The Mercer Luxury Apts

I’ve lived here for 12 months and I would love to give 5 stars for the management team: Chris and Kellcee. (I didn’t’ get to interact much with Lisa at all). They are very precise and prompt on the communication aspect, such as answering your emails, phone calls, even through messaging system on the community website. It never took more than 2 days for maintentance to come up and fix things upon request, any billing questions or issues were professionally answered and most importantly, they listened to what my circumstances were and willing to help anyway they could. I also appreicated mass emails sent to residents on what was going on with the apartment such as alarm issues, garage door issues, pool noise, etc. Also they sent you a text and email on any events that might be going on and as well as office closure days.
However, the reason why I’m giving overall 4 star review is because of those apartment issues. The alarms were going off at random hours (and they are excruciatingly loud), garage door wasn’t working for almost 2 months and sporadically a few weeks here and there and yet they did charge extra fee for garage parking.
Overall, it is a nice place to live since the location is perfect for those who work in Seattle or the east side. Easy access to freeways, walking distance to restaurants, grocery, coffee, yoga, and you feel safe walking alone even at night, also 15 dollar Über ride to downtown for a night out is a nice perk!

We had very high hopes in living at The Mercer. Although you can’t argue the location and convenience of Mercer Island’s perfect town center, The Mercer is not the crown jewel that it wants to be. We give it two stars after living here 10 months. Here’s why:
The fire alarm system is an absolute piece of crap. I was inspired to finally write this review because it just went off again for no obvious reason (smoke you’d think!) for about 8 minutes. This follows yesterday evening’s 10 minute show. Residents don’t even leave their apartments at this point because we’re so used to the false alarms. Hopefully it does not become the ultimate «boy who cried wolf» example.
Luxury is supposed to be The Mercer’s specialty. We all have our own opinions of what constitutes luxury, but for us, the poor paint quality, occasional and unbearable dog urine smell, runs in the hall carpet, staff, fails in change management for the new billing system, white drops all around the baseboards from crappy paint work, dirty floor of the gym, lack of landscaping outside of the P2 garage, and lukewarm hot tub are all non-​examples of luxury. Don’t let a tour skyrocket your expectations.
Lastly, a specific example from our time here. When we moved in, it took a couple of days. We had notified the staff and I had the keys. My belongings were starting to pile up. When I went to put things under the kitchen sink, I found a shop vac, caulking, and some sort of white spray paint. Again, what kind of luxury apartment or staff therein does not communicate that a tenant is moving in and what kind of maintenance staff would even think about storing tools in a new tenant’s kitchen!?!

