The Franciscan Apartments

I’ll keep it brief and honest.
My wife and I have rented and lived in MANY apartments in the bay area. Every time our lease was up, we always moved. There were always lingering issues with the complex, staff, neighbors, etc. We found The Franciscan while browsing randomly through many locations. What I can say unequivocally is that its by far the best place we’ve ever lived at. The staff (Patty, Giovanni, etc) are always on point. We’ve had minor issues and they were fixed, I believe every single one on the SAME day even. It genuinely feel home-​ish here and seeing the staff often (whom I believe also live on the complex should tell you something about the area) makes you feel more comfortable, unlike other corporate feeling complexes where it was not uncommon to have a whole new front of house by the time your lease was up. Sure there are minor things, but the good far outweigh the bad. The biggest and only thing you should know if you’re lucky enough to find a place here is that it feels very family run, and not corporate run. That to me, is more than enough :)

Best apartment we lived in in the bay area! We lived there for 1.5 years before we were forced to move out of the area due to losing my job. Otherwise, we would still be there. They rarely raise the rent, decent price for the area and amenities are really competitive. Central heating and air, double paned windows. Only downside was that hot tub was rarely hot. No pet rent and water/​garbage is included with rent. Parking on the street can be a pain on weekends. They’ve cracked down on parking inside the gates near leasing office. Those are reserved for 2 bedroom apartments. We usually parked on the street as our parking stall wasn’t conveniently located. The manager, Patty is no nonsense, but nice and professional. I usually do not go above and beyond cleaning apartments when moving (we barely got out in time on the last day of our notice) you are almost always going to be charged for cleaning and all things considered, we still got a reasonable amount of our deposit back.

I lived in the Franciscan Apartments for about a year. I had a nice experience. It was peaceful and quiet.
LIKED
— The one bedroom was cozy. Small, but not too small. The bedroom itself was fairly spacious.
— The apartments are clean and well maintained.
— The windows were double-​paned, so more energy efficient.
— Central heat and A/​C. (It’s hard to find central A/​C in older buildings in the South Bay!)
— Huge walk-​in closet in my one bedroom.
— Beautiful landscaping. They spend a lot of time on it.
— Family owned, not run by a profit-​maximizing mega realty corp.
— Walking distance to downtown Campbell (about 10 – 15 min.).
— Three laundry rooms in the complex. When one of them was full, the one closest to the pool was typically completely free.
— My apartment had an awesome view of the courtyard’s birch trees. Loved it!
— I think the rents are a little lower than anything you’d get run by one of the big realty mega-​corps in the area.
— Fresh paint. The carpeting wasn’t too old in my unit (but definitely not new).
— Tons of street parking. Plenty for dinner parties and visiting family who stayed a bit longer.
— Maintenance guys are awesome.
— The complex manager, Patty, is professional. If you treat her respectfully and pleasantly, she definitely returns the favor.
— I didn’t experience any rodent or pest issues.
— I didn’t use the pool or hot tub, but lots of people used both year round.
— My unit had a working fireplace, which I never used.
NOT AWESOME
— My unit’s appliances were super basic, no frills. Cheap, but functional. So they were fine — just the opposite of fancy. I’ve heard that some of the units have upgraded, newer appliances.
— Old cupboards that had been painted many times. Honestly, they were fine — I just didn’t like them.
— Don’t get an apartment with windows that open onto Almarida Dr. There’s lots of noise from the freeway and street traffic.
— There were some break ins in the mailboxes. I think my mail may have been taken once. The police called me to take a report.
— My unit smelled «old» — not mold or mildew, just like old wood in some vintage buildings. I didn’t mind, but some people don’t like that.
Some people complained about not getting their full security deposit back due to cleaning fees. True, they took cleaning fees from mine, too, but I thought it was fair. I think they always send in a professional cleaner, so just expect that. It was under $ 100, so no big deal.

I liked living here as it was peaceful and quiet but moved as the rent was increasing by $ 200.
I was not too happy with the return of my security deposit — I paid $ 550 but only got $ 250 back. There was no point in me cleaning after I left as I got charged for items such as vacuuming after I had already vacuumed. They also charged for cleaning the dishwasher and microwave (I had already cleaned this microwave). By the nature of what a dishwasher does it was already clean.

