The Artisan

We went and toured The Artisan on July 8th, 2021.

The tour itself went pretty much without a hitch and the property was, for the most part, what we expected from the photos and DD prior to driving there.

What happened afterwards, however, is what warrants a review and a caveat emptor for all prospective residents and tenants.

The leasing manager, Jacqueline, initially confirmed--both verbally and in a hand-written notation on the marketing collateral paperwork she left me with--that a move in date for a specifically *set* and agreed-upon date was good to go and that, should I apply, those would be the terms.

One day later, on Friday, July 9th, I called and spoke with Steven, a colleague of the aforementioned leasing manager.

After a series of calls that day about other things related to the property and to the application, I also confirmed with Steven that the prior move-in date would be good to go and locked in at the same aforementioned rate.

Cool, no issues, that sounds good. Let me officially finish my online application to lock it in.

I do so that same day (Friday), only to have the previous manager, Jacqueline, email me claiming that I had misunderstood *or* that there was a glitch in the system that prevented me from moving my move-in date to that far in advance even though she had confirmed it the day before (Thursday) both in person and in-writing.

Naturally, I push back, right? She still claims I misunderstood. I copy her and Greystar management with emails from her colleague, Steven, indicating that I should go ahead and apply as those very same lease terms (date of move-in and monthly rental rate) appeared to have passed the system requirements and that I was good to apply with the same confirmation.

At the end of it, *my* recollection of events is put into question even though I have a non-applicant witness saying the same thing, a handwritten note from Jacqueline confirming the move-in date for August 29th, rent at 2975.10 as well as email confirmations from her colleague, Steven, all saying the same thing.

The idea that a resident leasing manager couldn't or wouldn't simply cop to her mistake or own up to the fact that she made a call that was a blunder due to a system "glitch" as she finally indicates in her email but, instead, does a CYA move to imply that I am lying or that I have misunderstood is highly suspect, not to mention pretty transparent, manipulative and juvenile.

TL, DR:

All in all, the leasing terms (move-in date) was duly misrepresented to me, either due to user (leasing office) error, technical glitch (this is their claim) and, after I had officially submitted my application, I was informed that it was not possible to apply under those terms anymore (glitch, misunderstanding, etc.) due to being greater that 14+ days out, notwithstanding the fact that she and the "system" allowed her to do so.

What's more? Greystar and the leasing office took more than 48 hours to respond to two (2) emails from me requesting a full refund of my application fee as I was promised and, as of the time of this writing, I have still not received a refund.

Buyer/applicant beware: the on-site leasing team as well as Greystar "corporate" will not own up to simple (but important) clerical mistakes but will, instead, misrepresent, obfuscate, and resort to calling you a liar if you push back with evidence.

And, lest you, the reader, think this is coming from some random person holding a grudge against Greystar--think again. I was the exemplar resident/tenant at one of their sister Greystar properties in the Peninsula for over two years.

What a difference from property to property!

The Artisan is fantastic. The Management/Maintenance staff is exceptional. My husband Ed and I have been living here helping my father for the past year. And, we are super excited as we are planning to move to our own apartment here mid August. My father has a spacious three bedroom. We are moving to an also spacious, 1 bedroom. The bathrooms are a good size. The bedroom is also a nice size with a walk in closet. The kitchen has ample storage space and good counter space too. I love the patios. I can't wait to begin my own herb garden. Our favorite public space is the cm pool area which has lots of seating AND a covered living room with television and Frpl. There is a large gas grill. The gym plenty of equipment and a yoga room. Plus, there are a public kitchen, pool table and two public living rooms in the huge clubhouse!

Love it!!!!

While we opted out of the apartment we viewed for a place with more suitable space for us, we absolutely adored the management team. Steven B. enthusiastically greeted us as a walk in and graciously gave up his lunch hour to tour us around. We were at the end of our day and slightly crabby from less than helpful managers at other properties. Steven's kindness and friendly demeanor turned our sour attitudes around and we quickly applied for one of the few apartments left. Fast forward 3 days later, and we received word that a place with a garage was ready for us, we cancelled our application. Steven and Jaqueline made the cancellation easy, and quick despite my frenzied email and calls. They both kept their cool and were SO nice about the whole thing. Why isn't everyone like this? Thank you Steven & Jaqueline!

