These are reviews of Cambridge House Apartments from 2010 to 2012.
I just moved in to this complex recently and it is NOT as bad as everyone says it is! Honestly, it's a pretty nice complex with a lot of amenities and nice staff. It is NOT loud and I have come home late at night before and found parking on the property every single time. The internet must have changed because it works perfectly fine every time I use it and it is fast. I don't know much about the game room or any of that because I don't use it but it looks well kept every time I walk by. And yes there is sometimes dog feces on the grass but rarely. I see people pick up after their pets all the time and all of the waste stations are kept full of plastic doggie bags. Maintenance came and fixed a couple of things wrong right away and they came on time and were fast and efficient. My neighbors are very nice and helpful. Overall, not a bad place at all and if you are sincerely looking into this place, I would at least give it a try or a look.
2010-02-10 10:35:18 So I've moved in recently and just like I thought, TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE! This place sucks!!! They suck you in with their "high speed internet" and nice game room; and of course the nice "model" apartment! Don't be fooled like me, now I'm stuck here for a YEAR!!! Where to begin? The free "high speed" internet, is not high speed at all! It may even be slower than dial up and varies based on how many of the residents are using it! I'm pretty sure that they have one line for the whole complex, that slows down the speed dramatically! Shortly after moving in you will notice that they just slopped a thick layer of paint over every crack in your apartment; then the paint begins pealing and chipping off and huge cracks begin showing everywhere!! Cheap! THE NOISE! If you like sleep, DON'T expect to get it here!!! The walls are paper thin so you hear everyone around you! And what's even worse is that the windows are ancient and single pane, so every noise going on outside is amplified into your apartment! Cheap again! They need to spend some money on getting atleast DUAL Pane windows (energy efficient and noise reduction). PARKING! A JOKE! They keep sending out flyers reminding that parking is for residents only, and that others will be towed! THIS NEVER happens. People from the DMV, next to the complex, ALWAYS park over here and are NEVER towed! I even saw the towing guy letting someone go! And at night, the lot is packed; so prepare to walk a great distance! The parking spaces are so small and idiots always park over the lines; and nothing ever gets done about this! JUST SAVE YOUR MONEY AND LOOK ELSEWHERE!!!!!! I will add, on a good not, maintanence is prompt and very friendly! They rule! BUT THAT'S ABOUT IT! I WILL NOT BE RENEWING MY LEASE, AND IF CAMBRIDGE DOESN'T WANT THE CONTINUED HIGH TURNOVER RATE; THEY NEED TO MAKE SOME CHANGES, FAST! —STRWRSrulez
2010-03-22 14:20:12 Cambridge House is so excited to announce that we are working on converting our current Apartmenthost Internet to Comcast High Speed Internet at no additional cost to you!
Comcast is America’s leading enhanced fiber optic network for cable and high speed Internet. With this exciting change will come a higher quality Internet with faster speeds and Comcast technical support. You will be able to download music, upload photos and chat with friends faster than ever before! We have a time frame between May-July for the conversion dates, but no set date is scheduled at this time.
We are so excited to let you know of the changes that are in store for you in the near future. As we get closer to setting a date and have more information to share, you will be the first to know.
We want to let everyone know that your voices are heard. We appreciate your patience and cooperation and we hope you know that YOU are what matters most to us.
Again, we appreciate your residency and your loyalty to Cambridge House.
Sincerely,
The Entire Cambridge House Team
2010-03-30 20:39:37 This place is a joke.
I literally had no other choice but to live here, since Davis Law begins class earlier than undergraduates, and I had received my acceptance to the law school late in the summer. This place was just about the only place left with openings and shorter leases than the typical undergraduate-tailored ones ending in September.
In the beginning, I didn't really mind all of the problems people mentioned in the other comments listed here, since I was extremely busy and hardly ever at my apartment anyway. However, now that I follow a strict study/class schedule, I'm in my apartment much more. These are all the problems I find most repulsive:
1. You will NOT get any sleep or studying done here. This apartment complex is full of noisy, drunk, obnoxious Davis undergraduates and their noisy, drunk, obnoxious friends. I live on the bottom floor and every time my upstairs neighbors (some guy and his girlfriend) walk anywhere in their apartment, it sounds like loud stomping, shaking, and creaking. They also have a dog which constantly runs from one end of their living room to another, adding more rapid stomping, shaking, and creaking. Not only does this couple stomp around their apartment all day and night, they have annoyingly loud sex which unfortunately I can hear at all hours of the night (not to mention anyone else who happens to be in my apartment). It's completely disgusting. You two know who you are.
2. Dogs are more of a problem than a perk here. Two or so doors down from me lives a great dane that constantly barks these loud, booming barks at anyone who walks by. It's not just this dog that is obnoxiously loud and annoying. So many people here have dogs that never shut up. The mess they make is also a problem. This complex constantly smells like dog crap. It's embarrassing, how these people don't have the courtesy to clean up after their mutts. I myself am a dog person, but living here has made me weary of them.
3. You will NOT get a parking spot if you come home later than 9 pm. The management gives you this little blue decal to put inside your front windshield and have the nerve to call it a parking permit. If I'm not even guaranteed a parking spot when I come home, what is the point in giving those permits out to begin with?? I constantly have to park on the street (sometimes as far down as the cemetery on the opposite side of Pole Line Road), so walking all the way to my apartment is a hassle, especially late at night. The parking spots themselves are TINY, and I guarantee that your car will be scratched/bumped by the morons who park next to you.
4. The Internet here is "free" for a reason. It is too slow to do ANYthing. No streaming, downloading, surfing websites even. You will not get any research done with this service. The management has recently announced that they are converting the Internet service - too little, too late. Way to upgrade to faster service just as I'm on my way out.
5. Everything people have said about the painting-over-every surface as a cure-all is true. If you're stupid or desperate enough to move here, you will immediately notice a blindingly white coating of paint, which is of course the management's solution for mold and other flaws. The paint chips at the floor mouldings.
6. This place is simply old. So, bugs and other pests are a problem. In my particular apartment, insects come inside from under the front door weather strip and through cracks and holes in the kitchen floor moulding. The age of this place also means that windows are extremely drafty and walls/ceilings are paper thin.
7. The ladies who sit around in the leasing office are fake and I definitely see right through that. They are hardly ever in the office. I don't want to have to walk over to the office 3 times in a day before I can pick up a package. Also, they are sickeningly polite to you while you're complaining about one of the many broken or malfunctioning appliances in your apartment, but their way of "fixing" things is much like the paint-over-everything solution. This is the third time this semester that I've complained about my oven. I have not been able to use it since November. These people do not care about you. They just want your money.
8. To add to that little tidbit about the money, here's something you'll want to know about leases here. What kind of professional housing complex charges you a full month's rent for the month of July when your lease ends the first week or so of July? They do NOT prorate here. By the time I move out, I will have paid twelve months' rent for eleven months of having actually occupied the apartment. This is a swindle. Read your lease very carefully, and don't sign unless you are desperate for housing (like I was). The manager will rush you into signing a lease. Don't believe anything they will try to tell you about how they charge rent like a university dorm does: by taking the total year's amount of rent due and splitting it up equally into twelve months. If your lease is for less than twelve months, DON'T believe that bs and don't pay a penny more than the amount of time you are actually allowed to occupy the apartment!
9. The Internet Cafe is useless because the printer works only 50% of the time. It's not worth the walk all the way over there just to find out that the printer needs toner or ink. The gym, however, is fine, and open 24 hours. Very convenient if you're like me and only have time to work out late at night.
10. Don't bother using the laundry room here. It not only takes quarters, but it is ridiculously expensive. Alder Ridge on Cowell Blvd. uses laundry cards that you load with money - no more fishing for quarters. The machines are ridiculously tiny, so expect to waste your money on more than one load of laundry every time.