What a great place to live in bay area. We have bought our own house now but we were so sad to leave Franciscan apartments. You would not find such a beautifully maintained family owned rental community with such a personal touch.
Apartments are spacious and rent is relatively cheap, without any catch. We lived there for 2 years, and they did not raise rent on us which is very reasonable to start with. If you call maintenance, they come in 10 minutes during working hours, or first thing in the next morning. They have fixed our heater on such a short notice for us because we have newborn baby. You would not find such a personal touch in cooperate owned rentals. Once our Fridge stopped working for couple of hours and then restarted automatically. They replaced the old one with a new fridge within half an hour of reporting.
They don’t have any other fees other than rent. At other places, we have paid higher rent for smaller place and with bunch of fees. I still can’t believe that such a business exists in this crazily expensive and commercialized area. Another great thing is that rent is flat across all the apartments. No matter which apartment you choose your rent will be same. We had model house with granite counters, and custom doors and other blings with same rent. So, they are definitely not looking for reasons to charge you like other places.
We lived at 1^st floor, our apartment was so bright and airy that in summer we never had our AC turned ON, other than may be ²⁄₃ days a year. We didn’t have to turn a light ON in any room during the day. That was a huge saving on our electric bill.
They maintain their grounds beautifully. Our daughter loved to play on the grass. No dogs allowed so no need to worry about dog’s poop. It’s a great place to live with children. It has controlled access, you get door remote a to get in. We felt really safe over there.
Commute was great while living there. If you are coming from north (like most commuters) as soon as you got off the highway, you are home. Not a single red-​light. Exits to 17 is right there on both sides of the road. 85 and 280 exits are only a minute away (within a mile on highway ¹⁷⁄₈₈₀). So no time wasted in commute. I feel we were less stressed out in our personal lives during those two years because of such a great accessibility. I used to work in Santa Cruz and never felt that it was far because as soon as I got out of the house, I was on 17 highway. Airport is less than 10 minutes away as well.
They don’t have email contact, I found it to be a little bit of hassle but they are very responsive on phone and return calls right away so probably its better not to have an email if it slows things down for them. I wish them best of luck.

Before we left, we started using the workout room more, and noticed the equipment had been updated, so please disregard my statement about the workout room being lame, it’s definitely useful now!

I had a few more interactions with staff and they’ve all been lovely. I’m terrible with names, sorry, but:
I have picked up packages from the main office, and the woman at the desk was polite and friendly each time.
A few weeks ago, my key was stuck in the door right as I was leaving for work. The key and lock were replaced within an hour and everyone was awesome from the woman in the office to the two dudes who fixed my door.
Still love it. :)

I have lived at the Franciscan for 10 years, I love this place, love my fireplace, have never had an issue with the staff; and highly reccomend living here. I feel safe and comfortable. per the comments below, I have NEVER seen a bed bug or a cockroach the entire time I have lived in this complex. They do lock the laundry rooms, as people from the outside of the complex were stealing clothes. I don’t know about mice, as I have two kitties that are very welcome here.
I have always felt that the staff truly cares about the confort and safety of their tennants.
My only compliant is the workout room, although I do belong to a healthclub; and have access to one at work.
This is a great place to live.

Great complex! The previous manager was no-​nonsense but fair. Sadly, she passed away a couple of years ago. The new manager is great as well. She’s friendly and helpful. The onsite maintenance is thoughtful and responsive. The apartment grounds are lovely… green grass, flowers and trees, and amenities are great… a swimming pool and hot tub, onsite laundry, gated parking and central A/​C. Tenants seem to keep to themselves but are friendly. The complex is close to a neighborhood park (nice walk down the street), walking distance to downtown Campbell, the Lightrail and the Pruneyard. It’s also next to the freeway entrance. All-​in-​all, a very nice apartment community in Campbell.