My wife and I loved living here so much, we renewed for a second lease. The amenities were great, the location is the best there is in the whole Seattle area, the residents were very friendly, and parks and grocery stores were a five minute walk away.
So, why 1 star?
Upon moving out, Lisa (the property manager) tried to completely fuck us over. I don’t make accusations lightly, so let me explain why you should stay away from this place as long as Lisa still works here.
1) Even if you scrub and clean the place down, they’ll still say everything is dirty, and charge you accordingly.
2) They tore out the carpet in our apartment, the one that’s been there since The Mercer first opened more than 5 years ago. They replaced it with wood floors – and tried to make us pay for the upgrade! They conveniently didn’t tell us that they were upgrading the apartment, they just told us that the cleaning company they use determined that the carpet was «damaged beyond repair» and needed to be replaced. We found out from our next door neighbor that what actually happened was they put in this new wood flooring.
3) I wanted to talk with someone from the cleaning company to ask what exactly made the carpet «damaged beyond repair” – I thought this claim was completely ludicrous and I wanted to get to the bottom of it. It turns out the price they charged us for the carpet replacement had NO FOUNDATION WHATSOEVER. The company who assessed the alleged property damage had a PO Box as an address, there was no phone # provided, and we couldn’t find them on Google or Unilocal.The company they used to assess all property damage is a MADE-​UP COMPANY!
The charges were so ridiculous and unfounded that when we contacted the Accounts Receivable department of Greystar (the company that manages The Mercer), they spent weeks trying to understand where these charges came from and ultimately they threw them out because they were completely unfounded!
That’s not even where the bullshit ends. When we tried to move out early, we found new tenants who were willing to move right in. This way we wouldn’t have to pay for breaking our lease. Lisa actually went out of her way to intentionally sabotage our efforts in finding a new tenant to rent out the unit:
1) When prospective tenants we brought in through our Craigslist ads were waiting for us to meet them in the lobby, Lisa tried to poach them and show them other apartments, going to far as to tell them negative things about our apartment, and how they’d be much happier renting a different unit. (I’m completely serious about this.)
2) Lisa lied about the number of comparable units (1b/​1ba) to pressure us into just breaking the lease and paying the big fee rather than finding a new tenant. She said there were 7 1b/​1ba units available so ours was almost certainly not going to rent with so much competition, but the other leasing office representative looked it up later the same day and said they only had 3.
3) Lisa also told us that no comparable units were available to show prospective tenants to give them a point of comparison as to what our unit would look like. We talked to one of our neighbors about this and discovered that on our floor alone there were 3 different 1b/​1ba units available for showing and Lisa completely lied to our face to undermine our chances of finding a new tenant for our unit.
We are not the first tenants she tried to screw over, either. Look through the other reviews and see what people say about moving out.
As much as we loved living at the Mercer – excellent location, beautiful apartments, great amenities – I would strongly NOT recommend living here so long as Lisa is the manager. She tried to fuck us over and she’ll have no problem trying to fuck you over as well.
As long as you’re OK dealing with the same shit she put us through, then go ahead and take a closer look. Otherwise, try other apartment communities in the area – there are lots of nice luxury units in the area at comparable prices, and who don’t have horror stories of how the managers tried to fuck over their tenants.

LEASE AN APARTMENT HERE IF YOU WANT TO BE ROBBED…
Management just want to charge you for every nickel and dime. I paid them around $ 4000 for breaking the lease (I am ok with it as it was stated in the contract). However, they charged me additional $ 400 for cleaning the apartment when I had cleaned my apartment really well. I spoke to the management, who was very rude, about it and they said this is a standard charges and I would have to pay regardless the condition of my apartment.

The staff is really nice. Apartments are clean and well maintained. The apartments are surprisingly quiet. Some of the residence could use some lessons in common courtesy. When your dog poops, clean it up. It’s not rocket science. Some of the other reviews complained of this, but I really don’t know what the management could do about it. Some, not all, just need to realize that they are sharing a living space and need to be more respectful of others. But hey, that’s apartment life.

Don’t fall for the «luxury» scam this place portrays. I pay 2385 for a two bedroom two bathroom apartment, and let me describe what «luxury» amenities I am provided with:
1.) A one room tanning bed that consistently has burnt bulbs and no bed cleaner, or towels. The room is always cold, I’ve discovered you have to turn the bed on and wait to undress so you don’t freeze (The leasing agent also failed to mention the tanning was extra, she said everything was included, like a «resort» but whatever…)
2.) Elevators that take forever, or are not operational due to the constant fluctuation of tenants moving out. And a lack of equipment to haul our groceries or purchases up 5 flights.
3.) A pool that’s consistently fully of loud teenagers or drunken adults up until all hours of the night. When you tell the management regarding the late night noises nothing happens. They don’t seem to care about the midnight madness. I can tell you my husband and I have complained nearly 20 times and not once has any staff called us back. Not one reply from any person, a complete lack of respect for our concerns, but they certainly take our money every month no hesitation
4.) The gym is consistently out of sanitary wipes. The equipment is broken and dusty. Chunks of plastic on the ellipticals are missing and the screens don’t work. Of the 3 treadmills 2 are typically our of order.
5.) The parking is an extra 200 $ if you want a spot that’s secured and by secured I mean, a fob is required to get in and out and half the time the gate doesn’t work properly. Hope you don’t get trapped in. And if you pay 200 $ a month for parking shouldn’t the gate work so your vehicle is secure at all times? Not just half the month. But of course they wouldn’t prorate their own mess ups.
6.) The concrete walls eliminate some noise but not all, don’t let them scam you on that «amenity»
7.) Inside the apartment itself, the washer and dryers squeal and take forever to dry. And when I asked the handy man staff to look at them, they apparently all do that. Granite counter tops have chunks missing on them. The bathroom mirror in my apartment has wood pieces missing and paint drips on the glass from the shoddy maintenance job. The tile and grout always leave this weird black/​gray stain even if the littlest of water is dropped on the ground in the bathroom.
8.) The carpet in the hallways, and entrance to the freight elevator stink of pungent urine.
Overall the location is great and ultimately that’s what you pay for. But beware this is not what I had anticipated from a luxury apartment.
Perhaps that’s why my husband and I are opting to break our lease and pay $ 5000 just to get out of this joke.
Good luck.

