Citra

ZERO RATING
I hope Citra management reads my review and try not to cheat future residents.
I received lease renewal notice from Citra, which states 10% rise from the previous lease rate, which sounds super stupid. 10% rise may be normal per market standard, but that is normal when the rent paid in previous lease is worthy of it and you get the services what you paid for. I would like to mention the whole lot of issues here.
1. I was told that the Gym will be open from July-​2015 at the lease
signing, but it opened in Dec-​2015. 7 months after my lease.
2. The Dishwasher in my apartment was not working and it was replaced
after my multiple complaints, and reviews provided on Unilocal.
3. During the dishwasher replacement, the maintenance guy didn’t fit
the water inlet properly and the water was accumulated all under the
floor. now my kitchen flooring s out of place for several months. It is fixed today when I am already planning to leave Citra next month.
Citra maintenance at its perfection, left my apartment with dust all around my kitchen. Maintenance team must have little courtesy to cover the kitchen stuff with thin plastic. All my dishes and fruits are covered with dust. I have taken pictures before cleaning. I have to throw away lot of food stuff due to their negligence. Hell!!!
4. With all the maintenance going on and dust in the air, my wife got
sick.. Doctor confirmed that the sickness was due to dust.
5. So many blinds were broken when I moved into apartment.
6. Air Conditioner in the apartment never worked fine and I reported
multiple times. Still it doesn’t cools the apartment.
7. Renovation continued for almost year and we have to live in dust, which was so irritating and unhealthy.
Do you really think, 10% rise in lease is justified considering all the difficulties that we have to face for almost a year. Please avoid making false promises to future residents and please treat residents health and well being as well.

Haven’t lived anywhere noisier than here.
There’s a guy that blows leaves, oh no, dust, EVERYDAY. Really? I called the management and was told «we need to keep up our appearance». No, he’s not blowing leaves. He’s just blowing up dust, dust, dust! You don’t need to blow up dust everyday, or at all! Your leaf blowers come once a week. That’s enough.
Loud and inconsiderate neighbors that party until WAY after midnight. You can hear them from a block away.

There are positive things to say about my experience living in the Citra apartments, and they won’t take long to list so I’ll start there.
1. Convenient location. Citra is in very close proximity to Safeway, main highways, restaurants, etc.
2. Good maintenance staff. Very attentive. Any time I’ve reported a problem with my apartment or my floor, they’ve sent someone right away.
3. Convenient parking always available.
4. Ok amenities. Nice pool area, grounds are reasonably well maintained, washer & dryer in some units.
Now on to the negatives?
I received a notification that an apartment meeting my requirements had become available at Citra. I clicked the link, was redirected to the Citra website, and decided I’d like to take it. I originally applied for an apartment priced at $ 2,300 but was told that they were fresh outta those when I called the leasing office literally seconds after seeing their freshly posted ad. I was moving from across the country and had to find a place ASAP, sight unseen, and by this time I’d grown tired of looking so they «upsold» me into the only remaining 1BR they had available, for $ 2,600 a month plus utilities. After I moved in, I walked around the grounds and it become evident that at least ¼ of the apartments are vacant. How do I know this? Because they’ve been doing interior renovations thorughout the entire apartment complex since the day I moved in, and they leave little notices taped to people’s doors letting them know that random people will be walking freely in and out of their apartments as part of the ongoing «campus beautification» taking place. After a few weeks, about a quarter of all apartments had multiple notices stuck to their doors, meaning nobody had been home to remove them. I asked them to notify me if a $ 2,300 apartment freed up, since that was what I originally requested. Even though I KNOW apartments like that are available, because I see on other websites that there are «over 30» available apartments listed by Citra, I have yet to be moved into a more affordable apartment, or even told that one exists.
When I moved in last summer, I was told that ALL renovations would be complete by September 2015. To their credit, they did manage to complete the renovations to the poolside BBQ area some time around November (poorly managed, timing-​wise … what good is a poolside BBQ in winter?), however there have been much larger projects undertaken every single day since. For example, they decided to repaint the entire exterior of the apartment, so for a full week last month we had our doors and windows covered in plastic wrap while teams of paint contractors stood around on our balconies, in our hallways, and outside in the parking lot. Then they decided to rip out all of the carpeting in the halls, so my floor has had bare plywood showing for the last two months, holes in the walls wear the floor molding was removed, and nails and screws and staples EVERYWHERE the floor. I was walking my trash down the hall to the chute and impaled my foot on a 4-​inch nail. If that’s not dangerous enough, let’s not talk about the fact that there is asbestos in all of the walls, so with all of the work that’s been going on, and all the open holes in the walls, you’re going to try and tell me that there is no asbestos dust filtering out into our halls? It’s literally felt like I’ve had fiber glass on my larynx for the last 90 days. Further, we have an elevator in our building… one elevator… and it has been out of service since I moved in last summer. GOOD LUCK carrying your worldly possessions up three flights of narrow stairs.
They upgraded the «fitness center», which means they added kettlebells and yoga mats. Every time someone runs on the treadmill in the fitness center, regardless of where you are located in the building, it sounds like someone is dribbling a basketball on your ceiling. Realize that you are paying extra for that luxury.
NOISE. As previously stated, this entire place has been a construction site since last year, and it never ends. There is always drilling, hammering, slamming of large containers outside, workers arguing, things being demolished or destroyed, etc. Beyond that, though, the walls and floors are super thin and for some reason all of my neighbors seem to have great difficulty a) controlling the volume of their indoor voices, or b) making it more than 24 hours without verbally assailing someone else in their homes. There is always a chorus of arguing or shouting coming in muffled through the floorboards and walls, every night around 7pm without fail. Someone else mentioned that there are kids everywhere, too. They’re loud and they run around a lot but I don’t mind that as much. I do think one of the apartments on the second floor in building A is being used as a day care though, because the racket coming out of that apartment every day during work hours is insane.
If I could get out of my lease, I would but they don’t allow subleasing.

