Willow Lake

Just moved out because the rent is increased sharply. Recently, I got a move out statement and they charged me $ 225 for apartment cleaning, including $ 160 apartment cleaning + $ 55 carpet cleaning and shampoo + $ 10 replace strove dip pan. If you google the pricing, you will find this is really a unreasonable price for a 1BR with only 732 sqft. I did clean the apartment before I left and the one did the move out check said that the apartment looks good but then they charged me $ 225???

We’re moving in today, and Dee and Greg have been awesome. Greg helped us through the process before today, and is on the ball with responses. Dee is helping us move in, and is super friendly and helpful (and funny).
This area is great, the place is beautiful, and there are stores and restaurants right next door. It’s very conveniently located by the freeway (in a spot that’s reverse traffic almost no matter where you go unless you are using 101). The pool, common area, and clubhouse are beautiful.
This place rocks, we’re excited to live here!

The maintenance team in willow lake has been pretty awesome. I’ve been living here for about an year and I’ve always got timely response for all my maintenance requests. Recently I had filed 3 non-​emergency maintenance requests and all of them were completed within 24 hours.
Kudos to Juan and his team for putting in all the extra effort to fix a minor leakage in the bathroom faucet.

This is a nice complex in a great location, but the price is unjustified.
The location is excellent. It’s next to Jamba Juice, Starbucks, Panera, groceries, Baja Fresh, etc. Close to freeway. Close to the post office.
Once you drive into the complex, you are surrounded by a lot of trees and it’s a nice twisty walk around the lake they’ve built. The units on the bottom floor has a very decent sized patio depending on the unit. The lake sound is nice. Plenty of poop bag booths for pet owners. Everyone gets a community garage and there are plenty of guest parking.
I was shocked to see the 1-​bedroom 730sqft prices are $ 2900−3000/month (photo attached). At those prices, you can live in a brand new complex that has better amenities and most likely closer to your work. Could they at least have upgraded the units at that kind of price? At that price, I guarantee, you could find something better.
Update: In response to Greg (manager). $ 2900-​$ 3000/​month for a 1bdrm 730sqft non-​remodeled unit is not San Jose North’s going rate. It’s more like $ 2100−2500/month. $ 2900/​$ 3000 is more in San Jose West where schools are 10s. It’s a nice complex, but the prices mentioned online has to be a mistake.

We enjoyed our stay in this community for 3 yrs and had amazing experience. Great homes, amazing facilities and fabulous management team. This community is close to great schools, vta, offices and lots of upcoming new commercial complexes.
And yes, amazing Olympic size temperature controlled pool.
Highly recommend this community!!!

Great location! Lots of food options and supermarkets. Yep… Pretty much it.
Rent is decent, pretty much the only good thing I can say.
–Couldn’t help, but laugh… There’s almost 10 keys you need to memorized. Most of them don’t even work properly.
–1 parking spot in the garage, others are outside. Which mean cars are dirty all the time.
–Garbage disposal doesn’t mean what it stands for. Maintenance said it makes the water goes down faster. Hummm…
–The air conditioner is the big white thing that sticks out of the wall in the living room. It’s like a big fan that doesn’t really work.
–When it’s hot, it’s insanely hot. When it’s cold, it’s insanely cold. Electricity bill is very expensive when you use heater or the «big fan» on the wall.
–Apartment is getting old, lots of things should be upgraded especially charging so much when it’s not worth it.
–They should change the paint they use for the apartment.
–I work from home most of the time and I usually stay up very late, but can’t really sleep in. Why? During the summer, there’s maintenance and workers outside all the time. Always fixing something… there were loud music. It slows down when it’s winter or raining…
–The employees should know that they should drive in the correct lane. They expect us to wait until they pass us with their slow golf carts…
–Last, but not least, my ex and I share 2 puppies. She pays the pet fee at her apartment, so she keeps them most of the time. Our babies sleeps over or see me at least 2 days out of the week. Apparently, «neighbors» were complaining that they won’t stop barking, which is ridiculous because I met most of the neighbors and they’re all very nice. Plus, we walk around the community everyday, there are many apartments have dogs barking nonstop. Pretty sure it was the maintenance who SNITCHED after fixing the garbage disposal. Leasing office, manager said no pets allowed unless you pay the pet fee. I’ve lived in 550 Moreland and the Verdant. The leasing office were aware and kind to let them visit/​stay for a couple of days. BE AWARE! They’re not PET friendly unless you have money and pay up.

