Metro on First Apartments

I lived at Metro on First for a year and had a decent experience, especially when considering it is an apartment building.
Pros:
— Management/​Maintenance Team. Megan and Mylan are really great to work with — they are super responsive and extremely helpful. They answer concerns promptly and were always willing to think outside of the box to ensure that my living experience was top-​notch. Maintenance response was also super fast — Chris (and before him, Jeff) is great!
— Location (Sort-​of). Walking distance to Mercer and Belltown. Quick cab right to the downtown core/​ferries/​stadiums. Despite it’s proximity to Mercer and a popular bar across the street, it is extremely quiet.
— Non-​smoking. Despite a consistent smell of marijuana on the second floor, the building is non-​smoking. I lived on the sixth floor, so the only time I would smell anything is if a smoker had just been in an elevator.
— The view. The rooftop deck is unbelievable. You can see the entire Sound and it’s absolutely gorgeous during the spring/​summer months.
Cons:
— Paper-​thin walls. The walls are extremely thin, especially when you have neighbors that forget there are folks above, below and next to them. I had a duo next to me that insisted on coming home drunk at 2am and slamming doors/​yelling, etc. Did I mention MoF has an 11pm — 7am quiet period?
— No 24-​hour concierge. While Megan was always willing to bring up a package if I couldn’t make it to the office before 6pm, it is more convenient to have a 24-​hour concierge, especially for the price.
— Gym. Again, for the price of the unit, you would expect a few amenities. The gym is definitely not one of them. The machines are old and make terrible noises, and it’s very, very small.
— Location (Sort-​of). Getting to I-​5 in a reasonable amount of time is near impossible unless you’re traveling extremely early in the morning or late at night. The roadwork on Mercer is a nightmare and Denny backs up easily.
— Lack of storage. There is a severe lack of storage/​closet space in the studio floor plan. If you have a lot of stuff, you may need to rent a storage unit.
— Elevators. The elevators are extremely slow and break down too easily.
— Price. They’ll say the price for an apartment is market, but I think the management company forgets that this building is much older than the surrounding communities. They also will significantly raise rent when your renewal comes along.

OK here it goes. I’ll start with the PROS: Very friendly and helpful rental agent who got me signed up in one day. Also, if you ask for something to be repaired, they are on it.
CONS:
1.) This place looks so beautiful from the outside, and the prices they charge would make you think it’s a luxury sort of property, but inside it is beyond cheap. Every fit and fixture is the lowest of the low end from Home Depot. The walls are all chalky off white. The tub wall is plastic with gobs of sloppy caulk work around the edges. Huge dents/​holes in the walls that have been badly repaired with clumpy spackle. Stains on the bathroom linoleum. Crappy low end appliances and CARPET. In a pet building: CARPET. Something tells me that’s a convenient scam knowing full well every pet will do something to the carpet and that they can yank the owner’s deposit for it.
2.) Speaking of pet buildings, when I got my apartment it smelled like a wet dog and industrial pet cleaner as you entered the apartment. The carpet (very very cheap carpet) was brand new and still the place reeked. I thought maybe it was a new carpet smell, but no, it never went away and was a sad, depressing way to come home every day. They ACKNOWLEDGED the bad smell when they showed me the apartment; they agreed to have someone come in and re-​KILZ the floor under the carpet. They did this and left my place unventilated afterward, so the smell was toxic (and my cat was in the bedroom the whole time). After that toxic smell went away 2 days later, the manky wet dog smell returned … and guess what! I got my deposit letter today which states that they are keeping $ 319 to fully replace the carpet. How convenient that my cat’s handful of barf stains are their excuse to have that vile smelling carpet replaced. Did I mention I opted for their $ 90 carpet cleaning move-​out fee since I didn’t have time to steam and only vacuum? Bad choice, me.
3.) If you have a car, you MUST pay anywhere from $ 99 to $ 170/​mo for parking as there is possibly 1 block of parking space near this building. Everything else is metered. Add that to your rent and utilities, and you will be paying upwards of $ 1700/​month for a 1 bedroom.
4.) They claim rent is due the 3^rd (pretty sure Seattle law says it’s the 5^th, but whatever). I’m signed up with their online payment system and every time it boots me out. Office staff claims I’m the only one who’s ever said anything about the system being non-​functional. Sort of takes the convenience out of it being convenient when I have to tinker with it for half an hour every time I go online to pay my rent. Well one magical weekend – the 3^rd was on a Sunday. I went in to pay my rent on the Friday before taking off for the weekend and the system, once again, was booting me out and cycling me back to the login page. I gave up and went about other business. Alas, I didn’t remember to go back in until Monday. Guess how much that cost? $ 162.80. Does that seem normal? Does that seem reasonable? Does that even sound LEGAL? I asked them to please waive it since the 3^rd being on a Sunday should surely buy me another day – and oh, your system is STILL keeping me from logging on and just paying my rent whenever I feel like it. The reply? «Oh, that fee is automatic. We can’t take it off. And it wouldn’t be fair to other residents.» The old «We can’t do anything about it» bull**** with a mile long diatribe about how I signed it and this if fair and blah blah blah. The next month, when the 3^rd also fell on a Sunday, you can bet there were reminders in the elevators: «Don’t forget, the 3^rd is on a Sunday this month! Be sure to pay your rent on time or there MAY be a fee applied.» Hang on, *MAY* be a fee applied? Recall that I asked that the fee be waived since this was a wonky weekend and I was having trouble with their online system and that didn’t fit into the wiggle room category? So it may apply for some, but not others.
5.) Do not be fooled when they say «You can paint the death-​chalk walls any color you like as long as you change it back!» I HIRED someone to paint the three walls I painted and they still had the nerve to charge me for paint touch-​ups after moveout.
6.) After paying rent for the length of my lease, I get my renewal notice and they were going to raise the rent by $ 160-​something. I can’t find the exact amount because they’ve removed it from my account page, but it was outrageous. I asked them to explain and they gave me their line about «It’s the market– yadda yadda.» Wow. That was it for me. The value wasn’t there to begin with but that took the cake. It is clear the friendliness of the staff is a paid privilege – they are constantly fishing for feedback and surveying you to get praise (and likely related bonuses). The girl who helped me with my rental was genuinely sweet, but her boss was a lifeless slug who never left her desk.
P. S. The owner comment down there was just cycling me back to the same lifeless slug of a bldg manager. Nice try.

