The Arches Apartments

I went in on a Friday around 5pm. I did not have an appointment and I wanted to see some apartments. I was greeted by Monique and my experience was handled with the best customer service me and husband could have asked for. She was very helpful and patient with us. The whole process was great! The office was closing at 6pm and Monique was so patient she showed us apartments till 7pm! Once I applies she got back to me within minutes that we were auto approved! The apartments were beyond our expectations! We are so happy! Thank you Monique!

stayed here for two years and yet our moving out experience was horrible. They have charged us $ 260 for painting!!! we kept the house in a pretty good shape, barely hung anything on the wall and kept everything very clean. Also we moved into a two bedroom from a one bedroom in the community last year that time they did not charge any money (n we have not change the way we live in a year!!). Now just cs we were not continuing the lease and moving out, they do this!!! also when we moved in they did not give us a new carpet. n they have put up pictures of the house as if we were living like pigs!!! what to they expect, that we move out and before handing over get cleaners to clean the bloody house??? this is highly unprofessional. I just wish i had kept pictures of the house when we moved in, they would have known then. this money will really pinch us n i hate then for treating ex residents this way.

TL;DR Don’t live here if you have other choices.
This is my first review, largely because I haven’t felt obligated previously to warn people.
This complex is owned by equity residential. google them to see the variety of lawsuits brought against them in various states related to their business practices.
The advertised rent is bait and switch, the complex charges you for water/​sewer which raises your costs by 110 — 140 /​month. There are many loud dogs, and the staff will do nothing about them regardless of complaints. The people that moved in the apartment downstairs were a transfer from another apartment. Despite already having multiple noise complaints, the rented to them again. This isn’t a bark here or there, it’s three small dogs getting each other riled up, barking and howling for a couple minutes at a time.
The grounds are not well maintained. You’ll see trash in bushes stay there for a week or two. There are security gates which are often broken, so you will either have it stuck open not serving its purpose, or it will be stuck closed and you’ll have to back into traffic to go to another gate. The gate nearest my apartment has been broken no fewer than a half-​dozen times in this past year.
The office staff is very pleasant, but disorganized. My parking space was changed three times in the first week, because they can’t keep track. Just recently they assigned another apartment to my space. It was cleared up quickly, but this all speaks to their level of professionalism.
The quality of everything in the apartment is poor. The carpet is laid over old tile in the dining room, you can feel the spike strips for the carpet in doorways if you walk barefoot. Nothing in the apartment looks professionally done. Paint is streaked, patched spots are obvious.
I could go on, but this is already a novel. In short, beware.

Pros:
— Staff is friendly and helpful
— Lots of guest parking
— Close to 101 and the levi’s stadium
— Walking distance to the Mercado shopping center (Which has a movie theatre, grocery store, starbucks, etc.)
Cons:
— The gates constantly break in 2 ways: Either open wide for anybody to come in, or shut where you have no idea it’s broken until you’re directly in front of it and you’re pushing your remote button 100 times with no luck. If it’s the latter, you’re doomed and you have to back out into traffic (which is VERY unsafe) to try and see if another gate works.
— The water is disgusting. Always always make sure to run the water for a few seconds before using it because it will come out yellow and sometimes brown. I talked to the leasing office about this and they said that they’re fixing the pipes soon, but we’ll see. They had maintenance come in to see if they could fix it temporarily, but it’s still pretty filthy.
— The assigned parking spaces is a nightmare. When we first moved in, we had our space changed 3 times in the first week because they kept assigning us to already occupied spots. Even recently, 10 months into our lease somebody took over our current spot because they were assigned to it.
— There’s trash left in the bushes for weeks. Fast food bags, cups, old food, halloween candy, sometimes your neighbor’s full bags of trash just abandoned.
— Landscapers arrive very early in the morning, so you probably won’t be sleeping in anytime soon.
— Neighbors are discourteous about their dogs. Two different neighbors will leave their dogs on the patio and let them bark for hours on end. I get it, dogs will bark. It happens. But when you’re home and you’re just letting them be a nuisance that’s just rude.
— The dumpsters are a reminder of how terrible humanity has become. A lot of people will just leave their trash in front of the gate so you have to step over it so you can walk in to put your trash in the proper dumpster.
— Neighbors are discourteous in general. They’ll leave their laundry in the dryers for hours, and sometimes you’ll walk into the laundry room to grab your dried laundry to see the door open wide and still completely wet.
I feel like the people at the leasing office truly mean well, but you can only do so much when this is what you have.

