Bluwater Crossing

Do NOT rent here. My wife and I are 40 year old, responsible tenants and rented one of these condos for 9 months. Our experience was horrible. BluWater has some seriously shady business practices. We sold our home of 10 years in March so we could move to Carlsbad. We toured the BluWater property and really liked the look of the units. They had multiple vacant until and we let them know that we wanted to rent immediately They said they would not be able to provide us a lease for a couple of weeks because their «systems were down» and they didn’t know exactly when they could give us a lease. We were ready to write them a check… and they wouldn’t make it happen! I looked online and found the name of one of the real estate developers who originally worked on the property. I found her number and called her. Thanks goodness she was a sweetheart and had much better business sense then BluWater. She made some calls and somehow found someone to help me. The local manager of the property finally, reluctantly, contacted me and we were able to go in 2 days later and sign a lease.
When we moved in the unit was filthy. They had clearly never had it cleaned prior to our arrival. They claimed that it was cleaned and weren’t willing to clean it. We actually had to take pictures and go the leasing office and show them! We were finally able to get them agree to clean it again. We could tell that someone had been there but It was still filthy. Not a good start. The unit also needed repairs. We were told that they were ordering the parts and would do the repairs shortly. We asked several times when the repairs would be done and they kept saying they would once the parts came in. We finally gave up and 9 months later and the repairs were still never done.
We finally found another place to live and moved out earlier this month. We asked them what we needed to do to prepare the unit so that our security deposit would be refunded. We were told to have it cleaned and that the manager would do multiple walk throughs before we moved out. Well, my request to do the walkthroughs was ignored multiple times. I emailed and left the office a voicemail. Neither was answered. We hired very good cleaners who spent close to 5 hours cleaning the unit to the point that it was MUCH cleaner then when we moved in… after all, we had only lived there for 9 months and had the unit professionally cleaned every week. Once we moved out were told that BluWater charged us $ 350 for cleaning! Unbelievable! They also made up a number of highly inflated charges for carpet cleaning (again, dirty when we moved in) and painting… painting! We only lived there for 9 months! In the end they refunded only 1.3% of our entire deposit. This is flat out criminal!
I don’t do many Unilocal reviews as I am a very understanding, patient and forgiving person but this experience was too poor to not take the time to let others know to stay away from this business. Also worth mentioning is that it is incredibly expensive. I would expect more from a high end rental property. Extremely disappointing.
DO NOT RENT HERE!

OK, I was really cranky when I wrote the last review. The former property manager would always say, «no» when you even STARTED to ask a question. So I penalized them like a whiney little baby.
New management is awesome. Cordial, responsive, enthusiastic.
This place rocks. For the square footage, it’s a really good deal. If you’re the right kind of person — a liker of contemporary spaces and bereft of kids and guests — there’s no better place.
There are a couple of floorplans that offer a second bedroom beyond the master suite, so kids do live here, but most only have the master on the 3d level and then no other «rooms» except for the bathrooms. Not a great set-​up if you have overnight guests.
It is right on the rail line, and Amtrak just started stopping here for trains that go all the way to L.A. Sure, you hear the trains, but you get used to it.
The reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is that the prices are rising pretty steadily and will probably get to be pretty uncompetitive unless you actually use the retail space as … a retail space (we don’t).
This is a great place and if you’re into the loft experience, nothing in this area comes close.

I just read through all the reviews and I’m blown away about how different my view is on Bluwater. I’ve lived here for 16 months and truly do love it.
There has recently been construction but that is all over so don’t let that stop you from moving in.
The maintenance is awesome. They will always come within 24 hours and get it fixed the first time.
The management is super friendly and helpful.
We live on the East facing side of the street and the train does not bother us.
In the summer we put a box fan in the window and we never need the AC.
The heat on the 1^st floor works great! On floors 2 & 3 it takes a bit longer because if the high ceilings. We hardly ever run our heat though.
Neighbors are super friendly. A lot of people work from home so you see them a lot throughout the day.
5 minute walk to the beach is amazing!
Viking appliances are amazing. Washer and dryer are totally fine. They aren’t top of the line but they get the job done.
You will need to bring your own lamps or ceiling lighting because it is dark without it.
Parking isn’t really an issue. There is always a spot within 100 yards of your place.
I’m not concerned about the 90 day move out contract someone mentioned. If the property sold of another owner they would be insane to try to sell these units on the market. The floorplan isn’t something that more than a couple people would want to own. It’s great for a season of life but could be tough with little kids, elderly, or lots of kids.
When it comes to cons there isn’t much outside of what I knew when I rented. There is very little storage in the unit for stuff. They do rent units in the underground garage for $ 1 psf. The kitchen storage is totally fine.
You can’t put your BBQ out back. You can keep it on the 1^st floor and roll it out anytime you want to use it though.

