I used to think this a pretty cool place (even wrote a good review of it many years ago), until they began to get desperate for people to rent to. (Word is they're trying to find a buyer ... heh.) Surprize, the real estate boom means there are a glut of apartments on the books since everyone else is buying houses.

We used to have a good manager, Robin. She was tough with those folks who liked to tear places like this down. She was getting the parking figured out (assigned spaces, which would have been great!), and wouldn't allow violations of the rules. It made it a nice safe place to bring your family to, all gated and secure. But they lost her (rather, ran her off, along with anyone else decent) and now it's on it's final slide down.

1. As said above, parking sucks. Not only do you not have enough spots for all the people who want to park here, but they often park two or three deep, especially when the kids are having a party.

2. They ignore fire rules. People can park in the fire lanes, people can barbeque anyplace they want (rather than the designated area), etc. Scary.

3. No longer a gated community because they can't figure out how to be tough with those who do violations. The side gate (a driveway gate) is broken most of the time, allowing anyone into the lot. (Yes, you too can get approached by crack heads in your own parking lot!), the front gate is continually broken (they finally have a camera over it, but that doesn't make any difference), and the north gate is padlocked shut (hint: it should allow exiting during a fire ... how will THAT happen')

4. The pool is a lawsuit waiting to happen. They don't enforce when it is closed or not, half the time the gate is not only unlocked, but open, and there's going to be a drowning sooner or later. They leave the pool lights on all night long too.

5. They've raised the rates, especially for long time residents, and pretty much chased off any good personnel they used to have.

6. Without any onsite personnel, the kids can party loud all night (too bad you have a job and have to work -- these brats were obviously raised by working parents), can break bottles so your kids can't walk places, can start fights, etc. When you bring this up you find that the personnel who are only here during the day are fairly ineffectual. Wait, change that. Fairly is a gross understatement.

As soon as I can find another place to live, I'm out of here, as they have no qualms with treating their long-time customers badly, and treating anyone who can help them fill an apartment, no matter how temporarily, much better. Forget that you're never late with your rent, pay regularily, hold down a job, etc.

PS: the pricing guide is a lie. They not only stay current with the rest of Sacramento, they sometimes charge more. The idea that the high end here would be $650.00 made me fall off my chair laughing. Please.

User Responses
From: ilovealpine	Date: 11/07/2005
Here's the deal - the property is an entry level community for students and those who are just starting out. Management has changed over the years because "life" happens and people move on. In addition, many managers who start at this property are new in their career, and the good ones progress on to larger communities. Such was the case here, from my understanding. The parking is what it is. It has its challenges, but it isn't as bad as it sounds because many of the students who live here don't have cars, and therefore don't need parking spots. This makes more spots available for everyone else. The gates have been broken and fixed several times this year. This is primarily due to retaliation of management moving the "bad" people out. It doesn't have to do with a bad element trying to get in...believe me, the gate keeps them out. If the residents are letting others in, nothing can be done about that unless we all team together and make a change. The onsite personnel is so good that the above resident doesn't even know one lives here. I know who he/she is, and this person does a diligent walk of the property nightly. Yes, people of all ages, race, religion and color live on this property, which is one of the reasons I love it! There is not any discrimination going on and it closly matches the demographics of our diverse culture in Sacramento. For me, I love Alpine Terrace and have appreciated their hospitality.
From: wasmanager	Date: 09/29/2006
Hi!! This is from Robin-former manager:) Thank you "totally down the drain" for your kind words. I did try the best I could with what I had to work with. And "I love Alpine"...I am glad that you recognize what Alpine is...entry level/dorm-like with great mix of people. That was part of what I loved about the place. The parking was always my worst nightmare and I miss all of my great residents...especially our annual holiday open house in December...I treasure those memories. I know that neither of you will probably ever see this, but I feel better acknowledging this. Hope you are both well as I believe that I know who both of you raters are!! Robin:)

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