I have lived here since November 2010. My roommate and I moved from the Midwest and we needed to find a place to move into before we left our own state. That meant a lot of internet searching and reviewing and evaluating. We are very very happy we picked The Franciscan Apartments.
Susan was very warm and understanding and provided us with all the information we needed. As well as helping us through the application process through email and phone calls.
Arriving at the location, we were absolutely thrilled to see that the apartment looked better than the pictures and was spotlessly clean! Also, there is a lot of green turf and trees around our apartment.
The apartments are within walking distance of the light rail, and several nice restaurants.
Susan has been a great manager, any time we needed anything fixed, it was fixed if not within 24 hours, within 2 days. She has also notified renters in advance when anything new was being implemented or worked on.
All in all, this place is very friendly, cozy, and has great management. It is also a great family place, with lots of little kids running around.
I don’t want to move ever!
ps. If this ad sounds too good to be true, I will say this: the washer and dryer fees are a little steep :)

Excellent apartment complex. I rented a 1BR there from December 2010 to June 2011 (I only moved out due to moving away for school), and I never had any complaints.
Susan the complex manager is quite pleasant to deal with, and everyone on staff is nice and operates with common sense.
Units, landscapes and common areas are well maintained, although the pool and exercise room are nothing to write home about.
The price is reasonable for the size of the units and how amazing and safe the area is– everything is close by! Downtown Campbell and the Pruneyard are within walking distance, and there are not 1, but 2 Safeways nearby.
You’d think the complex being so close to the freeway entrance might be an issue, but it turned out not being the case.
All in all, I would definitely rent again in the Franciscan if I had to return to Campbell.

I lived at the Franciscan for almost 10 years total. I left only because my husband and I finally bought our own place.
Virginia was the BEST apartment manager, but sadly passed away last year. She didn’t take anyone’s BS and very quickly and professionally handled any problems. The woman who was hired to replace her seems to have the same type of personality as Virginia — no nonsense, but fair and reasonable.
The units are older, but well maintained by the on-​site maintenance staff.
The location is great, right off highway 17. I was a bit unhappy with the Kohl’s and BBB opening across the street, as it made traffic worse getting onto Hamilton, especially around the holidays.
I never witnessed or experienced any vehicle vandalism in my time there. I do recall people leaving notes in the laundry room about getting their underwear stolen out of the drier… but hey, freaks live everywhere.
The rent was reasonable, and they didn’t raise the rents crazily after you went month to month. The complex is owned by a family — you can see the older gentleman around the property every once in a while.
For the price and location (with air conditioning to boot!) this complex is definitely worth checking out.

About A year ago I moved into this place based on its Unilocal reviews, so i think its only fair that I write a review.
Let me start by saying this is the best deal you will find in the area! You get about 200 more Square feet for about less money and the area is safe. Ive never had any problems with my car or room being broken into, the landscaping is nice and its quiet.
If you are planing to move to campbell then you cant go wrong here, its about a 15 min walk to either the pruneyard or down town campbell. Really check it out!

I lived here for over 4 years and really liked it. Very well located — panera bread, Kohl’s FRy’s Walgreens and Snatana row are places we used to visit quite often.
PROS :
I had moved in when Virginia was there and she was one of the most professional and nice managers I have worked with. The Maintenance is top notch — he lives in the apartment complex itself and is friendly and comes immediately on reporting a problem. The living room was quite big
Neighbors are friendly
CONS: —
We had some spiders in our house.

Lived here from Mid 2009 until Jan 2011. Rent was low, management was always nice and the area was safe. I work in the city and would often not be home during normal business hours. Virginia (and now the new management) never gave me trouble for paying rent a few days late due to only seeing them on a Saturday or when I got to work from home.
I had read several reviews about people breaking in to cars which was my only worry when i moved in. I had a new Audi which was never touched during my year and a half.
Rent defaulted to month-​to-​month with no increase for about 6 months as my lease ended and I found a place closer to work to move to. As I moved out they were very upfront about how much of my deposit would be returned. I chose to let them do the cleaning and didn’t spend any time cleaning up after I moved out. I got my check today (as promised) and was happy to see that they returned more than I expected — about 65% of my original deposit.
Other than being woken up by my upstairs-​neighbors shower every morning for 18 months, I have no complaints about The Franciscan.

