Review History for anonymous

The Cedars Apartments


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anonymous

Resident 2014 - 2015

3/31/2015

I lived at the Cedars Apartments for approximately seven months. During my apartment search, this was the most affordable city apartment that I could find during the summer months. The building is conveniently located in Belltown near many restaurants and within walking distance to Seattle Center. The area always appeared to be safe. The building itself is modern and the apartments feature new cabinets and stainless steel appliances. The rooftop was a nice amenity, which featured a gas grill, but it always seemed to be low or out of propane whenever I tried to use it. The elevator was also very slow, and it was actually faster to walk up 5 flights of stairs than take the elevator, so I avoided it unless I was carrying something heavy. Additionally, there is no outgoing mail box other than a small tray in the management office, so sending mail required the office to be open or finding a box on the street. The street noise level inside the apartment was barely tolerable. The noise on the weekends consisted of loud, rowdy bar-goers, along with the usual persistent sound of sirens and street traffic. Closing the window would alleviate the noise level, but then the apartment would rapidly heat up to an unbearable point (78-80 degrees in the winter). The apartments do not have a ventilation system, so it is impossible to achieve any air circulation. In the summer, I was forced to leave the window open all the time, with two fans running to keep the temperature tolerable. The building management was always friendly, though typically did not respond to emails, forcing us to call or visit the office in person if we needed something. On the day that I initially moved in, the rent price on the drafted lease agreement was +$200 over the original agreed amount, and I had to point this out and have them change it prior to signing the lease. Additionally, my roommate and I were overcharged for our utility service. The lease agreement clearly stated that each apartment was charged a fixed amount, though we were charged double this amount, under the claim that the charge was based on occupant count. When we brought this up, the provided explanation was that a separate legal dictionary kept off-site had precedence over the clear example provided in the signed lease agreement. Additionally, on move-out, my roommate and I spent an entire day thoroughly cleaning the apartment to avoid having to pay $100 for their full cleaning service. After inspection by management, we were told that we should just be charged a $50 "touch-up" fee. Several weeks later, we found that we were charged a total of $200 for cleaning and painting. In all previous apartments that I had lived at, I was never charged for this type of normal "wear and tear" work. There was no damage to the apartment any time during my residence there. Overall, the Cedars was a nice place to live, aside from their money-gouging practices and the street noise. I would recommend living elsewhere, or renting from a private landlord if at all possible.

    Review 1 out of 20

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    The Cedars Apartments

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