The Woods at Alderwood — Local services in Lynnwood

I’m going to write this review knowing that most people that see this are probably considering moving in. Firstly I’ll want to point out that the fire alarm situation you’ll see mentioned a lot in the older reviews is all but completely fixed as far as I can tell. (I think it’s gone off twice in the 6 months I’ve been here).

STAFF The staff are very knowledgeable about the property, professional and actually fun to talk to. They seem to be engaged with the residents and actually try to help them. I don’t mean it’s their job to look friendly and they pull it off (insert generic cashier at a store) they actually are friendly. Their running of the various building events is a good example. A few weeks ago there was a scavenger hunt which they were heavily engaged in. On a related note the maintenance folks are incredibly responsive if there is an issue (has been rare and minor things only) and are efficient and professional. The office folks try not to make it a hassle to get it scheduled.Moving in was made very simple and the lease was concise and clear.

RENT rent is as you would expect in Lynnwood - a bit pricy. Pet rent is a thing and a parking spot does also cost some money. You have the option to pay on the app which does seem to crash a lot but other than that doesn’t have any issues, or if you’re old school they take checks in the leasing office.

THE PROPERTY The property is divided into four distinct buildings surrounding a central courtyard. There are multiple BBQ grills, mini golf courses and mini dog park looking areas. There is a game room (Billards, foosball, ping pong and a slider looking game), gym (lots of equipment - well maintained) theatre, art room, and several gathering rooms of different vibes as well as a business center (several isolated rooms useful for studying or gaming super late while your SO is trying to sleep as an example.) The parking garage has two floors and the interior roll up doors help separate what I’m guessing will be shopping parking from resident parking.

SECURITY This is my field so I’ll try to be concise. There are few weak points in the property’s security that would allow for undetected casual intrusion. Elevator bays, elevators, most common area doors, all require a key fob to pass. A good chunk of the property is lined with cameras and there is a security patrol element. The mail room is pretty nice. We have Amazon lockers and a package cage through package theft sadly is still an issue. Not like every other package, but stuff goes missing. Just grab your package same day of delivery and you should be fine.

LAW ENFORCEMENT Lynnwood police department is divided roughly equally into three beats (patrol areas) the “mall beat” is by far the smallest one meaning the amount of officers in a confined area is large. This translates to heavy patrol and rapid and large response. Just yesterday there was a fight between 10 teenagers (a beef likely originating from the mall) a knife was pulled. The first cruiser took about 30 seconds. Within two minutes there were 4 black and whites, one color sergeant, a detective, two ambulances and an engine. Needless to say it got handled. To clarify the knife part is incredibly rare.Teenagers fighting around the mall, that’s not rare but it’s not like around every corner.There are red light and speed cameras around Lynnwood that will nail you if you're not careful.

CRIME GENERAL AREA vehicle crime is fairly high like everywhere in western Washington, though seems notably lower here. Vehicle prowls particularly in the open lot area of the mall are extremely common. If you leave stuff in your car that’s expensive - odds of you coming back to a shattered window are raised considerably.There are several small homeless encampments within a mile of the apartments though none interfere with day to day folks. Violent personal crime is next to none, excluding petty assaults. Ie the odds of you getting mugged within a mile of the woods is slim to none.

Overall it’s a really good place to live. Hope this helps some folks. Yes I know I...

I have been a resident since September 2022. I signed a one year lease and then renewed for 6 months out of convenience until I found elsewhere to live. I want to express that this review will be completely transparent of my personal experience with the unit, staff, and all other areas. I move out in about 2-3 weeks so I might as well.

It terms of the area, it is a great spot. You're close to all your essentials such as costco, home depot, furniture stores, the mall, and even yummy restaurants within a 15 minute drive. The apartment itself has a lot of modern amenities that are always kept clean. The gym is small but it has what you need. Lounge areas are very nice to just sit and chill. What captured my attention is the unit itself. It could be that I was the first one to rent my unit but aside from the cleanliness, I found a huge liking to the kitchen and modern touches of the space itself. I shared a 2br 2br with a roomie and it was more than enough space for us. Our unit was "Dahlia". 5/5 for the looks.

Everyone I have came across as a neighbor has been very nice. For me, there is not much noise but that also could've just been because I was lucky with quiet neighbors. Since I live on top of the leasing office I sometimes hear a lot of noise outside but nothing that's constant. Patrol/security being 24/7make me feel really safe tho! I come home late so this is great. 5/5 for the community (neighbors)!

