Good apartment deal in Silicon Valley

[docinthebox]

I don't think I've seen hot deals on apartments in this forum yet. But hey, my rent takes up a large chunk of my paycheck every month. So I think if I can save on rent, that's a hot deal to me.

Anyway, saw this on the SJ Mercury:

Studio at The Enclave in San Jose from $1250 up.

This is a pretty new apartment complex (completed late 1996 I think) very near to the Cisco headquarters. According to the floor plan, even the studio includes washer and dryer. Normally a studio there rents for $1550-$1700, depending on which ad you read.

Reviews on the web don't look too positive, but at this price, it seems like a pretty good deal. It's hard to find a studio in a new apartment complex in the Silicon Valley for $1250 that has washer and dryer in unit. East Bay maybe.

I guess I'm going to get replies like "Where's the deal?" from out of state people. But apartments are really this expensive in the Silicon Valley.

 

[CoolTech]

looks like a very nice place to live

 

[CoolTech]

whoa, that one review just turned me off.... "Opinion: Do Not Be Fooled
From: -Anonymous- Date: 3/16/2002

I have lived here since 1999 and have been so insulted by the FREE RENT signs and the fact that they have new tenants move in at $400-500 less than what I had to sign my lease just a few months earlier. I have tried to renegotiate- they said no but that my turn will come. Now that my lease is almost up, they think that "the market is turning around" and claim they only have 1 place like mine left. I can count 3 or 4 in addition to this just near me. They lie, they care nothing about long term tenants, they do nothing about the noise or crime here. They are terribly rude in the office, with the exception Jessica. They act like you are inconveniencing them. They do nothing to try to make your living here a pleasant experience. The Security is a joke. The walls are paper thin, the windows leak and mold everytime it rains. There is nothing redeeming about this place. The Management should be ashamed of themselves for caring so little about keeping good long term tenants and Forest City Management should is obviously clueless. The management says they care but actions clearly speak louder than words here. The maintenance people are, for the most part, rude as well. It took 4 days to get my refigerator fixed so all of my food spoiled. They got into a fight with my movers when I moved in because they were tying up the elevator!! The pool and hot tub are filthy. The vendor they use to charge us for water charges a service charge that is usually as much as my actual water price. NOTHING is done to make this a place to want to stay living in. No wonder there are so many empty units... " LOL. screw this place

 

[puppyfriend]

$1250!!!!! Wow!!!!! I knew things were bad in the valley, but I hadn't realized things had gotten that bad. It's been a while since I've looked for an apartment. That's a steal. Make sure you get a multi-year lease to lock it in. They'll jack up the rent if you don't.

David

 

[docinthebox]

Regarding the reviews, be aware that by nature they're biased though. What I mean is: happy tenants rarely go onto the web to leave a positive review. Usually, it's people who had a bad experience, or even more often, people who move out and have their entire security deposit amount retained, that would really go onto the web and look for a place to leave negative comments. So you're selecting out negative reviews, in a way.

 

[clarkmo]

I guess I'm going to get replies like "Where's the deal?" from out of state people

Well...yeah...dang, at least you must be making good money right. So, it's all relative.

 

[Dragnov]

Yeah its all relative. Silicon Valley people have higher incomes because they have to pay for higher living costs essentially. They're not necessarily "richer" than anyone else, despite what they tell you.

 

[dakata24]

nice place.. when are you moving in?

 

[Loqutious]

I used to live there - AVOID IT! It looks ok from the outside but the apartments aren't built very well at all - the carpet was crap and they charge you to replace it when you move out! They also charge you to repaint the whole place when you move out (whether it needs it or not), and unless you get it professionally cleaned, they charge you for that, too. They're finally dropping their prices because they have so many vacancies - they used to raise their prices every couple of months to steal every penny they could from hard working valley residents. Also, it's really close to the smelly end of the SF Bay, so this nasty bay/landfill funk rolls in every evening. Not a good location.

The only redeeming thing about the place is the they have banks of AT&T cable modems in each building, so when you connect to AT&T broadband you get added to the bank, which gives you the potential for outrageously fast internet access (I saw 6MBPS on occasion). The downside is you have to get all of your phone and cable TV service through AT&T, and they have no idea what they're doing. I was getting separate bills from TCI and AT&T that BOTH charged me for the same services.

 

[liquidinferno]

dang,for 1500 bucks you can live like king in two bedroom townhouse in Seattle..Damn that Sillicon....Wow,that is EXPENSIVE!!!!!!!!!

 

[Red Dawn]

N/M

 

[worth]

The place where I used to live (in the Bay Area) also refused to renegotiate the price. We used to pay around, $2200/month, while our neighbors got a 3 month contract for $1400/month. Sure, their contract was for a short period of time, but it was a BIG difference.

