Commons At Sylvan Highlands

My boyfriend and I just moved from this complex. For the most part, we have definitely enjoyed our stay! The staff is very personable and Geoff knew us by name. They were quick to tend to our needs. Our apartment was very spacious for a one bedroom.
One downside though is the parking. We rarely could entertain guests because of the lack of guest parking. We also didn’t really like that the trash was almost a mile away. With the amount of trash spots there were, they only kept one open and usable. Other than that, if our rent did not raise as much as it did, we probably would’ve considered renewing or lease!

The units themselves are nice and I love the proximity to downtown but the customer service has gone from good to bad while I’ve lived here. Expect your rent to increase every time your lease is up. You’ll wait in the leasing office for long periods of time while they wait on others and do not even acknowledge your presents to say «hi and it’ll be a minute».

Pros
–Location to Downtown PDX, Sunset highway a plus
–Pool, hot tub, really small fitness room (all the equipment was breaking down though), sauna
–Max, Zoo, Forest Park, Washington Park are close
–Spacious living inside with washer/​dryer, dishwasher, acceptable storage, balcony
–Amazing janitorial, groundskeeping, landscaping teams!
–Biking, walking trails… must see! Get out and explore the West Side!
Cons
–Parking, I’m cautious… my car received lots of dents/​scratches due to the inconceivable small parking spaces. The lines are inconsistent and I had even been blocked in both sides so I couldn’t enter my own vehicle. I was told it was just up to me to figure it out. Another resident ended up helping me navigate without scratching the other cars from NJ who blocked me in.
–Guest Parking, a thing of the past. They don’t issue passes and the guest parking is now 10 spots, past the garbage centre.
–Garbage/​Recycle: one location for all the residents? And it’s at the back of the whole complex? It would make sense to put one at the back and another near the middle or tucked away in the front. People would be so cold I saw them drive their trash. Then when you would get there, it would be overflowing (50% of the time). Inexcusable.
–Office Staff: aloof. Out of touch with residents and focused on their weird office culture. When resurfacing the entire complex, which wasn’t well organized, we received abundant emails with over-​complicated diagrams/​maps of how the resurfacing/​painting of parking spots would be carried out. We also had a water shut off of an entire complex and the delivery was so awkward, we left for the weekend so we didn’t have to shower at the pool or workout facility.
–Police: why do we get emails about stupid community etiquette and no mention about safety when the police are roaming around, handcuffing individuals. I think some mention of the incidents would be considered acceptable.
–Move out: we received our rent increase from $ 1232 to $ 1500 (2br/​2ba util excluded)… we found a new place in a week and advised the office. Upon giving notice, they told us they would do a pre-​walkthru of our apartment. We are VERY clean, every landlord we’ve had loves us. We detailed everything, vacuumed 3 times and made sure there was not a smidge of dirt. They told us we would be billed for carpet cleaning out of our deposit… but that’s not our expense, that’s why we pay lots of rent. We got billed an extra $ 80 for where our upright garbage can was located. Never spilled, just the light weight of the bin was probably pressing down so we were charged for «high traffic and dirt.» We never walked in that area! The movers were so impressed with our cleaning job, they said we made it look better than the place we were moving into. Geez.
Obviously the Cons are more detailed. Yes, I loved walking out to my secluded patio on the 3^rd floor to the smell of evergreen trees and looking around to my wonderful, forest surroundings. I am appreciative for the little things like quick access to Hwy 26 and the tiny gym for what it was. Crazy screaming at 2 am… not so much. Weird office people… whatevs. This is my first review on Unilocal and I actually put some time into it. Message me if you want more details.

