Jefferson At Bay Meadows

Lived at Archstone San Mateo for 9 months from August 2012 to May 2013. It’s a nice complex in a VERY nice location, but it comes at a price.
Staff — I’ve had a pleasant experience with Daniel and Julie at the leasing office. Some issues with the key not working, but they were very friendly and fixed it immediately. They have an online system where you can just file a ticket whenever you have an issue with your unit. They do get back to you within 24 hours. My microwave stopped working and they contacted me within 24 hours and fixed it right away. The staff is always there during the hours they say they are. However, they are usually closed during lunch hours.
Noise — It’s true, I can hear the people above me talk. They aren’t talking loud either, just sounds like they are on the phone. If you are staying here, I recommend getting the 3^rd floor or just ask for an unit that has a showroom or a quiet tenant above you (I don’t know how they can determine that). Archstone offers a 30-​day 100% satisfaction guarantee, but I’m not going to hire movers again to move up to 3^rd floor. I spoke to some neighbors about the complex and that seems to be their primary concern. Occasionally obnoxious kids are blasting their car stereo and car alarms go off often. If you are a late sleeper like me, the yard workers start at 9am sharp. I always hated it, but it served as an alarm clock.
Amenities — They have a business meeting room, computers to use, a community room that has shuffle board, gym, pool, and a nice grass field /​play ground. Not the best computer (running Windows XP), but good incase of emergency.
Landscape — Landscape is actually well maintained and anytime I have visitors, they tell me how nice the complex looks and that it must be expensive. This also means a lot of yard worker noise during the daytime. Not an issue if you go to work during the day.
Location — This is really the winner. Restaurants, coffee shops, cafes, grocery store all in walking distance then it literally takes 2 mins to get on 101. Love the walk to Wholefoods anytime I need anything to cook.
Neighbors — The residents are friendly and the ones out in the field with pets are extremely friendly.
Fees — Keep in mind, they charge you for water, sewer, trash separate from your electricity/​gas. The trash bill fluctuates around $ 40−70/month which is ridiculous considering that you can throw away 32-​gallons of trash for $ 30/​month in a regular home.
Price/​Policy — The leasing price is actually only a tad bit higher than the market, but I have read on Archstone’s site that the listed price is only for new people and not for renewals so I’d assume renewing your lease would be significantly higher as ranted here on Unilocal.I’m currently paying ~$ 2200/​month for a 713sqft 1 bedroom. Yes, they do charge water/​garbage on top of that which is another $ 100. Many newer complexes are starting to do this. Deposit is $ 200 and I wouldn’t expect it back. If you have to break your lease, normally other apartments let’s you have someone take over if you can find someone, but Archstone will not let you. If you want to break your lease, you have to pay 1 month rent extra.
Deposit — Everyone puts down a $ 200 deposit (which is not bad at all).
I didn’t make a mess in the unit. Few pinholes to put up posters and I kept the bathroom mold free, but I didn’t clean the unit before I left.
That said, this is what I was charged for.
SODA Cleaning — Apt Cleaning — $ 100.00
SODA Painting — Apt Painting — $ 90.50
SODA Carpet Clean/​Repair — Apt Carpet Cleaning — $ 75.00
It’s not bad, I’ve had landlords in the past that charged me $ 400+ for cleaning.

You can probably pay a nice mortgage with your rent money. My roommates and I paid about $ 3000 per month for a 3-​bedroom apartment at Jefferson. We moved out right before the Archstone acquisition.