One of the worst apartment complexes. We moved into thief apartment and we were shocked as to see the apartment dirty and some dead to aches lying on the floor. We decided to move elsewhere immediately and they refused. The patio door was completely jammed with a hole beneath it.
How could they give us an apartment in this conditions when we payed a significant rent. They did nothing about refunding out deposit nor let us move
We went to the office to meet their manager and she told us to talk to this Debbie who is the regional head there. Debbie did not even bother to talk to us when she was in the office in front of us and completely ignored us. This is the level of service!
DO NOT rent and apartment here. You will really pay a big price.
Now this stupid lady Debbie will comment for this review and give her standard apology.
I got my deposit back but not the additional $ 250 you made me pay when you decided to move me into a new apt. Are you making a fool of all your customers ???

I’ve been living at Citra since July 2015. I completely agree with the below reviewers and understand their frustration. Here are my points:
Fitness Center:
Neighbors told me that the original completion date was April, 2015. As of today, the end of November, it’s still not ready. Did Citra mean April, 2016?
Gym Passes:
In efforts to make up for the fitness center, Citra offers gym passes to 24 Hour Fitness. It is true that you need to be very persistent to get them. For example, I requested 2 passes and after 2 – 3 weeks of calling them, I received only 1 and was told to come back later for another one. I didn’t bother. I think a reputable company wouldn’t make their residents chase after something they were promised.
Community:
The hallway is dark and it smells. In my apartment I can hear my neighbors upstairs. When I return home from work around 6 p.m., the lobby is often full with 10 kids running around and screaming, their moms just chatting in the corner.
Communication:
The repair team is very quick and effective so that’s a big plus.
On the other side, there are many discrepancies when it comes to communication with the Office staff. For example, I was told that I was going to get a bonus of $ 250 but (after waiting 3 – 4 weeks because someone was on vacation for 2 weeks) I was given only $ 200…
I believe that for the same rent price you can easily find something better. There is a lot of new nice apartment complexes in Sunnyvale and Mountain View and Citra definitely needs to improve to stay in business.

I have read all the reviews and they are spot on for the most part. I would like to add a few things for information purposes.
1. The construction on the community room has been a year and they continue to say next month. On my last visit to the managers office I was told with full confidence that the gym would be open on Tuesday so I would not need another pass to the external gymnasium. Of course they were wrong and when I called to get additional passes, they didn’t answer the phone. once in the morning and once in the evening. My biggest concern right now is that after all this work that is being done for the community room they are LOCKING it when normal people come home after work to use it! Why show off a room and they not let the tenant use it? The response was «You are not the only one to complain about this but it is what it is and we are not going to change it.» Why move into a place where you cant use the community room after a long day at work and you want to bbq with your family while the kids play in the pool? Speaking of pools, the jacuzzi’s jets have not worked in two years!
2. The plumbing backs up when you take a shower. Disgusting…
3. I am tired of going to a gym where I have to wait in line for a machine.
4. I want my tv room back so I can watch Sports with my friends after work instead of going to a bar after work. This is a big reason why we moved here. It closed at 10pm and now they are moving it to 6! And not open on Sundays at all !!
5. The beautiful new lobby leads to a hallway look like a casio hotel on old las vegas. What a waste of money and time.
6. The mailbox for building A were moved during construction and I believe that there are no plans to move them back, so you have to go to the other side of the complex and if it is raining or hot there is no escaping the heat.
7. The maintenance team is doing the best they can. They are the only reason for the 1 star. Otherwise it would be a zero star rating.
OVERPRICED AND CLIMBING!