Like other people have said, this place is ONLY a place to live - and a bad one at that. If you are a graduate student like me, look elsewhere. There is no peace or quiet here and too many of the people living here are young and obnoxious idiots. I wouldn't even advise sensible undergrads to live here, either. There are much better places to live in Davis, so you would do well to take the time to research complexes and visit each one well in advance. The only reason anyone should bother living here is because there was literally nowhere else available, because we all know that the rent they charge here (as well as all the other factors I mentioned above) will not be under "Pro" on your "Pros and Cons" list for Cambridge House. —rfa
2010-04-15 12:08:52 As the Manager at Cambridge House Apartment Homes, I am always happy to have feedback and learn of any issues that any resident may be having. I would encourage the resident above to come into my office at any time so that we can resolve any issues you may be having. Below are my best responses for the issues above without having any additional information provided:
1. I receive few, if any, complaints about noise. Here at Cambridge House we deal with noise issues individually. If you are having issues with your upstairs neighbors’ noise level, please come to the office to let us know. We will talk with them and ask them to bring their noise level down. If you do not come into the office and let us know you are having this issue, I cannot help you fix it and your neighbors are none the wiser. 2. We are a very pet friendly community and while we try our best to maintain the noise level of animals, dogs do bark. If this is an issue, please come down to the office and I can ask your neighbors who have dogs if there is anything they can do to stop their dogs from barking as much. I had a resident come to me previously and complain about a dog barking. I spoke to the residents and they resolved the issue by simply walking the dog more often, bringing me to my second response for this issue. If you see someone not picking up after his or her pet, please let me know. There is a fine that is charged because we do not allow it. We have numerous pet stations for this specific reason and we ask that everyone with pets please use them. 3. Parking has been an issue in the past. We have hired a company that monitors our parking lot after hours so that we can better serve our residents who come home later in the evenings. We have more parking spots than apartments and give the parking permits out only to residents who have cars (preventing the use of the permit to go to friends). If you do not have a parking permit and park in our lot, you WILL be towed. That is the purpose of the parking permit. 4. We are aware of the issues some of you have with the Internet. It is for this reason that we are now proud to say that we are converting to Comcast High Speed Internet and it is still free. I apologize that you are moving out before you get to enjoy this new benefit. However please notice by this example and the one above that issues residents have here do not go unnoticed. 5. We pride ourselves in having a prompt and efficient maintenance team. We clean mold the way it is supposed to be cleaned and NEVER just paint over it. We do however; re-paint the area once the mold is removed with a mold resistant paint. I believe anyone who has had an issue with mold, at this property or any other in Davis would appreciate the follow through. If you believe your paint is chipping, let us know, we can help you fix it. 6. The age of an apartment community is not relevant to having pest issues. If insects are coming in through under your front door, let us know and we can replace the weather stripping to prevent this from happening. If you have cracks in your kitchen floor, let us know and we can fix it. If you have any pest issues, we have a pest control company that is on-site bi weekly if you have any issues. They are a great company and are very knowledgeable. We are currently replacing bedroom windows with brand new dual pane windows and the entire property should be complete by the end of this year. 7. One full time employee and one part time employee manage Cambridge House. If you need to come down to the office and we are not in, I apologize. The leasing season is here and we take many tours throughout the day. I am also on the property during the day resolving other issues as well. Please feel free to call the office before you come down so that we don’t inconvenience you. It is unfortunate that you feel we are being fake. We care about all of our residents and do our best to make sure everyone is happy. We have a large amount of residents renewing their leases, proving without words that many people are happy here. I’m not sure of the meaning behind “sickeningly polite” but it just goes to show other Daviswiki readers that you simply cannot believe everything you read here (If we just “sit around”, how are we never in the office?). If you aren’t nice to residents, it is posted immediately for everyone to know, rightfully so. But if you are nice to residents, it is turned into a negative almost as quickly as the latter. 8. Cambridge House does not hide the way we lease our apartments. It is written out clearly and we explain it for everyone. We take the value of the apartment for the full year and divide that amount into equal payments. Whether you pay the full amount up front, make two payment every six months, make 4 payments quarterly (which many students find useful with how financial aid is distributed) or pay monthly is completely up to you. You do not have to sign a lease with us if you don’t agree with the payment schedule. We are not trying to “trick” anyone and are happy to explain it to anyone who has questions. 9. Our printer in the Internet café works. If it is out of toner, that doesn’t mean it isn’t working, it just needs toner. We try our best to refill the toner when it needs it but if you come across this issue, just let us know and we will replace it. No problem. 10. We have two laundry facilities on site open 24 hours a day. We accept quarters for the machines and it is $1.25 to wash and $1.50 to dry. This is an average price for laundry rooms. Why would we want to be overpriced? You wouldn’t want to live here. We also provide quarters for you in the office. All you have to do is ask. Our laundry machines are full sized front load washers and dryers. I’ve never had a complaint before the one above that our machines are too small. If using quarters is an issue, please feel free to ask any property before living there, if that is all they have available. As a side note, we have been offering ALL of our residents the option of installing a washer/dryer inside their units. If you are unhappy with our laundry rooms, we would be happy to install your very own washer/dryer inside your apartment for you.
So to summarize, I would like to say that Cambridge House is a great place to live. We are happy to help with any issues you may have. I hope anyone who is considering living here can take away from this posting that if you have any issues, PLEASE come down to the office and let us know. We cannot fix a problem we don’t know you have. If anyone has any questions regarding any posting on here, you can call me at 530.756.4020 or email me at [email protected]. I can answer any of your questions and hopefully help you find a great apartment to call your own. Many of our residents are happy here and you could be too. =) - Monica
2010-04-21 16:59:13 I stand by my final summarization provided in my previous post: that this apartment complex is only a roof over your head and if you want better quality, look pretty much everywhere else. Basically, for the rent charged at this complex, the amenities and quality of living here should be much better.
The Davis Wiki is a resource provided to POTENTIAL CONSUMERS/RENTERS/ETC. so that they can inform themselves about Davis by reading what actual users/renters have to say. What is the point in offering my honest opinion if the management is just going to try to belittle it? Nothing I wrote in my last post was exaggerated. The "just let us know and we'll do our best to fix it right away" idea that the management offers for every single complaint given on this site is a nice one, but is generally not realized. It's not a good enough response to problems that other apartment complexes around Davis do not have. —rfa
2010-04-21 18:33:54 Also:
- Just by looking at the dates of these complaints, it is obvious that many of the problems here (most especially the parking and internet) have remained despite complaints going as far back as 2007. If it takes that long to resolve problems, a potential renter should expect future problems occurring here to be treated in similar time/manner. It's not worth the wait.
- It is ridiculous to suggest that I should simply file a complaint with the management about noise coming from the apartment above me. The problem is that the ceilings are paper thin - I can hear the people above me walking back and forth, as well as everything else. How is something like that going to be solved by downstairs tenants like me filing a complaint? What is the management going to do, reinforce or soundproof the ceilings and walls in every downstairs apartment in this complex? Or, tell the upstairs tenants not to walk around in their apartment??? Of course not. The management won't do anything about it simply because there's nothing they CAN do about it. But is this any excuse for the noise? It's a problem that tenants should not have to deal with (to this degree) to begin with. I understand that a little bit of noise from upstairs neighbors is to be expected at any apartment complex. But the noise I deal with is not. I shouldn't have to hear EVERY single step the people above me take, or EVERY single word they speak, no matter how quiet they are (or aren't). This is not an exaggeration. I bet I'm not the only tenant who has to deal with it, but I'm definitely one of the few to point it out. How is a simple complaint going to solve a problem like THAT?
- It is just as ridiculous to suggest that the towing company that Cambridge management has hired will somehow solve the problem I (not to mention just about everyone else living here) face almost every day: tenants who actually HAVE permits but can't get a parking spot when they get home. Like I said, there is no point in giving out permits to tenants if they can't even find one single spot in which to park. You had might as well get rid of the permits altogether because parking here is literally a free-for-all (tenants AND non-tenants alike). I have a parking permit but often cannot find an open spot. Are you really trying to tell me that tenants with permits (like me) just need to deal with it? If so, then people who value having a parking spot should look to live anywhere else in Davis. And again, how is a simple complaint going to solve a problem like this? Are you going to expand the parking lot to accommodate all of tenants who have permits? WHEN? Another 2 years from now?
- I have read the explanations given by the management about the internet. There is no excuse anyone could give about the internet here that makes it "okay" for tenants not to be able to use it when they want and at a reliable speed. Taking care of a problem YEARS after it was already established as a problem is almost as bad as not doing anything about it at all.
- Everyone who reads the amount of bad reviews this place gets can weigh them against the defensive responses posted by the management and judge for themselves what kind of place this is. But if anyone is smart enough to notice how often the management try to downplay the negative posts here, they would realize what sort of attitude the management has about their unhappy tenants. To them, every complaint is a lie and the tenants who took the time to make them are too stupid, etc. to complain to management about it. Newsflash: there is no conspiracy going on between the tenants here to badmouth this apartment complex. We are not taking all this time and effort to simply lie and make problems up. The amount of negative posts make it pretty obvious that many people are unhappy with this place.
- As a side note, I agree that the maintenance guys here are super polite and I have absolutely no problem with them.
The last thing I will say to the management before I move out is that "filing a complaint" is not a cure-all when I can almost never catch you in your office. I can't point out the problems I'm having with my apartment to an empty leasing office. After having to walk back and forth from my apartment to the leasing office numerous times during business hours in any particular day, it obviously gets very frustrating. I'm a busy student. I don't have the time or energy to waste on something like that. Why do you think so many people feel the need to voice their complaints on the Davis Wiki instead of going to the office instead? And, even if I were able to catch someone in the office to voice my complaints, I would still stand by posting it here for everyone to read, as well. Just because management says "just let us know and we'll fix it asap" in response to every damn complaint here doesn't excuse the fact that all of these problems shouldn't be occurring in the first place, not to mention all at the same time.