HORRIBLE — I lived here for 5 years. .. yes, 5 years! I stayed until our kids were old enough to switch to middle school because I didn’t want to disrupt the programs they were in at their Elementary school which was walking distance from this place. Not to mention, their best friend they went to school with lived a few doors down from us and my mom was right around the corner.
Management — Virginia was running the place when I moved in and sadly passed away last year. It took them several MONTHS to notify tenants as to what was going on and who they could speak to after her passing. The owner’s daughter took over in the interim and wasn’t very pleasant AT ALL! There are satellite dishes EVERYWHERE in there and when we tried to get one, we were denied!
THEFT — they finally started locking the laundry room doors because people were having their laundry STOLEN from the driers. While we lived there, my Denali was broken into right inside of the carport and my husband’s car was broken into also and his radio was stolen, his side mirror was also vandalized and several other people had their tires slashed which is why they now have the nightly «security patrol’ which is just a guy that drives through the carport a few times a night and parks for a few minutes every so many feet.
SECURITY RETURN RIP OFF — I did the final walk through and signed off on $ 140 worth of cleaning, etc. and when I finally got my deposit in the mail they had taken $ 336!!! I never received coped of the invoices for work done even after requesting TWICE and trying to dispute with them!
I paid rent ON TIME the entire time I was there and left that place in pretty good condition after being there for so damn long and then I get ripped off, NICE!!!
PESTS — Oh, I forgot to mention the MOUSE problem we had there. .. we had a total of at least 3 mice that we were able to catch! One actually was able to make a hole from the outside of the building into the corner of our bedroom!!! When I told maintenance about this, he said they «patched» up the outside but left the hole in the corner of my baseboard. Great job! Every summer it was also guaranteed that we had ants coming in and out of the damn kitchen and the bathrooms.
I finally left the end of last year when I couldn’t take it anymore and am SO glad that I did!!! It’s funny how fast this place started to empty out. .. they just don’t care about their tenants anymore.

We’re shopping for an apartment and stopped by the Franciscan to check it out. The location is good, parking was easy and the grounds are well kept. Laurie, is the current property manager, Virginia having passed on a few months ago. Laurie was pleasant enough as she showed us an upstairs unit, which was clean and spacious enough. Pets okay, but they require $ 300/​cat additional security deposit, this, in addition to the base deposit. Seems doable. Hard to say, though. We’re moving from a house, so it’ll be an adjustment.

I’ve lived here for almost a year now and I love being here. Virginia, the manager, is awesome and takes care of everything promptly. It’s quiet at night and even with the shopping across the street, traffic isn’t a problem or noisy at all.
I plan on staying here for awhile, which is saying a lot since I move around a lot, but I’m satisfied with this place and it’s hard to find good apartment managers, and Virginia is one of the best I’ve ever had.

Lived there for almost 3 years, Virginia is wonderful, maintenance was A1, complex is well maintained, gardening work is very well done.
We left just after the BB&B opened, so the news of break ins etc is a bit of a surprise

After more than 5 years living in the Franciscan, I have to say I really have no complaints. My roommate and I picked it because it had the criteria we were looking for: 2 bd/​2 ba units (1 bd units also available), central A/​C, and it was less expensive (and much nicer) than our old place.
The atmosphere is pleasant, and the neighbors are friendly. The manager, Virginia, is a great lady who even feeds my cat when my roommate and I are out of town. (If you have cats, you won’t find a more feline-​friendly complex!)
Several great stores are within walking distance, including a Home Depot, Fry’s Electronics, and (in keeping with municipal latte-​proximity codes) a Starbucks. The Elephant Bar, right in front of the complex, is a great place to meet friends for drinks or a meal — and you never have to worry about parking!
A Kohl’s and BB&B opened up next door recently, along with a Panera Bread bakery and several other smaller stores. This has caused an increase in traffic along the street, but also led the city to repave the road, re-​time the traffic light so it’s more in our favor, and add a second turn lane. Those improvements, plus being able to walk to such great stores, outweigh the problems caused by the increased traffic. Just watch for speeders.
When something needs fixing in the apartment, maintenance is always on it quickly and efficiently. A gardener comes in every Friday to mow the lawn and take care of the many flowers and plants on the grounds. Other amenities include a gated parking lot, a pool and spa, a courtyard with barbecues, and a small workout room.
So, with more than 5 years of contended dwelling, I give the complex five stars.