We're now living in a rented duplex, for about $1600. The duplex isn't very nice (but I don't care), and neither are the neighbors :disgust: One of my neighbors has an old Porsche 944, long golden hair, plays drums, and hasn't left his house in the last 2 weeks. He is always home, and I don't think he has a job, at least an official one. I think that he has a different occupation besides drumming

 

[vladgur]

Are you freaking nuts? Unless you absolutely have to live in that location because you dont have a car and these apartments are within walking distance of your work, move. $1250 for a studio? You can find nice 2-bedroom apartments in Mountain View(only 15 mins away) for less than that. I live in Palo Alto and Im paying $1195 for a 2-story 2 bedroom apartment that allows pets. Things have changed a lot since the rental peak at the end of the 99.

 

[AmdInside]

Check Craigslist.org for housing in the Silicon Valley. Many great rentals and rooms are posted on this messageboard.

 

[xsquid]

We used to live in San Diego where the rent and house payments are outrageous. We moved to the middle of the country and pay less than 500. a month to buy a 3bdr 2ba house, including tax and ins, and just visit the daughter and grandkids on the coast. Never again will we live there though. We didn't know what real quality of life was until we moved here.

Sorry, not meant as a crap. Priorities just change as you get older.

 

[Optical]

If you want a good deal in Silicone Valley, stay away from those mega complexes. Those freebie apartment magazines are full those craps..high priced, bad service "organizations". I learned a hard lesson as a new comer (during peak season) coming to the bay area.

My rent was $2185 for a two bedroom apartment (so called luxury) with a single garage, washer/dryer and 2 baths at approxm. 1000 sq feet. I tried to renegotiate after the economy took a dive and the management brushed me off. The following week they sent us a nice letter saying with the "current market condition", they will knock off a whopping $35 from $2185 exisiting rent to keep their "good" customers. Well, long and behold I called pretending to be a new customer and they were offering $1850 for the same apartment. These people are scums if you ask me. They will lie, cheat, and just about anything to make their money.

I vowed to never to rent from these mega complexes again and started to look elsewhere and came across this Bayrentals.com. This website specializes in private owners rentals which are a night and day compared to these scams these mega complexes are trying to pull. The website does does charge a $99 fee for 90 days of access to their rental database. It was worth every penny when I found mine.

If you know where to look, SV has some decent deals. Just to finish my story, I got a similar apartment for $1400. $35 off $2185 was a freaking joke. I got so p*ssed, I wrote a nice letter theri "Management" reminding them that not all their tenants are stupid and they can keep it for another sucker.

 

[ringzero]

I live in Rochester, NY, and I'm renting an apartment for 500/mo (1 bedroom, includes heat/electricity). Which is a good deal, the only downside is that I'm next to the street and there are 5 bars on the other side. So the weekend gets noisy. But I finally had the bright idea to move my bed into the living room, and now it's much quieter.

I'm not an 'apartment veteran', this is my second year living away from my parents. But one thing I learned from reading online is if you're interested in an apartment, always knock on the neighbors doors and ask them what they think of the place, and maybe you can find out why the person moved out. Or even find out the person who moved out and talk to him.

 

[josphII]

this is a horrible deal!

i pay $1565 for a 2bed 2bath w/ washer and dryer in san jose and have had no problems at all

http://www.avaloncommunities.com/custom/brochure.jhtml?pid=145098&sc=avalon

 

[clifford]

Jessss.. I'm in New Mexico paying rent $325 for one bedroom apt. That rent can pay my 6 months rent!

 

[theCheetah]

I am moving in to a new appartment at the end of this month to the Landmark Apartments. I got a studio(550sq ft) for 950/month with 1 month free and 6 month lease term comes out to about 780/month. I think I got a decent deal.

 

[docinthebox]

780/month at the Landmark is a good deal. I live right across the street in Avalon Sunnyvale. I'm paying $1075/month for a studio about the same size as yours.

I got tired of having to go to the laundry room every couple of weeks. So now I'm looking for a studio with washer/dryer in unit, or at least one with hookups so I can buy the machines from Best Buy and install.

Apartment hunting in Silicon Valley is so time consuming. I wish there's some forum like AT where you can get all the hot deals right away.

 

[sbpd]

WOW! Makes me glad I'm a country girl. I have a 3 bdrms, 2 full baths, 2 story house w/ garage and a huge yard, basement, kitchen w/ walk-in pantry, dining room, living room, office, sewing room, washer/dryer hookups, wrap around covered porch. Kids walk to school, library, post office, grocery store, etc. I pay $525. We are 1.5 hours from Buffalo.

 

[z0mb13]

my friend lives here....
he said that the place is very nice

 

[RossMAN]

Damn the cost of living in Silicon Valley is outrageous.

$1250 per month can get you a brand new townhouse (not apartment, it's sort of like a condo) here in Portland, OR. 3-4 bedrooms, lots of sq footage, 2 full bathrooms, high ceilings, washer/dryer/a/c, everything.

If you had good credit you could buy a house and pay $1250 a month in mortgage, 30 years later you'd own the house.

 

[LilBlinbBlahIce]

You guys need to move to Riverside, the ghetto in Austin, TX where I live. $505 a month for a three bedroom, three bathroom, with reserved parking, free ethernet and 20 foot ceilings. The down side are the crack whores, pimps and vato locos but hey, life is give and take. Damn good mexican food close by as well (but make sure you only go to eat there when your drunk and/or stoned as to not take notice of the nastiness of the surroundings).