Starting with the cons:
The lack of amenities is really annoying considering the price.
The noise from the train station takes some time to get used to, if ever.
Top windows (22 ft ceiling) in the living room are not shaded, so you will either need to spend $$$ on curtains or shades or be up as soon as the sun comes up. For someone who works till late at night, this place is not ideal. The same goes with all doors at the ground level. No shading/​privacy films unless previous tenants had invested in it.
Although temporary in nature, the property is going through some major construction upgrades, which is making it impossible to work in the daytimes. No compensation is provided by the management company to the tenants, who are basically unable to work during this long process.
If you have your own appliances, such as washer/​dryer, you will need to get rid of those prior to moving in, as the leasing office would not allow you to use your stuff in their property. You are practically left with a useless washer/​dryer unit that rocks like Mick Jagger.
Living rooms are not lighted, so either bring your own electrician to hang stuff up or use floor lamps. Considering the high ceiling, floor lamps seem to be the only viable option.
Pros:
As others mentioned in previous reviews, the units are nice and roomy.
Kitchen appliances are top-​grade, so you really don’t need to improve on those.
The new staff at the leasing office are really nice and helpful.
Neighbors are kind, considered and very friendly.
The location is central, close to the beach, easily accessible and convenient.
There is a train station next door, if you have the option to commute by trains.
The maintenance is always done on time and promptly.
It’s clean, trendy and has a great layout.

My husband and I have been living here for almost a year now but we will not be renewing our lease. The actual units are great and have the modern lofty feel that we love, however, the amenites are non-​existent. Neighbors are really nice, however management really does suck and seemed to go out their way to make things difficult for NO REASON!
Some cons– it is across the street from a low income housing complex, right next to the train station (which gets annoying at night), and has absolutely no amenities. For that amount of money, there should be at least a gym or a pool. The only thing offered is underground parking.
EDIT–
MAJOR CON: Get ready to lose more than half of your security deposit during move out. They are in the business doing everything to not give your deposit back.
Just moved out and they charged me $ 600 for painting, general cleaning, and carpet cleaning! Keep in mind we lived there for less than a year; 8 months to be exact.
I turned in the keys on and scheduled a pre-​inspection a week prior to my last day… After looking over the place during the inspection, the manager gave me a verbal confirmation that everything looks good and stated that I would be responsible for either a light cleaning that ranges from $ 100-​$ 150 or a medium cleaning from $ 150– $ 250. 4 days later I received an itemize bill with 3 different charges: A general cleaning fee $ 150, paint fee for $ 250 and a $ 150 carpet cleaning fee for a whopping total of $ 550! Keep in mind my deposit was $ 1000. What a Rip off, They never gave me an itemized list of what I could have performed myself to avoid deductions… What happened to common sense and good faith? I should not be charged for small nicks and minor marks. General cleaning, painting a few nicks on the wall and cleaning a carpet for an apartment with only the bedroom that have carpet (No major stains) should not be $ 700. Especially since I had almost a full month to do the cleaning myself. RIPOFF
All in all, they are in the business of delivering horrible service to their tenants. Units are nice but service is non-​existent. 4 stars for the actual units and 1 star for mgmt.

We just moved out. Bikes stolen, Car broken into!!! No security and they know they have a problem. Everyone has had issues with theft, everyone. We loved the building hated worrying about our house being robbed.

