Water’s Edge

I’ve lived here for about 1.5 years. The leasing office is great & responds to requests very quickly!

Renters beware. I was shown a one bedroom apartment model that was on the lagoon. I filled out their survey and got a call saying that the unit I liked would be ready for move-​in in June 8^th. They showed me the unit and I got all excited about renting it. It was just what I wanted. No mention about an additional $ 140 for water and garbage, Unit PG&E is on top of that. I made an appointment to see the unit and it was confirmed again for move-​in June 8^th. Then I filled out the application and brought it to the office ready to put down my deposit and I was told they made a mistake and I had to rent the unit by April 12^th. But the said we have one just like it for rent in June. What they showed me was a dog of a unit by comparison.
So I said Ok your bad but let’s see if we can’t work out a compromise on the move-​in date for the unit I liked. I said I would start the rent on May1st. 5 weeks early. The answer was yes if you agree to pay an additional $ 180 per month/​year. As it turned out it was an old fashion bait and switch. These people are not honest. Renters beware.

We’ve lived here for over 2 years. While it was sometimes painful during a renovation period, it is a great community. Our apartment is spacious and airy. The property is beautiful, sitting on one of the Foster City picturesque lagoons, and provides a peaceful and interesting path to walk our dog.
Best of all is the management. Though they did struggle through the renovations, they are unusually responsive to tenant requests and complaints. They go out of their way to please — even walking our dog when we can’t get home in time. Danielle, the manager is respectful of her staff and our neighbors. Krystle, Lorena, Ricardo, and Michael are anxious to please. They always have a treat for our dog, Tootsie, and truly seem to care about us.

So
Not even sure what to say. Mix feeling.
So far after a month here. Amazing experience I would say.
The signing in was so easy and nice. That beautiful young girl who help me. Absolutely amazing. Helpful She is really amazing.
The apartment? Haven to be honest. I love it. I love the place. Parking? Not sure what people say. But parking inside the place if you live here. You got a spot. So it’s great. If you don’t live here. Yes I can see it’s a hard to park around.

The only positives to this place are the amazing view of the lagoon from your living room, (if you get an apartment facing the water) and the fact that they are pet friendly.
Here are the negatives:
(A) This place has no extra parking. If you have more than 1 car, or frequent visitors, tough luck.
(B) Waters Edge is directly in the SFO arrival flight path. Expect to hear engine noise from low flying jets about every 5 – 10 minutes.
© The property is currently being renovated (the construction noise is bearable, but still a nuisance). (D) The gym is small and unremarkable. It feels crowded if more than 3 people are working out.
(E) No air conditioning in the apartment — property management will tell you that the breeze off the lagoon is sufficient to cool the apartment… this is patently false.
(F) AT&T U-​Verse does not have service available at this property. The main option for internet/​tv is Comcast (and it took Comcast 4 visits and 20 angry phone calls from me to complete the install).
I do enjoy the living space and the view, but when the negatives are factored in, the price tag is way too high.

We’ve lived here for almost a year now. It is a great place to call home. Super quiet, beautiful lagoon view, and very safe. We especially like how close we are to freeways and the city! Would definitely recommend this complex. Management has been fantastic.

I’ve lived here twice. Let me say if you are reading a review older than a year ago you are reading about a completely different complex. The previous manager Neil had no business running the show and unfortunately tainted the reputation of this place badly. He was a complete jerk.
Have you ever been to a nice quiet resort on a tranquil lagoon? Do you like the idea of enjoying a cool beverage on your patio watching white heron and ducks play in the water? Do you have a kayak or boat that you’d like to store in your back yard and use anytime you want in some nice water? Then you need to live here. Oh wait, there’s the incredible sunrises.
There’s no disputing parking stinks but are you planning to have tons of people over all the time? Really? Really? I think not… Really?
The management team is the triple play of cool. Great people and eager to please. I had no idea of the concierge stuff until they sent an email out. Dry cleaning services? It’s like I work for Google! Medium starch please.
In closing, there is NOTHING like living on the water and this complex leverages the natural beauty and enhances it with little surprises and goodies and it only seems to get better. Trust me on this.
See you around the pool!