Citra is a beautiful community set in a nicer neighborhood in northern Sunnyvale, and tries its best to be upscale and «boutique.» The apartments are nice, and the management does its best to provide good service to its tenants. But, don’t be fooled by the fixtures, pool, and bamboo floors. Serious issues abound:
(1) Noise. It is the noisiest place I’ve ever lived, and I used to live in the Tenderloin in SF. All day long, you have leaf blowers, construction, service trucks, trash trucks, plus the noise from being located next to Safeway and a strip mall. Then, at the end of the day, the children of the community tend to shriek and scream until about 730pm. I love children and I’m glad they have a place to play in the community, but it’s really a level of noise that is abnormal for a residential community.
(2) Construction/​Communication from Management. The community has been under construction for a year now. Tenants were told that it would be a three-​month project, and it has been a year, with no end in sight. We’re not kept updated. Tenants cannot enter the buildings through the front entrance, and tenants were not told that the front entrance would be shut down until they came home from work one day with no clue how to enter the building.
(3) Price. The construction has definitely made the community even more «boutique» looking, but the fact is that the community is next to a Safeway and a strip mall, with no walkable access to any downtown area. For this, they charge top dollar, and raise the rent anywhere between $ 200 to $ 500 per year. That’s more than the typical 7−10% you’re used to seeing in this area.
I am fine to live here but I just wish I had known all this before moving in.

There are a number of major issues with this place, but my review is going to highlight just one. I received a door hanger from DHL saying that my package was signed for at the leasing office. I went to pick it up and was told by the girl who works the phones there, Amanda, that there had been no delivery. I thought this was strange, since they clearly had gotten into the building to leave the notice, and the tracking number said that it had been signed for at the office. I was then rudely informed by Amanda that the leasing office takes zero responsibility for packages they signed for. I then asked why they would sign for packages if they refuse to take any responsibility. Amanda then told me that they only accept packages when a resident calls and asks them to do so. I had NOT asked anyone to accept the package, which required signature for delivery. I was actually expecting to have to pick it up myself from the DHL location since I was traveling the week it would be delivered. So what Citra did was essentially sign for a package for a resident even though they were not asked to do so, and now are not taking responsibility for losing the package. The maintenance guys here are cool and helpful, but Amanda is incompetent and rude. Hopefully I can get my several hundred dollar shipment replaced.

I’ve been living here for over two years and things seem to have been going downhill steadily. Its ten days now since I complained and this is the third time that the trash chute room has garbage piled up with the stink seeping into the corridors. Management is unresponsive and its the third community director ever since the property changed hands mid/​late last year.
They have been renovating the place for over 6 months now and increased the rents since they were ‘upgrading’ the complex with a target end date of April. Its end of May with no sign of when the renovations will be completed. The main lobby is closed, the gym out of commission, the lift is inaccessible to over half the apartments in bldg A, corridors are without lights a number of times — well in short paying the price of luxury apartments — as the leasing boards read — for a run down place that is lacking basic hygiene and amenities.

The paperwork and process to move into the apartment was horrible. Told by the third party approval we had been approved, showed up on site and denied. Took four days to finally move in. Perfect credit, lots of cash in account, ample income, and I was willing to pay the entire rental upfront.
AC broke, took three days to finally have apartment complex get someone onsite. And by apartment complex, I called 12 AC companies and finally got someone there.
Upon move-​in the dishwasher was filled with mold, and apartment was dirty from construction debris. I paid for professional cleaning to make it livable.
Upon move out, I paid for another professional cleaning and they still charged me additional (unnecessary) cleaning.
If you need a place to live, it is functional. But ample better places in the surrounding areas.
The kitchen cabinets are original and still has popcorn ceilings. All they did was slap a piece of granite on top and paint bad cabinets white.
Shower drainage smelt horrible all summer. I personally just poured bleach in it on regular cleaning to keep the smell down.
Staff was friendly but when you had an issue went radio silent and blamed lack of action on «management.»
If you are in the market of how NOT to run an apartment complex, Citra is the perfect place to learn!!!

