Scotchollow Apartment Homes

If you have other choose Don“t move here
Anything is old in the house
Anything need charge money
They told me moved 3^th but still give due$ 219 say I overlapping
What’s wrong you company
You guys only want money money money
Push people so hard!
And the neighbor which live upstair always super rude make a lot noise
We need pay everything even water
That’s sooooo Cheaper
Don’t come here!

I’ve lived here since May, I have read all these reviews and worried if I ever had to go to management if I would have any problems like the ones written here on Unilocal.
Recently i had such an occasion occur when I wrote the management for the third time about a pet fee that should have been taken off my rent due every month. I’m please to say we have NEW management in the office now and DEBBIE took action right away and refunded the pet fee for me. Also I had another situation in which she really made me feel like she valued me as a resident. Thank you Debbie for all your hard work, making Scotch hollow residents feel like they are at home.:)

One of the worst place to live in. Apartment is very old, heaters don’t work, floors were cracked and the woods were chipped off and yet rent is very high. Complaints sent to leasing office were not taken seriously. Parking Garage is a Shit Hole, no lights, very dirty, smells bad. The parking spots were charged $ 25 or $ 15 for street parking! and absolutely there’s no maintenance. Stairway lights won’t work, the fire extinguisher was broken. The leadership of the leasing office is very bad. They signed us up with a 2bed/​2bath apartment and just a week before move-​in they informed us that the apartment is not ready and offered us a 2bed/​1bath with more rental amount and we were forced to move into that as we didn’t have time to even think for other options. The policy of 2 month notice to move out is so ridiculous. We were very unhappy to have stayed in scotchollow and glad to have moved out. We will not recommend this apartment to anyone.

Love living in Scotchollow apartments! Grounds are well kept, staff is friendly, and location is convenient. The only issues I’ve had so far is that they have been a little slow with service requests in the past, but I know that is something they have been working on to improve. I would also really like to see better security (especially at night) as I have seen a few characters who did not look like they belonged and made me feel uncomfortable. This is something that could happen anywhere, but I do hope Scotchollow takes this into consideration and strives to make all residents feel safe and comfortable. Everything considered though I would definitely recommend for young professionals who are looking for somewhere laid back to call home.

