Schooner Bay Apartment

lifeinfo

Resident • 2007 - 2009

Scalpers

I recently transferred apartments and they tried to hit me with all these extra fees. Had to fight with managemnt for several days. If I didn't own a dog I would not live here.

Current Resident 91461

Resident • 2008 - 2009

Not worth the money

This place is not worth the money. It is among the top tier in terms of cost (for Foster City).. but apartments are old and noisy. You can hear your neighbors walking around all time. Rents keep going up at a higher pace than market. There is no sense of community at all

Current Resident 670202

Resident • 2008 - 2009

Foster City's Finest

You'll certainly get to know the Foster City police on a first-name basis if you live at Schooner Bay. It seems that everyone in San Mateo county has a key to the community facilities. Groups of drunken high school kids as large as 20 and other loud and obnoxious families regularly commandeer the pool and Jacuzzi area to have shrieking pool parties. I guess the management doesn't care about the liability if one of the parade of trespassers gets injured or injures someone else. Keep the police number handy on the fridge so that you can call to have them all chucked out. Are the management at Schooner Bay a bunch of brainless morons--Or do they just not care because its run by Equity Properties (a giant real estate conglomerate in Chicago)?

Current Resident 663413

Resident • 2009

Resident for 7 months

I am really happy here. The management company is fantstic. Great service and they are always improving the property. Right now, they are completely redoing one of the pools and pool area. since I have been here, they have done landscaping and are busy remodeling all of the apartment units. The gym was recently redone and is nice - i use it often. My neighbors are nice and friendly. It is quiet and peaceful here. Maintenance is great - they come out right away and fix anything and everything - even really small stuff.

Current Resident 818823

Resident • 2008 - 2009

Hey, want to live like you are on the Australian outback?

Hey. Want to live like you are in the Australian outback? Partial to rodents, hanta virus, plague, spiders, wading in toxic mud, a good brisk draft coming through the windows (nothing like that to get you hoppin!). Want to insulted, ripped-off, and harassed by property management while they smile at you? Want to pay through the nose? Want the risk of a fire from your lint vent that hasn't been cleaned in years? Oh yeah, and that muck around the fridge, stove, and washer...yeah...good gooey crud that has accumulated for the last 20 years. Want to raft in your appartmemt and inhale the intoxicating aroma of stachybotrys (black mold) following a water heater leak? Then RENT HERE!!! Yup, all of this and then some can be yours for the most expensive price on the peninsula folks. What an adventure! How can I complain?

Current Resident 852362

Resident • 2009

Bad Managers!

Thought it looked great so we moved in ,,, first night was ok but every night after that we had to call security about the noise in the Jaccuzie,, which is NOT locked. Kids come from everywhere to party there and wake all the residents.. managers don't care,, neither does security.... they let you in the pool area with glass bottles and booze... We have to chase people out EVERY NIGHT!!! After that what could be worse?

HouseRenter09

Resident • 2007 - 2009

Unbelievably Dumb Staff

Hmmmmm.....Schooner Bay. We had a 'fair'condition townhome, and we were there for about 2 years. I got to tell you people, in order to get the service and financial assistance we needed and deserved, we had to keep in contact the with area VP Bruce. He is just about the most awesome person in the world. Keeps the idiots in the office in line. Julie Lao is just about the dumbest manager in the world. She thought calling the apartment manager would be affective...LOL! How does an apartment manager outrank the area VP?? Anyway, this company is rotten to the core. Looking to profit off of broke families, and the only focus in the whole world is to make sure they profit. So if you truly want to live here, get the area VP's phone number, because they totally need a babysitter.

Current Resident 482503

Resident • 2000 - 2008

Don't Ever Move Here!!!