I stayed at the Citra w/​a friend. The hallway smelled really bad! I can’t really describe the smell, but it was awful. Also he had a 1^st floor apt. and the kids upstairs were always running around so you’d hear constant pounding. And the «popcorn» ceiling would shake, hope they weren’t shaking the abestos out. Plus the cost was insane, I guess because it’s Sunnyvale you can charge an arm and leg for a dump.

Do you want to spend an arm and leg to live in a trash dump with a fabulous color scheme?! Then move here!
If I could give this place zero, or even negative stars, I would. I live here and cannot wait to move out. I was living out of state, had to find an apartment and thus signed a lease with this place, sight unseen. I could only go off of the pictures I saw online. If I would have seen it in person before moving in, I would have run the other way, and fast.
Some of my grievances have been mentioned by other reviewers, but are worth reiterating. In no particular order:
— The hallways stink (like armpits). Today’s bonus: I slipped on food and garbage that was all over the floor of the the trash chute room at the end of our hallway.
— Sewer gas smells come up from the drains when you run the water.
— I’ve tried to de-​odorize the cupboards and cabinets by keeping baking soda boxes in it. Months later they all still smell. I’m almost certain they used «Rotting Onion» scented paint when preparing the unit for it’s new tenants.
— Cupboard doors and drawers are old; a couple have fallen off their hinges already.
— Which reminds me… maintenance is practically non-​existent — when I turned in the rent check for October, I mentioned to the person in the leasing office that the light was out in the hallway. As of writing this review, the light is still out.
— You can hear everything your neighbors say and do, and I lucked out with active upstairs neighbors that jump around doing who-​knows-​what at all hours of the day.
— Doors to the street are never locked and people (residents? who knows!!) are always walking in and out.
Don’t be sucked in by their «mod» décor and granite countertops. This place is a dump.

I am going to be moving to Sunnyvale and walked in after seeing this place online and thinking «Damn this place looks awesome!» I got there and after finding the leasing office, which involved parking on basically the opposite side of the complex and the bleakest walk imaginable (super cluttered patios, etc) the two dudes in there looked at me like I had a third eyeball before I said «Hi, I’d like to see a two bedroom apartment.»
Everything they had was leased out, but they showed me a 1 bedroom that they were prepping for a new tenant. I wasn’t a fan of the dimly lit dark hallway leading up to the unit door. When I got in, it was very bright and well lit. Someone had been running the AC and there was condensation on the floor under the vent. The kitchen may have new countertops, but the cabinetry is all original. The drawers don’t have tracks and were a bit tough to pull out. I decided to pass on this place. I think for the price, you could do much better.

ASBESTOS ASBESTOS ASBESTOS ASBESTOS ASBESTOS ASBESTOS
WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING WARNING
Do not Rent from this place. I had a 7 month lease, at the end they offered me a 12 month lease for $ 200.00 more a month. It sounded like the people above me were conducting tumbling classes, VERY LOUD. It stinks all the time. They have a rat problem. Look for the TRAPS OUTSIDE under some trees!!! They have MOLD!
DO NOT MOVE IN!!! I had trouble finding a new place and my month to month rent was DOUBLE my original rent, from $ 2000 /​month to $ 3400 /​month.
ASBESTOS ASBESTOS ASBESTOS ASBESTOS ASBESTOS ASBESTOS

I viewed these apartments as a prospective tenant. I was very impressed with the quality of the introductory phone call. The gentleman at the call center was extremely friendly and surveyed me painlessly before setting up an appointment.
The complex is located in a good neighborhood, but I was aware of a feeling of gloom when walking up to the office. The exterior paint job is a dark, grayish blue with orange accents. The atmosphere felt sterile, cave-​like, and cold. Oddly enough, I did not see a single child or children’s toy on any of the patios. No kids were playing anywhere. All of the residents I saw looked like single college students or young professionals. It reminded me of my college dorm.
I had arrived early for my appointment and the manager was not there. I waited in the lobby admiring the colorful mod furniture. When I tried to ask a passing resident about their experience at the complex, they were rude to me.
While I waited, I heard another resident walking down the hall on the floor above. It was surprisingly loud. I took note of this and remembered the previous reviews on this page that mentioned noise as an issue.
The manager arrived and showed us the model unit. It was very pretty. I liked the kitchen and the fact that the front door opened into the dining room. It gave the apartment a spacious feeling. The model unit was beautifully furnished and the layout well designed. But my shoes clicked on the hardwood floor and I could not help imagining that same sound coming from the apartment above me. The living room, dining room, and entryway all had hardwood floors.
The club house owned by the apartment complex was also very pretty. The manager said that it is rented for social gatherings nearly every weekend. I thought that was a red flag, perhaps indicative of noisy parties with large groups.
The manager himself seemed rather impersonal. I had to ask before he gave me his name. During the viewing, I felt rushed. Afterward, I did not even get a chance to sit down in his office and look at a brochure (as often occurs in apartment viewings). He stood behind his desk without sitting down and gave me his card. I left.
Unfortunately, I was not impressed with this apartment complex and cannot recommend it to others.

