I lived at 1200 Lakeshore from 2020 to 2023, and while the apartment itself is beautiful with…read morespacious units and great views, the overall experience was far from perfect. The neighbors were awful--racism was rampant. Once, in the laundry room, my partner was loading a dryer when a woman literally pushed her and said, "residents have priority," clearly assuming she was someone's maid. Another time in the laundry room a different woman asked her "what are your rates?" And when we said "we're your neighbors!" She didn't even apologize she just gave us that "oh you're being too sensitive" look. That kind of behavior was shocking and completely unacceptable. I also had a Mexican flag and a BLM flag on my balcony, and the property manager passive-aggressively asked me to take them down for "drone photos of the building." When I asked when this would take place so I could put the flags back up, he got nervous and mumbled something about needing the building to look "uniform." It was clear the flags weren't the kind of "uniform" he had in mind. While this isn't directly the building's fault, it absolutely must be mentioned: the area is not safe at all. In the three years I lived there, there were three murders within just a couple of blocks. No joke--check Oakland crime stats if you don't believe me. It's a very dangerous area, which only adds to the list of concerns. 1200 Lakeshore is a lovely building on the surface, but between the hostile neighbors, management's sketchy priorities, and the unsafe neighborhood, it's not the haven you'd hope for.

A Special Place to Live 1200 Lakeshore Ave., apartments…read moreoverlooking Lake Merritt is an outstanding apartment complex in Oakland. We have lived here for almost 4 years and have found the apartments to be spacious and immaculately clean and secure. There is a workout room fully equipped with the latest workout machines. There is a gorgeous patio complete with top-of-the-line furniture and a wonderfully landscaped garden. I cannot say enough about the staff. They are kind, generous and willing to help in anyway. They are simply the best .David Solis, manager, and staff go out of their way to accommodate our needs. Some of the tenants in this building have been here for many many years. Currently the tenants if if they so desire can participate in some fun activities. 1200 Lakeshore deserves the highest rating. Please come and check it out. You won't be sorry! Joyce Rubenstein Addendum: the east side of the building overlooks the Oakland Hills. In addition, all of the units have large patio areas Sent from my iPhone

Great lofts in a nice area. building is well maintained and the layout is inviting. onsite…read moremanager was very helpful and friendly. loft spaces are open and give you a lot of room to design what you want.

I've lived at Telegraph lofts for almost 5 years and I am pleased to say that the current manager…read morecares about the tenants. Always accessible, provides solutions to problems, attentive to the needs of the tenants. Awesome customer service!

Let's review: The…read moregood reviews are from before Premium Properties took over. There's a reason for that. Here's what the property manager told me on tour vs reality: "We're getting a bike room fall of 2024." No bike room. "Landlord pays water and garbage, tenants pay PG&E." Nope, tenants pay ALL utilities. "I don't think there's an extra fee for dogs." It's an extra $150 per month. "We're going to replace these crappy windows with weird opaque speckles." Nope. "We are a secure building with 16 security cameras." Doesn't matter if people are getting in and stealing shit anyway. Here's what Premium Properties told me before/at move-in, vs what I found out later on: Lease: "Tenant acknowledges building is master-metered for water, sewer, gas, and Electric." Natalie at Premium: "Yes, all utilities are flat rate." Selena at Premium: "Yes, all your utilities are flat rate." Later, Selena: "Your utilities are all set up and will be billed through the client portal! NO NEED TO CALL PG&E!" Reality: PG&E turned my power off 8 months in because no one had set up an account for me. They told me if I wanted power I'd have to set up my own account and pay a back balance, then sent me a bill for $470. Premium gave me the excuse the lease had a typo and some mistakes were made and oh well not their problem. (Odd. Turns out this happened to multiple other neighbors, and they were given a different excuse.) One day I caught a shady guy wandering the complex looking into people's windows. He wouldn't leave. I went to the manager. Manager said, "oh yeah I told him to leave." Oh really, well he's still here, so maybe do something about that?? I told them I'm moving out and I am getting like 2 notices a week that they plan to enter my unit to show and then nothing happens. They harass you 120 before your lease expires to tell them you'll renew or move. The emails are ended with the sentence: "Thank you for your anticipated cooperation." LOL.

