Foothill Commons Apartments — Attraction in Bellevue

As of this review, wife and I have been living in a 1-bedroom apartment in this complex for about 3 years, and I'd say we're pretty satisfied.

Rent is about on par with the rest of Bellevue. You're responsible for electricity and water/sewer/garbage. Parking is free. Reserved covered spots are paid. Be aware that depending on the section of the complex you live in, the free parking that is close by is either ample or sparse. If you're in one of the bigger, "hotel-style" apartments (many floors, hallways with many doors) you can expect to walk a bit for the free parking.

We've been very impressed with the responsiveness to maintenance requests: turnaround time from request submission to completion of repairs is usually within 1-3 days (we've had a number of requests responded to within 24 hours). They really take care of you: we've had a microwave replaced because the face of it had a crack (still worked completely fine), the dishwasher replaced (motor was making a loud noise confirmed by maintenance and it was more cost-effective for them to replace the whole thing), and numerous other things fixed. Maintenance staff have been friendly and helpful.

Leasing office is open 7 days a week, which is awesome. It's nice to be able to call or walk into the office any day you need something. It's also nice to be able to pick up deliveries any day of the week. They keep packages in a back room and require photo ID to pick them up (I've seen another apartment complex where packages seemed to be stored in a room and anyone could go in and out and grab them without any authentication). Leasing staff are friendly and helpful.

Grounds are well-maintained and offer a pretty view if you're in an apartment that has a view of the grounds.

Be aware that some of the older units have no laundry machines (I think there are shared laundry facilities on premise though). If that's a dealbreaker for you, just make sure you specify you want a unit that has such amenities.

Each year, you can have your carpet...

If you are just moving from India to Seattle/Bellevue - this place along with Woodland commons and Madison bellevue would be your best bet and probably the one people would recommend. Foothill wins among all due to its floor plan, access restricted entry & elevator in some buildings. Pros: Good floor plan- spacious, good ceiling height. Building 10, 11 have views of downtown bellevue, especially if it is facing south or west. Very nice usable Gym/pool Awesome location near 148th Fredmeyer/chaat house/apna bazaar shopping area and Downtown bellevue Great maintenance staff, leasing staff - kudos to Lizet, Iraq, Shania and Soroush. Very safe - i know there were some package thefts but in general the place is very safe. We were not in our apartment for few months and it was untouched when we came back. 95% Indians mostly working in Microsoft or Amazon. Plenty vanpools etc. It matters especially if you are new to USA and you feel more comfortable in Indian crowd(very personal trait, eventually it wont matter, but it did matter to us in the first year we immigrated)

Cons: Some apartments have floor noise both from above and below(cracking sound when you walk) No parks in walking vicinity - all you have is within community to stroll around. Rents are among the highest in the area for garden communities.

I see some reviews on how foothill charged for move -out. It is funny since i don't understand why people forget labor charges in US. We moved twice within foothill and they charged us standard rate - carpet cleaning and apartment cleaning. If you want to even save 200-300 bucks at move out, and spend your time and effort tying to save this much, the joke is on you. When you get an apartment you get it in pristine condition. So when you move out, how can you expect that the next occupant will do good with your level of your cleaning? Especially funny since a lot of people who live in Foothill are engineers earning much more per hour than they want to blame...

Extremely Unsafe and Deteriorating Living Conditions

I've lived here for a few years, and unfortunately, the quality of life has declined drastically in the past two years. Safety, noise, and management responsiveness are now serious concerns.

Child Safety and Noise: Neighbors frequently allow unsupervised children under 5 to play with bicycles and scooters in the main parking lot and intersection near Building 18. This is not only extremely loud and disruptive, but also dangerously unsafe. Management may need to consider involving child protective services before a tragic accident occurs.

Criminal Activity and Safety: A group of individuals with loud, modified vehicles has recently moved in—police were seen arresting members of this group twice in one night. There have also been multiple incidents of car thefts, with stolen and abandoned vehicles left in the lot for months. The lot is now cluttered with abandoned cars and vehicles being used as shelter, making parking nearly impossible.

Package Theft: Theft has become a routine issue. I've had packages stolen from directly in front of my door and from inside the building's mailroom. Management refused to share camera footage until I involved the police—twice. This shows a lack of urgency and responsibility from the office.

Smoking and Odor Issues: Residents often smoke in the stairwells and hallways, including marijuana. The smell is overwhelming and persistent. Cigarette butts litter common areas, showing a lack of enforcement of community rules.

Noise and Construction Issues: Noise insulation is poor. I can hear my downstairs neighbor walking as if they were inside my unit. If you're a light sleeper, be prepared for disturbed nights.

Overall, this complex has become unsafe, unclean, and unlivable. Contacting police has become a routine occurrence. I would not recommend moving here unless these serious issues are addressed...