Jeff Bay was a decent (comfortable albeit expensive) place to live before Archstone-​Smith took over the community (Fall 2006) and fucked it all up. All their marketing materials tout their «Seal of Service» but my god, Archstone-​Smith San Mateo is beyond incompetent. Among the gripes I have with them:
1. I spoke to three different people on three separate occasions inquiring about the rental rate for month-​to-​month. No response. Actually, each agent said she’d find out and call me back the next day. No call. Ever. When I went in person, the staff couldn’t find my file. Seriously, that’s what they even admitted.
2. I wanted to rent a storage unit upstairs. Rather than jot down my apartment unit as soon as I gave her the information, the agent tried to memorize it. She went into the key making room. Five seconds later (key not made), she returned to ask my unit number again. This process repeated three times. In all, I had to tell her my apartment number FOUR times. I’m not joking. And what do you know, the key she gave me didn’t even work. I had to go back. Unbelievable. Even a child knows to write shit down if his/​her brain can’t retain the information!
3. I lost my mail key. The staffer said a replacement would cost $ 25. Uh, the lease I signed says $ 7.50. The lady said she’d double check the lease and call me back. When she called back, she asked where that charge was stated. Uh, page 10, paragraph 2. Do you read your tenants’ files? Are you even literate?
4. I paid my $ 7.50 key charge by check. I just got a letter saying the office doesn’t process checks written by someone not listed on the lease. Uh, I live here. I’m on the lease. You’ve been cashing my checks for the last six months.
5. Regardless of the time, no one ever answers the phone. I get that annoying answering machine message that supposedly gives the option to leave a message, but when I press option 1, the message just loops. Fine. So I email the office. No reply since Wednesday. It’s Sunday now.
6. Forget about resolving anything in person. I’ve wasted at least 40 minutes each visit, and a follow-​up trip is always required since the staff can’t get anything right on the first try.
Please. Do yourself a favor. Rent elsewhere.

I just recently moved to Jefferson from the city and I have to say that it is definitely one of the best apartment complexes I have moved into before. The amenities are plentiful and there is a strong sense of the community feel in suburbia. The biggest plus with this place is the convenience. I am a big fan of grocery stores like Whole Foods, Draegers and Roberts so when there was one right across teh street it was heaven. The Gold’s Gym across the street is also very nice to have. If you are moving to San Mateo, this is probably your best bet here when you compare the rent to other competing areas.

I love it here. This place is painstakingly crafted to be beautiful everywhere. The landscape workers replace flowers which have just bloomed with brand new flowers about to bloom, so the whole place is constantly full of bright life. I love the big parks where little kids play, and the stream in the «linear park» down the center boulevard of the development. I feel safe here at any time of night or day, and comfortable going for coffee in my pajamas. The only problem is that after a year they’re raising my rent $ 200 — ouch! Not sure if I’ll stay, but I really hope I can.
For the techies, there are some cool features, like cable drops in every room and surround-​sound hookups run through the walls.
There are only two problems: one, my particular apartment faces north along an east-​west courtyard, and I only get direct sunlight in the summer months. Two, cel reception inside the apartments is really bad. To use my T-​mobile phone I had to walk across the street. Also: the thermostat/​HVAC is fantastic. It just works, and it’s programmable, and it just works.
Management is friendly, receptive, helpful, gentle. Don’t come here to rock out, though; the vibe here is young couples with toddlers and single professionals who work a lot. The rent is high, but the combination with the Gold’s Gym, the Peet’s, and the Whole Foods makes it a complete package deal. I can go for days without getting in my car.
Overall, Jefferson at Bay Meadows feels like a Carribean resort, except with credit cards instead of «charge it to my room.» It has been a treat living here for a year. If you can afford it, definitely come take a look, have a sandwich at whole foods, sit by the stream and watch the little kids play.

I’ve been living here for 9 months now and I’ve been really happy. Rent is kind of high, but with all the ammenities, it’s worth it. Plus I got 1 month free and only paid a $ 99 deposit (not sure what the rent special is like now). It was important to me that I had all the conveniences that I couldn’t get at my old place in North Beach. Now I have 2 underground garage spots, my own washer and dryer, access to a 24-​hour gym, business center, cool lounge to throw parties in, big pool and jacuzzi, and a movie theater that seats 25 friends. Whole Foods, Left Bank, Pasta Pomodoro, Pete’s & Starbucks, Quiznos, dry cleaners and nail spa are right across the street. Glad I still work in the city though — it’s only a short 25 minute drive away — because nothing beats the city life.