I've lived here for 3 years and so my review covers the period when the building was managed by Mr…read moreMing (up to 2022 - when you will see quotes from all the reviews), and the period since while it has been managed by a company called Premium Properties. During the Ming Dynasty, this was a pretty sweet place to live. He kept the place really nicely and was pretty helpful. When my e-bike got stolen from the inner courtyard after the thieves broke in the side entrance, he willingly showed me the video of the theft using one of the 16 security cameras that used to work while he was here. Then Premium took over. And the service since then has not been premium. - Packages are routinely stolen because whereas Mr Ming used to put them in the amazon lockers, now they lay about. - The amazing security cameras go on and off like it's some sort of modern art installation. They were off for about 6 months but seem recently to have come back on. Of course that might not matter because since Mr Ming we've had two building managers and the first one couldn't access any of the recordings. Not sure if the current one can. - Of course, Premium couldn't do anything about the paper thin walls, floors and ceilings. As long as you're ok listening to your neighbor's music and sex life it's not a problem. - They did rewire the whole place since apparently the previous wiring was a death trap, but using the cheapest contractors has its drawbacks when they turn out to have wired multiple apartments wrong, including my own. That only took a few weeks to sort out. Their conscientious attitude to key checks - three in the course of 2 weeks recently where they had to come in to each apartment to make sure their master keys still worked - made up for that though - and I guess that's how they discovered one of the tenants had died in his ground floor apartment and not been found for some weeks. - The courtyard floor was painted to waterproof it at the start of the year - right when the torrential rain started. The rain washed off a lot of the light grey paint they'd used (on the terracotta colored floor) and then the run off from the frankly situation-saving-plants and trees turned what was left a streaky brown. But some tenants think the Jackson Pollock effect adds to the building's charm. Premium promised to sort out the painting in the Spring. It's now September so one assumes there's a really great reason why it hasn't happened yet. - The plants and trees are the main reason why I keep living here. They really are lovely. - Bicycle theft and/or damage remains an issue so Premium started talking about introducing a bike room about 9 months ago. Newer tenants were told it would be open in June. Again, it's September. Tenants continue to lug bikes up and down the stairs because leaving them in the garage is asking for them to be stolen. - When things do go wrong, like a broken dishwasher or shower, Premium have this great system where you submit a ticket online which they will respond to in 5 working days. Not "within" 5 working days. They will wait it out. Mr Ming used to pop round with a screwdriver and have it done in 5 minutes. Now it's after 5 days that they contact a contractor. It then depends how soon the contractor can visit. And then we get to the laundry room. - When the building was rewired the ventilation system in there conked out and so for some months it also served as an onsite sauna. We took to permanently propping the door open to stop everything in there going moldy. This meant that when the tumble dryers broke down for the 7th time this year the sound (like a cement mixer mixing stolen catalytic converters) was able to echo around the whole building. The washing machines break down with such regularity that it would make sense to offer an employee of the contractor who manages them a discount on an apartment. There is currently one of three machines working for a building with 30+ apartments. The machines regularly take money without turning on and the refund link in the app doesn't work. And finally we get to the ants. - This is an old building so of course there are cracks. And ants get in during the summer because that is what ants do. Mr Ming kept a supply of ant baits and would hand you a couple at the first sign of them. Now, we submit a support ticket and wait, meanwhile exchanging grandmother's tales of how to stop the cunning little things in the building's whatsapp group - a place where new tenants are regularly updated on which parts of the lease agreement are known to be illegal by the tenants who have already been through two rounds of "but if everything's broken shouldn't we ask them to reduce the rent". I have now duck taped a significant part of the edge of my living room window since the cracks have now reached such an extent that ants can casually stroll through them on a whim to see what I might have to offer in the way of cat food.

My girlfriend and I just moved into The Bond at 311 2nd Street in Oakland and I have to say it is…read moreone of the most luxurious and well-thought-out developments you will find anywhere. It is truly an ideal combination of luxury amenities, first-class customer service, and great location. For me to be saying this is pretty hard, as I am a very picky and uptight tenant but I feel confident in saying that this building has blown away any expectation that I had of luxury living. I'll share a few of the most important factors in why we personally chose the Bond: Amenities: In-Unit: Each unit has central air, granite countertops, 10' ceilings, stainless steel appliances, marble floors in the bathrooms, hardwood kitchen floors, and beautiful views from the massive windows. Also: the windows are sound-proofed! I am a very light sleeper and our unit sits directly against the Amtrack rail and I haven't heard one train at night. I am truly amazed because I most recently lived a few blocks away and the train woke me every single night! Lobby: The lobby is appointed with beautiful furnishings and art pieces as well as the residence services desk that is manned by passionate and courteous staff that has gone above-and-beyond to help us feel at home. Another amazing benefit of The Bond is the secure ATM in the lobby. That's right, no more ordering food and having to run to the bank because you're out of cash! Which also plays a key part in enjoying the neighborhood since The Bond is only one block from the Jack London Square Farmer's Market and Heinhold's bar (both of which are cash-only establishments). Gym: The gym is fully equipped with technogym cardio/weightraining equipment. The machines have cable TV and I-pod docks. Roof-deck: The Gym opens onto the 3rd floor roofdeck which has a grill, beautiful landscapes and an outdoor training surface for Yoga, weight-training, etc. Although these amenities are all great, the most amazing asset of The Bond is far-and-away the dog park that is connected directly to the building! This is such a great benefit because my only issue with living in Jack London Square has been it's lack of a leash-free dog park. Besides all of these great innovations, The Bond has some very subtle nuances that we love: Separate trash and recycling chutes are on each floor so no more hauling bottles to the garage; Garage access is triggered by parking sticker so no keys are needed; refreshments in the lobby; direct elevator entrance from the garage; convenient access to the 880 freeway; only 10 minutes from San Francisco; etc. Needless to say, we are extremely happy with our choice to live in The Bond and would suggest it to anyone looking for luxury housing anywhere in the Bay Area.

