The purpose of this review is to point out potential issues that future customers may encounter. My standards are quite high; I do not mean to make this sound condescending.

Front desk / management staff members are always cheerful, yet they seem to make mistakes very frequently. Maybe because FPI management relies on antiquated manual paperwork systems that introduce a huge margin for human error. Management staff seems overworked. Super time waster when you have to take off work, day after day to sit in their office straightening things out. You may or may not experience similar treatment. I have been billed for services that I did not order (such as rentals from their in-house DVD collection, $80 and 2 hours right in the middle of my work day to rectify the situation), I have been accused of parking in an inappropriate parking stall (when in fact they had double booked the same stall because they forgot to "write it down" in their manual-procedure-notebook)..staff was helpful in resolving the problem, but it shouldn't have happened in the first place.

Maintenance. If you want things to be in working order, be prepared to stay home a few business days while everything gets fixed. Might want to buy a water filter or two. worst water I've tasted in Sacramento. probably just old pipes.

Don't bother doing laundry in the on-site Laundromats... dryers are super-high maintenance on their heating elements.. half the time I throw a load in to dry, I come back 45 minutes later to find out it only blew cold air. a waste of money ($1.25 per washing machine load, $1.00 per 45min drying time.. make it $2 every time you use a bad dryer. minimum dry time is 45 minutes) Laundromat services are contracted out to a 3rd party company. I'm tired of dialing their 800 number. it'd be nice if they did maintenance, or just bought new dryers with all the $$ they're making.
maintenance workers make the facility look decent on the outside.. impressed me on my first visit. landscape is nice, however they only run the fountains during the day, so if you're counting on the sound of running water to fall asleep to, forget about it. if you need anything "after-hours", or whenever the office is closed, there is a number to call... however, don't expect them to do anything. they like to "get back to you".

"secured building" is pointless, unless you just like the idea of entering your apt from an inside hallway. some of the doors to the secured building don't close all the way (unless you stand there and force them to), and thus negate the purpose of having a "secured" building.

pool looks nice! not many people use it (havent seen anyone in it, and it's late June)... probably because there's no heater in the pool, and even on a hot day, the temperature in the pool is around 65-70deg at best. spa is nice...

FPI purchased the property half-way through the old company's re-model project. FPI thought the remodel was a waste of money, and so we're left with some apartments in the old style, and some with the new style.
(new granite-style countertops versus the old yellow tops, updated fixtures appliances etc..) push for a remodeled place if you move in. I learned this after the fact and had to switch.


AIR CONDITIONING/ HVAC system:
There is a minimum amount of thermal insulation in the buildings. Example: Ambient temperature outside is 90deg F, and likewise the inside of your apartment will be about the same if you let temperatures stabilize (with all doors and windows closed). if you turn on the A/C for 10 minutes or so, you can have the whole place down to 75degrees! very fast and cold a/c units! Within 20 minutes of turning off your a/c, the temperature in your apartment is back up to a hot and sweaty 90deg. gross! So you get to run your a/c 24/7' that's pricey. heat rises. try to move in on the first floor.
internal hallways in secure building trap stale air and smell strongly of smoke. (some tenants smoke naturally, however ventilation is a huge issue in these buildings)

someone... either a tenant or a visitor, has made a habit of urinating in the bottom of the stairwell in the secured building. maintenance, despite their proclaimed intentions, has never gotten around to cleaning up the mess. gross. (its been over a month, it's collecting down there). :8

The secure building has an elevator. how nice. I don't think it was meant for transporting humans however. the thing has broken down several times in the last few months, and really "jerks" like it's about t break again. It'd be awesome if FPI would fix it.

I receive notes on my door almost weekly saying "water to be turned off during the day on xx/xx/xxx"... seems like FPI would invest the money to fix everything at once.

Sometimes tenants have parties and create noise issues, but this is usually only a problem on Fri. and Sat. nights.

bathroom lighting fixture is Hollywood bulb style. (8 lights running 60 watts each). good idea to replace with those twisty-energy saver bulbs instead.

all in all, place is average. location sells the place more than anything else i presume. streets stay pretty quiet even though less than a mile from arden fair mall.

Recommended: NO Overall Rating

Parking: Maintenance: Construction: Noise:

Grounds: Safety: Office Staff:

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