My wife and I moved here from Manhattan last year and were in a rush to find a place. Scotchollow was the first apartment complex I looked at and signed a lease on the spot to avoid having to look at other apartments. What a mistake!
Scotchollow gets you from day one — they charge an exorbitant monthly water bill to sustain lush landscaping as well as the moat and fountains around the leasing office (seriously they have a moat… and there’s a drought in California!). This adds multiple percentage points to advertised rent. Also it takes 10 minutes to get hot water in the shower, which they have no incentive to improve because again water is billed to residents.
We rented a cute 550 SF studio with a nice layout and a little balcony… for $ 2k. Coming from 5^th ave in Manhattan I was expecting to get a little bit more for the money in San Mateo — but not at scotchollow. They charge hefty garbage fees and community water fees on top of the usual gas heat, electric, parking, etc.
Because the grounds are quite pleasant and open, vagrants seem to make it their home, at least during the day. I’ve felt uncomfortable at times walking towards the stairs knowing, in mere seconds, I have to squeeze by a local drug addict rolling blunts, drinking steel reserve and playing music from a cell phone sitting in the stairwell. When I complained about this I was told that police officers patrol the property. Well in a year living there I never saw a single cop, so I’m politely calling «BS» on that.
Laundry facilities are cash only. The washing machines will leave your clothes dirtier than before. The drier permanently damaged/​burned my comforter. I got used to going to laundromat down the block to save my clothes from destruction.
The open air hallways and stairs are often peed and pooped on by all the cute doggies in the complex. What bothered me though was walking by the same dog poo stinking up the stairwell for a month — obviously maintenance sees and smells the same poo, as do all my neighbors, yet it remains for seemingly forever as I scratch my head pondering the value received for such dear rent each month.
The pool is nice, albeit overrun with youngins’, and so is the hot tub. The gym is basically a bowflex-​like machine, a few tired old treadmills/​ellipticals and free weights but there is no bench or bar for bench press. Tennis courts are better than no tennis courts, for sure, but scotchollow’ are cracked and in worse condition than the public courts I’ve played in NYC or Bay Area.
Probably the most surprising thing about living here was getting nickle-​and-​dimed on the way out. During the walk through I was asked how much my deposit was first ($ 500) and then the person came up with almost exactly $ 500 in «damages.» They consider the pinhole from hanging a little painting on your wall excessive damage and charge $ 75 per wall to fix this. When I argued this is normal wear and tear, the price of one wall already discussed suddenly jumped from $ 75 to $ 250 and I was told «I’m not going to argue with you.» I tried explaining my background managing residential properties around New York City my entire life (to this day) and how in NYC it’s illegal to charge your tenants for normal wear and tear including painting units between tenants, to no avail.
Moving on, the appliances were «originals.» An old electric stove was accompanied by a dishwasher from some lost decade that required you to pre-​wash and then run the washer twice for a chance at clean dishes — not great for California’s drought but again all water usage is billed to «the community» and split among residents.
Separately, during our time at scotchollow, the person above us had an adorable puppy who’s outdoor pee collection device toppled, spilling a truly unbelievable amount of canine urine all over a brand spanking new Marin bicycle and patio furniture. This is unprecedented in all my years renting apts, many with balconies, and could have easily been avoided if the balcony above was properly sealed with halfway decent drainage.
Lastly, the walls are paper thin to the point where you can hear your neighbors’ pillow talk, let alone lovemaking (not complaining) or baby crying. God forbid they have family over on a weeknight for a late dinner party and you have to be at work at 6am. I’ve had multiple «conversations» through the wall, from bed, to ask that neighbors be respectful of community quiet hours, but really it’s not their fault. There’s just not enough (any?) insulation in them there walls.
In short, if you can possibly find another place to hang your hat, I strongly recommend doing so. Cheers and happy house hunting! San Mateo is a beautiful town. When you arrive, be sure to check out Japanese gardens (free), ramen dojo (!), block 34 and all spice. As for my wife and I, we just moved to Berkeley and could not be happier with our new place… graduate student family housing.

A section of our mailboxes was broken into and the doors bent. This was MONTHS ago, and they still haven’t been changed/​fixed. We have to get our mail from the office on the weekends because the office hours are shorter than our working hours. Not the end of the world, but it is taking an incredibly long time to fix, and it’s highly inconvenient to have the restricted access to your mail.

This place is one of the worst places too live in the Bay Area! I’m currently moving out in November! We had nothing but problems with management in resolving the current brown water that continues too come out of the shower and kitchen facets! The laundry facilities don’t drain correctly! One time I almost couldn’t dry my clothes because of too much dirty backed up water coming out of the drain! Also they raised our current rent last year 200 dollars per month more with out any warning! I currently pay $ 2624! They are now advertising my apartment (217) building 365 available in Dec for $ 2998 that a annual increase of 300 dollars per yr! Also the tennis court are unsafe too play the grounds are buckled and uneven! I don’t recommend this apartment complex too anyone! Especially this apt !