Reasonable people don't mind one or two small problems here and there, once in a while. But, when these problems pile up (as they do at this apartment complex), telling everyone to simply "let us know and we'll do our best to fix it" simply is not enough. Things as majorly bad as the parking and internet here are basic amenities that are very high on renters' priority lists. So, there is absolutely no excuse management could give to justify the lack thereof. Just because you are fixing those huge problems one or two years after people have been complaining about them does not make everything all better. Like I said, it's too little, too late. Why bother living somewhere that you have to wait months or years for something as basic as internet or parking??
That is my whole point about this place. "Just let us know and we'll do our best to fix it" won't magically cure the major foundational problems many people have here. Sure, Cambridge House is definitely "habitable," but then again, so is a cardboard box if you really put your mind to it.
As for potential renters, the purpose of these people's posts is so that you can INFORM yourselves before making a final decision. Go ahead and listen/read to the positive things the management has to say about this place. But also take the time to read the negative posts despite how many times Cambridge management tries to respond and DOWNPLAY them, because they aren't lies like the management tries to make them out to be. They are honest opinions from actual people living here and are provided as an informational resource. —rfa
2010-04-23 16:07:47 Hey everyone! Cambridge House wanted to let everyone know that we are offering some AMAZING specials for the next few weeks so come in and secure your apartment for fall NOW! We are waiving ALL OF YOUR APPLICATION FEES! The deposit for ANY APARTMENT is ONLY $99 on approved credit! We still have a few units left, so hurry in and don't miss out on these amazing deals! Don't forget we offer FREE Comcast Cable and as of this year COMCAST internet is free too! Hope to see you soon! CALL NOW: 888.355.9338 —Cambridge
2010-05-10 15:16:18 I just wanted to point out again (since I've done it before) that I usually get home from work at about 9:45-10:00pm Wednesday and Friday nights and I rarely have trouble finding a parking spot. In the two and a half years that I've lived here (or however long it's been), I've only had to park on the street a handful of times. I'm not saying that RFA is making up the parking problem (I know there are certain times of day when I'm worried if I'll be able to find a parking spot), just that I typically haven't had a huge problem with it myself.
On a side note, I'm curious when this promised switchover to Comcast internet is coming. I'm moving out in August and I'd like to at least get to enjoy some decent internet a little bit before I leave. :) —RobertM525
2010-05-29 00:07:04 does anyone know why torrents sometimes work, but usually don't work with our current internet? —carpenoctum
2010-06-11 11:09:01 Over the past few months, we have had several people nearly miss out on the opportunity to live here due to the reviews on Daviswiki. This utterly saddens me. I understand the point of Daviswiki but it definitely affects the outcome of many leases here and at other properties who fall victim to the power of suggestion on this website.
I want everyone to understand that, while they should take other peoples’ opinions into account when looking for a new home, they are just that- opinions. The reviews on this website are in no way an accurate reflection of Cambridge House as a whole.
For anyone considering Cambridge House as a new home for fall, please, read the reviews but give us the chance to tell our side of the story. We would be more than happy to provide you with any information you need in order to make a more informed decision. Don’t leave the decision to live somewhere in the hands of people you don’t even know. Call us today, we’d be happy to help. =) 888.355.9338
The Cambridge Team
- There's no "magic wiki force" that creates reviews. It's a bunch of tenants giving their opinion. There is no "the Davis Wiki" that made the reviews... these are and have been the opinions of these individual people. It's just that you can see them now. There have been apartment complexes that cleaned up and have much nicer reviews than they used to. —Evan 'JabberWokky' Edwards, (814) 889-8845
- I believe that is what I stated- That all of these reviews are in fact peoples' opinions. And clearly, it's not just tenants that post comments about our community. There are plenty of people who post negative comments that don't even live here, nor did they ever. Have you ever lived here? Then how do you really know what our community is like? I don't appreciate the implication that we need to "clean up" anything and that if we did we would have much nicer reviews (because when we do receive a nice review, someone like you states that this may be the landlord writing it since it is the only review this person has written). Each community is different. And I appreciate the fact that daviswiki allows everyone to share their opinions however, I don't appreciate it when I am simply trying to make a statement and I receive a sarcastic comment such as the one you just posted. If your comment is not a review, I don't understand the intent of it. I just want to be able to say something positive without someone almost immediately invalidating it. I'm tired of the misconception that landlords are just "out to get you". We do our jobs just like everyone else. If you break a rule, you are held responsible for it. If you break an appliance, you are held liable for the damage. If you pay your rent late, you get late fees. It's pretty black and white. And in the meantime, We do everything we can to help our residents. We stay late, come in early, suggest specials and lower rents, put together activities and bbq's on our free time. Yet none of this is ever taken into account. So like I've said before, you don't know what a property is really like until you visit it. We urge everyone to come down and take a tour so you can make your own decision about our beautiful property. - Monica Brito, Property Manager 530.756.4020
- Howdy, Monica. I'm not sure where you read that I said anything about Cambridge. I simply pointed out what has occurred elsewhere on the wiki with apartment complexes and their reviews on the wiki. As a business owner myself, I was not making a sarcastic comment at all — I was and am trying to offer specific and helpful advice based on what I've seen occur on the wiki over the years. With genuine and sincere intent, I am reaching out to you. I have employees and clients myself; I am about the most sympathetic person to your concerns you will find. You say you do not understand the intent, so I will state it very clearly: I am trying to understand your position and assist you with your concerns. I am utterly baffled by your hostile response. —Evan 'JabberWokky' Edwards, (814) 889-8845
2010-06-28 20:16:47 I am aware that this is a long comment but please read this if you are considering living in this complex. Living here would be the worst decision possible. Do not be fooled by the free internet and cable, this apartment complex will rip you off! Also the girls in the front appear sweet before you sign your lease but throughout the year they will show their true colors with constant rudeness.
The first problem that my roommate and I had when moving into this complex was the fact that the lease went from the very end of August to the beginning of the next August. This means that when you move out at the end of the year (which I promise, you will want to) you will be homeless for a month due to the fact that most Davis leases don't begin until the first week of September. You will be required to pay for 12 months rent still. Also, this lease began before our other lease ended on a day that roommate and I were unable to move because she was back at home and I was out of the country. I still got a call the next day from management telling me my rent was late and that there was a $50 charge for late payments after the fourth of the month. This is higher than the standard $25 charge at most apartment complexes and is due by the sixth. Throughout our year here my roommate was late on two of her payments, once because of a mistakenly bounced check. Because of this, management forced BOTH of us to pay EVERY MONTH AFTER with a cashiers check or money order. When we brought up with management (because there is a charge for cashiers checks) they told us that the problem must be with our banks because their own banks did not charge these fees. If part of the rent is not delivered by the fourth then everyone in the unit should expect a rude call from management. They will also threaten to call the cosigner if the payment is not delivered by the end of the day. They don't even give you 24 hours to solve the problem.
When moving into this complex you will notice that maintenance simply paints over everything instead of fixing it. They take the easy way out instead of actually fixing the problem. This includes the outdoor pathways and the shower where the paints chips off with a simple standard cleaning product like clorox. This is not the only problem that my roommate and I have had with maintenance. If you have lived in Davis during the summer you know how hot it gets. Our AC broke three times before the end of September!! Every time we called to have it fixed maintenance would come in and "fix" it. The AC would then work for about 20 minutes before completely shutting off and becoming unresponsive. When we would go in to ask to have the AC fixed, the managers would try to make us feel like idiots by trying to simplify our problem and make it appear as if it was our fault. For the record the AC broke once again this past Friday and today came maintenance came to fix it and finally realized that there was in fact a REAL problem with the device. The wires had broken while they were performing other maintenance on our roof. In addition to the AC continually breaking down, the ONLY VENT in the entire apartment is located in the middle of the hall facing a wall. This means that the AC is pretty inefficient at distributing the cool air and honestly not worth the PG&E bill.
The AC is not the only problem with maintenance here. This past winter we had a leak in our hallway that took three months to repair!! I am not exaggerating here! The first time we called, maintenance came in and "fixed" the leak by taking out the ceiling and putting a bucket in the middle of the hallway. They began hammering on our roof the next morning at 8am and never took the bucket out, or replaced the ceiling or hallway light. We had to call again in order for them to finish the job. This happened three times because the leak kept coming back!! We were left without a ceiling in the hallway for about a month.
Maintenance is not the only problem we have experienced at this complex. If you have a unit that is along Pole Line do not expect to get any sleep your first month living here. There are constantly police cars and fire engines driving by at all hours of the night. Part of this is because there is a retirement home right next door. It is not only the fire engines and police sirens that will keep you up. The yard work at this complex begins before 8am so expect to be woken up from your minimal sleep by the loud roar of leaf blowers. Your solution to this problem may be to simply sleep with the window closed however it is much too hot in the apartment to do this, also you will hear the leaf blowers through a closed window.