I’ve lived here for 8 yrs now and the view of the lagoon sunrise everyday reminds me that I live in one of the most geographically desirable areas in the entire country.
Apt living has its ups and downs to be sure, however, and no apt complex is without its problems.
The current management and maintenance staff (Danielle, Bridget, Michael, Justin and Andrea) take the time to listen to any issues I have and they try to accommodate any reasonable request. They have brought many new services to the table such as wrapping gifts, dry cleaning pickup, etc much like a concierge service would offer.
I hope the regional manager keeps this cohesive staff together because I, too, have lived through the myriad of revolving door managers that by the time they got the hang of things, they were reassigned.
Happy staff, happy residents!

We have lived at Waters Edge for the past year and love it there. The apartments are nice, we are on the water and management is friendly and responsive. Danielle and Andrea are the greatest. They will walk your dogs, wrap your presents and make sure your parking space is not being occupied. Ditch the other reviews as they are quite aged — and to be quite honest they probably were unhappy people to start with.

I’ve lived here for three years, and for the first two years this review, had it been written, would have alternated between 1 – 2 stars depending on what awful manager was here.
But…
We’ve had a new manager (and new regional manager) for a year now, and things, while not perfect, are much, much better. The new team seems to care about your issues, and they usually make an effort to accommodate your requests.
I’ll break down living here pros/​cons style:
Pros:
— The Lagoon. The view of the water never gets old. I love it so, so much! And yes, you can swim in it. There are even sand beaches nearby.
— Quiet community. It’s pretty low key here — there aren’t many kids and there aren’t many loud, obnoxious folks either.
— Managers are better. I already mentioned this, but when you’ve been through 4 managers in 3 years, you appreciate when you get a good one.
— Nice amenities. The workout room isn’t huge, but the equipment is quality and is always in working condition. The pool is actually heated for the first time (previous managers lied and said it was heated, but it wasn’t), and I’ve really, really enjoyed it. I’m hoping they keep it warm past Labor Day, since Sept and October are two of our nicest months.
— Boats. This is the only apartment complex that will let you keep an electric boat. I’ve had one since we moved in and it has been one of the greatest joys of my life. Cruising around the beautiful lagoon never gets old!
— Great weather. OK, this doesn’t have to do with the apartment, but the weather is always great here, there’s never low fog, and rain is infrequent. It is usually a bit windy, but I don’t mind it since it keeps the temperature nice and keeps the fog away.
— Location. We’re right off 92 and it’s just a few miles to the 101. I like that we’re essentially equidistant from San Fran, Oakland, and San Jose.
Cons:
— Management roulette. While the new manager is great, we’ve had to deal with a lot of jerks the last few years. A lot of those managers blamed our issues on the regional manager, who has changed, or the owner of the complex, who hasn’t changed. Our current manager has never used either as a scapegoat. I’m hopeful things stay good, but I’ll always be a little scared.
— Some Pet Owners. This is a very animal-​friendly place, and while most of the dogs are nice enough, we’ve had many nights of sleep interrupted by barking dogs at all hours. With single-​paned windows, a yapping dog left unattended on the porch, can be pretty awful. They also let their pets pee on my back steps, and even my front doormat. Lame!
— Thin walls and ceilings. I’ve always had quiet neighbors on the sides, but some of the folks above us have been heavy walkers, and the noise is unbearable. Our current neighbors have made an effort to be quieter, and we’re very thankful for it. It has made a huge difference. Just be aware that it could be a problem if you get a first-​floor place.
— Smokers. I’d love for this place to be non-​smoking. With the way the wind works around here, if someone near you goes on their porch or patio to smoke and they close their door, and you have yours open, the smoke goes right in your place. It’s disgusting that someone is smoking outside because they don’t want their apartment to stink, but it’s my apartment that reeks because of it.
— Parking. It’s not ideal, but it’s not like you have to park a mile away or circle the block for an hour to get a spot. It is annoying that the visitors spots are taken up by cars that are there for weeks on end. It’s supposed to be 24-​hour parking, and while I don’t think they need to be out there marking tires with chalk, if a car is there for a week or longer it seems reasonable to have it towed.
Yet-​to-​be-​determined:
— Rent. Previous managers seemed to pull a (higher) number out of the air every year when it came time for a new lease. Our new manager seemed fair last year, and we’re hoping for the same.
— Sense of community. So many people have been burned by this place in the past that there has been a lot of turnover. We’ve had two different neighbors on one side, three on the other, and three above us, in just three years. As a result, everyone seems to mind their own business and there’s not a «community» vibe here. Hopefully that’ll get better.