Visit the new building. astounding! and the floorings are wood and no carpet which I loved.

I’ve lived in these apartments for two years and love it here! The units are spotless, so quiet, and the amenities are amazing (year-​round heated pool and hot tub, 24-​hour fitness room), The maintenance crew rocks and the facility staff are so nice and professional. Best place ever!

I love living here. People are friendly. The staff is engaged in creating community within the building and my experience has been that they take care of things right away when there are issues.

«The Mercer» paints a pretty picture, from the swimsuit model that coos enticingly, «Follow me to The Mercer», to the Overlook hotel lobbies, with faux fresh flowers freshening the end of each corridor.
The A/​C is indeed nice when it’s turned on, but they do not tell you the system is NOT on most of the year. When it isn’t, it teasingly mocks you by blowing out hot air.
Quiet? Well, yes, the concrete walls are wonderful at drowning out any noise from the neighbors, and most of the residents are quite nice. But it’s definitely not quiet.
You hear the numerous children literally screaming several times a day; closing the windows doesn’t help, as the windows aren’t soundproofed. In the morning, the chat of the maintenance staff resonates in the echo chamber as they attend the pool. At night, you may be soothed by the sounds of teenagers merrily chatting, singing in the hot tub, or an occasional all-​out party with accompanying music.
Each year, the rent went up at a staggering pace, dwarfing the rate of inflation. After a year, the rent went up 8.47%. When our second lease was up, we were kindly offered an additional 16.92% rent increase. Those precipitous rent increases included parking, but not the utility (ISTA) bills of $ 100 to $ 200 a month.
You may be reminded of ‘Das Boot’ by nagging feelings of claustrophobia in your smallish apartment or the parallels with management, but it’s really not that bad.
Regarding the «amenities» at «The Mercer»: The dog urine-​scented freight elevator supports the frequent turnover in residents. When it’s in use you have to schlep over to the other elevators once you realize your wait is in vain. Having the paper delivered outside your door is nice, except when it isn’t; then you keep opening the door periodically, waiting for its arrival. There’s also the ‘Miss Mercer’ contest, if you’d like to participate.
Parking, or most anything else, costs extra $$. The crammed parking slots challenge your spatial reasoning skills, reminding you of those small metal puzzles you did when you were young. The concrete posts, and occasional scraped car door, remind you that failure is not an option.
The granite counters in each apartment deserve a special call-​out. The granite is really more a burden than a luxury. Research the «water test» before moving in, When I asked the leasing agent, after moving in, about the dark water splotches left behind by any wet items, such as water glasses, she said the temporary dark colorations were normal, as granite absorbs water, and not to be concerned about them. I also asked the building maintenance staff, and bought the recommended granite counter protection treatments at True Value. In both cases, neither staff member suggested that the counters might need to be resealed, as recommended by numerous granite care sites when this kind of problem occurs.
Self-​clean the oven at your own risk, and remove pets, plants, and children first. I used one fire extinguisher the first time we tried it (fire in the oven), but the maintenance staff said not to worry about it or the large volumes of acrid smoke. Fortunately, I had a fire extinguisher available for the second fire, too. The second fire was on top of the stove, and only had high flames.
Despite the 3.8K lease escape penalty, at some point you may consider leaving. Your relationship with management now changes from resident to supplicant. I was charged with mucho $$$ for a brand new granite countertop in the bathroom when I moved out, due to water stains. Only then did I research granite countertops, and learn about the water test. You may have better luck, and your move out charge may only be about $ 500: about $ 200 for cleaning, even if you vacuumed and mopped the floor, and about $ 300 for your final ISTA bill.

