Information on apartments (Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond: for sale, rental, townhomes)

[donlookingforplace]

Hello all

I am relocating to the Bellevue area. Yep.. another MSFT'ie..
My office will be in Bellevue area not the redmond campus. I will be flying out often enough. having browsed the area on the map I thought the area south of I90 around factoria mall will be an ideal place .. close to bellevue as well as shorter ride to airport..

I have short listed some apartments based on some research I have done.
If anyone has lived in or knows someone living in and has some feedback on any of these apartments I'd greatly appreciate it.

PS: Is there ANY apartment out there in Bellevue/Kirkland/Remond/Issaquah/NEwcastle areas that has central a/c. I find it weird that none of the apartments have central a/c there.. I understand it doesnt get too hot.. I was told the same thing when I moved to californa.. beautiful sea breezes.. just open your windows..heck its been over 100 consistently for weeks every summer for last 3 years... I ended up moving into a central a/c apt immediately after the first summer..

But now I have so much stuff that I cant afford to move so often.. I have called almost everyone from the below list and no one has central a/c. not even a wall unit in the apartment..

some common issues I have heard are (1) paper thin walls (2) ridiculous rent increases every year (3) bad management (4) parking issues (5) no assigned parking?? WTF ??

Thanks all...


• Villaggio on Yarrow Bay 4311 Lake Washington Boulevard NE,Kirkland, WA 98033
• Lakemont Orchard 18305 SE Newport Way,Issaquah, WA 98027
• Vista Ridge 201 Mountain Park Blvd. SW,Issaquah, WA 98027
• Gilman Meadows 360 NorthWest Dogwood Street,Issaquah, WA 98027
• Sammamish View Apartment Homes 16160 SE Eastgate Way,Bellevue, WA 98008
• Evans Creek at Woodbridge 6205 188th Lane NE Redmond, WA 98052
• Avalon ParcSquare 16080 NE 85th Street Redmond, WA 98052
• Chelsea Square 16340 N.E. 83rd Street Redmond, WA 98052
• The Palisades 13808 NE 12th Street BELLEVUE, WA 98005
• The Park in Bellevue 1515 Bellevue Way NE Bellevue, WA 98004 – expensive > $1650
• Yarrowood Highlands 11330 NE 36th Place Bellevue, WA 98004
• Cedar Terrace Apartments 3205 115th Avenue Ne Bellevue, WA 98004
• Park West formally Factoria Heights 13180 Southeast Newport Way Bellevue, WA 98006
• Somerset Green Townhomes 4249 129th Place SE Bellevue, WA 98006
• Peloton 7435 159th Place Northeast Redmond, WA 98052
• Archstone Redmond Lakeview 4250 West Lake Sammamish Pkwy NE Redmond, WA 8052
• Estates at Cougar Mountain 2128 Northwest Shy Bear Way Issaquah, WA 98027

[allforcats]

Originally Posted by donlookingforplace

Is there ANY apartment out there in Bellevue/Kirkland/Remond/Issaquah/NEwcastle areas that has central a/c.

Not likely. Please remember that Washington is not California -- it's about geography. This is north of the 47th Parallel, a LOT farther north than anyplace in California where it's "over 100 consistently for weeks every summer". I've lived in the Seattle/Bellevue area for over 20 years, and I've seen the temp hit 100 ONE DAY OR TWO DAYS IN DIFFERENT YEARS for an hour one summer afternoon.

The reason there is no air conditioning is because the temp hits 92 maybe two days, separated, in July and maybe one or two days in August. Period. July and August "heat" is in the low to high 80s. Builders/owners don't incorporate features that have little or no market and thus can't bring a profitable return on investment.

[Piks]

I'm moving to Seattle in a few days time and have been relying primarily on apartmentratings.com

I'm sure you're familiar with it. It's not always the most helpful site, but it's good for us out-of-towners. You take what you can get.

And yeah, I also have found it very odd that apartments don't have A/C.

[VeronikaW]

Everyone here will tell you that you don't need A/C. Coming from CA, my argument is, you don't need a heater in CA, but every house still has one. We have a 3 story townhome, and when the temperature reaches over 80 degrees, no amount of fans cools off our third story. It's miserable for days at a time. This is the 2nd summer I've been here, and so far, there have been a couple stretches where it's really sucked each summer.