Overall good apartment place.
Kind-​of expensive though, even though it IS in Silicon Valley. One problem is that I have an apartment by Brokaw Road, so it does get noisy with the trucks driving by. I do wish the bedroom had a window, away from Browkaw Road. A good box fan can help with circulating the wall unit Air Conditioner, which is in the family room, but not the bedroom. Quite a bit of storage in the apartment itself.
Maintenance is hit-​or-​miss, but I have dealt with other apartment complexes like this. If you follow-​up with the office, the work will get done. The in-​unit washer/​dryer combo is very nice.
One maintenance guy in particular is awesome and professional. They’ve been good about handling noise complaints (upstairs neighbor decided to move furniture at 2 – 3 AM)

We just moved in recently and it has been a great experience. The maintenance department is really quick and efficient and solves your problem at the earliest. I lost my diamond earring in the bathroom sink but luckily I retrieved with the help of plumber guys.
The location is central and lies in proximity to various joints and supermarkets.
Looking forward for a memorable stay here.

I miss living here!
My husband and I moved in to Willow Lake Apartments because we had just rescued a dog from the humane society and needed to leave our old apartment. Linda was amazingly helpful at listing out the various options available to rent at that time, and took us on a tour of the property to check out the apartments and explained the differences in the floor plans/​prices. We ended up in building 20 which was nice and shady because of the big redwoods that were planted between the buildings. We were close enough to the main pool (there’s an additional pool on the other side of the property), if we ever wanted to use it. There was also a basic gym on the other end of the property that was available for tenants and one guest.
We did our pre move-​in inspection with Greg who let me point out anything that I was unhappy with and promised that they would be taken care of before we moved in, which was great. I didn’t want to be charged for any pre-​existing damages when we left, since most people complain about not getting a security deposit back. We did lose part of our deposit, but it was for small things like paint and new burner covers for the stove. Our one bedroom apartment included a one car shared garage, which includes a little additional storage behind the cars themselves. The one downside to having a shared garage is that if your neighbors don’t close their doors behind them, ANYONE can walk into your garage. My husband and I had two bikes stolen from behind our car because of this.
The ceilings in the first floor apartment were high, and we almost NEVER heard steps above us, which was a welcomed change from our last apartment where the walls were so thin you could hear your neighbors snoring. Although we could hear people climbing the stairs to get to their second and third floor apartments, but that comes from inconsiderate neighbors, nothing against the apartment complex themselves.
Monica and the rest of the leasing team are very personable and professional, and really got to know me and my Husband, and fur baby. They used to leave out treats in the office for the dogs and Loki would always pull me towards the office on our walks so he could get treats and attention. Also, the maintenance was always prompt! I had a few issues that I needed to have fixed, and they were always courteous of my dog.
Bottom line is; if we could have afforded to stay here, we would have. But unfortunately we couldn’t afford the increase so we needed to leave.

My experience with Willow Lake apartments is very positive. The management and maintenance people are helpful and quick, and they’re kind. Depending on the location of the apartment you may be in a very quiet area, far from the traffic.
You can walk to a Starbucks, Panera, etc.
I can’t say anything about the the pool because I never used it, and I can’t say anything about the gym, because I found it small and never used it.
The neighbors are quiet and civilized, no smells or noises or weird behaviors. The only complaint I have is that no one seems to know what is recyclable and what is not. People seem not to care at all. I guess that if the management did care, they would put some signs or something reminding people. It’s easy to educate in these matters. People here work in high-​tech companies, I’m sure they’re smart enough to learn how to throw their trash.
And, I’m not gonna complain about security, but in case you read somewhere that there is a security patrol or something, well, I’ve never ever seen them. No security cameras, no access restriction. Do we need them? I don’t know. Look up the statistics, they’re public.
The lake is not a lake, but I guess you guys are used to fake things. They made it look pretty, that’s what matters. Everything looks nice and clean. There are enough trees and green zones between the buildings. The buildings are actually old, but super well maintained. Some of them even have an emergency exit with emergency stairways. They’re secure enough, no one can open them from outside. And there is enough free parking everywhere, but maybe you choose to have a garage with a gate.
The disadvantage of living in a managed complex, is that they will increase the rent and they won’t care about you. If you can’t afford it, you just move out. When I used to have a landlord, he never increased my rent because I was really good tenant. There are no such distinctions in a managed complex. That’s the disadvantage. All the rest are advantages: easy to pay online, you can reach them in their office, Sundays included, they’ll fix things much faster than your landlord would be able to, they’ll answer your questions.
I recommend this complex.