I am not one to write a review normally, however now that I am in a new apartment in a new building I feel I can offer an informed and impartial review.
From the off, I found the service both very poor and in all honesty, exploitative.
I moved to the Bay Area from abroad, and was in need of accommodation around San Mateo.
I arranged a viewing and was shown two different formats of apartments. I expressed my interest on one of the apartments at the end of the viewing. Through the process of applying it was clear to all parties that I was new to the area (lack of NIS, etc).
While I thought I was applying for a clean, well-​kept apartment I viewed, on receiving the keys I was told that was not the apartment I had applied for.
I was given a key to an entirely different apartment. An apartment where the kitchen nor the bathroom had been cleaned, the rear garden was strewn with leaves and branches from adjacent trees and what little that could have been seen of the patio was obscure by bird droppings (the adjacent trees provided a fantastic roosting spot). The remainder of the property was no better.
I queried this change of apartments and was informed by the agent that the other apartment ‘had been taken by someone before me’. This apparent apartment swap did not surprise me as much as the $ 150 a month rent hike…
I was informed by the ‘dizzy when needed to be’ agent, ‘Oh that’s because of new kitchen cabinets’. I queried this as they were not new, ‘…no, due to the new flooring’. I queried this as the flooring was identical to the one I viewed and was promptly and curtly informed ‘well, that is what you applied for… that’s the price’
My decision to see this ‘sleight of hand’ out (for fear of the spiraling costs of putting my belongings back in storage, getting another short term lease on a furnish property, and all the stress this would entail), was ill advised…
Flooding — The kitchen would flood with upstairs waste dish water, this would happen about 4 times in a 12 month period
Maintenance — Average turnaround to get the capillary like drains fixed, 2 – 3 days
Damp — I had to scrub down the exterior facing walls every other month to combat the mildew (in California?!), the smell would be overpowering if the windows were closed for any length of time
Noise — The apartments are so shoddily built you can hear a desk fan from below
Laundry Facilities — These were utterly unfit for purpose (the smell imparted on your laundry defied belief)
Infestations — Ants to cockroaches… Constantly. (not to mention the defecating birds.)
On the joyous day that I terminated my contract, I was stunned to be hit some additional costs:
$ 200 for redecorating
$ 150 for professional cleaning
So, should you decide to ignore my advice to avoid at all costs, and sign up — demand a freshly cleaned and decorated apartment and be sure that it is the one you viewed. It would also be wise to live on the upper floors, and to launder your clothing elsewhere.

My boyfriend and I just relocated from Columbus, OH and a friend currently living in Scotchollow recommended we look into renting there. Before our move, my boyfriend flew out to visit and I read and digested all the awful Unilocal reviews. Originally terrified of what we signed up for, I was skeptical to begin our lease, but our friend re-​assured us they hadn’t had any problems.
We’ve been living in our apartment for about 2 and a half weeks now and I have zero complaints. Our space is clean, updated, airy, well-​lit, close to the pool and convenient parking.
WE DID have a few initial hiccups, that were QUICKLY and easily solved. Our mail key didn’t work properly, our stove was missing drip trays so we couldn’t use our burners and our fridge was slightly leaking cold air. We put in a service request and our problems were solved quickly and efficiently, by a worker named Tyler. He was very friendly, knowledgeable, and thorough. Tyler mentioned that his team is working hard to catch up on past service requests and I really felt that he was genuinely concerned with fixing the issues in my apartment.
I’m leaving this review to hopefully share a more positive side to these other bad reviews. This is a great complex, located in a clean and safe neighborhood, with plenty of amenities to make paying an expensive rent totally worth it.
******UPDATE: 2/​2/​16****** Still living here and still happy! No problems at all.

Is zero stars an option?
I had read all the reviews, went to visit the property which looked nice and figured people were just being extremely high maintenance. But guess again… avoid this place like the plague!!!
I’ve been living here for a bit over a week and have not had a functioning shower. I’ve put in service requests, called the leasing company, called the emergency line, left voicemails, emailed everyone and their mom and I have yet to see any results.
The apartment also smell awful because it’s so old. Some of the doors in the kitchen cabinets don’t close but I was told «these apartments are old– that’s normal».
Anyways, I know housing is limited in this area. But I can guarantee that living further away from work, schools, etc is better than living here. Don’t make the mistake I made of assuming it wouldn’t be THAT BAD and getting stuck with a lease in this awful place.

I’m not complaining; I’m just giving you that facts:
Expect to tack on at least $ 70.00 to posted rent price ($ 90 if you have a pet). Why? Because they don’t pay for water and charge for trash and parking. Yeah, that’s right, parking. Even if you offer to give up your spot and park on the street (where there is ample parking FYI), the 10 buck charge is apparently non-​negotiable.
Downstairs neighbor apartment bathroom fans are loud. And my downstairs neighbor must be really clean because it is on for hours at a time.
Around 8PM put on the galoshes and protect valuables because you WILL get wet… by sprinklers. They’re out of control.
DON’T rent any apartment here if it does not include new appliances. It’s just not worth it. And DON’T let the nice lady show you a different apartment then the one you’ll actually be renting and fall for this line: «everything in the kitchen is the same except it does not include a microwave». New and old appliances are NOT the same with or with out a microwave.