What also sucks, is that there's no central heat. We have these baseboard heaters which seem to have two settings: Too cold or Too hot.

I highly suggest getting an apartment on the ground floor to beat the heat.

Also, there don't seem to be the same regulations on raising rents here. In CA our rents never raised more than about $70 per year. This year it was raised almost $200, and I have friends here who had theirs raised $300, so be prepared for that. Also, they're weird with deposits. Only part of your deposit is considered refundable, and I found the deposits to be much higher here than in CA.

Oh, and we live in the Issaquah Highlands, and it's not a bad commute to Bellevue or the airport from here.

V. =)

[Ira500]

I'm familiar with the Villagio in Kirkland. Really, really nice place.

[70Ford]

Originally Posted by VeronikaW

Everyone here will tell you that you don't need A/C. Coming from CA, my argument is, you don't need a heater in CA, but every house still has one. We have a 3 story townhome, and when the temperature reaches over 80 degrees, no amount of fans cools off our third story. It's miserable for days at a time. This is the 2nd summer I've been here, and so far, there have been a couple stretches where it's really sucked each summer.

What also sucks, is that there's no central heat. We have these baseboard heaters which seem to have two settings: Too cold or Too hot.

I highly suggest getting an apartment on the ground floor to beat the heat.

Also, there don't seem to be the same regulations on raising rents here. In CA our rents never raised more than about $70 per year. This year it was raised almost $200, and I have friends here who had theirs raised $300, so be prepared for that. Also, they're weird with deposits. Only part of your deposit is considered refundable, and I found the deposits to be much higher here than in CA.

Oh, and we live in the Issaquah Highlands, and it's not a bad commute to Bellevue or the airport from here.

V. =)

I take the opposite view. I live on the third/top floor...can open the windows to let in the breeze, and less likely that burglars can burgle you.

I get the heat from my neighbors below..well a little bit anyways.
Plus, they get to hear us...vs. us hearing them. I still got the sidewall neighbors and their slamming the door kids.

Dang kids. Maybe I'll have my kids door battle them one day. YEAH! BATTLE!!!



There's a link here ...ah.. there it is.

Swamp Coolers

[allforcats]

Originally Posted by 70Ford

... burglars ...

Agree. You'd really want to think about living on a ground floor -- access is too easy for potential burglars. Burglaries that make the local TV news usually seem to occur at ground level -- "I just never thought it would happen to us" ...

[Hesster]

Originally Posted by donlookingforplace

PS: Is there ANY apartment out there in Bellevue/Kirkland/Remond/Issaquah/NEwcastle areas that has central a/c. I find it weird that none of the apartments have central a/c there.. I understand it doesnt get too hot.. I was told the same thing when I moved to californa.. beautiful sea breezes.. just open your windows..heck its been over 100 consistently for weeks every summer for last 3 years... I ended up moving into a central a/c apt immediately after the first summer..

Central AC is rare in the Puget Sound area, even in houses. I've never been in an apartment or house that had it. Never needed it. I think most people figure there's just no need to spend that much money on something that the average person will use maybe two weeks total out of the year. If you need AC, then it's much more economical to buy a window unit.

Look at the weather averages for Seattle and see for yourself:

Average Weather for Seattle, WA - Temperature and Precipitation

[donlookingforplace]

I kind of have to compromise on the a/c part since no one has them.. I dont have much choice..how about any feedback on any of the apartments? anyone?

[Redline]

If I were in your shoes I would stay either at the Villaggio if you want to be close to the water or at the new Avalon complex across the street from Bellevue Square Mall. The good thing about the Avalon by the mall is that there is also a Safeway right beside it and there are a lot of shops within walking distance as well as downtown Bellevue Park. No matter where you stay the rental experience is normally good and bad so you can only do your best to minimize the bad parts. Call them and ask about the parking situation. I stayed at another Avalon location the first year we moved here and it was underground secured parking. I know that's still not 100% secured b/c it is a common lot but I never had a problem with my cars or finding a spot (although one of my spots was a reserved spot).

As for A/C, pick up either a window mount unit or a portable unit if the windows don't allow for a window mount. It also helps to live on a lower floor but most importantly do not have your windows facing west. It will potentially only be very hot for 2 weeks in the summer but it can be a miserable 2 weeks if you're not prepared. We will probably be installing central A/C in our place soon so my portable unit (9000 btu) that I've had for 2 years may be up for sale. =)