The Bond changed their management company for the better to Common Interest Management Services. We…read morehad a revolving door of front desk staff before Natalie started a year ago. Wonderful customer service and very dependable. I know I can speak for everyone here at The Bond by saying we are so glad she joined the new management company and stayed with us. Thanks for everything you do!

forced to hire a mold inspector after a stain on my wall kept growing. For a year now the building…read morekept brushing it off till mold grew on the surface. lab results came in, MOLD! This is extremely dangerous for my toddler.. the solution presented was "guard for the shower"even with the lab results.. ZERO senses of urgency. all this money to be living in a unlivable unit, smh avoid this building like the plague! they don't care about their tenant safety.

After living here for two years, I couldn't recommend this place in good faith. Here's why:…read more - Awful property management: Easily one of the worst I've ever dealt with and a key reason why living here is unenjoyable. They fail to proactively communicate, email response times can take weeks or up to a month, and they've blatantly lied to me about policy changes. - Butterfly MX: This is the system used to manage the front door. It is broken constantly and down for months at a time. You will not know when it's going to be fixed, nor why it's constantly down. This will impact receiving deliveries or your guests. - Dog owners: Pet owners are allowed to simply let their pets urinate (and sometimes defecate) in common areas. The 6th floor elevator bay and dog run has a smell that only prisons in the third wold know. - Trash/Recycling: While you will be shown trash/recycling/compost chutes on your tour, it's all smoke and mirrors. Those chutes are often off and do not allow you to dispose of recycling or compost in it. Heck the building itself doesn't even compost. That means you're forced to go to the basement anytime you want to get rid of waste vs being able to use the chutes that are there for... I have no idea honestly. - Washer & Dryer: Washer and dryers are in-unit, but they are more hassle than help, specifically the dryer. You have to dry clothes generally 2-3 times just to get them to normal dryness, you have to empty a very small water tank, and it will simply turnoff if it senses the clothes are dry even if they're damp or completely wet still. - Kitchen Sink: Another design flaw, but kitchen sinks are very shallow for no apparent reason. This causes quite the splash zone when washing dishes and is just a cheap cost cutting measure. - Theft: You're told that they have a secure bike room, but that happens to not be the case. I along with many other residents had our bikes stolen from the bike room even though there are cameras, they were locked with U-locks and cables, and the door requiring key fob access. Instead of providing any support, management simply sent out an email notifying residents of what took place and offered no support (sharing camera footage, key fob badge records, etc.). Their response: "we're not an investigative agency" Don't let the rooftop pool and clubhouse fool you, there ain't no luxury in sight here. You will be treated like an inconvenience as a resident, and will quickly learn that what you saw on the tour is far from reality of what life is like living here.

The Essex is a lovely building, flawlessly managed and maintained by an extremely kind and capable…read morestaff. The residents are friendly and welcoming. It's hard to imagine a more pleasant building to live in. But sadly the Lake Merritt neighborhood has become a living hell. When COVID closed the bars, Lake Merritt became Oakland's outdoor night club. The city did nothing to discourage this, and now the problem is getting progressively worse even as the economy reopens. There are non-stop fireworks, amplified music rattling your window panes, dirt bike gangs revving their engines, car break-ins in broad daylight, and so on. All of this occurs pretty much every night of the week, year-round. The neighborhood's city council people--Nikki Bas and Carroll Fife--have publicly come out against enforcement of noise laws or really anything else that might make the neighborhood livable again, so don't expect any help from your elected leaders. This neighborhood used to be a diverse, dynamic, and beautiful place to live. Now I can only recommend it if you are able to sleep through M-80s going off outside your living room at 2 in the morning, and if you don't have any kids or pets, as they'll be instantly traumatized.