Great complex but poorly managed.
Overall I find the complex pretty good. The floor plans are spacious and well laid out and the interior fixtures and finishes are very nice and modern. We have had a few issues in the first year but nothing of major significance except the floors buckling near the entry way. The property managers have looked at it on several occasions and said it would be fixed but nothing has been done yet so the floors get worse with each rain storm.
The location of the complex is great. It is right next to the coaster which I find very useful for commuting to work in Sorrento Valley. It is also a short walk or bike ride to Carlsbad State beach or even Ponto which has great beaches for hanging out and many surf spots.
Unfortunately, the property has been poorly managed from the beginning. The units were originally listed for sale. The large live/​work units went to the market in March 2009 and the 2 story town lofts went to the market in June 2009. The developer had issues moving the units and foreclosed on the property in August 2009. The complex came back on the market in April or May 2010 but as rental units and the managing company filled most of the vacant units with 1 year leases. Now 1 year later, the managing company has decided to commence the sales program again and have given the tenants in phase 1 a 90 day notice to vacate.
Moving is really inconvenient and I think it’s selfish of the managing company to flip flop between selling and renting. Now the tenants will need to spend time and money to move and some of the tenants started businesses and invested money into their units.
The grand re-​opening for the sales program is this weekend July 16 – 17. The tenants were given the release pricing a few weeks back during a community meeting and many were shocked because the release is significantly higher in price than the original sales program which was unsuccessful.
Release for Phase 1 Town Lofts:
Plan B1 — 1387 SF, starting from $ 546,714
Plan B2 — 1458 SF, starting from $ 657,842
Plan B3 — 1367 SF, starting from $ 616,783
Plan B4 — 1354 SF, starting from $ 629,900
Plan C1 — 1354 — 1367 SF, starting from $ 555,395
Plan D1 — 1414 SF, starting from $ 580,007
Original Prices Released June 2009:
Plan B — 1354 — 1458 SF (Approximately), priced from $ 501,990 — $ 593,990
Plan C — 1354 — 1367 SF (Approximately), priced from $ 494,990 — $ 531,990
Plan D — Approximately 1414 SF, priced at $ 524,990
As you can see, the managing company wants +50k more now but for a used condo… again poor management!

The devil is in the details! This place is certainly not imune. As a renters here it was hard enough not having any of the amenities that typically accompany a 2400 dollar rent demand. I live on the west side of the complex and on a clear day with no haze a bright sun high in the sky and standing on my tippy toes and stretching every inch of my 6 foot 2 inch frame, on the second story of the loft, looking through the filthy windows that are too high to clean myself… I can see a blue reflection that resembles the ocean. We were sorely dissapointed by the severe lack of responsiveness to the simplest requests. This is a pet friendly community with no pet baggies, or trash cans. The fire pits have been broken for 10 of the 10 months we have lived here. The elevator breaks 4 to 5 times a month and the exterior finishes are falling apart. The grounds are sparsely maintained. On the inside the overall look is very modern, nice details and quality appliances. The floors are in need of replacement after only several months. It seems they were not properly laid or sealed so they buckle and warp the instant water hits them, kind of like placing a glass of water on IKEA furniture. They have attempted to fix the seals around the doors multiple times but you can still see daylight under the back door, important because the floors buckle and warp every time it rains as water comes into the house from under the back door. Keep a towel handy. The most used soft close drawers no longer close all the way and require an extra push to finish closing. The grout is not sealed either so you can almost see the mold come back after cleaning it. Unfortunately the black mold stains the grout. Light switches sizzle and pop sometimes and require cycling to work sometimes, kind of like when the contacts are not quite together but close enough for an arc to bridge the gap. Some lights work well at times then sputtered and dim at others like they are not quite sure if you flipped the switch to the on position. I installed two ceiling fans and the wiring upstairs is reversed, the white ground wire is hot and the black hot wire is actually the ground. Downstairs the wires are correct. There are overhead sprinkler heads which is great however 2 of the heads have some discoloration on the drywall that looks like concentric circles. It’s not brown or anything just not the same white as the rest of the ceiling like the drywall may have been wet once, no evidence of sagging or anything though. Bottom line is that the place isn’t horrible but does need some tweaks here and there. I am not an inspector but I have lived with this stuff long enough to notice things and take notes. A good inspector will have a great time here. Buyer beware as the 600k+ prices here come with some bothersome issues. Finally a DVR is a must have as the trains are not too intrusive but they seem to know when the height of the movie or show you are watching is coming so pausing live TV is an absolute necessity.

FYI, just learned that the units are being sold, in phases of course. Bluwater is giving tenants ninety days to move in the «Live Loft» area. My assessment of Bluwater as a renter is different from being a buyer. Being a previous home owner, I would be upset to learn the wooden floor buckles quite easily when liquids touches it, that there is no sealant on the grout of the luxurious bathtub area (molds easily), or that the paint is just coming of the exterior trim. Rumor has it the «Live Lofts» are going for $ 500K, which is approximately 1400 square feet. I cannot say what the «Work Lofts» (2700 – 3000 sq. ft.) are being sold for, originally they were in the $ 700’s at the height of the real estate market.
Update:
The above prices were a prediction and are an under estimation of what the seller has posted for prices. The prices are reflected more accurately in William’s P’s review. Current renter are left in the balance as to time line of mandatory move dates. There is a lot of dissension among the tenants and management here, especially those with businesses here.