***UPDATE 1/1/07***
Rent has gone up and quality has gone down since Essex purchased the place and I am sadly no longer recommending this complex. I have updated my ratings and will add more detailed information at a later time. I sincerely hope the former owner (Panfilo) does not read these reviews because it would probably break his heart to know what's become of this once glorious community. Very sad indeed.

***ORIGINAL REVIEW 5/24/01***
Great location, awesome amenities, reasonable price for the area.

I have lived at Cedar Terrace since March of 1998. I absolutely love it here.

We have a full time staff that is awesome - the office is open 7 days a week and most maintenance requests are handled within 24 hours.

The amenities are excellent - there is a sauna, pool, tanning, spa, large clubhouse and a nature trail that leads from one end of the complex to the other with a picnic area in between.

Regarding noise, we live on a third floor unit which I would recommend. When viewing the model unit on the 2nd floor, we could definitely hear the tenants above. We live in a 2BR/2BA so only have one unit adjacent to ours, but have never heard anything coming from that apartment. My mom lives here in a 1BR/1BA and seems to have a bit more noise from the adjacent units.

The location is terrific. We are minutes from downtown Bellevue and about 10-15 minutes away from downtown Seattle on a good traffic day. However, if SR520 is having a bad day, this drive can take upwards of twenty minutes to an hour. I work in Issaquah and the commute is about 20 minutes and quite painless.

The neighborhood is great and is mostly filled with newer single family homes (most valued from $650,000 up - watch for speeding SUVs!), though there are two other apartment complexes around the corner.

Unfortunately, due to demand in the area the rents are increasing and getting more and more out of reach. However, for what you get the value is incredible. We live in a two bedroom/two bath that is over 1000 square feet. Fireplace, air conditioning (YES!), slightly vaulted ceilings (third floor units only), forced air heat, huge year-round balcony, and full size washer/dryer. I believe these units currently rent for around $1100 which is typical of Bellevue.

This is the first and only apartment complex that we looked at. We knew exactly what we wanted and narrowed down our choices. We planned to visit each complex in the order of our preference and Cedar Terrace had everything we (and our kitty!) were looking for. I knew the minute I stepped into the clubhouse - before I even saw the model apartment - that we were going to live here. We plan to live here until we buy a house.

***UPDATE 3/18/03***
Well we just renewed our lease for another year and are still loving it here. However, we are hoping this will be our last lease only because we want to purchase a home next year when our lease expires. We would like to start building equity in our own property and honestly, that's pretty much the only reason we would leave here!

***UPDATE 6/1/04***
Still here! We were unable to purchase a home in 2004 so decided to renew our lease. Our lease was renewed at the same rent rate (no increase!) PLUS we received $600 in rent concessions for signing a 12-month lease. I removed my comment about the rents getting more expensive here because honestly, we've lived here since 1998 and over that time our rent has only increased a total of $100. Parking seems to have improved in our area of the complex (upper portion near clubhouse) and only really have a problem if there is an event in the clubhouse. Office staff is still excellent. Had more maintenance calls in the past year than we've had before, likely due to aging units and appliances, but most were resolved in 24 hours. I love it here.

2004 Information:
-2BR/2BA Rent 1070.00
-Parking is adequate.
-Minimal noise.
-A thing of beauty.
-Don't know of any problems. Seems pretty safe to me.
-Built well.
-Very good work. Always fixed right the first time.
-Staff really have its act together! Obviously committed to delivering great service to residents.
-Superior to most others.
-Yes, I would recommend Cedar Terrace Apartments.

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