Parking is a real problem in the complex as well. In October they finally started towing cars that did not have a permit, however this did not solve the parking problem. If you get back after 9pm expect to have to park on the street. The only time you can park here after 9pm is during the winter and spring breaks. There is also the small problem with the fact that no one who lives here appears to know how to park a car within a normal sized parking space. Expect your car to get dinged in the parking lot.
The only upside to this apartment complex is the large pool with several lawn chairs. Although there are usually large crowds of people and constant bbqs at the pool. The free internet and cable are not benefits of this complex. The internet is insanely slow and randomly goes out. This problem will supposedly be fixed by their switching over to comcast but so far I haven't seen any improvements. —ucdavisstudent
2010-06-29 18:32:31 Choosing to live here could be one of the worst decisions that you have made. Guess what? I already did. After living here for one year, I have to say that my apartment was absolutely terrible. Here are the things that I had noticed:
-the windows don't close tightly, which leads to moles around the frame due to condensation of water vapor -the walls are as thin as cardboard -bathroom lacks ventilation (no window) which leads to excessive moles on wall and ceiling (hazardous to health) -AC system is a joke. There is only TWO heating/cooling vents: one in the living room, one in the hallway, and NONE in the bedrooms. Even worse, it is not cool (on hot day) and really weak. Turning that thing on is just a total waste of electricity. -"fitness center" is a joke -parking area is horrible with all the cracks and potholes on the ground -my bedroom door is hard to close and open. It gets stuck many times. -the managers are only nice at the beginning. After I moved in, the only time I saw them being nice was when I gave them my rent, or when they meet new customers (new victims). When I asked them questions regarding the rent or the contract, they really showed their attitude. -their "high-speed" internet is b.s. It is as slow as a slug. -the worst thing of all is the contract. They are especially shady about their contract. They don't give you a copy to keep (other apartments do), or go through and summarize each item for you. You have to read it by yourself (a document of at least ten pages). If you miss out on some thing, or don't remember it later, then too bad. They say that their contract is a "calendar-year" (12 months) contract, which in their system, means that you have to move in at the end of a month, and pay for that month, then one year later, you have to move out at the beginning of the same month that you moved in. Basically, you have to pay the rent for 12 months while you are only allowed in the apartment for 11 months and 1 week. I bet the motto of the management is "flashy first impression is more important than substance and long term commitment."
In the end, the only positive things I can think of during my time there are nice swimming pool and relatively fast response about maintenance. I hope that you should consider CAREFULLY before you choose to stay at this awful place.
2010-07-06 14:36:27 This place is a joke. Fitness center is a joke. Parking is a joke. Quality of rooms is a joke. The worst part is the contract you sign with the swindlers of Cambridge house. They tell you that you move in at the end of a month and 11 months later you move out at the beggining of that same month. They tell you that if they pro rate it your payment goes up. This is a way for them to keep the upfront monthly rent lower than what they are actually charging you since you pay for an extra month. Maintanence people are nice but suck at fixing things but great at painting over problems with thick white paint. Front office ladies are the nicest people you meet until you sign your lease. To sum it up this place is a huge joke. —TruthTella
2010-07-15 13:22:03 It's been 3 months, 3 weeks, and 2 days since they posted here about switching to Comcast internet. Still stuck with Apartment Host's atrocious 0.2-1.0 Mbps packet-loss-nightmare (read: unreliable) internet connection. I understand these things take time, but it's feeling like an empty promise. Not that it matters much to me anymore, as I'm moving out in 19 days. —RobertM525
2010-07-17 11:25:12 I've never lived here, but just looking at things practically... God, these reviews are horrible! And this place isn't that cheap either. I checked up on Cambridge House on other rental rating sites, just to see if daviswiki is an exception. Well, on apartmentratings.com, Cambridge House is recommended by NINE percent of people. So any defense Cambridge comes up regarding "oh, it's just an opinion" seems weak in my eyes, as a potential renter. Analyze the trends. Analyze the information critically and impartially. —Umarekawaru
2010-07-17 13:41:55 Hi Robert, I apologize for the delay in comcast internet. Please keep in mind, the letter we sent out and the post about it on Daviswiki states a conversion time between May-July. We are still within the time frame that we originally stated. We are finishing up the contracts this week so I just wanted to let you know that it is not an empty promise. Let me know if you have any other questions Thank you.
2010-07-20 11:06:17 Since I last posted (less than a month ago) the AC has broken for a fifth time! This time they told us that they would have to replace the unit entirely. When we asked why this had never been done before (the first four times it broke on us) they told us that a new problem had occured. I find it hard to believe that our AC suffered from five different problems in less than a year. We basically paid for the convenience of having heating and AC but were never able to use it effectively. We also paid for "high speed internet" as they advertise. We never got this either. The internet here is horrible, and by the time they switch to comcast we will be moving out. When we notified maintance that the paint in our bathtub was chipping so that we wouldn't be charged for it while moving out, they told us they were not going to do anything because the job would simply have to be redone for the new residents. It is things like these that make people not want to live in cambridge. There is no conspiracy to bring them down but this place deserves the bad reviews they get. —ucdavisstudent
2010-07-21 23:34:31 Whoa, a lot of hostility for Cambridge House Apartments eh? Well I live here and will now give a review from a majority perspective instead of the small minority of bitter people that have been doing these reviews so far. The overly negative reviews that you see above have been done by people who are actually pissed off enough to spend a whole day and a few pages to make this place seem like the worst hell hole on Earth. The reality is that most of the reviews you see here are comprised of isolated incidents that are not common to the tenants as a whole. Do not take these extreme cases as something that is a regular occurrence in this apartment complex. Just because somebody has had their air conditioning unit crap out on them five times doesn't mean that everybody body else has had the same happen to them. The majority of tenants do not experience these problems, as I have I have lived here for over a year, and have only had positive interactions with the other people living in and around my building, as well as those living in other parts of the complex. It's funny because many of these people I encounter in real life do not feel any motivation to make a positive review (as most people who are content do not want to make the effort), or even know that this DavisWiki page even exists. As soon as I found out that this page did exist, and that it mostly contains exaggerated stories by spoiled brats, I feel as though I should also waste some time and a few lines to give a sane opinion (and it is the summer and I have a lot of time on my hands *wink wink*). Overall, I have a had more than a good experience with the staff, Monica is cool as a cucumber and is not the Wicked Witch of East Davis that most people are making her out to be. She is really cool and responds to the tenants demands. She even knows some people by name and apartment number which is pretty impressive. I don't know where all this crap comes from that she shows "her true colors" after signing the lease. If anything, she gets nicer as you get to know her more! The whole late fees business is pretty common, and if you can't pay your bill, then you pay some fees, just like any other place. Got it? And of course they won't take your bad checks after one has already bounced! If this were a liquor store, your picture would be posted on the cash register with a note saying "Don't take checks from this person", budd. The maintenance dudes are responsive and do their jobs quickly, and are not construction workers that can fabricate a new wall every time you have some paint chipping. Really, if you need them to build you a new wall or re-engineer your apartment, they can't help you and no apartment staff can help you when you are demanding the whole goddamn apartment be reconstructed to your liking. These dudes are doing their jobs the best they can and are trying to make an honest living to provide for their families, so don't bust their balls because they can't make you a luxury suite. Oh yeah, someone said the walls are paper thin, and my response to that is that they are flat out making that up cause I have never EVER heard anything through the walls, and have confirmed that many other tenants feel the same way. The ceilings are a different story though...but I'm not going to complain as if the maintenance staff are too lazy to come in and build a thicker ceiling/floor. However, you can hear stuff from outside like people passing by, dogs, and the clean up gardeners who come every Monday morning. The amenities are pretty cool, the gym is convenient to have when you are too lazy to ride your bike to the ARC. The pool is pretty cool too, wish it was heated though. Parking is not as bad as it has been presented so far, I have been regularly coming home at 10pm two to three times a week and have not had to park outside, especially now that it's summer. There have been many spaces in the back. The regular School year though can get pretty hairy, but not too bad. Coming home past midnight does suck during those times, but it's not always a bust. Having said that, a lot of people here need to learn how to park properly. Oh yeah, the internet does suck but it has peak times of usage because everybody shares it. In the mornings and late (LATE) nights it works pretty fast. Hopefully the new Comcast High Speed can handle these peak times a lot better (A LOT BETTER). Don't expect to be playing Call of Duty or any PS3/XBOX games on the current set up :-( . This Comcast High Speed needs to kick ass or a lot of people are going to be pissed. I hope all of my views have come as a more objective view and not just me saying "Well I personally have had this experience, so take it as something that is common to everybody!". I have talked to enough people to feel a consensus about the statements I have made in this review. Oh and BTW, I am not Monica, and I have not been hired by Monica or the staff or any other conspiracy theories like that. Or have I?!?! hahaha suckers —alexisdabest
