We lived here for 3 months and here is a summary of our experience. I'd probably give it 2.5 stars because the location is actually pretty nice and convenient.
The Good: It's a quiet place in a nice neighborhood. You can walk down to Steilacoom for a great view of the Sound and the Olympic Mountains or over to Pierce College property and walk around the lake or catch great views of Mt. Rainier. It is one block from a cute little library. It is close to Lakewood and there is anything you would need shopping-wise within 4 or 5 miles. It's very convenient if you are in the military. The month to month agreement is a good way to move to the area and get a feel for where you want to settle without signing a year lease somewhere. We moved from Denver and this place gave us breathing room to find work and a place for the longer term.
The (kind-of) Bad: Read and understand the paperwork if you are signing a month to month agreement. I can summarize it for you to make it easier. If you sign a month to month agreement and you stay less than 9 months, you will lose your $350 "security deposit." There is also a $200 "move in special." If you accept the special, $200 is deducted from the total move-in costs. If you stay less than 9 months they bill you the $200. If you stay 9 months or more it is forgotten about and you saved $200. It's not really a move in special. A move-in special is when you get something for moving in without conditions. This is more of a "If you plan to live here for 9 months or more, we'll give you $200" special. It's in the lease and I don't consider it shady (confusing maybe) but just be aware of it. Also, they charge $74.70 per month for water, sewer and trash. It is a flat rate which is supposed to be the total bill divided by the number of units. Again, nothing shady about it I'm just letting you know in advance.
The Ugly: We just received a bill for the $200 I mentioned above (because we accepted the move in special and didn't stay 9 months LOL) and another $199 for cleaning. It is itemized as $120 for "Cleaning, partial, stove, windows," $55 for carpet cleaning and $24 for Stove drip pans. We were there for three months. Three months(!) and we left the unit cleaner than when we arrived. We never walked on the carpet with shoes on and the stove was cleaned with magic erasers and bleach before we left. We cleaned the inside of every window with windex before we left. The outsides were beginning to need cleaned (not our responsibility) but the insides were immaculate. I will admit to ruining one of the drip pans. I made chicken stock on one of the burners and the burner being on high for so long discolored the metal. I never used the other three burners so those three were like new when we left. Even the one that I "ruined" was still totally functional and fine to use. $24 for one drip pan seems like a lot to me. You can buy them at Walmart for less than 3 dollars each. In short, the apartment did not need any cleaning whatsoever when we vacated. It was actually cleaner when we left than it was when we moved in.
We stayed for 3 months and here's how it broke down.
First month................................................................$715
Last month................................................................$715
Pro rata month..........................................................$643.50
W,S, trash (3 months at $74.70)..............................$224.10
Total to rental company for 3 months........................$2297.60 (and we paid electricity on top of that which was usually around $70) Divided by three months that's $765.87 per month on an advertised rate of $715. Not too bad actually. But here's where it gets a little thicker:
"Move in special"......................................................$200 (again our fault for accepting)
"Security Deposit"....................................................$350 (stay 9 months or you lose it)
These are what we lost for not staying 9 months. Again, it was right there in black and white for us but factoring in these taxes that brings the per-month charge to $949.20. If you stay 9 months you're all set with these.
Factor in the cleaning bill and you get a grand total of $3,046.60 plus electricity for 3 months.
That makes the actual cost for living there for three months $1,015.53 per month (plus electricity) on an advertised rental rate of $715. I only find the $199 cleaning bill questionable and the rest of the number crunching is for your information only. Overall this negative review is based on the cleaning bill and everything else is intended to be informational only. We enjoyed staying there but the cleaning bill leaves me a little bitter.
In summary, the place is nice and quiet in a good location. Be aware of the 9-month stipulations on a month-to-month agreement and expect a bill for cleaning no matter how clean you leave the place.
I do not recommend renting here. read more