Greentree Apartments

I lived in the Greentree Apartments (one bedroom) for almost 3 years. I have some pros and some cons but mostly cons. The management (Linda and Susan) were very nice and helpful and the onsite workers always came to fix anything that was broken in a good amount of time. I also Loved the fact that there was a option to have a washer and drying inside of your apartment. I think I stayed for almost 3 years because of just the washer and drying inside my place that I rented from mission laundry for an extra 30 bucks a month that was worth every penny!
Now the cons. My biggest complaint would have to be the parking!!! OMG was this a bitch! When you move in they give you one spot inside the gate and they also give u an option to rent another space in another parking lot. When it came time for my boyfriend and I to want another spot they said there is a 3 year waiting list!!! why they didnt mention this when i signed my lease i dont know. lol
finding parking on Lucretica after 430pm was a complete NIGHTMARE!!! I dont know how many times i came home in a bad mood because i had to park a block away from my house and circle my block for 30 minutes. I also had my back window broken, my car ransacked and my stereo stolen when parked on Lucretica. My boyfriend also had his stolen. We quickly had to buy the 1980s CLUB to ward off and thiefs. If you are planning to have guests over I dont know where they are going to park because the only option is on Lucretica. I never had many visitors because of this problem.
The gate would be my next complaint. It basically never works and when your headed out to work at 7 am, the last thing you want to do is walk all the way down the complex to the next one. Ive been late for work alot because of this stupid issue. Also dont even think about loosing your gate key, you have to pay another 20 bucks for a new one, I just got in the habit of jumping over because i was too cheap.
ok now lets talk about the rent!!! 1700 for a one bedroom in the heart of the eastside is just redic!!! ok you have a washer and dryer option inside the unit but it is really not worth 1700 to be on the eastside.
the neighborhood is just soooo bad. tons of crime and homeless people and litter. You can get the same size place on the west part of san jose and at least feel safe and know your cars arent getting broken into. its not worth the rent at all!
also every chance they do get they will raise your rent so be prepared. My bf and I never wanted to sign a lease again after our first year because we didnt want to be stuck and it took us a little longer to move then we hoped and they just kept raising those prices up. 1700 for a one bedroom is crazy!

I lived in a 1br/​1 bath (2^nd floor) for a little over 3 years. Loved the vaulted ceiling and the clean apartment. I enjoyed the patio too.
Major pros for me were:
Quietness
Well kept
Neighborhood (Never had a issue)
Responsiveness for maintenance (always handled very quickly)
Last but not least, the staff! they truly seemed to enjoy making things easy for their tenants. They were always friendly and took the time to make a personal connection with their tenants.
I sometimes dealt with Linda and she was great. I usually talked with Susan and she was beyond great. She always seems to remember what’s going on and makes sure everything gets handled well. I will definitely miss them… they are great folks!
Cons:
Visitor parking was hard to find especially on weekends