This place is AWESOME! I recently relocated to Seattle from California and am so happy with my choice.
This building is close to so much! Minutes walk from Belltown, right down the street from the Mercer St scene with good bars and restaurants, grocery stores nearby, the sculpture park almost across the street and if you are lucky your room can have a view of the sound and the mountains… if not the rooftop area has amazing views of the water, olympics and the space needle.
I didnt check the ratings on this place before i signed the list, I just made an appointment and went to view the unit, so glad I did because I saw some bad reviews that would have put me off if I didn’t see it for myself.
The residents are friendly, the staff is awesome, they must have gone through a transition a couple of years back because reviews from years back complained nonstop about the staff, but they are awesome don’t be put off by outdated reviews.
The rent is a bit pricey but to me it is worth it, the location is really safe, I can walk around (hammered or sober) and not worry about getting mugged or harassed by bums.
It came down to LQA and Belltown and I do not regret my decision at all close to interbay (driving range and golf course), a 10 minute cab ride from Fremont and no bums hassling you for money with their sob stories.
The buildings inhabitants are mixed for the most part. I myself am just out of college and see plenty of people around my age in the building which is a plus for me.
Cons: They don’t have a 24 hr concierge, which was important to me cause I work until 5:00 and the office closes at 6:00 so getting package deliveries can be a little difficult if there is traffic. They don’t have comcast yet but they are supposed to get it in the next couple of months.
Pros: Great building, classy design and practical layouts, every building has a washer/​dryer, location is great, plenty of restaurants bars activities, public transit (I know it is nearby but don’t use it cause I work south of the city) the commute isn’t bad either because 99 is really close and 5 is a few minutes away.
P. S. I got one of the larger studios and it is plenty of room for a single guy

I have lived here for two years and I am so happy with my experience.
I love the location. It’s so close to everything but has the quietness of a neighborhood. Since there aren’t tons of apartment buildings around there is always paid street parking. After 6 is perfect for friends to come over after work since parking is free. Just a quick walk to all the great bars and restaurants in the area, grocery stores, sculpture park or downtown.
Great floor plan on my studio with alcove. When I tell people I only have 435 sq ft they always freak out but once they come over they agree the floor plan is perfect. Having a balcony is a major plus makes the place feel more spacious.
The rooftop is the best I have ever seen so close to the water and you get the city and space needle view. Gym is small but serves its purpose. The residents lounge could use a flat screen but is nice if you want to have friends over for a dinner party.
Staff is super friendly Madeline is usually in the office when I am down there and she is always so helpful and friendly. I always see Jeff the maintenance guy around when I am taking my dog out and he is always
super friendly and will always stop to say hi. They have building events which are nice to get to know the neighbors if you are new in town.
Pros– Great location, clean modern building, very pet friendly they even provide doggy bags, trash chutes on every floor. free parking after 6PM.
Cons– Not allot of closet space, the cabinet space in kitchen isn’t very usable, stand up shower only no tub, the slowest elevators ever! A little pricey but I love living here totally worth it!