Emerald Ridge N.

I have lived at Emerald Ridge for 5 years. I did move once during the 5 years thinking I wanted to be more centrally located in Bellevue. I realized quickly how good it was at Emerald Ridge and for many reasons, I have moved back.
The Property Manager, Tiffany, and her staff are the best by far of any apartment complex I have lived in. They take a lot of pride in the appearance of the complex. The grounds are kept up beautifully; unfortunately, there are always those one or two tenants that just throw their garbage near the dumpsters and can’t take the time to actually put their trash inside the dumpsters, but if that happens here, it is cleaned up in minutes, it is unbelievable how quickly they respond to things like that. They must check the grounds all day to make sure it is spotless. The Maintenance crew is amazing. If you call in a service request, usually someone is there to fix it within minutes of hanging up the phone. I have even said, there is no rush, but that does not matter. They want things to be perfect for their tenants. They are just the best, I can’t say enough about all the employees at Emerald Ridge. Every summer Emerald Ridge has a BBQ by the pool for all the tenants and it is so much fun. The staff does all the cooking and it is a great way to get to know your neighbors.
The apartments are laid out nice and are very spacious, lots of storage. There is assigned parking and they also have carports for a small price. The grounds are beautiful and right across the street is Mercer Slough that has walking paths and a great place to take your dog and for the kids to play.
I can’t say enough good things about Emerald Ridge. I am very happy here!

Whatever…

I have been living at Emerald Ridge for over six months now and have no real complaints about the complex.
PRO:
I think the landscaping people come weekly so the grounds are always well maintained. Personally I think the maintenance guys in the office are also great. They come out to address my issue as soon as possible, which is usually the same day. Also I moved from CA and did not know how to install my portable AC properly. When I asked them to check out if I had installed it properly, they offered to come out and install it for me if that would be more convenient. He also went the extra mile and cut me a piece of wood to keep the window stable. I properly would live here again just because of those guys.
Management in general is very responsive. I prefer to work with Tiffany. She always try to help as much as she can. If I see one of the guys subbing in, I just turn back and wait until Tiffany is in the office. The few times I did interact with the guys their attitude came off as if they were doing me a favor just having to talk to me. So definitely prefer to work with Tiffany whenever I can.
They updated all my appliances before I moved in since the last resident had been here forever and the appliances were old. They had them replaced in less than 2 weeks before I got here. Truly appreciated having a new dishwasher and dryer.
The apartments are in good condition even though they are old. A good amount of them have been renovated but the cost of the renovated ones is higher.
A major selling point for me was being across from the mercer slough park. I love to go for runs in the evening and the trails are perfect for that. I’m guessing that’s why the many residents with dogs decided to live here.
CON:
My major complaint about this place is that they use AUM for utilities. This is reason I am giving a 4 star instead of 5 star rating. Residents are responsible for all utilities. They get the electric separately and then the water/​sewer/​garbage bill from AUM. What AUM does is take the monthly bill for the complex then split it by square footage of each apartment and I think by resident as well. So if someone’s kids are using more water, I end up with the bill. Coming from California, I am very water conscious and try to reduce my garbage to limit my carbon footprint. But I get stuck with higher bills due to everyone else. My bill for one person living in a one bedroom comes out to $ 70 – 80 a month no matter my usage. When I move again, I will make sure the complex I rent from does not use AUM. If you look them up, you will find how many complaints they have against them, but management here still decided to use them.
Overall:
Great management, clean apartments, decent parking, washer/​dryer in unit, close to amenities and the freeway. Lots of families and dogs. Enjoy living here so far. AUM totally sucks and I might consider moving due to that. Also not sure what the rent hike will be when it comes time to renew. Will update the review at that time.

My wife and I have lived here for several months and are very happy with our choice. We had looked all over Seattle and Bellevue and couldn’t find the right place. Most everything was either too expensive or a sacrifice in some way. Eventually we found Emerald Ridge and we are very happy with out choice!
The apartments themselves vary in terms of how newly renovated they are, but even the «older» units were fairly nice. It seemed that each unit we’d visited at least had newer countertops. We never have heard much of anything in terms of noise from our neighbors, which I think speaks to both the sound-​proofing of the building and the demeanor of most tenants.
The area itself is great. It’s nearby downtown Bellevue and the Factoria mall area, which gives lots of options when it comes to shopping or running errands. Having the mercer slough across the street is very nice. The property itself is surrounded by trees, so despite being in close proximity to I-​405 and I-​90 it’s fairly quiet. The only qualm I have about the property is that southbound 118^th street gets really backed up during rush hour, but that’s no fault of Emerald Ridge.
We have had a lot of interactions with the management and they have all been very positive. The management is readily available, quick to act, and courteous. I’m surprised that some of these other reviews have negative things to say about management, as we are very happy with them. From what I can tell, the Emerald Ridge staff tends to go the extra mile to make sure tenants are happy and taken care of. Our service requests have always been quickly and reliably handled by maintenance.

My fiancé and I were thoroughly pleased with our experience with Emerald Ridge, and we would not hesitate to live there again.
From start to finish, the management team was overall friendly, responsive, and helpful. I note that I gave the apartments only ⁴⁄₅ stars though because there was one instance where a member of the management team refused to get involved when we had billing issues with the apartment-​mandated utility company. If possible, I would give 4.5÷5 stars.
The apartment itself was spacious and well-​insulated from noise. We also moved into a more modern renovated apartment so it looked great. We had assigned parking spaces, but there were also plenty of extra spaces for guests. The other residents were respectful and friendly.
The move out process was painless. We did not mind losing our small deposit at move out because it was anticipated under the contract. We did not do the most thorough job with cleaning and was unable to get the apartment as spotless as we would expect it to be if moving in for the first time.

This used to be a great place to live until the manager LeeAnn left for another company. Now the current manager’s response to any issue that comes up is to blame LeeAnn for it, even though she hasn’t been there since late 2007.

The great thing about this place is that they allow pets and the rent is reasonable. They do have a tanning bed available for the residents. Other than that, there is not many positive things that can be said about this place.
The staff was always rude to me when I ask them to fix something in the apartment. They don’t have a gym at all. If you live downstairs, you WILL hear every things that goes on upstairs. They towed my car once, because they thought it was a guest’s car that parked in resident lot. They did pay for the fees, but there was a scratch on the car from the towing and they deny any responsibility. They will use every possible reason/​excuse to deduct your security deposit when you move out.
Try your luck some where else.