2010-07-22 10:11:44 alexisdabest- Thank you so much for your positive review. I appreciate your honesty and providing everyone with a different perspective. I am working out the contracts for Comcast this week and will be sending out a letter to everyone to come in and sign the comcast agreement as soon as I can. We are working hard to get you guys better internet. Thank you so much and have a wonderful day. —Cambridge
2010-07-22 13:34:05 WARNING: DO NOT RENT FROM THESE PEOPLE!!! They make you pay full 12 months rent when you will only live there for 11months and 1 week. They talk about prorated rent but I don't think they understand what prorate means. Prorated rent means that if a renter stays at an apartment for say 10days out of the 31 days of that month, they should only pay for those 10 days, not the full price of the rent. Cambridge please clarify this to potential residents and current residents. Why are we paying for the full 12 months rent when we are suppose to move out 3 weeks early and are charged for that full months rent for it? —DavisCritiq
2010-07-22 15:14:57 Dear Daviscritiq,
I apologize for any misunderstanding you may have had with your lease. The lease start and end dates are on the front page when you sign it before you move in. Not everyone here has the same lease dates as you do, each lease is different. Did you come into the office a bit earlier? I just had a conversation about this with someone. If you have any questions about your lease I will be more than happy to help you but if you have already agreed to the terms of the lease, I can't change anything to it. We send out notices to everyone 60 days prior to the lease end to remind you of your lease dates. We also send it out in case you may have any questions or concerns about move out dates and procedures. You aren't moving out 3 weeks early, you are just moving out and the end of the lease. If you have any questions about your lease please feel free to come in and we can talk about it. Thanks a lot- Monica —Cambridge
He may have agreed to it, but it doesn't mean that it isn't shady and misleading. This kind of agreement makes the monthly payments look way better than they are. Why not just do the honest thing and charge a constant monthly rate and have the last week on a 11 month 1 week lease be a quarter of the usual monthly payment? You would collect the same amount of money and mot mislead people. To do anything else is deceptive. —WilliamLewis
One thing I've run into before are leases where the prorated amount for a short "month" is included in the total value of the lease, then divided into 12 equal payments due monthly. Thus, you're enjoying the pro rata, but you're paying the same amount during the short "month" as you would any other month. If that's not the case here, and if the lease or the conversations leading up to the signing of the lease indicated a prorated value, that starts to get very shady. —TomGarberson
2010-07-22 17:25:48 I encourage any resident to come in and speak with me about their lease if they have any questions and I would be more than happy to explain our lease to anyone who is interested in living here. I am available Monday through Friday 9am-6pm. You can reach me at 888.355.9338 or at [email protected]. Please feel free to contact me at anytime. Thank you —Cambridge
2010-07-23 13:39:25 Responding to alexisdabest: I wasn’t aware that wanting a roof over my head and a hallway light made me a spoiled brat. It is not unreasonable to want a leak in the hallway fixed in less than three months. It is also not unreasonable to want to be able to use my AC when I am paying for that amenity in my rent. That said, I am not expecting Cambridge to be a luxury suite. I am expecting to get a livable apartment similar to the model apartment I was shown prior to moving in. In regards to paying a fee every time I pay rent. I simply found my situation very unfair since NONE OF MY CHECKS BOUNCED. I was never late on my rent either. My roommate’s check bouncing is why I also had to pay with a cashiers check. This I felt was unnecessary since I did nothing wrong. I have no part in her financial situation or her rent payments, yet I was being punished with the fees as well. As far as maintenance goes, yes they do respond quickly. However I am not happy with the repairs they do. It seems that every time I request to have something fixed it will work for a little while and then break again. For example the AC will work for about 5 minutes and then break. There have also been a few instances where they did not finish the job they began. The leak in our hallway and the replacement of the AC unit are such instances. I am not asking for them to make a new wall when paint chips, I simply don’t want to be charged for it when I move out. I understand that they are doing their jobs and providing for their families, and my requests are not unreasonable. I simply want an apartment similar to the one I signed a lease for.
2010-07-23 14:30:30 To alexisdabest, the fact that you say there are no positive reviews is frankly ridiculous. Everyone has something positive to say about this place: the pool is nice. Now, to clarify your spoiled brat comment, well…let’s see….if asking the management to actually fix a malfunctioning air conditioner during some of the hottest days during Davis is acting “spoiled”, then yes, I’m spoiled. And the fact that you say these are “exaggerated stories” posted by spoiled brats is untrue. In fact, these stories are much warranted. My neighbor once showed me a video clip of her and her friends catching a rat that they found in their cupboards. I wanted to throw up. Now, those people haven’t posted anything about that on this site, have they? (So maybe, there are a lot more negative reviews that many people don’t post. )In fact, not only did THEY find a rat in their apartment here in CAMBRIDGE but so did their friends. You don’t need to believe me but I can provide you with the necessary footage if you’d like. Then you can deny whether or not this is also an “exaggerated story”. To address your other comment: Posting on this site is wasting time. The website was created so users know what to expect before receiving some sort of service in Davis and providing information in addition. It’s a place where not only you get to read some positive comments about this place but also the negative. It just so happens that Cambridge receives a lot more negative comments than positive ones. (You wouldn’t waste money on an expensive meal if the reviews were that bad would you?) The fact that you think posting a comment on Daviswiki.org is “wasting time” really pisses me off. If I were to write a positive review, would you also call that wasting time as well? Lastly, who said anything about re-engineering the apartments? Who said anything about constructing a new wall? I don’t think anyone did, I just think these are observations about the characteristics of the apartment. Now, I don’t have any problem with noise but then again, I don’t know about other people’s situations. I think if I were a spoiled brat and wanted a luxury suite, I wouldn’t already be living here which is why I am moving to Allegre and paying significantly less. I’m spoiling myself. There are a lot of other things I could address about this complex, for instance, why Monica didn’t really answer DavisCritiq’s question but merely just beat around the bush. But then again, I would be just wasting my time giving my opinion about one of the many problems I find at this apartment complex.
2010-07-23 14:51:41 I understand when the move in and move out date means on the contract. I have no complaints about that. I just want my money back for the days I'm not living there. Also, how is your "year" contract not even a year when all other apartment complexes are ACTUALLY a full year? A year doesn't only consist of just 12 months on paper, it means 365 days. Get it straight and stop beating around the bush. At least tell that to your potential residents. Btw, it's not just happening to my lease, I have friends in Cambridge too that are also happening to them...they just didn't realize it until I told them. TO CURRENT RESIDENTS: Look at all your rent payments through your bank account and your move out date...if you paid full 12 months and are moving out early, I suggest you try to get your money back for the days you wont be living there because Cambridge is basically cheating you out of your money. —DavisCritiq
2010-07-27 16:11:15 To quote myself in an earlier post: "The reality is that most of the reviews you see here are comprised of isolated incidents that are not common to the tenants as a whole. Do not take these extreme cases as something that is a regular occurrence in this apartment complex.", which is still true even after the bitter comments have now been directed at me. Yes it does suck that you had a leak that lead to the tear down of your hallway roof, but it was an extreme case that does not contribute to an accurate review of this apartment complex as a whole. This is one far out case that one tenant (maybe two?) had the misfortune of experiencing. I on the other hand, am simply giving a review that represents the majority opinion of satisfied tenants that have not had any of these extreme incidents happen to them. This really is a pleasant place to live and I have confirmed this with other tenants that I have met in my building as well as others around the complex. Gathering from these real life responses, I feel as though the positive statements I make about Cambridge House can be confirmed by more people then than they can be denied. I'm glad I had a chance to see this complex for myself and live here for a while before finding out that this bitter corner on DavisWiki exists, because maybe I would've been swayed to look somewhere else and miss out on the pleasant experience that I have had so far. I urge readers to take the talk in these reviews as cheap (Hey, even mine!) and take a tour to see for yourself. You will ask yourself, "Hey, where is the constant swarm of rats and bugs? Where are decrepit building structures?", you might even see a spoiled brat or two scurrying around, but you will ultimately come to the conclusion that maybe these reviews on DavisWiki are a little blown out of proportion. I guess I will respond to "ucdavisstudent" directly by pointing to what I said before about your predicament not contributing to an accurate review of Cambridge House as a whole because it's an isolated incident blah blah blah (see above). If you want your ceiling fixed in the same day, and your A/C unit diagnosed and replaced in the same day, then your requests are unreasonable. These dudes aren't construction workers and do not have a spare A/C unit in the backs of their trucks, it has to be ordered like all other large items. I'm sure roof parts have to be ordered too budd. Oh yeah, this is the real world dude, so choose your roommates wisely because you are on the lease with them, and when their checks bounce, you are lumped in also because you live together. Giving Cambridge House a bad review cause you have an financially irresponsible roommate doesn't really say anything about Cambridge House either. In response to "GangGreen", your example of rats is only an indication of the cleanliness of the apartment it was found in. Rats are attracted to filth and mess, to eat the food crumbs and to hide in. And yes it is exaggerated because your making it seem like Cambridge is a giant rat's nest, and it's not. A rat in a filthy apartment doesn't count as a complex-wide rat problem.