I have lived here for 4 years and it gone way way down hill in the last few years put it this way I been waiting a month to have my downstairs and main bathroom to be fixed and a list of other things that have broken including the fridge, the office staff are rude and uneducated and I can’t wait for my lease to be up, please please please do yourself a favor and lease elsewhere. I could write a novel on the reason way not to live here this was just scratching the surface

If you like apologies but NO assistance from management or front office, then this is the place for you! The lack of communication from management to you as a paying tenant is practically invisible. So if you like the thought of pissing away your hard earned money into the wind, come on in to Sh – Hollow!(fill in the letters) I can go on for days with the negative experiences in less than a year but I’ll save you the trouble. FIND ANOTHER PLACE!!! Exclamation times infinity!!!
Part 2. As they make an effort to have someone do collateral damage by commenting to make it seem like they care, No Thanks! I have made attempts to reach out to the regional «SO CALLED» manager and NEVER I REPEAT NEVER HEARD BACK EVER! You can’t fool me. We’ll be out of here as soon as we can!!!

I wish I would have read the reviews about the front office staff before moving in. In my time living at Scotchallow I have grown tired and increasingly frustrated with the front office. They treat you great until about 1 month after the lease is signed. After that they are unhelpful and frustrating.
The pros to Scotchallow as stated in other reviews are the close proximity to Hillsdale mall and the Caltrain.
The cons are the overall experience. I have lived here for over a year. I ended up having to resign my lease due to the high prices of this area. I couldn’t afford to move into a better situation. After resigning my lease I was over charged $ 400 from what the lease stated. I attempted to talk to the front office where the staff told me «there is nothing we can do about that». I was able to get ahold of the area manager Michael who fixed the issue, apologized for the staff saying that he was «working with them». Well I have news for you sir, it’s NOT working.
One morning I woke up to a red liquid coming up from my bathtub drain. I put in a service request and waited as the water level continued to rise. At 10 I walked to the office to expedite the request (the website states you can do so). Another hour passed, the water level continued to rise. So I walked to the office to ask if some could come. The agent at the leading office told me they would be there shortly. I explained my concern about the red liquid rising in my bathtub. Then to my dismay the staff member told me «this is a part of apartment living». Where is this a part of apartment living? I grew extremely frustrated at which point I asked to speak to someone else. I spoke to the maintenance team, and they came right away. No thanks to the gentleman up front. The maintenance team did a good job and I have no complaints about them.
The office staff however, I wish I had more time to continue writing. At this point I just want to warn people about the terrible customer service, and plumbing issues. My case is not an isolated instance as I see plumbers here all the time, and a pipe is usually leaking brown fluid in one of the parking garages.
If you move here good luck. I can’t wait to move out.

Do not move here. I am a current resident and I have been living here for seven years (not by choice first of all). The front office staff will kiss your butt if you are looking to move in, but after you do, they completely ignore and don’t care at all about any problems you may have. The sauna is always broken, as well as some of the equipment machines (which there are very few of). They never monitor the parking lots which means there are always people without permit stickers parking here, leaving no space for residents (unless you pay for an overpriced garage).
I also have had my car stolen from this very apartment twice, there are no security cameras and not a damn was given by the front office either time. There’s been cockroach issues in the neighboring apartments and the exterminator shows up un-​announced asking you to remove everything from your kitchen. The front officer doesn’t bother to communicate with you in any way unless it’s about money. This place is horrible, a sad excuse for an apartment complex.

I have to say, I do LIKE living here, there are some pluses. But i have to give them 2 stars for their management team. Ive tried talking to the community manager, some other manager, tried calling corporate and NOTHING HELPS. Corporate didnt even call me back. And ive left numerous messages. We have lived on the property for 6+ years. You would think that they would care how the tenants feel!
If you like waking up at 6:45 — 7:10 3 times a week; Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to dragging of garbage bins in front of your bedroom window, then this place is for YOU. Super LOUD and annoying. And they simply dont care. So much for PEACEFUL living. Apparently the garbage company picks up trash at 8−9am.
Cant wait to see whats out there when our lease is up in JULY.

