Baker Apartments - Ellensburg, Washington

Sierra S.

Quick summary: bugs, uncleanness, bad laundry machines, BUT really nice maintenance and management team 🙂

Upon move-in, we quickly noticed several aspects of the cleanliness that had been overlooked. First, the opening shower door seal was broken and had mold and mildew spots on it. Additionally, the bathroom fan was quite dusty and had not been cleaned from the previous tenants. The kitchen filter on the hood was also full of dusty build up.

As we began to move more items in, my roommate and I noticed that black hair was sticking to everything we were moving in. We soon realized that the carpets were covered in black animal hair. This was quite surprising, as we had been told by the leasing office that the carpets had been professionally cleaned prior to our move in date. Not only was the black animal hair covering the carpets, but in the bedroom closest to the kitchen, it was also on the walls. The animal hair had been painted over (picture attached).

The animal hair was not the only thing painted over. Glow and the dark stars are also present on the ceilings and were painted over.

One thing that made the both of us choose not to renew our lease was the amount of bugs in the apartment. I have lived all over Ellensburg and have not seen a significant number of bugs in my own dwelling. There were a significant number of pincher bugs. I was killing at least twenty a night. The bugs would often seek shelter in things like boxes of food, in the fridge in our food, in the couch cushions, and in the cabinets. The bugs made something as simple as trying to cook a meal and relax in the living room a challenge. There was also a significant amount of large brown spiders (pictures also attached) We had contacted maintenance about the bug issues, and they did try to help. The maintenance team placed bug traps around the apartment, which helped the problem a little. Instead of seeing twenty bugs in one night, the numbers went down to about ten.

The maintenance team was always quick to respond and they were always friendly.

With all this being said, please keep in mind that as tenants, we kept our unit exceptionally clean and were quite shocked to have so many bugs. We also never kept doors/windows open.

Laundry machines were pretty bad. Two out of the four didn't drain water from clothes, so you'd have to pay for two or three dry cycles. I ended up doing laundry at a friend's apartment with in-unit machines.

Sabrina S.

My experience with Baker apartments has been overall positive as the office is friendly and helpful, and the quality of the apartment is leagues above other options in town, especially in comparison to the rent prices and pet policies. Upon moving in, I was surprised by the updated appliances (i.e. stove and dish washer), as well as the size of the apartment.

Daniel M.

My Experience here at the Baker Apartments has been really good since I’ve moved in. A Very peaceful place. Plain and simple lay out. A perfect place to start Off with. I don’t plan on living here Forever, so for what it is. Very Nice.

Julia T.

Don't bother cleaning before you move out. Deep cleaned and scrubbed everything floor to ceiling and was charged a $240 cleaning fee. Phones are never answered and voicemail boxes are always full. If they pick up it's to immediately hang up. Office people are often rude and unhelpful. If someone destroys their property they won't do anything about it but are more than happy to charge you for it. Had to often bring my laundry to laundromats because the dryers were rarely properly serviced. Occupants dig themselves out during the winter storms and sidewalks are not iced. Overpriced for the cheap quality of the apartments themselves and the almost nonexistent management. The maintenance guys are super awesome though.

BubblyMonkeyGaming

I loved living in The Meadows! Perfect place to live for college students looking for off campus housing. I lived in a 3 bed 2 bath apartment with two of my friends and it was the best apartment I've been in! We never needed maintenance on anything as everything was well maintained. The office staff were super nice and patient with me when I had questions. Quite a cozy and nice place to be, and its also a short walk to the campus. 11/10 would recommend!

Quade F.

I've enjoyed my time at baker apartments! I've had nothing but great experiences with faculty. The only thing that has bothered me is the slow response time for maintenance. I waited weeks to have one thing fixed. But apart from that, it's been great for me!

Christine

My daughter and my mom rented an apartment here. We thought it was a great place. We loved it while they lived there. Until they moved out. The apartments reached out to us to move out early as a lot of tenants were moving out at the same time. So we agreed to move out early and we would be paid back rent for the days we did not live there. None of that money we have seen yet! We have left messages and emails several times with no response. The month they were moving out they were not home for a week and came home to a giant leak in the ceiling in the kitchen. The maintenance man responded right away and was wonderful. But there was a lot of damage to the ceiling, wall, window, and blinds in the kitchen. We were charged to replace the blinds out of the deposit despite many times telling them it was the water damage. There was no damage to any of that before! Also as other reviews have said we detail cleaned/scrubbed everything spotless, cleaner than it was when we moved in. Yet we were still charged $195 for "deep cleaning" we should have not even bothered cleaning if that was the case. Plus another $90 for carpet cleaning. There is no point in cleaning so hard when you are going to be charged anyway no matter how good it looks. It may be a nice place to live but be aware when you move out they are going to rip you off! If they ask you to move out early and promise you money, DON'T because you wont see it and they won't return your calls or emails either.

ARH

I've lived in the Meadows, and I think the place is decent enough for most folks. Unfortunately, I've had a negative experience with the management. While many of the staff are nice, I do think there are opportunities for the organization to improve. The apartments are what you'd expect - about fair market value, but no bargain. Here are a few issues:

- Poor commitment to maintenance: Some of my requests were fixed, others were ignored. I had a hand-sized dent in a door when I arrived, and it wasn't a big enough deal for them to replace it. I also had a heater issue, and an issue with a sink being loose from the counter. Neither were fixed upon request.

- Unfair fees: I was charged two late fees due to a bug in their autopay system. They removed one, but refused to remove the other, and actually gave me false information about how they told me how to fix it. I suspect this was more miscommunication than outright lying, but it simply wasn't true, and felt unfair. They took no accountability for the bug, and refused to reply to further requests and complaints.

- Poor laundry appliance upkeep: many of the machines have worked poorly, or failed to work. I understand the Meadows contracts to another company for this, but be ready to contact them if needed.

- Poor snow removal. We had to dig ourselves out multiple times to get to work. No salt was applied prior to storms, although someone did show up to snowblow the walkways, which we appreciated. Standard driveway storm readiness and response would of been much more helpful

- Our windshield was smashed overnight in the parking lot. I didn't expect compensation, but at least some interest and concern. They did accept my 2nd request to get a security camera placed in the lot however, which i appreciated.

I have to admit I feel a bit sad seeing all the "we really strive for excellent customer service" replies. I believe those intentions are there, but I personally haven't experienced them in my interactions with staff. They were kind and likeable enough as individuals, so perhaps this is a org. leadership issue. I've lived in low cost apartments for many years, so these issues are not uncommon, but don't expect more from this org. I thought about giving three stars, but that simply doesn't reflect my personal experience of the service at the Meadows. I hope this review is constructive, and leads to better service in the future.