[Note: My vocabulary relating to home appliances is very weak. So, pardon any lapse in wording or choice of names for different aspects of this field. I'll try to improve on this jargon]
I stayed at Heritage Park Apartments [HPA], Sunnyvale, California for two years, from Aug 2007 to Aug 2009. Here, I want to share my experience during this period. Hopefully, it will help someone make a rental decision. The reason I am sharing it here, instead of an apartment review site, is due to the freedom to give out specifics and minute details. Review sites request users to refrain from providing such details.
UNIT DETAILS:
I moved in to ~730 sq.ft single bedroom unit at HPA in Aug 2007. BTW, all single beds are of same size at this place. There are no junior beds, studios here. I signed a one year contract for $1320/month + utilities + trash + electricity. I paid $450 in move-in deposit.
Let me list the good things about this unit at the time of my moving in.
+ Unit was clean with a brand new carpet. I didn't know this until I was moving out :)
+ Bathtub, sink and rest were neat.
+ Walk-in closets were clean too.
+ Everything here was old [except carpet], but clean.
Not so good things.
- The cupboards in kitchen were old. We can clearly see the wood peeling off. Quality of wood was also not good because, it was peeling off in tiny bits, similar to sand or speckles. Clearly, HPA is a very old apartment. And they badly need to redo their cupboards. However, my wife and I didn't mind. We were fine with it. I suspected that HPA would blame us while moving out, but they didn't. They seem to be aware of it.
- Dishwasher and electric stove was clean but evidently, very old. [More on this later]
- Probably, because the appliances were old, the electricity bill was a bit higher than comparable apartments where my friends used to live.
AMENITIES:
When I moved in, there were two small gym and two swimming pools. There may be other facilities, but nothing significant to make HPA special. I was using gym very regularly and what disappointed me was that, some time during late 2008, one gym was converted in to office. So, we were left with only one gym. Obviously, it was too small and over crowded.
I don't know how to swim and never used the pool.
HPA is quite close to Cal Train station. That is a huge advantage for whoever uses this mode of commute.
It is also very close to VTA bus stops, mainly 32 and 26 number buses. My wife used these frequently.
It is very close to Central Expressway [~0.5 mile], but have to navigate through some traffic for CA-237 and US-101. For me, that was some work.
SAFETY:
HPA is a "non-gated" community. So, anyone can walk in and out. However, my two year stay here was pretty smooth/safe. There were one or two incidents of theft, mostly car break-ins. In fact, I gave police evidence for one such break-in :) I know its scary and for some people, this is a strict no no. However, we personally never encountered any break-ins and felt secure most of the time.
There is a Blue Bonnet sports bar adjacent to HPA and we could see cops coming there occasionally.
Overall, the neighborhood is safe, though.
DEMOGRAPHIC:
I have seen that most of the folks living at HPA were south Asians. We see people of other ethnicity, but very few. I really wonder why this is so.
MANAGEMENT:
Over the two year period, there has been many changes in management. I can't exactly recollect, but I used to see new faces very regularly. Whoever they were, I have a neutral or good opinion about all of them. Any repair request was promptly addressed. The management was open to new ideas too. For instance, I volunteer for The Art of Living Foundation and organize their workshops. When I proposed this idea, they allowed us to use their club house and charged us very little amount. We conducted couple of workshops there.
I was happy with the maintenance staff. I recall two maintenance guys, a white bald man and a Mexican man. Both were very good at their job, prompt in responding and very gentlemanly. In fact, the Mexican maintanence guy was my neighbor for some time and I had a good rapport with him.
STAY:
My two year stay here has been, overall, satisfactory. Management gave me a clean unit. I maintained it well and gave it back, as clean as I could. There was no termite, roach or any other bug related problems. Overall, it was an enjoyable stay.
MOVE OUT:
I was paying $1420/month during my second year. When the lease came to expiration, they reduced it to $1270/month. It was non-negotiable. I felt it was expensive. I also came to know that for new tenants, they were leasing out a single bed for $1050/month + first month off. For new folks, this is an amazing deal. And they wouldn't give me that deal. I failed to understand the reason. I inquired around and it is the same policy at all apartments. I thought this is the only business that doesn't reward loyalty for existing customers. So, I looked for a new place and decided to move out.
When I moved out, I cleaned the whole place with help from move-out cleaners. However, I was charged $550 in addition to my $450 deposit. I couldn't believe it. I maintained the place quite well. There definitely were couple of heavy stain marks, particularly in kitchen area. I thought I'll be penalized some amount for that. But I was wrong.
The management charged me $450 for an entire carpet replacement. It stunned me. I spoke to them and explained that 90% of the carpet in living room and 100% of the carpet in bedroom are in perfect shape. There was no reward for that. They said they have to replace the entire carpet because the previous carpet company is no longer selling similar models. And I'll be charged for it. Few of my neighbors moved out during the same period and all of them were charged almost the same amount [~$1000], in total. All of them had to pay for new carpet.
At that time, I was in some tight situation and $1000 was a huge blow to me. I spoke to the management and coincidentally, the owner was present when I met them. After some heavy argument, she reduced the charge by $100 and allowed me to pay in two installments.
So, I ended up with a total move out bill of $900 and 60 day time period to pay. I was glad they considered my situation. My discussion with them also helped me understand a bit about their side of the story. Still, I cannot comprehend replacing an entire carpet for stains in one corner of the Kitchen. Somehow, it reminds me of voracious consumerism evident in US.
In the last few weeks, whoever moved out of HPA, they were charged in this range. So, it is something to consider before moving in.
Overall, HPA is a nice place. It certainly can use some upgrades. And there is some discomfort, in terms of lack of amenities or proximity to major freeway. But my stay has been good.Labels: Experience, Heritage Park Apartments, Ratings, Reviews