I seriously regret signing the 14-​month lease and wish I had thoroughly read the reviews on Unilocal first. It’s sad that I’m actually counting down the days until i can finally move out.
While the facilities and walkways look moderately kempt, there were too many negative things that made me reconsider:
–cabinets and walls are thinly painted over to conceal dirt and pinholes. these chip off very easily
–kitchen sink rusts, even after making sure everything is dry
–although kitchen cabinets are clean inside, the top looks like it’s never been touched or swept. a thick layer of dirt and dust accumulated
–walls are so thin that I can hear my neighbor when he pees
–lights in the hallway are left on all day. pretty wasteful
–bathroom sink wasn’t draining well when I moved in, so I had maintenance take a look at it. after 3 visits of inspection and pumping, someone finally concluded that the wrong type of pipe was installed. really? i can’t imagine that previous tenants lived with a clogged sink for so many years. so, someone came in and tore out the old pipe to install the correct one. there goes my night
–went out to dinner one night and came back to find a flood in the hallway. to my dismay, the pool of brown water was leaking out from under MY apartment. I opened the door to find the kitchen sink backed up and the entire floor flooded. turns out the disposal unit shared between me and a neighbor was clogged, causing dirty water and food scraps to spurt back out. my neighbor was luckily at home, so he kept flicking the disposal switch to counter it. I had to call the emergency maintenance guy and waited 3 hours while he vacuumed the water and wiped up the food chunks. shoes, rugs, and dishes all had to be re-​washed
–someone had the nerve to break the lock to our mailbox. who does that?! so everyone in my building got an email that, for our security, all of our mail would be stored in the main postal office until they fix it. when I drove over to the postal office, they exasperatedly directed me back to the ScotchHollow leasing office, where our mail was actually kept. I did not get any notice of this change at all, and neither did anyone else, according to the usps manager. she said, «no way are we going to let your apartment take over our storage room and make us responsible for their tenants. that will just give them an excuse to not fix the lock!» well she’s partially right. it’s been over a month and the mailbox hasn’t been fixed yet
–community laundry units are smelly and occasionally leak. have to tiptoe over and pray none of my clean clothes fall into the water
–frequent solicitors (and possible scammers) who try to sell magazines and newspapers. these older gentlemen, who claim to be in high school, tend to knock at around 9PM
–strong scent of weed drifts into the hallways about once a month. not something that I like to smell when I go outside. notices/​warnings are taped on doors, but i don’t think it’s working
–parking is not regulated at all. so if you pay the extra $ 20/​month for a spot, you’re wasting your money because i’ve seen cars rotate in and out throughout the lot
–trash can be found everywhere, even when there are so many garbage bins nearby. swarms of flies like to hang out near the stairwells
–sent in an email inquiry about a missing package (it was after hours) and I immediately got a call from someone thanking me for my interest to move in. I called him out and he admitted that he didn’t even bother to read my request
This is all i can think of… off the top of my head.

The management is very hard to deal with. I would go in to more detail but it’s been such an exhausting exercise that I feel very defeated. I wish they weren’t so difficult because this place has nice amenities and the floor plan we have is really nice. I wouldn’t recommend living here if you are looking for a place to be at peace. Aside from other things now I am currently in talks about our actual move out date because there seem to be a lack of communication within the leasing office.

I think it’s quite entertaining reading the responses that the supposed management are making in regards to the Unilocal reviews. Most recently regarding «Stanley» reaching out (the community manager), who quit 4 months ago!
This same person said that they’d reach out to my wife and I and still hasn’t followed up. Chalk that one up on the unpleasantries associated with having endured the Scotchollow.

I’m glad I didn’t Unilocal Scotchollow before I signed my lease! These reviews do not give the Apartment Complex justice.
I been living here for two months now and absolutely love it. From the moment I met my awesome leasing agent Liberal, I know this place was top notch. He showed us around the complex, me and girlfriend both knew this place was for us. Great pricing, two pools, gym, sauna, tennis courts, gated parking, on-​site washer and drier… But the best part is our updated apartment!
Management & Service staff are really helpful and genuinely care about your need. Helped me out if I ever have any question. :)