We love living in this amazing community. Apartment and all appliances are brand new with absolutely no complaints on our end. Everything about this place is great starting from beautiful interior, exterior, salt water pool and a dog washing station and ending with sweet holiday letters from management. Steven showed us around and made a move in process extremely easy. If you are looking for a quiet place full of kind and respectful people The Artisan apartments are meant for you.

This apartment used to be a nice place to live. We've been here about 4 years and it has gone downhill since then.

The pool is green and slimy and I got an infection in my arm the last time I used it which was in early September. It was the only open amenity and I was assured by the apartment manager (who has since left) that it was cleaned regularly. I'm still dealing with the physical impact of this infection and recurring antibiotic use.

Greystar has taken over management and a quick online search will tell you how unhappy tenants are with them. It's too bad because our new manager is a kind person who has to work under Greystar's rules. For example there is no maintenance unless it is an emergency. I stood in mucky water for months because my shower wouldn't drain. I was given a tool to use to clear the clog myself. Seriously! It got a little better after repeated attempts with the tool.

We've been looking for a new place and none of the other apartments have stopped maintaining the units blaming it on the pandemic. The halls and common areas of the Artisan are rarely vacuumed and the stair railings aren't cleaned. You'd think they would be more concerned about keeping things clean but they aren't. I wiped the stair railings down a few times with disinfectant wipes which quickly came away black.

There are high outside windows that have never been cleaned. We were told several years ago that they were looking for a company to outsource it to.

They supposedly have a security company who will come out if there are problems but I've never seen them and when the neighbors party there is no way to get the music turned down. Our unit has the master bedroom sharing a wall with the neighbors living room. Previous neighbors were pretty quiet but not the current ones who crank their music with a heavy bass.

Had to move to another city because of work and the management is so bad I wish I'd stayed at the Artisan and taken the 2hr commute. I miss Jacqueline and the artisan maintenance staff, they took such good care of everything

Mostly a good place to live - mostly. The apartments are spacious and there's a gym and common room, people are pretty friendly. But the courtyard/pool area gets very loud and echoey and no one really enforces the hours. The Artisan also advertises 24-hour on site management, security patrol, and guest parking. There are technically a few spots that can be used for guests if the office isn't open but they are usually taken, so good luck letting your guests park there during the day. There is no on site management as far as we have seen - technically there are staff members who live on property but they aren't available outside of office hours (and there is no longer an emergency number for residents aside from security). When your lease is up, they will definitely jack up the rent as much as possible, so be prepared.

Take note though - when you move out, they WILL charge you for cleaning, no matter what (which is actually not legal in California - the landlord is responsible for cleaning the apartment to prepare it for a new tenant, you are only responsible for leaving the apartment reasonably clean and undamaged).

Here's my experience with the Artisan staffing from July 2021. During my search for a place to rent in the North Bay, I found these apartments and contacted the leasing office by email, left two voicemails 5 days apart, and spoke to one person on the phone giving me the run around to call me back later. They never called back, they never emailed, and they weren't very nice when talking on the phone. I wish I could ignore customers and speak rudely at my job and not get fired.

We love the Artisan! Everyone who works here is so sweet. Alex and Horacio are the best handy men I've ever know. Every maintenance request is handled promptly and they are very communicative if there is a delay in parts. We love stopping by the office and seeing Steven and Jaqueline. They always have yummy treats for our puppers :) highly recommend living here!

I went on a guided tour with Steven at the Artisan and it was by far one of the best apartment tours I've experienced. Not only was he very knowledgeable and kind, but very enthusiastic about how much he loved working there. You can really tell when someone enjoys what they do and it made an impact on me. As a renter I want to feel safe in my home and also have peace of mind that help will be there when needed. Steven made me feel at home and excited about possibly living at The Artisan. The amenities are amazing as well! Salt water pool??!! It was great seeing everyone out there enjoying it on a Saturday afternoon. I am really looking forward to renting at The Artisan very soon!