Arista Residences — Local services in Seattle

We lived here for a year and moved out in July. I want to start by saying this review does not reflect a negative opinion against any individual who works in the building. I think they were understaffed and on strict orders from the higher ups to give standard replies to any complaints they received. I want to give the lead maintenance man in particular a positive shout out for all the hard work he did and his friendly positive attitude.

The apartment itself was very nice, and we have very few negative comments on our individual unit. The real problem is the building itself. I will list the issues below.

Theft.

We had multiple packages stollen from the package room. This room was poorly managed with packages often misplaced, which caused a lot of time to go searching for boxes, only to sometimes find they had been stolen.

We had two bikes stollen from the secure bike storage in the parking garage. This is a room that you must use a key fob to get into. We also heard stories of bikes being stollen from the upstairs secure bike room that you must pay to use.

On more than one occasion we saw cars with the glass broken out in the parking garage. I met a resident who had her car stollen from the garage.

I also met someone who had their onsite storage unit broken into.

Garbage/Sanitary Issues

Garbage was an issue the whole time we lived here. There is a mandatory fee paid for a Trash Butler service, but this didn’t stop garbage from piling up in the hallways. They finally opened the trash rooms with trash shoots that are located on every floor so residents could dispose of trash anytime of the day. This quickly led to the trash rooms getting loaded with all sorts of garbage that wouldn't fit down the shoots, as well as the shoots jamming up on a regular basis. There were very few people on staff to take care of this issue so the trash rooms got locked off again. There were also issues with trash being piled up in the garage after people moved out. The trash room in the garage was a disaster and a health risk. There were days when they left the door open so you could see inside, and it was disgusting. The smell was often noticeable in the whole garage.

Another sanitary issue was that the garage often flooded from leaking overhead pipes. There were days when we had to walk around large puddles of mystery liquid to get to our cars. There was a time when we had no choice but to walk through a puddle to enter our car.

We had two dogs when living there and relied on the "dog park" for our dogs to relieve themselves. On multiple occasions they ran out of poop bags and the area filled up quickly with dog poop. There were times when it took them a couple of days to put out more bags and clean it up. There were plenty of times when other residents just didn't pick up after their dogs and the poop stayed there for days. They also didn't do anything to remedy the problem of the smell of dog urine. On warm days the smell was awful.

Amenities

The women’s sauna never worked the whole time I lived there. I reported it when we first moved in and was told the issue was fixed but it wasn’t, so I reported it again and was again told it was fixed but still it wasn’t, so I gave up. A few months later I tried it again only to find it still didn't work so I reported it to the new person working at the front desk. Again, I was told it was fixed but it wasn't. They finally accepted that it was broken, and they needed to call their “preferred vendor” to fix it but for as long as I lived there it never happened.

The fire pits on the roof top seem like a great amenity but they also never worked while we lived there. Again, we were told they were waiting on their "preferred vendor" to fix them.

If after reading this, you only care about having a nice individual apartment to live in and don't mind paying top dollar to do so, go ahead and rent here. Otherwise, don't let the fancy looking lobbies and shared areas fool you. I highly recommend you find somewhere...

This property is fairly new, built around the summer of 2022. I was one of the first residents to move in, and initially, everything was great. However, over time, I realized how poorly Greystar, the management company, operates. I recently moved out because the rent is exorbitant, and my experience with Greystar during the move-out process confirmed my frustrations.

A couple of months before my lease ended, I inquired about the move-out requirements. I was informed that I needed "professional cleaning," and the cost would be deducted from my deposit. I asked if I could hire my own cleaners and was told I could, as long as I provided a receipt. Unfortunately, I trusted this verbal agreement without cross-referencing the lease—my mistake.

Fast forward to the move-out. I hired professional cleaners and visited the apartment the day before handing over the keys. Suddenly, I was told that if I wanted to use my own cleaners, I would have needed prior approval—something I was never informed of. During the inspection, trivial issues were noted, like a "small scratch on the wall" that couldn't even be captured in a photo and could barely be seen, and "dust on a light switch." Since I had another day, I asked the cleaners to come back and do an even more thorough job.

At this point, it's worth noting that the property employee Henrick had me send a detailed email giving him permission to enter the apartment for the inspection. After the cleaners returned and completed their job, I assumed everything would be fine, especially considering I’d lived in the apartment for two years, and most of the issues seemed like normal wear and tear. The employee even said, "the apartment should be left better than it was found." Since I was the first resident in a brand-new apartment, this seemed absurd.