This is by far the best place we have ever lived at. We lived in Willow Lake for almost 3 years. Everyone from the management office are great and very kind and friendly.
This complex is very beautiful and closed to many restaurants. Love the pool area. The pool is as clean as it gets and all the landscaping is perfect. This is a real family oriented community and all the neighbors were great.

Good apartment to live in.
Probably the best thing is the apartment office folks. They are very respectful and polite, unlike many others I lived in before. The apartment is thoroughly sincere in its maintenance and never has it taken them more than a few hours to come fix any issue we have. The location is awesome with every shop, bank or restaurant you’d possibly beed at a stone’s throw away.
I’d give them 5 stars but holding back one as they have air conditioners in the bedrooms, we couldn’t learn about it online and this summer has been a particularly hot one.

Lived here for 5 years and just moved out. Wanted to upgrade from a 1BD to a 2BD on the ground floor with a garage and that didn’t exist. The move out process was smooth, Linda from the leasing office was incredibly helpful. Got my entire deposit back so I was happy about that. I definitely felt a difference when management changed (from Prometheus to Essex), but I would still recommend living here. Overall, a good experience.

I love Willow Lake Apartments! I have been living here for over two years and it has been really nice! I live on the the third floor with vaulted ceilings, hardwood floors and a big patio, I love it!
The complex is beautiful! There is a beautiful lake through out the apartments. The complex is very peaceful.
Willow lake is equipped with 2 pools, 3 hot tubs and a gym. I really couldn’t ask for more. Also it’s located next to several restaurants and easy freeway access…
If you are looking for a great place to live, this is the place! The staff are very friendly and helpful especially Linda and Greg!

This apartment is run by a set of buggers !! I lived here for 5 months. During the tenure, things were just ok. Nothing «out of the blue» but good enough to live with. The apartment is very basic and i knew it, So no complaints! After 5 months, I had to move out of California due to job change. They charged me the lease breakage fees and almost a month of extra rent, which is also fine, as it is per the lease agreement. Now the real show starts. They have eaten up my entire security deposit .To top it up they fail to provide any justification for that. I have been repeatedly mailing them, but no reply from the management .
I would not recommend this apartment to anyone, merely because it lacks basic ettiques and principles to even given clarifications to its customers.
Horrible experience with the management.

This review is long due. Good Riddance, I got out of here. The earlier Management by Prometheus was good. The office management changed to Essex and it became worse. The place is good being close to restaurants, super markets and also parks. You can just walk to get food or coffee or juice or Fedex. The location has got many trees. But that’s about it. My roommates car was broken into twice. He had to pay the insurance premium to get it fixed. There was burglary in the garage. I don’t even want to talk about the wonderful people in the leasing office. Their advise is to «Suck it up, its common» for any break-​ins or burglaries. Look elsewhere, you can get better and safe place in same area for the rents shown here.

I have been living in this place for 3 years.
Pros: 1. Excellent management
2. Nice pool and jacuzzi
3. Maintenance guys are very quick
4. Create work order online
5. Pay rent online.
6. Secure and safe community
7. Lots of restaurants and grocery outlets nearby.
8. No bedbugs or roaches.
9. Lots of parking spaces.
Cons:
1. They increase rent every 8 – 10 months.
2. Kinda Expensive for the money you pay
3. AC only in living room. That too is very old and doesn’t cool off room.
4. Very old heaters that sucks up lot of electricity.

