I lived at Hidden Lake for 1 year and have broken down aspects of my experience below:…read more
Pros:
Location - Conveniently located right off I-5 with quick access to downtown, shopping, and restaurants. Some nearby shops are even within walking distance. It's also very quiet and serene, with water features and ducks throughout the property.
Maintenance - I absolutely loved the maintenance team. Anytime a maintenance request was submitted, it was usually resolved within 48 hours. The team took great care to ensure that issues were fixed correctly the first time.
Cons:
Front Gate - The front gate was broken almost 90% of the time I lived at Hidden Lake. If it worked, it usually didn't last more than a few days. If secure access is a dealbreaker for you, I would look elsewhere. The side gate also seemed to have a schedule of its own sometimes following the schedule of the leasing office and sometimes being chained closed.
Parking - You receive one covered parking space with your lease. We had two vehicles in our apartment, and on Fridays and Saturdays, guest parking could be difficult to find.
Construction - The property is undergoing extensive repairs and modernization, which is nice. However, the projects are taking quite a while to complete. Expect construction noise from approximately 8/9am until 5/6pm during the week. Near my unit, construction continued for about 1-2 months toward the end of my lease and a whole array of ladders and equipment left out next to a nearby building.
Move-Out Process - This was, by far, the most disappointing part of my experience with Hidden Lake.
After providing proper notice that I would not be renewing my lease, I expected to pay a prorated amount of rent before moving out mid-month. However, on the first of the month, a full month's rent was withdrawn from my checking account. I was unable to reach anyone by phone, so I emailed Jordan (the Community Manager) to discuss the discrepancy. He informed me that he could not reverse the charge and that I would need to request a stop payment through my bank.
I completed the stop payment and still paid the prorated portion of rent that I owed. A few days later, Jordan charged me a $25 stop payment fee, stating that this was the fee the bank charged Hidden Lake and that I was responsible for reimbursing it. The fee, while nominal, was not my issue. Rather, my concern was that this was not communicated with me prior to contacting my bank. I disputed the charge, and explained to Jordan that if the Auto Pay function in the Rent Portal had worked properly, we would not have been in this situation. Jordan maintained that since the Auto Pay was set up by the resident (me), the system did what I had intended it to do. Well Jordan, had I INTENDED to donate an extra month's rent to Hidden Lake, I would've just signed a longer lease! I'm still not quite sure how an AUTO Pay system failing to AUTOmatically withdraw the correct amount constitutes something I intended to do, but I digress.
After moving out and restoring the apartment to a move-in-ready condition, the final walkthrough was completed. According to the walkthrough paperwork completed by Jordan, the apartment required only "minimal cleaning." However, the cleaning company billed Hidden Lake for a "medium cleaning" rather than a light cleaning along with a $270 carpet cleaning charge, and I was invoiced accordingly. Given my previous interactions with Jordan regarding incorrect charges and account balances, I did not bother disputing this charge as I figured this would not go anywhere. I was ultimately more happy to leave behind Hidden Lake and my frustrating experiences with Jordan.
Overall, Hidden Lake is an older complex undergoing lots of much-needed improvements. I would exercise extreme caution and thoroughly document the condition of your apartment as well as communications with the leasing office. Additionally, I would recommend having Jordan personally set up your Rent Portal's Auto Pay feature so there's absolutely zero opportunity to attribute any future billing issues to you.