I lived in Avalon Silicon Valley for 9 months. I originally moved in because they were very friendly to me during the tour so I signed a lease.

30 DAYS before my lease was up, they sent me a letter which states

- rent increases by 10% if I sign a 1-yr lease
- or pay an additional $250 on top of the 10% monthly rent increase if I go month-to-month
- plus I must give a 30-day notice if I decide to vacate (which means I had less than 24 hours upon the receipt of the letter to decide if I don't want to pay the increased rent!!)

I went to see the manager, Arturo, and told him that the one-year lease doesn't work for me because I'm in the market to buy. I told him that I'd like extend my lease by 3 months. He said they was impossible because 3 months is not part of their "matrix" -- whatever that means. He said I can either sign a long term lease or go month-to-month with an additional $250 monthly fee (apparently, this is legal because all residents sign on to it in their initial contract). He was quite rude and unaccomodating during our meeting.

When I moved out a month later, I was charged $210 for cleaning and wall painting. This was outrageous given that I only lived in the apartment for 9 months and my apartment was in great condition. The idea of normal wear and tear doesn't mean anything to Avalon...I called them about this but they haven't returned my call....

Anyway, don't be fooled by their initial nicety in the beginning because once you're in, they will rip in off until the very end and treat you poorly.

AVOID THESE PEOPLE AT ALL COST. This place is not as luxurious as they claim (only the leasing office itself is nicely maintained to entice new tenants..they need to b/c existing tenants keep moving out!)...quite a disappointment. Also, lots of car break-ins recently! Anyway, I'm glad I'm not giving my money to Avalon anymore!

Good luck with your apartment search!

User Responses
From: 2net	Date: 11/05/2007
Hi! Call their San Francisco corporate office and talk to the person in charge. Good luck.
From: Anonymous	Date: 11/08/2007
They cannot give more than a 10% rent increase without a 60 DAY NOTICE. They broke the law and someone should call them on it...
From: Anonymous	Date: 11/26/2007
We are current tenants at Avalon Silicon Valley and have just received a notice saying it will cost us an extra $1200 to go month-to-month after they told me it would cost about $200 more when I originally signed my 4-month lease. They say the new quoted price of $3664 for a 2-bedroom 1100 sq ft apartment is what the market will bear and since they've given us 60-day notice that is all they need to do. Is there any legal recourse?
From: knowyourrentalrights	Date: 12/10/2007
hello all: you can contact Project Sentinel at 1055 Sunnyvale-Saratoga Rd.Suite 3, Sunnyvale, CA 94087, Phone (888) 331-3332, Fax (408) 720-0810 mediate4us@projsen.org. they may be able to help you. It is true a 10% increase requires the 60-day advance notice. You may also be able to get info on the California Apartment Association website at http://www.caanet.org, under "renters rights". One thing to remember, that Avalon in general especially this community, will try to get the highest rates possible, it seems that is the way here, and has been for many years. The "matrix" that was referred to was a tiering they do to show how they should renew the leases, etc. As far as your move-out; did they offer you a "preliminary walk through inspection"? If they did and you declined it, then that is one thing, but if you accepted it, and they gave you something in writing, and you followed the notes they gave you, you may have a case. The purpose of this walk through is for the resident to be able to maximze the deposit return. Mgmt is to walk the apartment with you 2-weeks prior to the actual vacant date so you can know what to do to restore the apartment back to the original condition. "if" they Never offered a Preliminary Inspection" to you, and you moved out, and then billed you with several items, they in fact may have to reverse them, if you were to take them to small claims court. I would encourage you to check out the Cal Apt Asso website, so you can see your rights. If you took pictures and had a walk through done and they signed it, I would definitely think you have recourse. But, in general the only items that are ok to prorate are the painting and carpet cleaning. Generally cleaning is never prorated, meaning, if you moved in and it was clean then when you moved out it needed to be in the same condition as when you received it. That is where people's opinions differ, so something that they signed off stating it was all "good" would be ideal. The other thing is they were suppose to provide you with copies of the invoices that backed up their charges, hopefully they did. If they did not and they cannot have proof of the charges they will have to reverse or reduce the charges. "Wear and Tear" is very vague. Most bigger apartment companies just apply this term to painting and carpeting not cleaning. Yes,it is sad you left with an ill feeling. This is odd, because I see Avalon recently was named 2007 Property Management Company of the Year. This is very ironic.

Your thoughts? Post a response to this review. Display my response: with my username anonymously Responses appear below reviews and one response per user is permitted.

   Free estimates on moving trucks      Find apartment share/roommates