I have a very different experience from all the reviews I have seen so far. I am not shilling, I was actually very worried before moving into this place about all the negative reviews. I was pleasantly surprised with the management. Matt is always helpful in resolving any issues I had. The view is amazing, one of the best in Foster City especially for the waterfront units. Parking is an issue if you have two cars, but it is manageable. There is some noise from neighboring pets, but again overall the view you get more than compensates. The rent is very competitive with other rents in Foster City. If you are worried with the reviews, you will find that there is no apartment complex that has good reviews. It is a seller’s market unfortunately which causes some resentment on the behalf of tenants who are upset with their rents going up.

TL;DR version: Decent apartments, but not luxury, and with the new marketing and luxury moniker, they’re not worth the current asking price.
Lived here for over six years. It was a fantastic place when I moved in.
Management changed 5 times while I was there. (The current manager is great… Really like her).
Over the last two years, my rent went 10% a year. So did my neighbor’s. She jumped ship before I did.
The «renovations» going on are nothing more than an excuse for the management to raise prices. They are actively forcing old tenants out, and once they’re out, they’re refacing the cabinets, throwing in faux granite counter tops and putting mirrored doors on the closets to make the apartments look bigger.
The structure is still the same. The windows don’t isolate any sound. The walls aren’t too bad, but they’re a little thin. I could hear people tromping up the stairs at any time inside my apartment.
All in all, it’s not a bad place, but it’s not a LUXURY apartment by any stretch of the imagination. The interior new shiny bits don’t make it luxury either.

This place is hell! Read this whole review for your own sake. This is the honest to God truth– Don’t be fooled by the occasional good reviews that the management team writes on here or convinces others to write. They will try to say that all the bad reviews are bout the old management. This is about the CURRENT team. They charge an Arm, Leg, Kidney and Liver to live here. They fool you into living here by a nasty lagoon view. At first everything seems ok until your locked into your lease. You can find much better for less money around here.
The building is made of hazardous materials which cause cancer and they hide the signs from residents, they literally put them at ankle level so no one can see them.
If you need anything fixed or any questions, they never call you back– you literally have to walk into the office and hope to catch them when/​if they are in. There have been times I call right outside of the office just to see if they are purposely ignoring calls and forcing people to leave messages and sure enough they are.
There is virtually NO WHERE to park. It’s easier to park in the city than here. You will have a nice half mile to a full mile walk a few blocks down every night where there is residential parking.
They will blame you for any maintenance issues even though everything is constructed sooo poorly and as cheap as possible.
If you are not home and UPS drops something off at the rental office, they will never let you know about it and when you call UPS and they inform you it’s in rental office, good luck trying to have them find it. I literally had to go in the room and find my package on two separate occasions when they swore they never received anything. They didn’t even apologize!
Also, once your lease is up, they will increase your rent exponentially based on the fact that most people hate the moving process– not us, we are out ASAP!!!
I think it’s pathetic that someone left a good review saying «I am giving up on Unilocal». This is the only truthful forum which I am sure you have found to be true for yourself at other business. If you doubt any of it is true, just knock on 5 or 6 doors at the complex and ask the people. Can’t get more real than that.

This is a good, solid apartment complex. I moved out recently because of a job change, but would have been glad to stay awhile longer. So let’s get to it:
PROS:
Solid construction. These are older buildings, but they’re built to last and there’s no wimpy throw-​it-​together construction.
Decent sized places. The size is pretty good.
Quiet. It’s a very relaxed, quiet place. There are the airplanes going overhead, but that’s a given for the whole city.
Good neighbors. I really found my neighbors to be nice folks.
Good staff. The staff has been very helpful and the maintenance staff works hard and are very friendly.
CONS:
Parking. The parking is very tight here.
Small Kitchens. The kitchens are definitely dinky.
NEUTRAL:
Location. It’s not too far from anything but also not too near. You may like that or you may not.
Pricing. Prices seemed to very for me and my neighbors.
Age. As noted these are solid buildings, but they have been modified many times.
Size. It’s a small complex. If you want that, this is good. If you like a bigger, bustling one, probably not.
Overall I’m pretty pleased I came here. I got a good deal, the staff was nice, it was safe, and it was quiet. If you’re looking in Foster City it’s well worth checking out.

