Bay Tree

I have lived here since November and have loved it since I moved in. The one-​bedroom I live in is on the very large side (the master bedroom is huge) and has a comparably large patio area, which is rare. There is a washer-​dryer in-​unit, which is a must-​have to be. Tons of closets and storage space, including a storage unit on the parking level, cool enough to keep wine in. My apartment is one of the non-​updated ones, and I love it.
The biggest draw to this apartment complex is the location. Two blocks from Santa Cruz Ave with tons of restaurants and shopping, as well as a park around the corner. Having a dog and being a female, it is really nice to feel safe walking him all around the neighborhood even at 5 in the morning before the sun comes up. The complex itself is older, so the insulation is poor and you can hear people walking on the street like they are right in front of your apartment, but I never hear my neighbors, and that’s a trade-​off I’ll take for apartment living.
Lastly, the property manager, Rose, is great. She is so friendly and remembers your name from the get-​go. I’d definitely recommend this place if you want to pay a bit more for a great location with a nice community feel.

The word «luxury» is included in the Bay Tree marketing materials; however, however living at Bay Tree was far from a luxurious experience.
The property manager and facilities manager are wonderful, kind, caring, responsive people.
It’s unfortunate that so many of the residents are quite the opposite.
One of the negatives of living here, if you are a non-​smoker who doesn’t like smelling smoke, is that smoking is allowed on the property, just not in the units. Our neighbors smoked outside constantly, and it came right in our bedroom window. These particular neighbors also happened to be outside smoking in the middle of the night quite often, so we were regularly awakened by the smell of smoke in the summer (no air conditioning) and them talking and coughing. We and other neighbors complained about them several times; nothing changed in the course of the year we lived there.
Another neighbor let her dog hang out on her porch all night, and the dog would bark at people and other animals, usually for 20 – 30 minutes straight, late at night and several times at 3 or 4 am. We and other neighbors complained about her multiple times; she was still living there when we moved out.
Another neighbor let her kids use her apartment as a party pad, and several neighbors called the police in response to those incidents.
That same neighbor left her cats outside all night, though the leases specifically prohibit pets from being outdoors, and they would howl at her door all night. We and other neighbors complained about her actions on several occasions; nothing changed.
Another neighbor’s son liked to come home drunk and puke outside our window. He would also yell and carry on and get into verbal disagreements with neighbors who asked him to be quiet.
Other neighbors refused to pick up after their dogs, despite dog bags being readily available all over the property.
The units themselves are nicely laid out, and the paint, flooring, cabinets, and appliances are new. Nothing is top-​quality, but it’s nice enough.
Had it not been for our inconsiderate neighbors, who were totally unresponsive to the management’s requests that they meet their lease obligations as tenants, I might have enjoyed living here. Instead, I was woken up repeatedly at least once a week and have never been so happy to move away from a place.