There are good and bad aspect to the Foxchase Apartments. I'll start with the good:
Apartment: Some of the apartments have been remodeled. I live in one of the remodeled units. These apartments are quite nice. The kitchens are large, have beautiful granite counter tops, nice faux tile floors, dishwasher, garbage disposal, powerful microwave, great electric range, a good oven, and a standard apartment sized fridge/freezer. The cabinets are a nice, dark wood and are high quality. There is a small stackable washing machine and dryer in a closet also in the kitchen (big bonus). The living room is okay sized. I've seen bigger and I've seen smaller. The master bedroom is good sized and there are two closets. The master bath is small but functional. The second bedroom is standard sized for an apartment and the second bath is identical to the master bath. There is one hall closet. The patio is fairly good sized with another closet. All of the windows are double pained. Overall, the apartment is great. One of the nicer ones I have seen or rented in my life.
Complex amenities: There are two pools and two jacuzzis. Each of the two pool areas has a bathroom which is always kept clean and stocked with soap, paper towels, and toilet paper. The gym is small, but the machines (bikes, treadmills, ellipticals, and weights) are modern and in good working order. There is a car wash station. You furnish your own hose and cleaning supplies. There is a dog washing station which costs money (I believe $5 per 30 minutes) that is as good as the ones at Petco. There are a few charcoal BBQs with picnic benches. Each unit has a reserved parking spot and additional parking is plentiful.
Service: Every time I have called for a repair, if it wasn't fixed that day, it was fixed the next day. The only exception was when my dishwasher broke. It took a few days, but that's because they ordered me a brand new one. The maintenance people were always very friendly, worked quickly, and did things right the first time.
Neighbors: I have found all of the neighbors to be nice, polite, and respectful of my space, sleeping, and privacy. Once in a while, I have heard a party going into the night, but always on a weekend.
Price: My two bedroom, two bathroom apartment cost me $1676.00 when I signed a 7 month lease. This includes $16/month for garbage and $50/month for my dog. More on this later.
Cons:
Apartment: I have nothing bad to say about the actual unit.
Complex amenities: Although the pools/jacuzzis are supposed to be open until 10:00 pm, sometimes the security guard gets lazy and tries to lock up early. I have a back injury, so using the Jacuzzi each night is one of the reasons I chose this complex. I was told that the pools/jacuzzis were open all year. In October, I received a letter saying that the pools/jacuzzis would be closed from December 1 through April 30. When I asked the management team about this, they said that the management company had just decided to do this and gave no reason other than "just because." I checked my lease. The lease specifies that all amenities are a courtesy to the tenants and can be closed at any time for any reason. When I pointed out that I was told the day I signed my lease that the pools/jacuzzis would be open all year, the woman in the office just shrugged. No apology, no offer to find out why. She gave off a "tough sh1t" attitude.
Service: The people working in the office are quick to display a rude attitude once you have signed the lease.
Price: HERES THE BIG ONE PLEASE READ!!! about five weeks before my lease expired, I received a letter stating that when my lease ended, I had four options:
1. Move out by April 1, 2011 (my lease ended on March 13, 2011).
2. Sign a new 12-18 month lease and my rent would increase to $1680/month - an increase of $4/month.
3. Sign a new 7-11 month lease and my rent would increase to $1730/month - an increase of $54/month.
4. Go month-to-month and my rent would increase to $1950/month - AN INCREASE OF $274/month, OR OVER 16%.
Now I was planning on moving by the end of July into a house, so the 7-11 month lease and the 12-18 month lease were unacceptable to me, especially after they went back on their word (although they did not violate the lease) about the jacuzzi being open all year.
The letter that I received was dated February 8, 2011 and stated that the new rent prices would take effect April 1, 2011. It didn't take me long to find a house to rent, which would be available to me on April 1, 2011. Secured the house, then gave a written 31 day notice. A few days later, I got a call from one of the women in the office. She told me that my rent for March would be $1676/month for March 1 through March 20 and then would increase to $1950/month for March 21 through April 1. She explained that as a courtesy to each tenant, they give you 7 days after the lease expires before they raise the rent. TO BE CON'T. read more