We were told by management that they assigned our parking spot to a new tenant, oh and no apology.

Edit:
Been here for 5 years now. Thank (insert your deity here) the management changed. This new management is definitely better than the older ones. The place isn’t perfect, but they are trying very hard to make it so.
Parking is what it is, tough. But the managers do work with you to try to accommodate you to the best of their abilities. Price, apparently is very comparable to the rest of the peninsula. It’s hard to believe the market for renting is so ridiculous now…
Some of the stuff I stated below is still true. I’ll leave it there for you to read. Please be aware that this is a pet friendly community. What that means is that all the pets here are friendly, and there will be pets running around.
Sorry it took so long for me to update the review for this place… BAD UnilocalER, BAD…
—
Old review:
This places has gone way downhill since 2 – 3 years ago.
Walls are paper thin (I use to be able to hear my neighbors having sex or even when the guy was crying). Rent has gone from 1400s to 1800s in two resignings. No longer a «pet friendly» apartment, more of a «pets allowed, but neighbors will complain» type of place. Lawn is over watered, pool is over filled, water bill has doubled (they charge you for water, sewage, and trash). There is such bad drainage, water floods into my apartment and the old manager just did a bullsh*t fix and «couldn’t believe» the «horrible qualities» of the apartment.
If rent remains non-​negotiable, I’m definitely leaving.
Feel free to ask me ANYTHING about this apartment. I’ve been here for 4 different managers. So I’d say I know more than them in terms of living conditions, quality of life, etc.

All apartments have bad reviews and a lot of tenants are usually unhappy, however this place is purely arrogant and the managers are the worst.
Before you read this, please note that they will tell you the following:
«The managers are new (lie), we have remodeled most of the apartments (The building needs to be demolished, it’s so OLD and the bones of the building are terrible, this place attracts mold, Polish a piece of turd, its still a piece of turd), and that they love dogs (the only true fact), but the dog deposit is $ 800!»
THEY TRY TO TELL YOU THAT THE REVIEWS ARE ABOUT THE OLD MANAGERS AND THAT THEY ARE RENOVATING, RIGHT, THAT IS ALL BS, THE REVIEWS ARE SPOT ON!
Let me start off by saying, one star is way too much for this place, and that everything Linda or the new assistant manager, Matt, will tell you is complete BS. They are trained to lie, they will lie to your face. Their old assistant manager, Christina, left because she was not allowed to help the tenants or tell the truth with their issues, she stayed a year and left. The old maintenance guys hated the managers and left because they also weren’t allowed to help the tenants.
If you want SUPER MOLD, WORST MANAGERS EVER (ATTITUDE, HATE THEIR TENANTS, DON’T LIKE TO HELP), WORST MAINTENANCE EVER (IF THE MANAGERS EVEN DECIDE TO HELP YOU), SUPER HIGH PRICED and an OLD BUILDING THAT NOTHING WORKS IN then you should MOVE IN. If you don’t want that, then stay far far away.
A NEW APARTMENT BUILDING IS BEING BUILT IN FOSTER CITY, YOU CAN SEE IT FROM THE FREEWAY, I know nothing about it, but I would live anywhere but this place.
The management tells you utilities will be 50 – 80 $ a month on top of the EXTREMELY high rent, in reality its about 100 $ and the way its decided is a mess. You have to pay for:
— Rent (over priced)
— Allocated (they decide) Water Service
— Allocated (they decide) Sewer Service
— Allocated (they decide) TRASH Service
— and to top it all off A SERVICE FEE!!!
BTW, when you talk to Linda, she tells you that PARKING is their only issue, parking is seriously a HUGE issue, but its still the least of it. People park in your allocated space and leave a note on their car to call them when you need your spot back… SERIOUSLY that’s the ONE spot I know I will have when I come home and its TAKEN!
A «remodeled» ONE BEDROOM is going to cost you almost 3,000 $, good luck! not worth half of that. It still doesn’t change the mold issues and small kitchen where you can’t cook!
This is the longest review I have written because I feel like I should have listened to Unilocal before I moved in, but i didn’t, now I’m paying for it.
If anyone on here gives compliments to the management team, it’s probably the management team themselves, I have talked to a ton of my neighbors who share this opinion!
DON’T LIVE HERE, YOU WILL HATE IT!