The management is really understanding and was flexible with me when I needed it. I had to have the dishwasher serviced — that was done promptly while I was at work. The apartment was really light and spacious and the move-​in condition was excellent. The kitchen is well designed with what seems like an infinite amount of storage space. The master bedroom has 2 mirrored closets and a vanity — a really nice design. The small bedroom is well laid out and is easy to make especially cozy.
I did not stay long because I could not afford to and because of the 101 commute. But the complex itself, the apartment and the people who work for Arches deserve 5 stars.

I would like to share my experience with The Arches at Sunnyvale. We stayed here for 3 years with very little problems, mostly because we never reported silly issues. But, our whole experience went down the hill when we left the place to move to a different apartment in Fremont. We left because The Arches will charge us $ 200 per month every year. We started at $ 1575 for one bedroom and in three years they increased the rent to almost $ 2200. We got 2 bedroom in Fremont for the same price and very well maintained.
The apartments here are very poorly maintained. My car was broken once in the parking lot. Someone jumped on the roof and the hood few times leaving many dents on the roof and the hood. There is a bar right outside the apartment building and all kind of people come stand there. Although, it must be convenient for people who drink. Anyways, the real problem started when we put up our notice just one month before our lease expires. I understand that there was one more month left, but there will always be some lay over when you leave one apartment and go to another one. Although it was just one month, they still made us pay for the rent for the additional month. Now, we stayed here for 3 years, and in 3 years they never painted the apartment, but they expect you to keep it shinny with no stains whatsoever. We don’t have kinds and its me and my wife only so you can well imagine how much stains we may have put on their walls that included painting charges to the final bill. After 3 years, how the hell can we keep some stains away from walls. Anyways, I emailed the office people there and send them the link to _http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/sec-deposit.shtml which clearly says the following;
2 or more years — No Deduction under Repainting walls
And here’s the reply I got from the manager there; (Exact words as they sent me, no modifications, I have the entire email as a proof)
The adjusted amount owed is valid so you can pay that as soon as possible. I do regret to inform you that I did submit the request to have your paint charges removed, but my regional manager reviewed the pictures of your home and denied the credit based on the condition of the walls. I understand the information you found online regarding a typical way to charge things like paint, but as my manager explained to me, this is not a California Law… it is a guideline that is not required to be followed.
When they rent out the apartment, they expected us to follow every little guideline possible, but when it comes to them follow the guidelines, they are not to be followed
It’s a big rip off staying here. I am glad we are out from here and will never ever recommend this apartments to anyone. Stay on your own risk.

I started looking at the Arches as my first apartment after finding an ad on
.
I sent an email of interest and heard back from my leasing consultant Stephanie within an hour or so. She was very helpful when she scheduled our initial tour and gave us an idea of the floor plans we’d be looking at, so we had a few options to chose from for our unit.
So we signed our lease at the Arches and we were given keys within a week! Every step of the leasing application was a learning experience for me, and Stephanie and our complex manager Jamie were both very helpful and patient with us. I haven’t been happier since moving in!

Really bad experience. 1) I need to contact front desk five times to change my email in the system; 2) they charge whatever they wanted. when I tried to renew my lease for another year, they will charge me $ 200 more per month than new applicants because I have done bi-​month contacts. I also just found that price on the contract I have signed is 100 $ more than they told me. Very frustrated. I have gong to office again and again, but no one can help me solve the problem. It’s very annoying for me to change the address now, otherwise I won’t live here anymore.

The service here is awful. Manager Rose is so unfriendly, irresponsible.
When we decided to take the apartment here, and came to sign the paper work. We met manager Rose not the lady Monique who took us to show the room the day before, she asked us to go back to apply everything online. We took 2 hours flight to come and find an apartment and she asked us to go back. We thought it might be how things work here. After moving in, we knew most of people do the paper work in the office not online! I just dunno why she did that to us.
Also, we have a tiny tiny washing machine for baby clothes washing, and asked them to take off the tap filter to connect the water. Monique asked me to wait for 2 whole days at home! But nobody came and no one called. The third day I met an engineer and asked him about this, he told me manager Rose didnt allow him to do it for us! OMG! Can you imagine how shocked am I?!! He felt sorry about that and told us how to do it by ourselves. Maintenance engineers are nice. People living here are nice too. You can make many friends here. But service… think about it before making decision.