The next day, I recieved a portal document that someone had entered the apartment and completed the final inspection without my permission, as I still had the keys. This led me to do some research. Here’s what I found:

Unauthorized Entry: They are not allowed to enter without permission, which I clearly hadn't given since I still had the keys. Which they knew as they ahd me give permission the previous day. Note, my email only gave Henrick permission for that specific day. Misleading Cleaning Requirements: The lease does not specify that professional cleaning is mandatory—only that the apartment must be "thoroughly cleaned." Yet, they misrepresented this as a requirement. Inspection Form: They are legally required to provide a move-out inspection form, which they failed to do. When I asked, they claimed the form was available in my portal, but it wasn’t. Without this form, they have no basis for charging me. I raised all these issues with Henrick and another employee at Arista, Their responses were appalling:

They claimed they could enter for inspection "after the keys are returned," but I still had the keys. Despite admitting that the cleaning crew did a great job, they continued to harp on the apartment needing to be "thoroughly cleaned." I wanted to dispute the charges as normal wear and tear but no one there could help me.When I asked to speak with a manager, I was told, "there isn’t one," as they are looking to hire one. They wrote these complains in an email to themselves and said someone would get back to me—no one ever did. Exactly one month after my lease ended (the legal maximum they can withhold your deposit), I finally received my deposit, but with charges that were never explained. But the biggest issue now is that they are not communicating (answering phone calls or emails).

Greystar has been deceptive, unprofessional, and violates its own lease agreements. They provide no clear breakdown of charges and make it nearly impossible to resolve issues. If you're considering renting with them, do your research—this company is notorious for being money-hungry and difficult...

Extremely disappointed with the management at Arista Residences. Since residing at the community - management has been incredibly subpar with little to no efficacy. Employee turnover is rampant (not a singular original employee within the entire property over the last year) and the need for consistent/impactful leadership is still sremaining. There is no communication, no timely updates, and often times - blatant violations of federal Fair Housing regulations and City of Seattle tenant laws. I highly recommend you familiarize yourself with these laws prior to signing a lease because it is criminal how they respond/treat their tenants and employees.

There was a flood in the building that has not been fully repaired or addressed in a timely manner. Packages are stolen DAILY and transient individuals are regularly accessing the building and retail garage at a whim.

The only saving grace for this community is their maintenance staff, who work wonders given the situation they have been provided. Read through their reviews - most positive ones revolve around their facilities team.

Happy to say our unit has since vacated the premises and no longer have to deal with these issues - however - I would greatly caution anyone looking to live in a "luxury" community to find alternative housing as Arista does not fit the bill (no truly secured bike storage, constant package thefts, down amenities, foul smells within the building on a daily basis, residents allowing pets to pee/poop in carpeted hallways, no actively working security cameras in high traffic areas, secured access always failing, etc.). If you are going to pay $5k minimum per month - you really should be doing more to ensure resident retention/satisfaction.

Looking forward to the generic response from management and the lack of a thoughtful response. Have the day you deserve, Greystar!

Update: The response is comical. You know for a fact that I was a resident as your previous CM authorized my tenancy, but you can create whatever narrative you prefer - the facts remain intact. I do not feel the need to contact anyone from your team directly because: A.) Nothing will get done and we all know it. B.) I am happy to list the most blatant violations I noticed for everyone to see so that they can make educated decisions about residing at this property in the future. So - let's get to it!

I have brought many concerns regarding this community to the attention of the office staff - most especially the water leak that took over a month to be reported to the utility provider. I was hopeful the turnover in management would bring about positive change (let's be real - Trey was awful), but this does not seem to be the case.

I mentioned to the current CM that the city of Seattle has many requirements that were not being met by Arista, which constituted a violation of Fair Housing regulations (ex: not disclosing necessary rental requirements that must be met by an applicant - more specifically minimum credit requirements, providing 2 week notice of non-renewal of lease when Seattle requires 60 day notice, providing 2 week notice of rental rate increase when Seattle requires 180 days if increased more than 10% YOY, deceptive move-out practices where office staff are telling tenants they must have units professionally cleaned and provide receipts to not be charged when the lease is very clear that this is NOT a requirement and not something your community can demand, not returning security deposits within 30 days after move-out as required by City of Seattle, not providing move-in inspection forms other than an electronic option as Seattle requires a paper form be available.

Take your...