I will start off with the pros since it’s quicker to write compared to the cons. I lived in a 2 bedroom/​1 bath unit with a couple of roommates. The rooms were a good size, well-​accommodating to our needs for space. The kitchen had plenty of counter space, and the rest of the rooms had fresh carpet. There were high ceilings with fans. Overall, as a place of shelter, I was comfortable. The two gated parking spaces they provided (one covered, one uncovered) were also put to good use.
Now for the reasons of a one-​star review:
–The maintenance guys do not have an organized system of returning to repair damages. They told us «we’ll return tomorrow to touch that up», never saw them again, and I really don’t have the time to bug them about anything.
–The single pane windows destroyed my PG&E bills in the Winter. No insulation whatsoever in the unit. Coming from someone who snowshoes frequently, I could not stand the environment I was living in. If the heater was off for a second, there went your warmth. I also do not like sweating in my apartment during the Summer.
–Also, I recommend not advertising for a pool that is only open for a third of the year. It opens in May and closes in September. That is ridiculous. Also, the Hot. err the Lukewarm Tub was close to useless. But I do understand the money saved for not heating it.
–Now if you have kids and move in to this place, either you better get them started on video games early or you send them to a friends house because they are not allowed to play outside. There are signs everywhere against riding scooters, and even for tossing a ball around. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a sign that says NO BALL PLAYING in my life. I have even witnessed the owner scold some little six-​year-​olds for having fun near her unit. Coming from someone who spent their childhood outside, I would have hated to have lived here.
–For parking, I understand the initial gathering of information for my car: license plate number, registration, etc, to get me my permit. Months later though, I took offense that my roommate received a notice that, since he did not have his next-​year sticker on his license plate yet, they were going to tow his car. So he has not paid his registration yet… you guys work for the DMV as well? That is none of your business. We are getting you your $ 1700 every month. Calm down.
–Now here comes the good part. Upon moving out, we received less than a quarter of our original deposit. There were fees upon fees upon fees! They literally nickel and dime you, by multiplying those coin values to a thousand. For a fact I know my roommate chipped a pencil-​eraser sized piece of paint off the wall. I inspected the place with my own eyeballs, and that was it! Yet Greentree decides to charge us over $ 220 to paint the place. That I do not understand. I also don’t understand how a little piece of plastic, i.e. the pool pass, costs $ 25. But that is the least of my concern. What really left me with a bad taste in my mouth upon leaving this place was the «clean or have us clean» arrangement. Letting them clean costs a flat $ 130. Which does not include picking up pieces of paper or a plastic bow-​and-​arrow set from Walmart – that fee costs $ 50. I guess I should have put in the extra five minutes of work to dispose of that. Going back to the $ 130 fee however, the way they have that set up is ridiculous. To get out of paying the preposterous fee, the policy states that you must clean everything, and in their way: soaking the blinds in the bathtub, cleaning walls and both sides of the windows (not to mention we were second-​story, cleaning the outside was our problem), and if you were to do everything with those hours of work, but had overlooked one step, not vacuuming for example, $ 130 would instantly be dropped out of the deposit.
In conclusion, if you choose to rent this place, expect to not get your deposit back, but look forward to the gas money you will receive in your completion of living at Greentree.
P. S. I forgot one pro… Little Caesars is right around the corner.

I lived in a 2br/​1bath for over 2-​and-​a-​half years between September 2009 and May 2012. I was happy to live at GreenTree, but I am happier to have moved on.
The Good…
Generally, I found GreenTree a nice place to live: nice grounds, large units, covered parking, lots of storage. And management and maintenance staff were responsive to concerns.
The Bad…
During my first year, I benefited from the «special» rate of $ 1,225 per month. Right around the time my lease was expiring, management promptly advised me of the new, less-​special rate of $ 1,375 per month; I extended my lease for 9 months at this rate. Then, right before the 9-​month extension expired, management advised me that the rent would increase to $ 1,525 per month. GREENTREE RAISED RENTS AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY. This is probably typical of large corporate apartment complexes, but it is nonetheless annoying and frustrating.
Besides the predictable increases to the rent, I question the fairness of GreenTree’s base rent structure. Throughout my tenancy, I paid an extra $ 25 per month in rent because I was «lucky» enough to have new carpet. But when I moved out, they still nickel-​and-​dimed me, deducting from my security deposit, expenses that in my opinion, management should incur (corporate apartment complexes should bear the costs of painting, and carpet cleaning between tenants especially when tenants have lived there for multiple years). If GreenTree was a luxury apartment complex, perhaps I wouldn’t have minded GreenTree’s stingy ways, but GreenTree is NOWHERE NEAR A LUXURY COMPLEX.
The complex is showing some growing pains (as evident by the pipe that ruptured above the ceiling in my hallway). Growing pains were also apparent inside my apartment:
— The freezer continuously leaked into the refrigerator.
— Dishwasher leaked.
— The valve in the bath/​shower needed frequent adjusting in order to control water temperature.
— The toilet had multiple malfunctioning parts that would cause problems off-​and-​on.
— The cabinets and countertops were also badly showing their age and needed to be replaced.
— I appreciated the windows and doors in my unit, but even when closed, they let in a lot of cold/​hot air. Heating and cooling was a an expensive hassle made worse by the lack of central heating and air conditioning. The poor insulation also facilitated the flow of cigarette smoke into my unit from smoking neighbors.
— Walls were so thin you could hear conversations (and other noises you don’t want to hear).
— The complex is gated, which was a pain when the gates malfunctioned (which was frequent).
— The landscapers used gas-​powered leaf-​blowers and lawn-​mowers early in the morning. I found the noise, dust and gasoline exhaust extremely disruptive
— GreenTree’s location @ Tully and Lucretia was also a negative in my view. I definitely will not miss choking on diesel fumes and dodging inconsiderate speeding drivers on the massively-​congested roads nearby (I’m referring to Tully, Senter, McLaughlin, Story and Lucretia). And the Tully Road on/​off-​ramp from Highway 101 was/​is an ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE that sane people should avoid.