you're given a sizable back yard, landscaping it is up to you. You basically "get what you get." What we got was a patch of mud, covered in dead leaves. Some residents beautifully landscape their yards. But I am not going to sink hundreds of dollars into improving a property that I do not own. Consequently, the backyard is an eyesore, and really takes a bit away from the benefit of renting a house.
We happened to be located near a cul-de-sac where the kids happen to be small engines enthusiasts. I'm not sure if you've ever heard a pocketbike, but it's essentially a weed whacker that you ride. Gas-powered RC cars are even worse.
To conclude, I'd have to say that while we were relatively satisfied with our stay here, we certainly feel a bit underwhelmed, and the rent is pricey, considering what you can get in Roseville if you sacrifice the square footage. These homes are really feeling their age and Carmel Partners doesn't seem to want to put the money into making the units themselves nicer. Why should they' The Arbors pretty much prints money for them. They're not as picky and as intrusive as a private landlord is, so many working-class families and groups of young adults flock to it, often creating waiting lists for some floorplans.
Unless you depend on the amenities, such as the pool or fitness center, you're much better off in a private rental if you can afford it.
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User Responses
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From:
Bernister
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Date:
07/04/2008
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I am considering moving here to the arbors but now I'm rethinking it quite a bit after reading all of the reviews. I would like to know from sstacinator how long she has been here and the positives if any that she has witnessed and any negatives. Has it gotten any better or should i just keep looking and not even bother?
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From:
sstacinator
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Date:
07/28/2008
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Hi I am Sstacinator and I am so sorry to say that it has not gotten better but worse,much worse.It is so bad that I am contacting an attorney tomorrow morning (this is why I am here now at 11:37pm writing this) is I can't sleep from worrying. Since we have been here we have had all sorted issues, but the one I can not seem to get taken care of is since we have been here we have had a bug problem. Our home has been treated time after time but not the neighbors so the problem remains. The are dragging their feet with dealing with it and so we have to put up with bugs that I keep finding. The bug person said unless he is able to treat the source of the bug infestation then it would not go away but the office does nothing to make treatment happen. All this even though they know it is the only way to get rid of the problem. Okay now that said, second pressing thing is that I finally got around to reading the full lease I signed (it is approx.25 pages) and they rush you to sign it. It has a few pages of disclosures regarding we are all living in asbestos and lead contaminated homes!!! The issue that lead me to read the full lease are that the water heater and the ac broke at the same time on the same day and a person came to help deal with it straight away ( that was good) however the person said it might have caused water damage so lets wait and see. Well guess what? WATER DAMAGED FLOORS. Floors that keep drying out and as they do they are rising up causing me and my almost 2 yr old child to trip on them. I reported the problem of the rising floors on the 17 of July and today they were going to finally get around to checking them. First to be fair about it the day after I reported the damage someone did come but my oldest daughter was only here babysitting my almost 2 yr old daughter so they decided it best they come back another day. That is where it goes to the ugly side of bad. The man his name is Trent (nice as can be) came to check it then said they need to tear out about 5 panels of the floor and place a air mover there to dry anything that is still wet under the floor. He asked can he do this and after reading about asbestos and lead in these homes I told him no way not while myself and daughter and family ( I also have a 22 yr old son and a 19 yr old son) are here breathing it all. So he said I agree and he wouldn't if it was his family either, but he would have to talk to the head maintenance man about what to do instead. Then he came back with his clip board and said that the head maintenance man said I have to and if I don't let them place the air mover under the floor panels that I would have to pay to replace the foor!!! No way!!! I could not even comprehend what he said the other man said. Place myself and children at stake. Again Trent apologized and agreed with me. I called the office Ashley and she said she would have me wait to talk to a person name Wendy in the morning to come to an agreement of what we can do to handle this. So what I am trying to say is that if you value your family and don't want any really big issues then please move somewhere else, I wish I did. Oh and last night someone while I was walking with my near 2 yr old baby to our carport to get in our car someone drunk person threw a large liquor bottle at us and ran. I reported it to the security patrol and like usual they did nothing. No one came even to clean up the glass and my poor neighbor got glass in her foot through her shoe. Someone was shot here last month, sheriffs were here arresting people here last night as well and tonight the air patrol for the sheriffs dept. was flashing all their bright search lights in my home and service porch. It is starting to be unbearable. If I had it to do again I would never move here. Good luck with your search for a great home. Take care Sstacinator
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From:
ohmygoddess
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Date:
08/12/2008
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Hi Sstacinator, I wish I had read this earlier. How is your flooring going? Has anything changed for the "positive." I guess im hoping for a miracle because we just got approved for a place there. I have two infant children, one is 6 mths old and the other 2. I recall seeing some "characters" there when checking out the place. There were kids going in and out the leasing office and hanging around the front but I just assumed it was because of the pool being located there. We needed to find a place fast, and this seemed like a warming place to be. The "model" unit appeared to be cozy and we were told that most units are updated. We will be going back to the leasing office in a few days, any questions or suggestions that we can address to the leasing agent. I am not affraid to drill anyone will questions or speak my mind so if you can give me a heads up on what to ask, I would greatly appreciate it. How is security?
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