I have lived at Schooner Bay for a while, and would never recommend it to anybody I like or care about! The interiors are terribly run down. The carpet is the cheapest, shabbiest available. The windows are single pane and very drafty. The heating is poorly placed and blows unclean air. They never put in a new appliance until the old one explodes and floods your apartment, damaging or ruining your furnishings. The staff could care less about any problems that arise (from noisy neighbors to rats in the walls), excepting the maintenance staff, who are wonderful. One family complained that their neighbor was smoking pot, and the fumes were blowing into their baby's room from outside. The manager said, "Not my kid, why should I care?" They regularly lose tenants' rent checks, and say they take no responsibility for the lost payments. Some checks are later found, but they won't tell you if that occurs (although one honest employee did notify a tenant, whose rent was lost, that the the check had been found under the manager's desk, and was fired for it). Sometimes they even cash the lost check, and deny having done so. The rent increases are insane, once in excess of $400/month, and they are very uncooperative about negotiations. Recently they have decided that pet rent will increase from $50 per apartment (for up to 2 pets) to $50 per pet! Some people may have to give up their pets to be able to afford the rent! No other complex on the peninsula does that. You'd think in this economic climate, they'd be a little more customer friendly - WRONG! And there are a lot of empty units, besides. I have never encountered a management style that was so unfriendly to the customers in my life. This place has the ability to be a nice, peaceful place to live - with a solid feeling of community. It is set right on the bay trail, is convenient to shopping and activities. But don't fall for the superficial trappings! It is not worth it!

stellarrenter

Resident • 2008

Disappointed

This place has the opportunity to be #1 in foster city. The location is hard to beat for a complex - nestled in a quiet and upper class neighborhood, with nice views, and easy access to a bay trail. The units themselves have tremendous potential, well-lit, garages, condo-style units. Unfortunately, they have been minimally maintained, if that. They are filthy, unkept, leaky, the comment about the cupboards and carpet is true. Broken drawers, windows so drafy you can feel the breeze blowing through standing 5 feet away (really, this is not an exaggeration), filthy appliances, appliances that barely work, and the list goes on. The comment about the property managers is true, they will throw the book at you for the most minor infraction yet think nothing of how their tenants rights may be violated. Now they are paving over one the grass areas with the pond scum they scrapped from the pond. You walk by and you can see remnants of various forms of metal,glass bottles, lost toys, and other less than savory trash that had been sitting at the bottom of the pond. Its disgusting, and it just eliminated one the main areas for tenants to take their dogs. I thought to suggest they pave over the lawn in front of the office with the scum, but this would be visible! On the far end (non-visible) end of the complex they turned off the water so the grass is gone! Of course they will raise your rent in spite of the loss of these services. All I can say is what a shame. All they care about is the buck, and it will get them in the end. Because eventually the decay will reach a point where the places will be under constant assault by mold, etc and will just sink into the Belmont slough. Their tenants would take better care if they were treated with respect and not ripped-off. I also noted that my place slopes downhill, but this may be a problem inherent to Foster City. In a nutshell - slum lords out to make a buck which unfortunately they can get away with given the outstanding occupancy rate on the peninsula, and the other slums renters have to chose from. The bay area is not kind to renters, landlords can do whatever and rent whatever, and charge whatever they want because of the excellent market. Seems I just keep moving from slum to slum and paying more every year for it.

Current Resident 687954

Resident • 2008

RIP OFFS AND DISGUSTING

This place was terrible the setting is great but I had a mouse in my apartment. Cabinets are old and apartment is not worth the price

coddles00

Resident • 2007 - 2008

Unsafe and Unhealthy

They promised a building remodel. Never happened. Rodents live in the walls! You can hear them! We have yellow jacket s nest in our heater. Leaky roofs. Doors and windows don t close properly. The window screens are not the right size. My kid s head can pop out from our second floor window. No insulation. Old appliances. My stove s paint keeps coming off. After a year of cooking in these conditions, I think we are lead poisoned! They promised to replace it all after the renovation, not happening. Did I mention that the entire building tilts to one side. It s like walking down hill from the living room to the kitchen. The security company doesn t like to be bordered in the middle of the night. We had to called them one night because there where some kids larking through the patios and cars; they responded unprofessionally (rude) and didn t showed up until two hours later. We ended calling the police instead. Cars get towed left and right. And for the icing on the cake, management illegal actions: love to threaten with calling the sheriff to have you evicted if you don t pay the rent within a day notice; charge a late fee on rent; and tell you to move out because your kids are too loud.

Current Resident 509910

Resident • 2008

Poor property manager, service, vandalism, old apartments

I think the 17% satisfaction rating says it all. The apartments basically have leaking roofs, old digusting carpets, cracks in the walls, etc. But the worst part is the property management at Schooner Bay, FS. The property manager does not respond nor is helpful in reports of vandalism, rodents, etc. I would never recommend anyone to live here. Not in a million years.

