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| Apartment Name | | | Reviews | | | Rating | |
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| 1. | | | Deauville Apts
2760 76th Ave Se
Mercer Island WA, 98040 | | | 4 | | | 1.5 | |
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| Recent Review: | | There is always funky, criminal people walking the halls. The workout room is a joke. They just decided to raise everyones rent by $50/mth. Dont move here, Shoreline is much nicer. |
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| 2. | | | Shorewood Heights
3209 Shorewood Drive
Mercer Island WA, 98040 | | | 4 | | | 2.0 | |
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| Recent Review: | | My son and I lived at Shorewood Heights for 8 months in 2004. Being accustomed to apartment living (I've lived in something around 20 apartments over 30 years), I have what I consider to be reasonable expectations.Common for most large complexes, the staff was focused almost entirely on writing leases, and not too concerned about tenant retention. Most corporate owned apartments don't spend a lot of effort on managing the managers, and the staff have a vested interest in keeping the tenant turnover high. High churn rate equals more pay. Provided someone doesn't scream to "corporate," there's little incentive to retain the tenants who are already there."The Merry-Go-Round Road:"Access to most of the complex's buildings is by way of a circular road. This mini-beltway is a one-way street - forcing everyone to drive in a huge circle just to reach their building. Mine was only a few yards from the city street - in the wrong direction - which forced me to drive about 330 degrees of the 360 degree circle to reach my driveway. That would be only a minor inconvenience, were it not for 5 speed bumps that I had to traverse (we can't let corporate get sued over fast traffic) that literally would high-center my stock BMW 323 if I drove over them directly -- at any speed. To avoid loud scraping sounds emanating from beneath my car, I had to take the bumps at an acute angle that was often impossible to accomplish when cars were parked adjacent to the speed bumps. I suspect I've had a significant amount of metal sanded off the bottom of my hapless vehicle. Beware anyone driving anything with less ground clearance than an SUV (speaking of which, there seemed to be an unusual concentration of SUVs at this complex - suggesting that was a local survival tactic)."Trashcan Caravans:"The garbage bins were only located at the perimeter of the complex, not in the individual buildings (which I'm more accustomed to). The hike from my apartment (I paced it off) was 1/3 of a mile round trip! Of course, I could put the trash in my car, drive over 3 speed bumps to the trash container, dump my trash, and then drive over 5 more speed bumps to return home (total distance - 1 mile). As absurd as that method may sound, it was a common practice to see cars going down that road with huge piles of trash on their roofs. People, not wanting to put trash INTO their cars, piled the garbage ON TOP of their vehicles and made the trek to the trash. Given the scarcity of trash containers, that's where one most often met one's neighbors - these containers became the local watering hole, frequented far more often than the Community Center."One Never Feels Alone Here:"I lived in one of the newest buildings, and somehow the architect still managed to demonstrate with his design how a floor can be turned into a sounding board. One never needed to wonder if your neighbors upstairs were at home. You could track their every movement by listening to the stomping sounds on your ceiling. Of course, sometimes you had to turn up the volume on the TV to hear the actor's dialog over your neighbor's feet, but one never got that lonely, solitary sensation while living there. At all times, life was just above your roof, or across your wall..."We're Going To Have To Stop Meeting This Way:"My apartment building had an elevator. This elevator had a bad habit of forgetting its function AFTER everyone boarded, and also forgetting how to reopen its doors (regardless of which buttons one frantically pushed). I had 3 rather lengthy and engaging conversations with fellow tenants that were facilitated by this elevator refusing to either move or let us out.One conversation relating to a gentleman's need for an insulin injection, and another centering on a lady's urgent need to visit the restroom were especially memorable. It's amazing how one begins to appreciate ordinary things when trapped in a little metal box. We finally learned that by jumping up and down in the car, we could encourage the car to start moving. Although the office took my calls on several occasions regarding this faulty conveyance, the most helpful action was taken by a fellow tenant who - after weeks of maintenance inaction - posted handwritten instructions on how to properly jump up and down in the elevator to get it moving. I reported to the staff that one gentleman who used a walker and lived on the third floor would be in a particular pickle if he couldn't depend on the elevator, but that concept was met with the dismissive observation that he shouldn't have chosen to live on the third floor. Sorta reminds one of the old phrase: "Cold as a landlord's heart.""Promises Are Made To Be Broken, and Deposits Were Made To Be Kept:"We left the apartment in good condition. Nevertheless, the management found ways to keep every penny of it. We did get a spiffy itemized list, showing how they kept the money for repainting the walls (we never hung any pictures) and cleaning the carpet (we didn't have pets). Nice of them to use our $400 to pay for normal wear and tear."We're Pet Friendly! We Have Pets Here, and Here, and Over There Too."They haven't invented mine sweepers yet that warn you of dog and cat droppings, but if anyone ever wants a good test ground for finding these little presents, I highly recommend the entire area of this complex. One in fact has a hard time not finding these surprises with one's feet."We Like You So Much, We're Going To Charge You Much More To Stay:"We decided to bid our ado after the 6 month lease ran out, and we got a nice note in the mail saying they were going to charge us a substantial penalty to stay on a month-to-month basis.(Gotta keep those tenants moving out to keep the managers employed.) Be sure to ask up front what that penalty will be before you sign the lease, as we did (but don't hold your breath for a straight answer). Never mind what they tell you - it will certainly cost more. Oh, and one other suggestion: if after your lease expires you find your rent hiked higher that the apogee of Space Ship One, call the office pretending to be a prospective renter and ask what an apartment comparable to yours rents for (and substract the "move-in" incentive). You will probably find that you are paying more than someone off the street would pay just to stay in your own home. The office motto must be: Asta La Vista, Baby!"Alternatives Abound:"We had a 2 bedroom cubicle at Shorewood, and moved out to take up residence in a very fine 5 bedroom house on Mercer Island for exactly the same price per month. Final advice: while there are few apartment complexes on Mercer Island, there are MANY homes that rent for a reasonable rate. Be sure to check them out and compare! |
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