I have been in citra for 6 months now.
Here is my observation
Good part
1) Hardwood floor
2) Washer in unit
3) great view of the swimming pool. Feeling of community
4) Friendly manager
5) friendly staff
6) Once i got locked out of my house, the manager went out of his way to help get my apartment opened.
Bad part
Only 1 manager on site.

I walked into this apartment community and took a look at the retro surroundings and thought to myself «I’m not sure I’m cool enough to live at Citra.»
We wandered in on a Sunday when the office was closed, so we poked around the common areas: the club house, lobby and the gorgeous pool with its lime green cabanas.
From the balconies to the hallways, this post-​war modern art-​themed community *is* way too cool for me. But I loved it soooo much! Their website answered all of our questions and we never did go back to take a tour.
The deal-​breaker:
We’re looking for a little more than 1120 SF in a two bedroom.

The remodeled apartment right in the heart of city might sound very inviting to you but if you want to save yourself from 20% rent hike year after year, stay away from this place.
I for one hate moving hassles and was stuck in this apartment for 2 years now.
The apartment no doubt looks beautiful inside but many things are old like kitchen cabinets, thin walls.
Bathroom space is really crammed up and bath tub is of extremely poor quality.
You might think the management is very good by the way they talk but you’ll know it all once you rent here.
If things break, they will not fix it in less than a month.
The manager is so careless that he doesn’t even write things down when you go to him for any maintenance work and you have to keep nagging him everyday.
It’s like begging for a favor.
The complex is full of children who are noisy and throw football in your patio.
The trash charge increases month by month because there is so much churn of people, lot of people vacate and rent here.
They say small dogs are allowed but you will see people with large dogs who bark at you.
You can find much better places in Sunnyvale if you are not strict about the washer and dryer in the unit.

My husband and I live here more the 1 year and now we need to move, because our landlord increases rent payment a lot. But we’re thinking yet. Because Citra is great apartments complex that I saw. I’m searching apartment now, I saw more than 20 apartments, but our apartment is best. Why?
1. Price during 15 month was good.
2. Hardwood floor — it’s better than carpet, because a carpet gather a lot of bugs, dust etc
3. Brand-​new stainless steel appliances — refrigerator, dishwasher, sink
4. Full-​size washer dryer!!!
5. Private expansive terraces with greatest VIEW (I’ll miss it)
6. Black Granite Countertops — we spent a lot of good dinners, breakfasts here.
7. Big Mirror Closet
8. Good school — your child can walk at the school
9. Good location — you can walk to Safeway and another grocery stores and pharmacies.
If our apartment had defects, they were covered good.
I REALLY RECOMMENDED THIS APARTMENT, but price is high now:(.

I stayed in this apartment for couple of years, not because of the great ameneities or good management, but only because of school district for my daughter and my social group within the complex. But after a while we got frustrated with constant issues within the apartment and lackluster attitude of management. At the time of moving out, the property manager who initially acted friendly, gave us false impressions about not charging much from our deposit. He assured us that if we choose to let him take care of the cleaning, he will charge us a certain amount and we agreed. He assured us he wont charge for paint material and very nominal amount for spot painting as we kept the house in great condition.
However only after moving out, when we received a notice from sack properties, we understood his intentions. Basically he never wanted us to even try cleaning the house so he could charge us any way he wanted. He charged us double the amount than he promised for cleaning, added unrealistic paint material and labor charges. He even added a late fee of $ 75 for 1 day delay of the rent for 5 days. That too when he had agreed to waive it off.
These apartments though boast of great ameneties, are actually made to look good with some patch work, but underneath they have a very fragile infrastructure. We constantly had issues with our toilet. Infact couple of times, dirty sewage water starting backing off and entered our rooms too, but management never cared.
Even if you somehow get a good deal the first year, you are up for a surprise the next year on lease renewal time. The rates can go as high as 30%. Many families get trapped here because of this boeing in good school district. Let me tell you, there are many great options elsewhere… just spend some time to look.
Here is my advise, STAY AWAY from this place or get ready for surprises.