Peace out, I'm not going to respond to any more stuff cause this is a place for reviews, not banter back and forth. Readers, look closely at the reviews. If they smell fishy, then they probably are. Take a look for yourself. See you in hell :-) (from heaven) hahahahahaha suckers —alexisdabest
2010-08-02 17:13:51 There's a lot of back-and-forth on here about these apartments; I've lived here for about a year, and I think I can honestly attest to a few things:
1) Parking sucked for a while, but the management found a 24-hour towing service to keep people without passes out of the lots, so finding a space is a little easier now. 2) The management has -always- responded promptly to my repair requests, even ones I was worried I might be 'on the hook' for. My toilet seat was half-broken when I arrived and we lived with it for a while, but when I got around to asking them to fix it (when it broke the rest of the way) there was no fuss over replacing it. 3) They let me have my cat, despite a whirlwind of drama kicked up by mistaken feline identity and my overdramatic mother. (Sorry, Mom, but you -did- call them in tears to try and convince them...) READ THE PET POLICY BEFORE YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH A FUZZY CREATURE. You've been warned. 4) There are parties, but they're rarely loud enough to hear from my apartment. Ask other people who live here, in person, what their experiences have been. DavisWiki is a collection of worst-case-scenarios. 5) They recently upgraded to Comcast cable internet, through a modem in each apartment. This is -great-, because I was paying for Comcast (12 megabit) before, and now I get it for free. Comcast is even refunding me for some previous payments, and you can monitor/control your own connection with a router. The 'Apartment Host' or 'College Connect' service they had before was bunk, but the new Comcast service is definitely up to par. 6) The management can be strict about rule enforcement (which they should be, as Aspen Square holds sway over what can and cannot fly), but they're not out to ruin your day. Monica and her coworkers at the main office have always treated me with respect, and they seem like they legitimately care about me being comfortable here.
Take everything you read here with a grain of salt. Many of these comments contain complaints about problems that have been solved. Furthermore, the Cambridge House can do -nothing- to resolve an issue they're not aware of. If someone's dog is crapping around your door, I'm sure the office would be more than happy to deal with it if you let them know. The same is true for any other issue, you just have to make yourself heard. —Kirrei
2010-08-25 16:58:59 DO NOT MOVE INTO THIS PLACE - THEY WILL TRY TO SCREW YOU OVER BIG TIME. This place is such a joke, I was ready to overlook many of the flaws (and TO CAMBRIDGE HOUSE TEAM - I was going to give you good feedback but after the shit YOU are trying to pull). If your thinking about living here you should should be aware of this!
First of all. The high speed internet they had there this last year was a JOKE. You couldn't even watch a youtube video (30 minute download for 5 min clip) We ended up paying for our own internet ($20 for first 6 months then $50) and now they decided to change to Comcast. Every Monday morning you can expect to be woken up at 8am by the workers with their lawn mowers and blowers (very annoying to have to sleep with your window closed every Sunday night). They boast about their "any pets welcome" and "only $99 deposit," but when you actually get in there to sign the lease you get charged $99 for the deposit plus an extra $450 for a pet (not a big deal but they defiantly don't make that clear until your on the spot). We had problems all year. The fan for the stove broke numerous times (even after fixing). There was a rat problem (which ate a hole in our Kitchen sink pipe -> very annoying). Halfway through the year when working upstairs they accidentally broke a water pipe and literally flooded our entire Living room carpet (we couldn't use the living room for 4 days, not to mention the constant noise form 3 industrial strength fans (energy bill - they ask us if they could run the fans all day long - not a big deal but its the same thing they don't think before they do stuff). Our carpet is already 3 years old and they decided not to replace it rather to cut it open and "clean" it and put a new padding under the carpet and put it back like nothing happened. Through general wear and tear the seam got pulled apart very slightly in the living room (right where the flood was the worst) and they claimed that they had to replace the entire carpet and tried to charge us $900 (both bedroom carpets are COMPLETELY fine). I said they should have replaced the carpet and then I asked them if that seem was completely untouched and just the flood happened would they rent out the apartment to the next people without telling them the carpet had been flooded a year ago? And she said that since they "cleaned" it that it didn't need to be replaced (its 3 years old and has water damage). Then on top of all this about a month before we moved out they came to us with a paper asking if we wanted to pay an extra $90 for a cleaning? We did, they charged us an extra $20 on top. And then they tried to charge us $250 and it actually says "STOVE HAD TO BE REPLACED." There was nothing wrong with the stove (except for it was dirty) and when I asked them she said well actually I talked to the guy who looked at it and he said it wasn't broken but it was so dirty that it would be cheaper to replace
HAHAHAHAHA I think they also forgot that on the paper concerning the extra $90 we paid it clearly in bold states "if oven requires excessive cleaning you will be charged an extra $50" - how did that turn into $250? The beginning of the year I made a note on our move in paper about the doorknob in the bathroom was cracked. On the move out sheet $15 bathroom door knob had to be replaced. LOOK AT THE MOVE IN SHEET The remainder of this comment was removed.
AND LASTLY - IF SOMEBODY CAME IN INQUIRING ABOUT AN APARTMENT YOU WOULD IMMEDIATELY TEND TO THEM. WHEN I WENT BACK IN TO LOOK AT THE SO CALLED PHOTO EVIDENCE THEY HAD I SAT DOWN WHILE THE ONE PERSON WAS "GETTING MY FOLDER." SHE THEN PROCEEDED TO STORE 3 PACKS OF SODA THAT HAD LEFT BEEN ON THE TABLE BEFORE HELPING ME WASTING MORE OF MY TIME -> VERY RUDE. —stevenscott
2010-08-29 18:36:33 alrite, here is my 2 cents, i used to live here. really pissed off b/c of unfair "repair" charges. let just say, if a video game is shitty, how can it expect good reviews. right before i moved out of the apartment, they wanted the place cleaned, ok, so we cleaned it up. now, not only we lost our deposit money, but there are additional fees. like 2 blinds missing, carpet needs major repair, etc, and slapped 400 dollars. I agree with other people on the noises, it is loud and annoying. So then it is up to you to decide, but take in other people opinions too. I don't write this b/c i have nothing else to do, a shitty game deserves a low score. Remember Reach..... hah. —nickgonzalas
Just like I told Mr Scott, get some evidence when you move in / out and take them to court for "bad faith deductions" Daubert
2010-09-02 11:10:21 on second note, if you clicked onto their website, on the "floorplans/pricing" they didn't put the current prices, but rather, some old. wonder why they didn't update them......? but yeah, the current rent for a one room is $1020 at this place, not $875.00. The same goes with all the other prices...why don't they update the prices... why indeed. (* Prices and availability are subject to change) does not cut it for me. —nickgonzalas
2010-09-03 10:11:26 Hi- As the manager at Cambridge House I can say that I just looked at our website and the information on there as well the information on here is correct. It is $875 for a one bedroom and $1045 for a two bedroom. The prices do change frequently and they are updated accordingly. Please call the office for more details. Have a wonderful day =) —Cambridge
2010-09-05 14:01:34 If the rent really is 1045 for a 2 bedroom, how did my rent end up to be $1295? I understand that there extra $$ charges for the washer/dryer and the patio, but i doubt that's going to add up to 250 more a month! —netizen
2010-09-05 14:39:04 Not everyone's rent is exactly the same. The prices change as well. I would be more than happy to explain to you your rent amount if you would like to come by the office or give me a call. Or you can email me at [email protected]. But from what it sounds like, your base rent was $1225 which includes water/sewer/trash. If you add $60 for the w/d and $10 for a patio, it comes out to $1295. —Cambridge
2010-09-26 23:07:49 We are extremely upset at Cambridge House Apartment! We have $150 decuted from deposit money for no apparent reason. What is worse, it seems to be impossible to argue and get our money back. We are considering consulting with a lawyer and take them to court. It is not just about the money, it is also about justice and fair.
We are two international students who came to study at UC Davis in 2009. When we first moved in, we were asked to pay $350 for deposit money because we did not have credit in the U.S. The living in Cambridge House Apartment is overall satisfactory, and we are very impressed by the passionate and helpful receptionist Monica. Everything went well untill we were ready to move out to campus.
Before we moved out, we spent a whole day cleaning everything from a single small stain in the kitchen floor to the mold on the bathroom wall. Then we figured out there were still some tough spots on the carpet and kitchen, so we hired a professional cleaning company to help us out. The apartment looked almost as good as new after the cleaning.