First off, let me say this. I have been a long-​time Unilocal lurker but haven’t ever found it necessary to add to all of the reviews that essentially say the same thing.
Until now.
Rooms: Water’s Edge Apartment complex is hardly what it is cut out to be, as evidenced by the reviews before me. Sure, the floor plans are larger (not HUGE as marketed) but the rent prices are terrible compared to the quality that you are getting. When we moved in, we found a lot of mold/​mildew around the shower to which the only response we got? «It was thoroughly cleaned prior to your move-​in!»
The surrounding area to the complex is always kept in great condition by the groundskeepers and they are quite friendly. There are a lot of dogs around here which is great, until you move out…
Pet-​Friendly: Let it be known that when you move in with your dog, you are automatically signing away an undisclosed amount for pet urine examination fees ($ 45 when we were there) and you will more than likely be deducted for subsequent charges from your pet.
Management: This is a whole different story. They replaced the manager Neil with Byron and some other temps. Worst. Experience.
Ever.
My girlfriend and I had moved out 2 months early, having to cover the remaining two months’ rent. Fine, no lease breakage fees and if they are able to rent it out, then we won’t be responsible for the rent anymore. Great news, right? I would have thought moving out 2 months early would allow them adequate time to provide us with our security deposit back.
I called both Byron and the corporate headquarters, only to get the runaround multiple times. One day I hear that they had to replace the entire carpet because there was «urine everywhere» along with some other charges for damages that we supposedly caused and we owed some money. The next day I’d hear that «no one has actually taken a look at all of the charges just yet but we will get back to you as soon as possible». One month of calling multiple times weekly goes by, no returned phone calls and no results. Two months pass by and they call me back to notify me that legally, they have 21 days until after the lease expiration date. Fine, I understand the terms of the contract. I would call on the weekends and be reassured multiple times that the manager, Byron, would be calling me back and letting me know any updates on the situation. Sure enough, I would receive a call back maybe 5% of the time.
The corporate headquarters were helpful in the end and I have heard that since then, they have changed property managers. However, keep in mind that this property had TWO months to be able to rent out our room and there were no takers. That in itself must say something.

When my boyfriend and I first arrived to take a tour of the place, Stephanhi had the «Be back at x: xx» clock sign hanging in the office window since she was helping some other folks. But when they walked past us to visit the model, she didn’t even greet us or acknowledge us. She just ignored us and left us standing outside of the leasing office until she was done with the other people. Rude. Plain and simple.
Despite the horrifying experience, we still ended up moving in since this place had the cheapest units within our budget. The original sales/​management here was Stephanhi and Neil. They were okay after we signed in the lease, but that is not usually the problem.
The problem was that my dog kept breaking out into hives and rashes because of the pesticides they were spraying over there. Not to mention when we moved out, Neil had our carpet ripped out and replaced and charged us for it after blowing through the deposit. Which is ridiculous because Mochi is 4 and has been perfectly good about not going potty inside the house. We remove our shoes at the door and we had the carpet professionally cleaned before we left!
Neil is no longer there, but the new guy, Byron. Exactly the same. Didn’t return our calls, didn’t respond to emails. I even filed a complaint with their corporate office. and they didn’t even respond to my initial email! I had to call them 4 more times before I was able to get to the president of their company. Ridiculous.
If you do end up moving here:
1. DO NOT expect to get your deposit back.
2. DO NOT expect to get timely responses to emails or calls after you’ve moved out
As a side note: The maintenance team here is awesome. They clean the pools every morning, they blow the leaves off the walkways, they are always working hard to fix and tidy up all over the complex… and all three are SO nice and friendly! They always smile and wave to me in the morning when I leave for work. They are seriously the best thing about this place.

I don’t know what standards people hold as this place has received many poor reviews (especially regarding management). The person we dealt with was friendly and efficient. Reasonable terms and deposit. Large patio with sliding glass door, fitness center, large clean pool, and beautiful lagoon to walk or ride along. The place was clean, finished to a reasonable standard for the money ($ 1,400 per month — 4 month term), and we have no complaints other than some daytime noise due to remodeling the common areas (it’s gotta hapen eventually and should result in everything looking nicer). I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the place to someone, and if something happens to change my opinion, I’ll post a quick tip. And as far as management goes, how often does anyone need to talk to them even if they aren’t wonderful? Pay your rent, live, leave, next place.