This is an okay place to live if you are new in town and don’t have time to search for good apartments and your workplace is in south bay area.
Pros:
— Convenient for workplace commute in the south bay
— Proximity to AMC and restaurants
— Quick and helpful maintenance staff
Cons
— Proximity to Levi’s stadium has caused the rates to go up even though the apartment itself is nowhere near the quality that you end up paying for. You will get much better/​newer apartments for the same cost elsewhere.
— The garbage bins are always overflowing.
— Kids running around making lot of noise and toys, garments left in the common areas.
— The leasing office staff is very rude and there is no sense of any customer service whatsoever. For example: If you go to talk to one of them; they don’t offer you to sit, they will be constantly looking into their screens barely acknowledging your presence there.
— After you leave the apartment, they actually threaten you with letters and automated voice messages to pay any dues as if I am running away somewhere [you have my contact number and forwarding address. You just need one human being to pick up the phone and make a call]. This is how a resident is treated at equity.
— There is no transparency with their checkout process. They told me that they would have a pre checkout inspection and would let me know if I need to take care of anything. They did not provide me any such feedback after the inspection but made ridiculous charges after I left. First they did not return my security deposit and then they charge me for repainting the walls. According to their policy you cannot be present during inspection; so they get a free hand to claim whatever they want.

I would like to add that the service staff have been resposive to my requests when they are understood. I like the floor plan of my one bedroom which has a decent sized walk in closet. They try and keep the ground up and the garbage to a minimum which is not that easy when residents discard their furniture in the dumpster. If you are a dog or cat owner they are welcome here with additional rent of course which is pretty much status quo these days.

I move out this apartment on July 2014. It was a totally bad experience to me. When I move out, I make everything in good condition and clean it as it looks like new. But they still charge me $ 192 for cleaning.
Now I understand why the staff Moneca said «Your $ 100 deposit will not be refund and we will send you a bill for extra payments» BEFORE they inspect my apartment. They will charge you more than you deposit no matter how clean you leave with your apartment.
Also, they charge me one week more than the date I move out. I signed the move out notice 15 days before I move out. On the date I moved out, I visited the office and return the key to them. But when I receive the bill they sent to me, the ending date of the bill is one week later than the date I move out. They just charge me one week more rent. Since I forgot to take a copy of the move out paper, they denied I signed it and insist I returned key to them on the date that is on the bill. Because I don’t have the copy of the notice, so I have to pay for that week which I am not living at there anymore.
My suggestion is: avoid this apartment, don’t expect to get your deposit back

If you are like me, just moving to the Bay Area and checking what is around, I save you your time: don’t bother going there. The girl who helped me out was awesome, friendly and nice, and the other woman on the phone was also very warm and even they close at 6 and I arrived a little bit late because of the traffic and because I don’t know the area very well… I think that I was going to cry.
Actually I think I saw some tears watching that popcorn ceiling (is asbestos comm’on!), that bad quality carpet (the girl confirmed that no, they don’t change each and every carpet every time someone moves out. NO, they just ‘clean it’). I think it should be prohibited to rent this kind of apartments at those exorbitant prices. I went there because was one of the ‘cheapest’, around $ 2000 for 1 b/​1b. However, neither the entourage nor the content, interior, quality and views is worth a dime. No matter if the entrance is kind of remodeled to pretend.
Do yourself a favor and look for somewhere where the $ corresponds with the quality, space and amenities.