Then we had the pre-check by Cambridge House. According to these people our apparment was OK and "there is nothing to worry about." So we thought it was going to be a happy ending.
However, after the final check we got fined $150 from the deposit! It is the most ridiculous thing we ever heard. When we asked for an explanation especially that we had passed the pre-check, the answer was "The pre-check is just for the major damage." What a lame excuse! They just take your money without any warning and without a reason!
We had argued with Cambridge House for a couple of times and had not been treated seriously. We are left with no choice but to post our encounter to the public. We are also considering posting it to the UCD student mailist and warn everyone about Cambridge House. Currently a lawyer from CSSA agrees to help us gathering proofs. We will keep this thread updated.
2010-10-13 14:54:20 Here are my two cents on CH from the month and a half that I've been living here. First of all, the apartment complex is a bit on the older side, so the cabinets, sinks, etc look old, but I can live with that. Lots of the modifications are just painted over though. I do miss not having a garbage disposal in the sink. Their maintenance team has been quite responsive so far. Their fitness center has a lot of machines compared to other places and if that's still not enough, there is the ARC for those that have access to it. The pool area looks nice but a lot of other places offer a spa as well. Their cable and internet package is great. I used to pay for it on top of my rent at my last place so that's one less thing to worry about. The Comcast cable line up is pretty good [you could upgrade and pay the difference if you want more premium channels]. The internet, for my purposes, is quite fast. Email, Internet Radio, Youtube, Netflix, and downloads, among other uses, load up quickly. I haven't tried online gaming so I don't know if its good for that but my neighbors seem to always be playing COD, so I suppose its ok. Parking could be improved. I come home late and there is very little parking. I have seen what seems to be people with reflector vests checking for parking permits but I don't know how often they come around. To improve on the resident side, have visitors park on the outside instead of getting your neighbors mad and taking the spot they're paying for. My car has been broken in to, just like it was at the last place I lived at here in Davis, so watch out for random people roaming the parking lot at night moving from one car to the other looking for your stereo or other valuables. Also, a suggestion I'd make is for a designated car wash area. There are a lot of leaves and dirt due to the trees around the complex and when the people that clean them up get to it, it is inevitable that there will be dirt on your car afterwards. All that dirt will mess up your paint job and it is expensive to be washing your car every single week, especially on a student budget. Having that said, I'm living quite comfortably here, at the moment, with no major complaints. I'll update this later on in the year as well. —Thatonedude
2011-03-20 18:33:14 THIS PLACE IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE!It may seem cheaper than other places but they bullshit you and are shady. A two bedroom is NOT $1185. There are some other fees that they add on later when you sign. Signing the lease they tell you that you get next year's august rent FREE when you pay the august rent upfront. They literally said that but did not say that this only applies to people who would extend their lease! That is because the move-out date is at the beginning of august (though you moved-in at the end of august), which means that you occupy only 10 days or so of that WHOLE month that you have paid upfront. How is the contract a "year contract" if the tenants occupy the apartment only for 11 months. like another user already said, a year consists of 365 days. When signing the lease they emphasize that you get august for free, which totally blindfolds you of what it actually says on the contract. The managers do not summarize and go over the contract with you like other mangers do. The day of the signing of the lease they also did not offer the option of the quarterly payment schedule for the upfront august rent to me and my roommate. Instead, they said that they have to get it the day of the move-in date or they will not give us the keys. They totally take advantage of the naive freshman who are desperately looking for apartments. I wish i would have never signed a lease with them. READ YOUR LEASE CAREFULLY. take a look especially at the move-in and move-out date. That contract is the biggest bullshit ever.
Don't be fooled by the model apartment. They paint over the flaws of the apartment, which peal and chip off over time. It is a total lie that they "never" paint over it. The windows are horrible. You can literally hear people walking past your apartment. The windows are also not isolated enough so it is harder to heat up your apartment. Speaking of the heater... The heater/AC is at the worst place ever. It is right in front of the "master bedroom" (the one with the sink). When you want to heat up your apartment, the master bedroom gets heated first while the other bedroom is still cold. until the other room is heated up, the master bedroom gets way too hot. The only solution is to close the master bedroom's door, which means that you can only heat up the rooms when the doors are open. There are no air vents in the rooms. It takes hours to heat up the living room.
The internet cafe is useless. The printers are just there to show off. They do not work 90% of the time. Especially when finals week comes closer. Right now the printers have not been working for almost 3 weeks, putting up a sign that they'll fix it as soon as possible. so do not relie on those printers.
The managers are very shady and are the phoniest people I have ever meet. They tell you lies in the nicest ways, making it seem like it is your fault.
What i recently found out is that when you move out they want the apartment cleaned professionally, with a receipt. Or they will offer you another option where you have to pay them $140 so they can clean it. Apparently, everyone just pays them to do that, which I think is another lie. Why would anyone pay $140 for cleaning if the deposit is $99, might as well take it out of the deposit. I won't be surprised if they end up not giving us our deposit back for some other bullshit.
—xD
2011-03-23 16:28:10 Hi there, I know that you guys just came in to ask about this so if you need more clarification please feel free to stop by the office. We are more than happy to help. Thanks- Monica —Cambridge
2011-03-26 08:01:20 This place it so chill! My roommate and I have parties here all the time and no one gives a $@ck! The best place to hang they've got a pool table and now ping pong GREAT for beer pong and we just invite our friends over and have a great time. We're pretty hard partiers and have lived here about a year I think in that time management has told us to be quiet like 1 or 2 times. Sure we will hahaha! They don't really care so keep the party on! Management is so chill! If you're looking to have a place to have parties at Cambridge is the place for you! 420 friendly! —420Yeah!
2011-03-26 21:48:08 Hi there monica, we are very clear already about you not being able to do anything about it. It would have been helpful to clarify everything before signing the lease, instead of saying just half the truth. Well, the lease is signed already and like you said 'there is nothing we can do about it'. —xD
2011-06-10 16:07:10 I have lived in the apartment complex with my fiance for about a year now, and we LOVE it. I don't want to lie, the place has its little glitches, but overall it can't be beat. The management is not only efficient, but extremely compassionate. They are very understanding, you just have to talk with them and they are more than willing to try and help in any way they can. The maintenance staff is also awesome. Whenever we have anything, I mean little to big, that may need fixing, they are on top of it. I also love that they are super friendly. Every morning when I leave for work I can count on a smile and wave from our head maintenance man as he walks the complex picking up trash and making the place beautiful. The apartments are older, but the staff tries to keep them well maintained. I have also really appreciated the immense amount of community building functions that they offer. It seems like they always have some charity project, party, or raffle going for every holiday and event. They also really take the time to listen to what you have to say. I appreciate that they have recently taken the time to ask my opinion regarding the complex. The problems that do come up in the complex, such as the printer, washer/dryers, or pool table, are things that are hard to maintain. There are a great deal of tenants in the complex that all put a high demand on these things, and the staff does their best to keep them in running order. I understand the frustration but people need to bare in mind that these things are shared among a large community of people that may not treat them the best. As I said before, the complex has its ups and downs, but all the ups make it worth staying here. When lease renewals came around, we didn't hesitate to sign up for another year. Oh and to all those griping about your lease, I read the thing cover to cover before we signed it, and all of your gripes were addressed in the lease. Actually you had to initial the pages saying that you read them, so it's really not the complex's fault that you failed to do your job. Thanks Cambridge team for making this a great first year, and we look forward to being with you for the next one as well :) —CyndelReed
2011-06-13 11:07:03 I've lived here for a year now, and i really like it. The things i like most about the apartment are: That it's pet friendly (even for my huge dog!). They have plenty of nice areas to take my dog out to the bathroom, and even provide poopy bags which i can use to clean up! It's also within 5-10 minutes walk of a terrific dog park. I also like the great maintenance response. The guys that do maintenance are quick, friendly, and they fix the problems successfully! The apartment i live in is very quiet, but even if i got loud neighbors i'm certain the office staff would be both courteous and diligent in making things work out. The office staff is sincerely friendly, and they've even memorized my dog's name. There used to be some annoyances with parking, but over the last 4 months I've never had trouble finding a spot! So, i'm hoping this keeps up for a while. While there are better-looking, newer apartments out there, I don't know of any that would better fit my needs than Cambridge House. —marshvz
2011-08-28 22:59:42 I really like it here and I think the management gets a really bad rap. My best friends live here and I visit regularly, they pay $1070 and for a 2bd which isn't bad at all and they're really happy. They live close to all the new stores like the grocery outlet, Parking seems tight but there are spaces all over 5th or even closer to 8th for visitors. For 1070 for a 2bd with all those amenities its pretty nice. Then again if you want more parking, new construction, and all that you need to go farther away from campus and pay the money. Otherwise this isn't bad at all its cheaper than College Square where I live. And by the way I know for a fact that some obsessed angry people make different ids and leave comments over and over I saw one doing it in the computer room how messed up is that lol!!!
