Pros:

--Landscaping is pretty in the summer (if the dogs haven't discolored the grass)
--Close to shopping (but not an easy walk, and poor bus service)
--Easy freeway access
--Our neighbors were all quiet and friendly
--Very nice recreation center (except that the gym looks out over the indoor pool, the hot tub is rarely hot, and the facilities are not conveniently located for all residents)
--Variety of floor plans available
--Apartments are open and airy, with several large windows
--Nicely sized balconies (but they only allow cetain items on the balconies and they do periodic checks)
--24 hour service guarantee (but they don't take it seriously)
--We were able to get DSL and digital cable

Cons:

**--They charge a $300 "redecoration fee" (later renamed "lease fee") which is non-refundable and is NOT applied towards damages when you move out
**--They charge a $300 "pet fee" per pet (up to two) which is non-refundable and is NOT applied towards damages when you move out
--View will most likely be of a parking lot, freeway, or more apartments
--Unless you purchase a covered parking place or garage, finding parking can be a nightmare at night...and people park in fire zones, etc.
--Very loud powerlines are strung right over the property
--The water heaters are small (NOT standard size, as they will try to convince you)
--Dust fills the air (and creeps into the apartments) from the neighboring Seattle Times printing press
--The staff is rude. I have rarely been helped by someone friendly or been greeted with a smile, and have never left the office happy. They often interrupt helping me in order to help someone else who arrived after me.
--They do not enforce the "no soliciting" policy: people come by selling candy, or leave advertisements on your door for pizza, home loans, etc.
--They do not use individual utilities meters...so you pay for water, sewer and trash whether or not you use them
--The dumpsters are always overflowing and gross
--They change the rules after you have signed your lease: like what day rent is due, what you can keep on your balcony, etc.
--They post messages on your door at least once a week, making it obvious who is on vacation
--There are a lot of lights outside, but they tend to light up the insides of the apartments at night while not doing much to make the parking lots feel safer
--Even though our neighbors were quiet, there was a lot of noise from the streets and parking lot--kids playing, dogs barking, people yelling, etc.
--It wasn't very clean when we moved in (dusty, sticky, etc.): I did a thorough cleaning first
--The appliances are terrible. The dishwasher is noisy and doesn't clean dishes (I washed them by hand instead), the oven and stove don't maintain a constant temperature, the refigerator is noisy, the washer and dryer cause the entire apartment the rattle, the heaters smell terrible.


A few true stories (and trust me, I could have written more):

--We had selected the apartment we wanted and had paid the application fee and "redecoration fee". They said it would take two weeks to draw up the lease forms and then we could go in and sign them. The next day they called to say that the apartment they rented to us had, in fact, been rented to someone else and we would have to select another. There was no apology. We asked about compensation for the inconvenience and were told that "because of the Equal Housing Law, we can't do anything."
--When we arrived on move-in day to sign the lease and do our walk through, we were seated at a table, the file placed in front of us, pens dropped in front of us, and then the leasing agent left. We sat patiently, read through it, etc. and signaled for her to come back and take us on the walk through. Our signals were ignored. Three other customers were helped while we waited, flabbergasted. We then witnessed two leasing agents arguing over which of them had to help us. They did not want to answer our questions. They refused to do the walk through with us, because we wanted to spend time with it and make it detailed and they said they would only stay five minutes. Before we could move in, we had to wait half an hour while they changed the locks (even though we had been told that the apartment was ready) and we had to wait over a week for the drip pans on our stove to be delivered (and yes, we had to call to remind them, they didn't call us when they had arrived).
--Our dryer broke down and we put in a maintenace request online. Three days went by and no one had called to make an appointment. I called them and they sent someone out the next day. However, they have a 24 hour service guarantee which states that they will look at the problem within 24 hours of your request. I asked what the compensation was when they didn't follow through, and they said there was none.
--The check we wrote to pay our rent one month was read as $0.60 more than we actually owed. I tried to get the account corrected and was given a very hard time. After about an hour of trying to be reasonable while being yelled at, I got the account corrected, but not an apology. I was called a liar, told that 60 cents wasn't worth their time, was glared at, etc. And there were three of them, all raising their voices at me.
--Prior to signing the lease were led to believe by the leasing agent that the $300 redecoration fee (now called a lease fee) and the $300 pet fee would be applied towards damages when we moved out. After we moved out we were sent a bill for $450 to replace the carpet because our cat had scratched at several corners. As it turns out, the redecoration fee is used to pay salaries, etc. and they couldn't tell me what the pet fee is used for, so I guess it just "disappears" into their bank account. Basically, we had paid $600 in administrative fees for the privilege of living there and being treated badly. We had to pay the $450 and there was no apology for misinforming us before we signed the lease.

Please feel free to email me if you have any questions.

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