Mixed feelings —
1) Really convenient in terms of the distance to the closest freeways (101 and 237), however, since it it conveniently located near the freeway, there are still some delays in terms of getting there or home.
2) Pet friendly! but I have to pay an additional amount each month for my pet. And honestly, I think children are messier than most pets, so why not pay extra for those? Just sayin.
3) Gated community = safe cars. However, the main gate is open 7 days a week from 9 – 5. Also, there are times when the gates are down (or some smart people run into it –_​– and breaks down) so you have to go alllllll the way around if you park closest to 7 – 11.
3) it’s near a 7 – 11, good munchies and breakfast! … It’s near a 7 – 11 which attracts some sketch people at night.
HATE —
1) Rusty pipes = rusty water. I am extremely petrified when it comes to cooking or cleaning or even taking a shower/​brushing my teeth. You never know which water you will get.
2) The new Levi’s Stadium. Traffic and the amount of people trying to sneak in the neighborhood to avoid paying parking will suck. There are already signs posted up that say «No Stadium Parking» and the stadium isn’t even officially open to the 49ers yet.
3) Outside — OK, so I just started to notice this mainly in the summer but holy crap are my neighbors MESSY. They literally leave all their kids little tyke toys outside of their house. And I swear on multiple nights, I have ran into these push bikes or even regular bikes. Not just the toys too but sometimes there will be a used diaper just laying on the floor. omg. seriously? The rest of the year its like I never saw my neighbors and once the summer hit, they are ALWAYS outside.
4) Rate — Thanks to the Levi’s Stadium, rent went from $ 1,600 to $ 2,200 !!! No.
5) Laundry rooms — EVERY. SINGLE. DAMN. TIME. There are people who do not get their laundry out when its finished. There was one time in particular where I started to use the washer and then someone’s dryer was at 23 minutes. In my mind, PERFECT! I can do three loads and use the second dryer when my 30 min washer is complete. 30 minutes later when my washer was completed, the dryer still said it was in use (which means no one ever came to open the door). So at this point, I was still really patient and just loaded ¹⁄₃ loads into the dryer and just wait. In intervals of 5 minutes, I would come back to the laundry room and I KID YOU NOT, my first dryer was already completed and some asshole still didn’t retrieve their laundy which meant that their laundry was completed AT LEAST an hour and 15 minutes. I had to bring my wet clothes to a different laundry room because some inconsiderate twat doesn’t understand how a public laundry room works.

Poorly maintained. The laundry machines are finicky. Sink and shower drains often get clogged, even though I’ve had the maintenance staff come in 3 times in the past 6 months. They fixed the kitchen sink very well, but the shower one keeps getting clogged, though there’s not much that goes down there anyway.
Doors/​walls are very thin so hope that your neighbors are quiet. The staff is a bit in over their heads. They can be very friendly but sometimes too busy to pick up phones. Email is the best way to contact them. They do respond if you bring something to their attention. My only complaint is that rather than taking a passive stance and waiting for renters to complain/​bring up issues, it would be great if someone did routine check ups with each renter just to take a more active stance on customer service.
Rent is pretty expensive, but standard in the market at this time so I can’t really complain.

Want my advice? Stay away at all cost. These apartments are literally one of the worst places I have ever lived. I would give 0 or even — stars if I could.
I am a traveling RN and I was here on 2 separate occasions through my travel company and both times it was bad. This second time I actually had to move in the middle of my contract because my husbands laundry was getting stolen from the community laundry room, which is never locked. If you ever have a maintenance issue, don’t even bother counting on them to fix it. The ceiling fan started leaking water because no one had come to fix our upstairs neighbors leaky faucet, therefor causing a fire hazard in our place. And they have a pool and hot tub and they look like a diseased cesspool. GROSS. Cheaply made and nasty apartments. Stray cats all over the place and the majority of the other tenants are of Indian decent and they have a major starring issue which can be pretty uncomfortable. There are constantly people walking around all hours of the night and they are LOUD. The walls are paper thin so if you work night shift don’t ever plan on getting any sleep.
The list just goes on and on… Do yourself a favor and don’t even bother giving them a second look. And btw… the photos on their website look nothing like anything I have ever seen on that property.
The best thing about this property is the Liquor store and Bogart’s dive bar outside the back gate. And FYI, the creepy guy in the white van that everyone else has mentioned is actually a decent and harmless guy.