2011-09-02 11:13:05 I wanted to share with everyone my recent experience with Cambridge House. My boyfriend and I lived there from 2010 to 2011, and when we moved in there was a special for no security deposit if you qualified based on your credit. We hadn't spent nearly enough time looking for apartments so we were in a rush and this sounded like a great deal. As many have mentioned, Cambridge House has a very unique lease that I believe everyone should be wary of. It effectively cost us an entire month's rent for ten days between the first "month" - six days of July, and the last "month" four days of August. The staff will most likely respond with a comment along the lines of "you signed it" and yes we did. We also paid it. They are right, we should have read the lease more carefully. They stand by their lease, and state that it is not unlike many other leases they offer at their other Aspen Square Management properties and other apartment complexes in Davis. I find this contestable as I have been renting in Davis for many years and have never come across a company that refuses to prorate their lease.
Mostly, what I wanted to point out is the hostile way in which we were treated by the off-site parent company, Aspen Square Management, upon vacating the unit. We didn't pay a security deposit. I hired a professional cleaning person to clean the unit. The unit was definitely cleaner than when we moved in. During our initial walk-through, performed by my boyfriend, there were several stains noted in the carpet. Unfortunately, he wrote "carpet stains" on the walk through form. However, he took several photos of the apartment before any of our property was moved in, including photos of the stains. California law states that there is a 21 day period in which to report any damage to an apartment and that any amount above 126 dollars has to be accompanied with an itemized statement including receipts or invoices for work related to any deductions to the deposit. Aspen Square sent me a letter that was written one day before the exhaustion of the 21 day period asking for 125 dollars. The letter stated that if I did not pay them within ten days of the date of the letter, they would turn me over to a collections agency who could in turn damage my credit. I got the letter two days after it was postmarked, and three days after it was written. The letter asked that if I had any questions or concerns, I contact Cambridge House. Not only did the Davis staff not know about the language of the letter and the collection agency threat, they could not locate my walkthrough paperwork. They did the next day, but I wasn't notified until I called them myself, so I wasted another day of my ten day time period. The staff refuses to consider the photos we took of the initial condition of the apartment because we could have digital created those photos and dated them digitally as well. They stated that if we wanted those photos to serve as a protection for the damages to the apartment, we should have given the staff in the office a copy of those photos within 48 hours of our initial occupancy. The Davis office staff even stated that my boyfriend should have written "red carpet stain second bedroom" if he wanted to be sure that we would be cleared of that damage in the future. They implied that others could write "carpet stains" on their initial inspection to write themselves a blank check for future carpet stains. The only thing that I could do was request receipts from them for the work that was performed, which they have to give me upon request, but they have yet to.
Cambridge House staff, and especially their parent company Aspen Square Management, have a demonstrated lack of integrity in the business that they do. I do not find it surprising that our repairs cost just below the 126 dollar reporting threshold, that they waited until the last of the 21 day period to report the damage to us, and sent us a threatening demand letter. This is just how they operate. I personally would never rent from them again, and I advise everyone who is looking for a place to look elsewhere. —MargotParfitt
 |
| Two or more of the following comments comefrom the same IP address and may be the same person. |
|
|
| Two or more of the following comments comefrom the same IP address and may be the same person. |
2012-01-24 18:45:52 As people start to look for apartments, I thought I would write a review to warn people not to live here. Honestly, it's not as terrible as people make it seem, but it's still bad. It's kind of like comparing living in the lettered buildings in Tercero versus living in Wall/Campbell/Potter; no one wants the lettered buildings and they're not that bad, but there's better housing out there and you get to pick where you live now versus being placed randomly. The apartments themselves are really cramped and small, although the kitchen/dining room is relative big, but everything else is small, and I live in a three bedroom which is supposed to be bigger. Things in the apartment are kind of old like the windows, oven, doors, etc, but you can tell management has made a decent effort to make it modern. I don't know how the other apartments are set up in the complex, but the layout is weird in the three bedroom and nothing like what the online layout looks like. The master bathroom isn't a separate room but part of the master which is kind of awkward, and the second bathroom has a door separating the shower/toilet from the sink area but there's no door separating the sink area from the rest of the apartment? That might just be the three bedroom though. The bathrooms also don't have windows and only a loud ceiling fan and the shower/toilet area of both bathrooms is super crowded. The AC/Heating only goes to the living room, hallway and kitchen. There's no ventilation in the bedrooms which is horrible. Your room either feels like a desert in the summer or below freezing during winter. Parking really does suck here, often times if I come home after 10 I usually have to park on the other side of the complex IF there's spots available. About twice a week, I have to park on the other side of the street. Location wise, it's literally in the middle of nowhere. No one lives in East Davis, so you basically have to drive to see your friends. A ten minute bike ride to campus may not seem that bad, but when it's pouring and windy, it's bad. The only real applicable bus line to campus is the A line and that's always really crowded or running late because it's basically the only bus line that runs in East Davis. Basically, my roommates and I all have parking permits for on campus parking. The management does sucks. I thought "oh they're not as bad as the reviews make them seem to be" when I signed the lease, but it's been a complete 180 afterwards. There's always new people working the front desk who have no idea what you're talking about, and act bothered when you come in with a question. The head lady especially is extremely cold and rude, she alone is basically why I don't want to live here. Although one of the girls is really nice though, the blonde. I'll go to pros now. You get free cable and internet which is really convenient, although the internet is spotty/slow at times, I usually don't have a problem with it. There's a study room/game room/pool area/"gym" which is pretty nice. You get free printing in the study room, but all the times I've tried, the printer has been either out of ink or paper. Rents relatively cheap (I pay 580 for my own room vs upwards to 950 for the Ramble) and the complex itself is quiet, but people who live here are kind of antisocial so that makes sense. It's right next to shopping and food, Grocery Outlet is literally right there and Safeway/Dos Coyotes/Round Table are walking distances. It's close to downtown too. The DMV and Post Office are right there because I always need to go there.... but I guess it's nice. Targets only a short drive compared to a 10-15 minute drive for people who live in West/North Davis. Maintenance is quick and nice. The place is animal friendly, so you get to see puppies/dogs all the time, but as well as dog poop that owners don't always pick up. Overall, the place is bad, but not as bad as people make it out to seem, but I'm definitely not renewing the lease for next year. And don't fall for the wheel they have you spin where you win a prize when you sign your lease, if that alone doesn't scream "sketch," I don't know what does. —thatoneguy
2012-01-28 21:03:27 The quality of service at Cambridge House is commendable.
Any time I have an issue the staff is always prompt and courteous in handling the matter.
I would recommend the community because of the amenities and the comfort of the apartment.
I enjoy living here because of the in-house laundry, dishwasher, storage space, and it is quiet.
Some people have complained about the Monday morning landscaping but would you rather live at a place that is unkept and overgrown' Cambridge House does a great job keeping the community clean and well-kept.
It's apartment living at a higher standard than most, in my opinion.
I am very happy here
Read more: http://www.apartmentratings.com/rate/CA-Davis-Cambridge-House-1380402.html#ixzz1kow1NvEc —RichardScriven
2012-04-20 19:29:26 DO NOT RECOMMEND. After living here for more than half a year, I have been very annoyed by management. It feels as if they are constantly wanting to enter into our apts and their communication with the maintenance crew is lacking. For example, they wanted to install AC vents into our rooms so the whole apt gets the circulation but they sent out notices that all we need to do is to clear the vanity area that maintenance will just be checking our vents. Since the notice was super vague, we were annoyed to find that they needed 3 days (3-4 hours each day) to finish and we had to change our schedules to work around them. Another instance was when they sent out notices that they will be entering our apts to check our amenities between 10-4. Since we have little dogs, we had to work around that too so they don't freak out during that large time frame but when they did come, they only checked to see if we had washer and dryer and a toilet. Really? They couldn't have checked this out before we move in and as we are moving out? On top of that, the walls are super thin so you get to hear your neighbors upstairs stomping around and procreating which was CONSTANTLY. They used to have an "internet cafe" but they moved the Keurig and all the coffee supplies to the main office and on top of that, their printers are always out of paper and ink whenever I need it. As to the noise, there are some idiots who decide to get drunk and high and play super loud music once in a while. When I have packages arriving, UPS usually takes it to the office but I usually have a hard time getting them because their office closes early without notice! Let this be a warning that if you do live here, read each notice carefully because there are some catches (i.e. renewal papers offering free food but in small print states that they will charge you for water and sewage). I do agree that everyone's friendly (esp the maintenance crew) but there's just these little things that can get you super annoyed. It's an okay place to live if you have absolutely no other options but if you value your privacy, I'd recommend elsewhere. —AWL