Current Resident 358479

Resident • 2004 - 2007

Long term relationshipo with apartments means nothing to them very poor

I and others have been here for many years, they rent out to Oracle as temp apts. for temp staff so they basically don't care about the tenants who have to LIVE here you can come you can go they don't care they just want money and will raise rent to the max every chance they get, other places charge same for six or twelve months lease this places charges more for shorter lease WHAT A RIP OFF. CHECK AROUND FIRST, moving is expensive and they will keep your deposit. The management staff changes like the weather. Old buildings, water soggy lawns, car break-ins and apt break-in's. No slack on parking reg's, no water meters in units so you get up charged and over billed, late fees for everything, slow slow maontenance if ever, just a money sump pump, out of your pocket into thiers... oh well just some basic points to ponder.

Current Resident 670190

Resident • 2006 - 2008

Overpriced, no helpful staff once you sign your lease

This place is the dumps!! I can't wait to move. My rent has gone up every 6 months. The pool and hot tub is always broken. There are even cobwebs in the corners of the gym.

Current Resident 470611

Resident • 2006 - 2007

It's ok

Good location, quiet, close to parks, jogging trails and everything else. Foster City and its schools is a big plus as well. The rest is just ok. Old construction, definitely not "up to condo standards" like the ad says. You can easily hear your neighbors downstairs and upstairs. Like many people mentioned it's hard to find even surface in the unit because buildings tend to lean a little. Old windows, that may fall out when you shut them etc. Some folks are lucky to get new appliances, most of us are not so lucky. Though there's a renovation going on at the time, but not sure if it's a good thing, since you'll probably have to make unit vacant at the lease end. Yeh, I forgot to mention parking. There's plenty of it for guests and your extra cars and even RV's (there're many residents with RV's living here). We don't have pets, but many others do and SB allows big pets. Maintainance people are somewhat busy and lazy at the same time, but they do their job anyway. Can't complain there. Expect high charges for gas heating at winter. $200 PG&E bill for 2br is ok for poorly insulated units. Extra charges for sewage and water which became somewhat standard across the Bay Area. They have 2 pools, relatively well maintained, but oftenly busy. One of the pools is not heated though ad says contrary. Oftenly local youngsters organize noisy pool parties at late nights with alcohol. Security does not give a dam about that, so police does. :) I would recommend this apartment if I did not check other places around Foster City and San Mateo. And comparising with others, Schooner Bay is a decent value. Spacious apartments are rare here. Yes, it's old, but there're few new complexes in the area and they're 20-30% more expensive than SB. Unless you have no kids, there's no many options here for families who want to send kids to a good school. Foster City school district is the best in the area. Have to consider that.

altoona6220

Resident • 2001

50,000,000 Schooner Bay haters can't be wrong

The bad reviews are true. 20% annual rent increases are the norm. Please just avoid this place and select one with better reviews.

Current Resident 645305

Resident • 2006 - 2007

Top reasons to NOT live at Schooner Bay

1) Very OLD and not upgraded / maintained / appliances very old The most disgusting place I ever lived!! 2) Worst Management: - Changed move in paperwork to indicate "new" when "old" item left in unit - Watch out for $$$$ charges upon move out - Lip service with NO action - Into supporting revenue & rules verses service & residents 3) Noise: - Can clearly hear neighboring units talk with regular voice - Dog barking in other units clearly heard - Birds chirping wake you up at dawn (nests above door ways) 4) Bird poop everywhere (made my pet SICK!) 5) Not enough parking spaces close to your unit 6) Garage only for car parking NOT storage per contract 7) Read contract details before signing and get a copy! 8) Washer and Dryer so small. Very time consuming

Current Resident 364073

Resident • 2007

Do not rent

The reason I moved out of the property is the Crappiest management of Julie and the other one dont remember her name. They tell us to take care of our property and not care about how the others disturb you or how they behave or even if you are not feeling safe in building. Every one who has lived before these two took over are leaving and as long as they are the management I would never recommend this property. I work at Palo Alto so this is short nice commute for me and with friends in the property, I have moved. My friends and their families have since moved out and the people they rent out the properties to just to fill them. Trust me you do not want to live there. If you are single women do not go to the property even if they give you good deals as you might get a neighbor from hell. These two seem to like people like that to rent properties.

