Shade at Desert Ridge Apartments — Attraction in Phoenix

I have enjoyed living at Shade, and I like my upgraded apartment. I haven’t experienced most of the problems listed in negative reviews here.

Of course, no place is perfect though.

Yes, there is dog poop all over the place. I don’t think this is exclusive to Shade, it seems to be a trend in apartment living in general. Some people are just jerks.

The “upgrades” are apartment upgrades and nothing too fancy. Painted cabinets, vinyl flooring, faux marble counters, new carpet, stainless appliances. They put my microwave right in front of a usable drawer in the kitchen, so whenever I want to open the drawer I first have to open the microwave door. Not a huge deal but it is annoying and maybe should’ve been thought through in the planning process.

My one-bedroom unit has a large spacious bathroom with a laundry closet. I always brag about the size of the bathroom for some reason. Walk in closet is big enough to lay on the floor and cry and also has built in shelving.

Maintenance is fantastic. I don’t think I’ve ever waited more than three days for them to come, and to be honest a lot of times it was 1-2 days. Things I’ve called them for: pest control (wasp nest on balcony), leaking A/C (the ended up replacing the entire unit on the building after a few bandaid fixes that didn’t work. No really, I watched the crane load it up there one day), freezer over-freezing (this actually still happens and leaves frost all over my food but I deal with it), bathroom light replacements. I have never had issues with roaches or termites in my year here.

Yea valet trash is a joke. Also not exclusive to this property though. Most apartments now charge for valet and idk what partnership they have with Big Trash but it is the dumbest thing we are forced to pay for. I can see it being an option for older folks or those that might not be capable of carrying trash to the dumpster but for most of us it’s a waste of $33. That said, since I pay for it, I use it.

Fortunately my car has never been broken into or hit by anyone else, but I did have to leave several notes on my neighbor’s car because they can’t seem to park within the lines and many times I couldn’t even get into my space because they were so far over. That’s not Shade’s fault, just the inconsideration of others.

There is a $30 monthly technology fee which I guess is just for Dwelo? That’s all I ever used. The app can let you in any gate, the gym, and your front door without a key. It also is supposed to let you control your A/C remotely but I’ve never gotten that feature to work.

The gym is meh. Nothing special but gets the job done. I only went a few times but it was never busy.

The pools are nice but the main pool by the office goes off in the summer. People BLARE their music so loud you can hear it buildings over. Glad my unit wasn’t any closer cause that would’ve set me off to no end.

Shared garages and inconsiderate parking neighbors may be a problem, but there is plenty of guest parking available and I think that’s always a plus for apartment dwellers.

Overall, location is great for freeway access, shopping, nearby walking paths and literally everything you wanna do at Desert Ridge. Apartments are nice enough and I personally don’t feel they’re overpriced in the current market. When they sent me my lease renewal it had only gone up $30 which is saying a lot in this darn economy.

I would recommend living here...

This is an update to my initial review: I've now lived here 8 mos. Sadly, in the last 8 weeks there's been exorbitant piles of pet feces all over the grounds. In grassy areas, rocks, sidewalks, and the dog park has become a feces dump

Within the 1st 3 weeks of this, I left a vmail 1x, and sent 2 emails to management and their reaction was to send a SOFT letter asking people to clean up after their pets, but there were no warnings of consequences, hence, the problem persists. I sent a 3rd email last week with a considerable remedy that many multiple resident communities use, and there's been zero response. This is distasteful and disappointing. I hope the new ownership that's taking over does better. 1st review: Thus far (3 mos.) I have had only pleasant experiences living at Shade@Desert Ridge. My apartment has a cozy-yet spacious, modern floor plan and is well-insulated. The grounds are very well maintained and lovely to stroll through. In fact it's well lit at night and I feel safe to stroll and exercise in the late evenings when the heat has calmed down. Others in residence apparently feel the same.

The communal areas are very appealing. The maintenance crew (David, Pedro and Abel are the ones I know by name, but the compliment is not limited to just them) are very friendly, thoughtful, respectful, expedient and thorough with service requests. I've not ever experienced such a stellar maintenance team before in the history of renting in USA and abroad.

The community overall is quiet and peaceful; even considering the broad resident age/generation ranges, and also, the residents are friendly. The location is prime with immediate proximity to all the services, transpotation routes and amenities that anyone might need.

I viewed the community 2 months before moving and the entire experience leasing with Mr. Sangar in the leasing office, from viewing to post move -in has been top-notch. His approach and demeanor is very genuine, and he remembers our names! That's a touch of class.

Unless there becomes some drastic shift to my experience living here, this review will stand. So, I hope anyone who uses this review to help secure their consideration to live at Shade will have an equally...

On the plus side, the Shade Apartments are in a good location and are fairly well maintained. I’ve lived here for over 2 ½ years and have been fairly satisfied with the apartment itself. The windows are paper thin and the perimeter locks must have been purchased at a rock-bottom price, but those items were less critical for me.

The reason for me giving a low rating has mostly to do with the way that management bills people, and all of the fees that they throw out. First, they have a “valet trash” service for which they charge over $30 each month. I have never used that service during my entire time of living here, but still have to pay that fee each and every month.

Second, they put in a bunch of mailboxes to receive packages as a labor and cost-saving device for them over a year ago. This way, their people did not have to be disturbed when people came to the office to get their packages, which made perfect sense. However, the management then decided to charge over $20 per month to every tenant for this service, even though it mostly benefitted their staff.

Finally, and most importantly, I believe that they do not act ethically when dealing with special circumstances. Although I lived here for over 2.5 years, always paid my rent on time, and was a model tenant, they refused to work with me when I asked to terminate my lease before the end of the term. I was fine with them charging me 60 days of rent as a type of “punishment” for me. However, they instead are charging me four months of rent, which any reasonable person would agree is completely unconscionable. Most likely, for at least two months of that, they will have a new tenant in the apartment, so are “double-dipping”. The management refused to budge even a little bit when I contacted them, as they are apparently seeing only dollar signs. Their very one-sided lease contract protects them legally, but they have taken the low road when it...