I lived here for about 8 months, in a top floor 2br/2ba apartment looking out over the Belmont/San Carlos area.

About 2 weeks before our lease ran out, I saw a top floor apartment in the building being advertised for $250 cheaper than what I was currently paying. Other 2br/2ba apartments in the area were also renting at a similar rate, so I was pretty confident that our rent would decrease significantly, despite the lease offer letter which offered only a very slight reduction.

I went to the office several times, only to learn that the building was "between managers" and I would have to wait for two weeks to talk to anyone with any authority.

When I finally did meet with the manager (the office is frequently empty, even normal business hours), he flat out refused to even consider reducing the rent. Despite my mention of the CL ad, and of the comparable apartments, he would not budge, told me that he is not able to negotiate (what BS!). So, the next day, I gave my notice to move out.

Three days later, I found a CL ad for a top floor apartment in the same building, for $150 less that I was paying. Needless to say I am not pleased.

Aside from the rent issue, I was pretty happy living at Belmont Terrace. The apartments are very spacious and bright. The walls are somewhat thin, but I was on the top floor in a corner unit so I wasn't too bothered by neighbor noise. In the bedroom, I did hear constant noise from the hall ventilation system, but I assume this is only a problem in the end units.

Management isn't great, and is very hard to reach even during normal business hours, but fortunately I didn't need too much from them. The one time we did need maintenance to take care of a problem in the bathroom, it was handled fairly quickly.

Parking was mostly very easy, although they have been doing construction on the lot lately so parking has gotten tight.

The top floor apartments get VERY hot during the summer. I had hoped that meant it would stay warmer during the winter, but I had no such luck.

The elevators are old and ghetto and a little scary.

$25/month for cat rent is a little ridiculous too.

The laundry room is small, only two washers and two dryers, but as long as you don't try to do laundry on the weekend it wasn't too bad.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 02/08/2009
This is standard operating procedures for Essex Properties. They screw the existing tenants and have a lower rate for new move ins. I'm leaving Hillsdale Gardens (Essex Properties) for the same reason. You should review the ratings from Hillsdale Garden. Stay away from any property that Essex Properties manages. They will screw you every time. Also, they will keep most of your security deposit, again SOP.
From: Anonymous	Date: 11/23/2009
AGREE TOTALLY. Ask the city about Essex. They have been contacted by nearly all Essex's properties. Agree management is not here and if they are, they have the screw you attitude. Notice the only post good is from the manager. After hours for noise, parties, no one cares nor will management do a thing. They have some cheap service down in the south bay you can call who will tell you they will do nothing as not within their hours. I too brought in a posting of a lower rent and they would not honor it, so why most have left. The are salesmen only for new ones coming in. For those here, they could not care less.

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