***** 5 Stars goes to the Maintenance Crew.
They are so quick to fix your issues and are very kind and friendly, but the stars stop there.
I got a non-​renovated apt so everything seemed to fall apart, from Garbage disposal, to Washer and dryer and light bulbs going out in front of the building.
Security is a joke, there are always transients rummaging through our garbage and recycling. Please be careful with what you throw out.
They overwater their grass areas to where it is like a swamp when you walk, We are in a draught Willow Lake!
There are also Silverfish everywhere within your Apt and within your garage.
Attached are pictures I took of the shape I left the apartment in.

Listen to the reviews and not the Sales people that will tell you anything to get you into a lease.
Rented 1659 Willow Lake here…
Security:
I had 2 old crack head looking ladies with literally like 1 tooth between the both of them at my door claiming to be selling stuff for wounded soldiers at my door. Called security and never saw them come by. To think of it I have only seen a security guard there once in the 7 months I lived there and he was parked in the middle of the road just sitting in his car and didn’t bother to move for cars trying to get around him. People dig in the dumpsters and people take the shopping carts home from the grocery store SF Market so often that the grocery store drives through the complex to get their carts back. (literally)
Staff:
I worked from home and literally every single day they come by the windows with leaf blowers and just blow the leaves onto your downstairs patio. They even left their drinks on the hand rails and went into my patio area without the required by law notice. My letter of intent to move out was «lost» and they made me fill out their form and pay for more days because they couldn’t find it. I mentioned before move-​in that the place wasn’t clean, etc. and Anthony «oh, thats fine», etc. and then on move-​out one of the guys in the office «you signed a paper that said everything was brand new». My fridge was warm to the point Milk spoiled in 2 days /​not up to health code standards and I found out because they already knew and a month later they finally fixed it. (contacted me about the thermostat and I hadn’t been using it until 2 days before they contacted me)
Lease:
Look at their standards of clean paper before you sign anything. They have a 9? page letter stating how clean they wanted the place on move-​out. Read: yes, UV light clean if you have a pet and they don’t give it to you anywhere near as clean as their papers state it was. I moved out because even if I continued from my 7 month lease and got a longer 12 month one then my rent would have still been raised by $ 200+. What a joke. Goodbye.
Paying:
I wasn’t allowed to pay for my whole lease but instead they forced me to pay every month. There is no auto pay for their utilities (+charge for company that divides bill by people you share with so hopefully your neighbor isn’t a water hog)

The 1 star goes to the appearance of the place, and that’s only because I have to even give this place a rating. Yes, it looks nice quickly passing through, but if you linger you’ll see it’s not that great (shopping carts strewn about, people drying laundry on their porches, lazy bums leaving trash/​beer cans outside, etc.)
Also, if you want to defend the excruciating «residual» noise from all around you as just the way it goes for having neighbors, then you’re probably one of the noisy ones ruining it for everyone else and oblivious to how crappy these buildings are built in the first place. The manager and another staff member even admitted to me that these are older buildings with little soundproofing — you’ll hear everything going on all the time.
The walls are thin, the ceilings are thinner, the appliances are old and mis-​matched, the residents are loud and inconsiderate of others… read the reviews, they don’t exaggerate. We’ve had our ceiling collapse from the people above us (who do laundry every day, for hours at a time, no exaggeration, they might be running a laundry service) and it took 5 maintenance trips and almost 2 weeks to get it repaired (never was repainted).
One of the units that was supposed to have «new wooden floors» was actually just some big laminate sticker that was poorly laid down, which was visibly bubbling/​peeling in the middle. I pointed this out to Linda, one of the many office staff that needs to be retrained in customer service who was showing me around, and she glossed over her lie and just showed me another unit. I should’ve paid attention to the writing on the wall…
There’s always some loud, invasive, annoying construction going on that really mars the potential of quiet tranquility you’d think you could obtain at a place when looking through their promo pictures. The spiders and silverfish bugs are horrible; I’ve lived in other newer buildings around SJ and never even knew these could be an issue until coming here.