I have lived in Alborada for over 3 years, and am moving out of the area. When I moved in, the Apartment Complex was rated in the Top 10 of all apartments in Fremont, and now it is in the Top 40 somewhere. Needless to say, Equity has a done a bang-up job of destroying the reputation of their premier complex. Listed below are the pros and cons:

Pros:

1) Nicely maintained complex. The grounds are attractive and a few units have views of the Fremont/Mission Hills.

2) The rooms are larger than many other apartment complexes, by about another 100 square feet per unit, than many other 1 and 2 bedroom units in the area.

3) The complex still looks brand new, even though it is now about 4 years old. Equity has re-invested their money (albeit, unwisely, see below) to ensure the complex stays in tip-top looking shape.

Cons:

1) There is very little value left in living here. During the dot-com boom, the complex thought nothing of raising everyone's rents (up to $500 a month or more, in some circumstances), yet failed to lower rents during the dot-com bust. As a result, you are paying significantly more than other complexes in the area. You will have to fight like hell if you want a rent decrease, and being a tenant for 3 years or more means nothing to them. If the market shows that rents have gone up $200 a month, you'll probably get a rent increase for $225 a month, despite most complexes raising rents no more than $25 to $50 at a time. If any complex needs to be governed by rent control, it's Alborada.

2) The rules keep changing--and brace yourself--none of them are in your favor. When I first moved in, I didn't have to pay for garbage, or water, or trash, or sewage or a pet, or parking. Now, you have to pay extra for all of these services, which most complexes outside of maybe San Francisco include with the rent. So not only are you paying a fortune to live here, Equity is also nickel and diming you for every little amenity they can possibly charge you. Most complexes would at least "grandfather clause" the tenants who moved in earlier under different lease terms, but Equity has no problem "stiffing you" with their new rules--if you don't like it, just friggin' move. Can we all say "bait and switch" together' If not, repeat after me...."Bait and switch". Now, granted, Alborada has some covered parking stalls, which is understandable to charge extra for. But charging for a single carport' Where do they expect you to park' If the complex feels it has insufficient parking, why should that become your problem' You didn't build the complex with tight parking.

3) Alborada also does a wonderful job of wasting your money. Recently, they spent a fortune to re-pave the parking lot, which was only a couple years old. This was a totally unnecessary expense. There wasn't a single pot-hole in the entire complex, and the pavement still looked new, fresh, and black. So, why spend the thousands of dollars to re-pave it' Just a frivolous expense to justify raising your rent, I guess. Also, speaking of frivolous, Equity decided to completely remodel and renovate the Management office (which is the size of a clubhouse) for no apparent reason other than a vanity expense to blow your rent money. The Management Office was gorgeous to begin with, but now it's gorgeous with wooden beams. Oh, please.

4) Don't be fooled by the security gates, either. This complex has 450 units, which means all anybody has to do is wait about 60 seconds for a car to either come or go, and boom, you're inside the complex. Half the time, the gates don't work properly anyway, so if you think this is a "secure" complex, you're living in Fantasyland.

5) Fortunately, I never broke my lease, but God forbid if you do. Normally, if, due to circumstances beyond your control, you have to leave and break a lease you have to pay an additional's month's rent. At Alborada you have to pay two full month's rent for breaking a lease (so count on at least another $3,000 payment) if that should happen. Can you imagine, in this economy, with all of the people who have lost their jobs due to circumstances out of their control, now get Alborada and Equity to add to the misery by charging this lease-breaker'! Just bend over baby, and grab your ankles. OH, and don't even think renting month to month here. If you don't sign a lease with them, plan on paying about $200 a month more, which is an outrageous upcharge for going monthly.

6) The Management team is so fake and artificial you could just gag. Oh, they so pretend to care about you, but the bottom line is they're rapists who are only concerned about gouging you for every cent they can get from you. In the three years I've been here, the complex has gone through at least 5 full-management changes. With every month's newsletter, you'll probably find another name on the Management staff you've never seen before. I caught up with one ex-Management staffer, who left Equity because he was tired of all the complaints from the residents, and tired of enforcing Equity's greedy policies. Believe me, the Management will not cut you a break on anything. They will charge you for water. They will charge you for a pet (on top of the pet deposit, you now have to pay additional per month per pet). They will charge you to park your car. They will charge you to empty the garbage. They will charge you to pay their sewage. They will charge you for every vanity expense they can think of. Their big incentive to live here, is to enter you in some stupid contest to get a half month's rent free. What they don't tell you, is you're up against every Equity tenant in the nation, which makes your odds of winning about as great as Publisher's Clearing House coming to your home to tell you you've won the big one. The bottom line is --STAY AWAY!! Don't put up with their crap. Maybe when they don't have any tenants left, they will get the message that you can't treat people like the garbage you have to pay for and get away with it. Go somewhere else, for Christ's sake. Living in Alborada is not worth the B.S.

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