Wish there were — stars. Stayed there for an year and will never recommend this to anybody. From Day 1 they will try to swindle money and wont provide anything in name of service.
Bunch or irresponsible, rude and cheats.
First they lost my money order for my deposit then kept of claiming that I never paid that. Even when I proved that i paid they forced me to pay again and left me to get the money back from western union. haven’t seen more shameless people than these.
Repairs request will take ages. even if they do, it is sure to break again in few weeks.
Quality of apartment — Very bad. poor material used which keeps falling off. beware of cabinet door falling on your head. even worse is the wardrobe sliding door coming off and falling down.
Security Deposit — Never expect it to get back. Infact they will send you an inflated bill to swindle more money from you. if you leave a single mark of the wall they are likely to charge you for painting the entire house.
My suggestion — Never move in here. you will Repent… anything can be better than arches.

I’ve lived here for a year now. I live on the outskirts, by the bar and liquor store.
I love the size of my 1bedroom. Although the price is horrendous. I like the back patio and gate. The walls are paper thin, the family above constantly uses the shower so in turn my water bill goes up. 4 units share a water bill and split it evenly, not based on occupants. The next door runs a daycare, in a 1 bedroom… So as you can imagine its loud. The smells of curry (that start at 6am 7 days a week), permeate through the walls.
The laundry facilities are close, but there’s only one place to reload your laundry card And its quite a walk to get there. The population is about 90 percent East Indian, they keep to themselves, but keep late hours and have a hardcore starring problem.
I love the location, but the freeway noise takes some getting used to. The seven-​eleven is awesome, but there is a homeless population and a creepy man in a van that parks in the parking lot and is in his van literally 24 hours a day. I’ve made several complaints about him and nothing has been done. I feel like I pay way to much to have to deal with homeless and crack heads in my back hard.

I’m a travel RN from out of state and this is the worst place I’ve ever stayed. My apartment is passable but the staff are extremely unhelpful.
My car died one morning before going to work, simply needed a jump and the staff not only refused to help jump my car, they also refused to lend any assistance in suggesting a number to call.
Additionally the laundry facility is horrible, unclean and never locked. Just glad I’m not a female out here.
Oh and there’s a man living in a white van behind the complex next to the ⁷⁄₁₁ they also refuse to do anything about. It’s alright though because he has a homeless friend (one without a van) who sleeps on the curb in front of the liquor store. They’re guarding the gate to the complex, so that should make you feel safer.
I was also threatened with physical harm by another tenant (a female) who almost struck me driving the wrong direction in the complex. When I reported the threat the complex ignored it. So always call the police never rely on the staff here.
My thanks to Rose and the rest of the staff for abandoning their tenants in times of need.
I’m a travel RN from out of state and this is the worst place I’ve ever stayed. My apartment is passable but the staff are extremely unhelpful.
My car died one morning before going to work, simply needed a jump and the staff not only refused to help jump my car, they also refused to lend any assistance in suggesting a number to call.
Additionally the laundry facility is horrible, unclean and never locked. Just glad I’m not a female out here.
Oh and there’s a man living in a white van behind the complex next to the ⁷⁄₁₁ they also refuse to do anything about. It’s alright though because he has a homeless friend (one without a van) who sleeps on the curb in front of the liquor store. They’re guarding the gate to the complex, so that should make you feel safer.
I was also threatened with physical harm by another tenant (a female) who almost struck me driving the wrong direction in the complex. When I reported the threat the complex ignored it. So always call the police never rely on the staff here.
My thanks to Rose and the rest of the staff for abandoning their tenants in times of need.

I feel like most apartments in this area kind of fall into the meh category. It’s usually overpriced for what you get. At least this place doesn’t look like a motel 6. Here are some things you know know before you decide to move in:
Pros:
— location (super close to 101 and 237)
— looks nice (grounds and apt itself)
— ample gated parking
— lots of closet space
— they have a gym and a pool
— you can pay your bills online
— individual heater for each room
Cons:
— rusty water pipes (if you’re away a few days, the water will run brown)
— rent increases by $ 100+ every year
— the washing machines are constantly broken
— really thin walls
— you’re not allowed to BBQ in your patio
— they really really want you to give them good reviews on their service and will remind you
— the gym and pool are kind of sad looking
— water isn’t included in your rent and its equally split between apartments regardless of how many people live in each apartment
You could do worse for the same price. If you need a place for a year, check it out. If you want something a little more long term, keep looking.