Current Resident 690019

Resident • 2006 - 2007

Not worth the money you'll pay

I have lived here almost a year and have been very disappointed in the place vs. the monthly rental fee. During my pre-rental visit here, I was very impressed with the place -- well maintained grounds, seemingly nice units, friendly office staff. After living here, however, my opinion has definitely changed. In the unit I rent, if one person is taking a shower, nowhere in the rest of the unit can you run water without scalding or freezing the person showering. If more than one appliance (microwave, toaster, etc.) is used in the kitchen simultaneously, it trips the breaker. Doors do not shut properly because the frames aren't square. The sliding glass door is almost impossible to operate because it's so heavy. And the list goes on....To add insult to injury, after living here a year monthly rental fees were increased 5% but only if you signed another 12 month lease. Otherwise, to go month-to-month would be almost 30% more per month which is outrageous. I've lived several other places in the Bay Area and have never encountered this. The positives are that it's very safe and the maintenance staff is very responsive and helpful. I would definitely think twice before choosing to live here. Don't let the pretty package fool you!

Current Resident 969829

Resident • 2005 - 2007

HORRIBLE! read this!!!

The criticisms that I have read here about Schooner Bay are correct. The management is HORRIBLE, rude and ineffective. They raised our rent 20% over one year. We have had numerous serious problems with noise, structural problems and safetey issues which they have handled terribly. This place looks very beautiful when you come to visit, but when you live here there are serious problems which will be handled rudely and even made worse by the management. I also know for a fact that staff memebers have written some of the "positive reviews" on this site-which is NOT ALLOWED! Don't be so obvious guys - we know it's you trying to save your butts.<br><br>The only effective members of the staff are some of the maintenance workers who do a good job.

Current Resident 539365

Resident • 2007

Does anyone know about the upcoming remodel?

I heard that it was this fall and that they could do it while residents living there then I heard that they were going to do it when apts were vacated and that they were not going to renew anyone's lease unless they wanted to move into a newly remodelled apartment from their old apt. Prepare for HUGE rent increases when they remodel.

Current Resident 395101

Resident • 2006 - 2007

OK place IF you plan to live here for only one year.

After your one year lease is over, they will try to raise your rent big time. If you decide to stay, you will end up paying hundreds of $$ more than new tenents for similar unit. Just ask the residents here. The longer you have lived here, the higher your rent is. They really penalize your decision to stay here.<br><br>Like many buildings in Foster City that are built on landfill, our building settles very badly. None of the floors are level. If you place a ball in the middle of the floor, it will roll by itself. Every piece of furniture we have must be shimmed from underneath with wood blocks--otherwise they won't stand straight. None of the doors and windows are true squares, which means they are often difficult to impossible to operate. The maintenance crew came a few times to move the door latch plates because as the building settles the latches and latch plates get misaligned and the doors can no longer be locked. The closet doors don't close completely because there is always a 2 inch gap near either the top or the bottom since the door frame is not square. <br><br>The positives about this place is that it is very safe (which probably applies to all of Foster City). It is relatively quiet as well, as long as the small airplanes from the airport across the Belmont Slough are not flying over the complex. Maintenance crew is very responsive and professional, although they can't do anything to the structural problems we saw.<br><br>If you are considering renting a place here, pay attention to the afformentioned structural problems. They may not be a safety concern, but they certainly don't look good. And if you decide to move here, don't forget to buy a lot of wood shims for your furniture.<br><br>If you think you will stay here for more than one year, budget your second year rent to be 15% to 20% higher than your first year.

Current Resident 432365

Resident • 2005 - 2007

Sad to be leaving

I just bought my first home and although this is extremely exciting, I am sad to leave Schooner Bay. The maintance staff is so friendly and always came by right away to fix any problems I had, which weren't many. The office staff is very sweet and are always willing to help with anything I needed. I loved being on the water and the fountains were so beatiful and peaceful. I would recomend this apartment complex to anyone looking for a great place to live.

Current Resident 348696

Resident • 2007

Run as fast as you can

If you have to talk to the manager don't waste your time. She is rude and doesn't care what you have to say. The apartments are run down and the maintenance staff does not respond, or if they do the repairs are never done right. Don' waste your time or your money.

Current Resident 303061

Resident • 2006 - 2007

I like it here

There are a lot of bad reviews on this site but I don't think they are all true. I've never had a problem with the staff here. Granted the apartments are older and outdated, but given the garage and size of the apartment and location, you get a lot for your money