Recovering my security deposit at «The Mercer» was a challenge: At first the manager said that the lease concession (they were offering $ 500 iPads when I moved in, and the leasing agent, said I could apply it to rent, either monthly or all at once) was applied to my refundable pet deposit, so nothing was due back. I had to find the documents showing that it was clearly called out as a refundable deposit upon move-​in. Perhaps your experience will be better; ours had all the joy of a root canal.
Our advice to prospective tenants: Provide written maintenance orders once a year requesting that your granite be resealed. Learn about the water test, and request resealing when that fails. Do not use water near the bathroom sinks. Do not use the self-​cleaning feature in the oven. If you don’t want noise from the pool area, do not get an apartment overlooking the pool. If you don’t want noise from the Starbucks trucks, about 5 AM, don’t get an apartment in the front.
If you have family, dogs, and love all the bells and whistles, have an elastic definition of luxury, you may enjoy «The Mercer».
All others: Caveat emptor.

Well, one would hope that after three months, things would get better, but they are only getting worse. People have stopped using the freight elevator due to the smell of dog urine. Unfortunately, those taking the stairs are left to navigate puddles of dog urine and smeared feces. Requests to clean the carpets fall on deaf ears.
A dog friendly apartment should expect to do more cleaning, but alas, our management doesn’t grasp the concept.
Downgrading to two stars as the cost to stench ratio is off.

I enjoy living at The Mercer and while it is a nice apartment complex especially for the cost, and very conveniently located, I would not call it «luxury» by any means.
The Mercer is about three years old and still looks good. The apartments are attractive, the kitchen and bath have granite slab counters and they paint the apartments between tenants so it is fresh. The new landscaping in the pool courtyard is great and maintained by an outside company (this is good because only one of the mercer maintenance guys– Bruce ever actually seems to work). The staff is all very friendly, but they have no sense of urgency, for example if you tell them a dog has peed in the lobby, instead of running out with paper towels and an all purpose cleaner, they say «OK, we will call someone». They don’t seem to have a sense of what «luxury» means either– one of the things I find funny is the broken, paint spattered chair that is used to «decorate» the 3^rd floor elevator area, and the sad events they hold for the complex that are poorly planned and poorly advertised.
However sad those things are, here is what I really dislike:
There appears to be only one lady who cleans the entire complex and she does it half heartedly. The hallways, elevators, stairs, surrounding grounds and residence lounge are dirty. The tile floors in the elevator lobby/​mail area have ground-​in dirt. The carpets are in desperate need of a cleaning. Dogs have urinated in the elevators, and on our floor a dog has defecated several times in the hallway. Instead of cleaning the carpets, a strong smelling spray is used to cover up the smell. It seems strange that an apartment building does not have a rug cleaner that they can pull out to clean spots on the carpet when a negligent pet owner doesn’t get their dog out in time, and with pets in the complex the carpets really do need to be cleaned at least twice a year. Also some of the residents don’t pick up after their dogs outside (even with convenient bags provided by the apartment) and maintenance doesn’t pick it up either. A twice daily walk through of the complex by the manager would probably catch some of the issues/​areas that need to be cleaned.
I’d like to give The Mercer 5 stars, because it is a beautiful building, the staff are pleasant and the rents are good for the area and for the amenities, but a «luxury» apartment needs to have much better maintenance and better attention to detail than this.