2 of my good friends live here and I came to visit, this place is really nice and has a lot of…read moreamenities and their rent prices reflect that for sure...my friends really enjoy living here and showed me around the premises. There is a nice pool and gym that overlook the lake, there is a security guard at the door at all times and a decent amount of street parking for guests. I asked them about noise level and they said for the most part it's pretty quiet but the walls are not the best with some dampening so they can hear their neighbor's music at times. Overall a nice place to live if you can afford it

My family of four lived at Park Central for about 9 years and really loved it. The location is…read moreamazing - it's wonderful being so close to Washington park, the beach, farmer's market, Webster Street, and the library. Maya Lin is across the street and my daughter was able to walk to school by herself as a kindergartener. And the proximity to San Francisco is great! Nice commute by bus or ferry. The apartment itself was just beautiful - I loved the thoughtful layout, light-filled rooms, and wooden floors. The storage is surprisingly good for the square footage, and we lucked out and had a dishwasher too. Our family made many happy memories here. We really enjoyed our neighbors. Folks are friendly and thoughtful, and there's a real sense of community. We exchanged phone numbers with many neighbors and helped each other out at various times with watching vacation mail and so on. We left our front door open our last night before we moved and some of our neighbors we've known for years dropped by to say goodbye. That said, if you want to just quietly do your thing, everyone will be respectful of that. I feel like the overall vibe is, "friendly introvert." Finally, the maintenance care was honestly amazing. The grounds are beautiful and always perfectly maintained, and Andrea quickly and helpfully dealt with any needs we had. There is a maintenance team that comes every Friday, so it's easy to get on the list to have anything looked at. We really appreciated the love and care given to keep everything so nice, and felt really grateful - especially since we lived in a well-priced, rent-controlled unit! Overall, if you're looking for a great location, safe, friendly, beautiful, and affordable (relative to the Bay Area) place to live in Alameda, and a small space works for you (~400-800 sq ft), I don't know that you could do any better!

We lived at Park Central Apartments for seven years. The apartments were built in the 1940s and do…read morehave their vintage quirks, but our one bedroom unit was well maintained and comfortable for two people. There are storage units, parking spaces, & garages for an additional fee (street parking can be difficult here). There are washers & dryers onsite, and the landscaping is always kept up. The area is very safe, quiet, and close to Webster Street and Washington Park. Indoor cats are allowed. The apartment manager Andrea was always professional, easy to get in contact with, and addressed any problems quickly. We feel lucky that we had such a positive experience with Andrea, as we realize that is not always the case with landlords & renting. We highly recommend Park Central Apartments to renters.

I am writing to share a review of my recent experience at the Hollis Oak apartment complex while I…read morewas touring the property. I was very impressed with the community and loved how well-kept the grounds and facilities appeared. I also want to specifically commend Dan, who assisted me during my visit. He was incredibly knowledgeable, provided me with several great options, and truly took his time to ensure all my questions were answered. Thank you for the excellent tour and for the helpful information.

I lived at Hollis Oak for three years ( on Peralta side) and overall I had a really positive…read moreexperience. The location is amazing. It's far enough away from Lake Merritt that you don't get constant foot traffic, but it's still close enough that you can easily enjoy it whenever you want. It's about a 7-minute drive to Lake Merritt, and you can also walk there if you enjoy longer walks around the neighborhood. I used to go there often just to walk around the lake. There are also several grocery stores nearby within walking distance, so the area definitely isn't a food desert. I actually lived on both sides of the building, one unit facing Hollis Street and another facing Peralta Street. The Hollis Street side does have larger windows, which is nice for natural light, but personally I preferred the Peralta side. Parking can be a little tricky like most places in Oakland, but there's usually plenty of street parking on the parallel streets. Just make sure you pay attention to street cleaning days because you will get a ticket if you forget. The biggest downside is that the walls are very thin. You can definitely hear your neighbors. However, when I did have an issue once, I simply spoke directly with my neighbor and she was incredibly kind and understanding. The walls are just that thin. There was no hostility at all, and honestly it helped build a sense of community. During my time there, I really felt like I became part of the building's culture. The last week I was living there, new management took over, and I had the chance to meet Daniel. Even though I was already in the process of moving out, he went above and beyond to help me. I noticed improvements being made right away, the common areas were being repainted and refreshed, and he was clearly putting effort into bringing new life to the building. There was a small delay with my deposit check, but Daniel stayed in communication with me the entire time and made the process smooth. He even helped follow up while he was sick with the flu, which I truly appreciated. That level of professionalism and care really stood out. I was honestly sad that I wouldn't get to experience the building under his management because it felt like the place was finally getting the fresh energy it deserved. It's pet friendly!!!