It was nice living at Sylvan Highlands, nice and friendly people in the office. However, not worth the rent increase. They are buying into their own hype. Rent increases were $ 50 each year, and now, this year the rent increase was $ 200. Obviously, they are corporation and don’t care if their tenants are struggling to make ends meet. Shame on you Sylvan, Shame on you…

So last year this was an extremely miserable place to live. I hated it and could not call this place home. They changed management, and I must say what a huge difference! It’s amazing that one person can make all the difference. Earlier last year, you could literally feel the bad energy. Now, however, it is like night and day. I actually enjoy living here. It doesn’t get a full 5-​stars though because of the rising rates. I know, I know, I know… It’s Portland.

I lived at The Commons at Sylvan Highlands for two years in 2009 and 2010. Apartments are very spacious, with high ceilings, and huge kitchens. You’ll enjoy all the space you have.
But be very, very careful on move out. They’ll surprise you with an unexpected visit from a tall, grouchy, very intimidating man. He’s not someone you see on a daily basis. He showed up at my door — UNANNOUNCED — with one of the leasing agents with him. You don’t even have time to clean before they inspect your place for move out, because they show up without an appointment. They are looking for any marks from candle smoke on the ceiling, holes in the wall from pictures, any type of stain on the carpet, the porches must be spotless, above the cupboards must be clean, there can be no scratches in the kitchen at all, fridge must be cleaned out and spotless. Essentially, they come in inspecting for anything they could charge you with and they’ll charge you for new carpet, even if it was time to replace it due to wear and tear. Additionally, there is nothing to walk to from here and it’s very isolated. There is no grocery store nearby, and if there’s a big snow storm, that get’s scary.
The man who recently replied to my review in November of 2015 sounds friendly and reasonable. There’s no way he was the man who inspected my apartment — completely unannounced — in 2010. That man scared me.

My boyfriend and I moved into Sylvan Highlands back in 2011 and we loved it here: great location, pool, sauna, steam room, fitness center, 1200 sq ft, washer/​dryer. it was awesome despite the annoying neighbor (who complained about us showering at 6am on Saturday. I mean really? Oh and she also set off the fire alarm. What a pleasant lady!) and others who would go swimming in the middle of the night.
The apartment was spacious, the appliances weren’t bad, and we cleaned well enough to get our security deposit back in full.
We are actually considering coming back, but it looks like the prices have skyrocketed (like everywhere else). Maybe they’ll give us a loyalty discount for being such AWESOME renters?!

I’m updating this review just to say that the management seems to be much better now. Not a single person who worked here a year ago still does. There has been a ton of turn over, but the latest group is great so hopefully they will stay.

Warning if you move here…
The management is aware of the cheap permits they admister. They fall off every time you drive. God forbid if your permit falls off you will get towed and charged $ 300+.
Other than that, these places are alright. Young community swarming with hot women.

Beware of this property. The parking at night is not sufficient, both because there are not enough spaces and because the spaces are too small. You might not be able to get in your car the next morning because someone might park too close to your vehicle in the next spot.
Also, don’t expect to be able to use your cell phone in this place. Verizon, Sprint and AT&T get NO reception in my apartment.

I lived here 2 ½ yrs. They raised my rent every lease large amounts and by the end forced my hand and I had to move because of the huge increase. They enter your apartment at least 3 times a year just to do inspections… for what reason always unknown. And forget about getting your deposit back. I got $ 10.52 back from $ 1450. Absolutely ridiculous. It had black mold that would grow and they told me run fans more often. The parking sucked. You have to get a pass for a visitor or they are towed after 5pm. This place sucked.

I currently live here, just over a year now and I honestly love it. I read some pretty horrible reviews on different sites prior to signing my lease and was a little sketch about it all but I have to say, it seems like those bad reviews were probably from bad tenants overall. The only complaint I have is the fact that the trash/​recycling is so far! Another downside is the parking. Whoever painted the lines did a real bad job. Which then practically forces people to park on the line or even take up two spots. I can say, over the last year they have gotten strict with Parking and will tow if you don’t have a permit. I think it’s good because ever since that started up, there is more parking available!
Nice location, close to 26, quiet community and I’m about to renew my lease. Peace out.