Now the staff. Being here for 1+ years I have seen some staff leave and some new ones come. My experience is that if you need something, you have got to call or better yet just come in. One time I got an invalid charge on my rent for having no renters insurance. I emailed them proof letting the staff know I did and got no response for days. I finally came in and was informed they saw the email but just didn't email me back. It was fixed after a week or two. Their package system got better but not the best unless you're ordering from amazon. Amazon gives you a parcel and code to enter so that's nice. For other deliveries, it will be locked up at a specific hour I assume to avoid any possible package thieves. For someone that comes home late, I can never pick up my packages and since the office is closed - I'd have to wait for a day where I can get them not while working. A bit annoying but I guess there isn't much they can do about it. I had a package once that I could not pick up and they locked in up the back office without emailing me. I had to wait till someone could help me to retrieve the package. I understand there's a lot of people living here and not much space for everyone's packages but an email would be nice for your resident's, no? I really thought someone stole my packages lol. I just wished they would've sent out a public email they did that for communication. In general, staff for me 3.5/5.

Side note: the alarm system goes off so much that residents don't even leave their units anymore lol

I'm not saying The Woods is a bad complex, I am just saying do all your research on places nearby before you commit! Thanks for reading. :)

*UPDATE: -security deposit you pay ($300) is basically nonrefundable since they MAKE you pay for their cleaning service or pay for your own professional one. It is absolutely insane that they did not communicate this upon move-in!

-locks run out of battery so they should send out an email of when that time comes so you don't get locked out lol

-parking is god awfully pricey, I moved out into another complex and even checked other places where the parking fee was 1/2 the price

-the elevators are out of service almost every month, gate's been broken a handful of times, washer/dryer unit commonly seen (in previous reviews) malfunctioning.. maintenance team is also not the kindest to deal with

Staff can be passive with their responses as you can see in the reviews of cars getting towed hahah, good luck if you wanna lease here! My experience was okay, a mix of stress, and a whole lot of bittersweet experiences (more so on the...

Update 08/12/2022 - The management staff was responsive on the pet situation. They reassured me that they would add trash cans around the building and increase the frequency of the dog park cleanings. Today was the first day we visited the dog park, and we weren’t overwhelmed by a terrible smell or bugs. We noticed that the sprinklers were on this morning, and it made a big difference! Unfortunately, a staff member claimed to have a sensitive nose and that the dog park didn’t smell in the first place. Ugh… If you thought dog waste bags near the elevator were smelly, you can only imagine what the dog park smelled like?? On numerous occasions, staff couldn’t believe that it smelled as no one else is saying anything and maintenance cleans it. As a resident with a dog who frequents the area daily, I have experienced it firsthand, and this repeated response was frustrating as it dismisses rather than validates my experience. Definitely not my favorite interaction!

08/09/2022

My husband and I have been living in the apartment building for a couple weeks. We’ve enjoyed our new unit and amenities such as the gym and lounge. It’s in a convenient location with many restaurants and stores in a walkable distance. The maintenance team is very nice and responsive, specifically the male staff member with glasses. While all of this is great, I find myself feeling disappointed.

While we were prepared for construction noise, we couldn’t imagine excessive noise occurring during resident quiet hours. Besides this, the fire alarm is frequently set off and/or tested. It makes it difficult to work from home and simply sleep. This is still an reoccurring issue after weeks of living here.

From exterior handles, garage doors, and elevators, many things are already broken or not up and running.

Our Xfinity service has been extremely spotty. To connect our desktop to the Ethernet port, we needed to purchase additional wiring.

Most glaringly, this apartment complex is NOT dog friendly rather dog tolerated. My husband and I are responsible pet owners, but we’ve been approached by staff this week regarding places our dog can use the restroom. In these interactions, it seems like dogs are not allowed on concrete or landscape which is basically the entire building and it’s surroundings. In this case, the astroturf dog park is the only remaining place, which doesn’t drain properly and always smells even though it’s new. (If I am reluctant to visit as a dog owner, I feel sorry for the families living around it.) Previously, our dog could wait until the dog park or home depot parking lot, but this is not the case anymore as she smells other dogs relieving themselves in the area. Any longtime dog owner could understand that these expectations are not reasonable.

Besides these designated areas, the trash cans are a struggle. The management office didn’t communicate to dog owners that waste bags weren’t allowed in the trash cans near the elevator. Instead these trash cans were removed without explanation and no replacement. Thus, the only place we can throw away her waste is on floor one or trash chute. As we live near neither, this is unnecessarily inconvenient.

In the building, there is an obvious need for more clarity and communication. Rather than addressing residents individually and sending mixed messages, this information should be communicated to everyone via the Pacific Living Property app. This will help provide clarity and avoid any uncomfortable conversations/potential miscommunications amongst staff...