Vista Belvedere

the reviews are accurate about ruby. i mean, the views are pretty stellar and the units themselves are decent, but it was ruby who made a significant contribution to our living here an amazing experience. I personally can be a pain with multiple requests/​repairs (not on purpose! it just happens!), and ruby always responded with a smile AND she got whatever it was I needed done. if you are lucky enough to live at vista belvedere, then you are getting an added bonus with ruby.

The five stars are for the fabulous manager Ruby Ramirez. She is both professional and compassionate. I lived at Vista Belvedere for many years and she is by far the best manager. She is responsive to the tenants needs and works hard to make it feel like a community. The views are unbeatable and the location is the best but it is Ruby that makes it worth making this complex your home.

I can’t begin to say enough positive things about Vista Belvedere. It is the most stunning and elegant apartment complex in Marin County. The management team of Ruby and Paul are 5 stars!!! They will make you feel at home and part of a wonderful and inviting community. The views are truly beyond compare, absolutely breathtaking! The grounds are beautifully maintained and the apartments could not offer more in the way of top notch amenities. It was the perfect home away from home for me, and an elegant living experience I will never forget. If you ever want to live in Marin County — this is the place to be!!!

AMAZING views. Convenient location. Nice community of people. Very responsive and friendly manager (Ruby Ramirez) and any problems were addressed in a timely manner. Worked great for our 7 month renovation.

Rafael Mateo is an amazing maintenance manager. He is extremely efficient and works hard to get the job done. He does everything in a positive way. Though he has a tremendous amount of work each day, he always gives you a smile. He will be truly missed at Vista Belvedere but I know he will be welcomed when he moves to his new supervisory position. T. Louie

Pretty views. Moldy interiors. Dishonest staff.
I lived at Vista Belvedere. Most of the apartments have beautiful views, for which I give them two stars. Location is important.
They lose a star for noise. There is always a moving van coming or going (see below reasons for moving out), a carpet cleaning van, or construction noise.
They lose a star for run-​down, out-​of-​date apartments. The management company seems to be slowly renovating apartments as they are empty. The one I lived in looked 30 – 40 years old. The kitchen floor is a vinyl covering. The cabinets doors are slabs of painted plywood. There’s a popcorn ceiling (asbestos?). The flooring is wall-​to-​wall carpet that is not changed in between tenants. The shower enclosure was once tiled and now painted over. The water gets behind the peeling paint and grows – you guessed it – MOLD.
The mold issue brings me to the dishonest management by Essex. A neighbor of mine said he had mold. They ignored him. When they finally decided to «fix» the situation, they didn’t do it a proper mold remediation to code and were forced to stop work by the town. When they finally renovated his entire apartment he found that they ruined some of his furniture in the process. For being a thorn in management’s side, when his lease came up his rent was increased $ 400 A MONTH.
Marin County doesn’t have the same safeguards as San Francisco on rent increase. Essex knows this and will increase rent at every possible moment and as much as they think will be tolerated. Two of my neighbors moved out because their rent was increased $ 200 to $ 300 dollars per month. They both tried to negotiate to no avail. They both found more affordable housing elsewhere. When they gave their notice after signing leases elsewhere, they were THEN told it might be possible to negotiate.
In short, don’t believe anything management says. If they say they will give you something, get it in writing. If they say you’ll have it in a week, expect it to take six months. And if you judge a happy home by how long people stay… stay away from moving truck central: Vista Belvedere.

Nice location. My wife and I rented a renovated unit. When we first moved in, our property manager Donna had said not to worry about rent hikes. Our one year renewal has come up and our new property manager hiked our rent by $ 175 without any negotiations. «take it or live it» type of attitude. 7 – 9 tenants have left due to rent hikes this year just so the corp. can make up for their negative deficit.
The pros are the views depending on your unit and if you get a renovated unit than you get pretty decent appliances.
The cons are the noise from other units. If I cough my upstairs or downstairs neighbor will hear. Even though I have a renovated unit, outside air comes into every crack of the apartment. In the winter time, this is a problem.
If you decide to move in, be ready for a rent hike of at least $ 150-​$ 200 per year.