Verified Resident ā¢ 2015
San Marin seems to be a decent community. The leasing agent was initially very helpful, but follow-up communications were noticeably slower due to the business of the season. Everything was worked out by the end though, so I have no complaints there.
My initial impression upon move-in was actually very positive; the apartment looked nicer than I had expected. However I've started to notice more things as I started cleaning up my apartment; when I wiped down the bookshelves and countertops, my towels were noticeably dirty. Although aesthetically they were nice, they definitely had not been fully wiped down or cleaned. On a similar vein, the apartment's carpet has a light odor suggesting that it had not been steamcleaned. Vacuuming the bedroom carpet confirmed that a lot of dust was still present. I have yet to vacuum the living room floor, but it looked worse at a glance and was the source of the odor, so I'll be approaching that with caution. Floors were similar as well; although they looked reasonable enough upon move-in, mopping and scrubbing resulted in a much better-looking floor.
Actually on that note, the reason I had to mop and scrub my floor in the first place was because the toilet overflowed less than a week after move-in. Unfortunately I didn't notice it initially and did not have a plunger on hand, so dirty water spilled all over my bathroom floor. Thankfully one of the neighbors lent me some of her rags, and I was able to clean up the situation with some elbow grease.
One major disappointment I discovered a week ago was that neither the washer nor the dryer, both brand new, had been installed. Instead they are just sitting there looking pretty. That in itself wasn't a big deal; the major issue was that the service requests I've put in for 6 days and 7 days respectively have just sat there, and I have yet to receive any sort of communication from the staff. A bit more communication or at least an ETA would be greatly appreciated. My service requests were for the washer/dryer installation and the fact that my patio door does not fully seal gaps and allow drafts to come in, greatly warming my apartment.
My final complaint is that living in Phase II (Building 26) on the third floor, the train is excessively loud and will likely be a major issue. I picked my location attempting to avoid the noise of Duval, but the volume of the train passing by is even worse. I should be alright since I'm a heavy sleeper, but any guests over will need earplugs most likely to ensure that they are not woken up in the middle of the night. Worse yet, most of the trains seem to come by between 10 PM and 4 AM (I'm a bit of a night owl).
That aside, the location of the community is really convenient; Time Warner Cable is right down the corner, and there is an Exxon Mobil nearby if you ever need a quick gas run. Driving a bit further brings you to a large box-store area including Sam's Club, Target, Michael's, Costco, etc., and there are two H-E-B's within a few miles as well.
San Marin is definitely a reasonable place to live; especially if you work close by, you will find it a safe, well-priced option. Especially if you don't have (or don't mind waiting for) service requests, I doubt you'll run into any more issues with the complex or management.
