eaves Mountain View at Middlefield

Not a fan. My main issue is just how ridiculously expensive it was for my tiny 400 square foot apartment. Just check their rates, you’ll see. There’s more that goes with that, as detailed below. In no particular order:
1) The residents skew towards entitled tech types.
2) The price is absolutely ridiculous for what you are getting (the apartment as well as the area). To be fair, that’s just Silicon Valley in general right now.
3) The maintenance staff wasn’t particularly helpful. I would use the form they provided on their site to ask them to call me to schedule a time to fix whatever was broken, and they would just say they completed the repair instead of reaching out to me or actually fixing anything. For the record, I have a cat, so I wanted to be around when they made repairs just to make sure she didn’t try to run out of my little studio.
4) The leasing office was OK, except Antonio (Tony). It’s taken him weeks to get a document over to me that I need for my new place (I still don’t have it) and he’s been pretty rude to me the majority of times that we have interacted. I am now with a different Avalon/​Eaves property and the difference in customer service and professionalism is obvious.
5) The walls were incredibly thin. I lived on the first floor and at first thought everyone was very noisy (slamming doors, dragging stuff on the floor above me, etc.) and while I think there’s some truth to that, part of it is just that the walls/​floors did not block out noise at all.
6) The place was pretty messy. The main hallway floors weren’t very clean and the laundry rooms got pretty gross. Also, people would just leave their trash everywhere.
Overall, gave them two stars as the amenities were decent and the outrageous prices are just part of the area. Still, I’m sure there’s better places to move, even with the ridiculous cost of living in Mountain View/​Silicon Valley.

Although I had a good experience with eaves Middlefield for the majority of my time living there, during the last few months, the quality really dropped. The laundry room just got worse and worse over the last couple months, to the point where it would be flooded on a regular basis, most units wouldn’t work, and the machine for refilling the laundry card would only take cash for weeks. The outside parking lots were neglected and got very dirty as a result. Our service requests and other requests to the leasing office would not get taken care of or documented during our last month there. Finally, I feel like with the most recent rent raise, the quality of the apartments at eaves Middlefield do not line up at all with the rent cost, especially with luxury apartments in nearby communities now being in the same cost range (especially the North San Jose area). eaves Middlefield has a good location for Mtn View tech workers, but not much else going on for it.

I’ll start by listing the few positives: when I moved in they were about or under the market rate for new leases and were much better in terms of location and amenities than other comparably priced complexes. There is a nice pool and hot tub, gym, and common room. In general maintenance requests were fulfilled quickly. They also have some fun community events that I went to and got to meet and became good friends with some awesome neighbors. But I have a lot of beef about the things I didn’t like (some will echo other reviews). To summarize before voicing my complaints, your best bet is to find a private landlord that charges you reasonable rent for being a good tenant, doesn’t try to screw you out of your deposit, and stay away from this big complex.
1. There was a dead mouse hidden from sight in my stove when I moved in. They barely believed me when I told them there was an unnatural odor coming from the kitchen and tried to blame it on me for spilling something. To their credit they did do a full investigation but it took some convincing from me that the smell was coming from the stove and I wanted it replaced. They finally, reluctantly did and found the dead mouse inside upon removing it.
2. Rent goes up significantly every year. I get that rents are on the rise in the bay area but don’t expect to be rewarded for being a good tenant here or for them to try to keep you with under market (or even at market) rent, expect to pay above market rate every year after your first year. They «estimate» what market rate will be 30 days from the time you need to renew and it will most likely be higher than a new lease. For example, for my most recent renewal they «estimated» market rate for my apartment was over $ 2700/​mo for a 1-​Br (although the highest priced unit was $ 2400 at the time). And now, just 4 days after my renewal date would have been the apartments are leasing for just over $ 2200. Had I renewed my lease I would have been overpaying by over $ 500/​month! And there is no negotiation. When I tried to negotiate last year they suggested that I could move out of my unit and into another that was priced cheaper than my renewal rate. Why couldn’t they just give me that rate on my unit?! They know it sucks to move and that you will probably pay just over market rate to stay and not have to move. Also you pay $ 65/​month/​pet in «pet rent» that doesn’t go toward damages (see next section on deposits). I had two cats that essentially cost me over $ 2400 over the course of 2 years. I don’t want to calculate the actual amount it cost because it’s painful to think about.
3. They will try to screw you out of most or all of your deposit. I just moved out and I am waiting to see what actually happens with this but here’s what has happened up to this point. I paid a $ 1000 deposit upon moving in ($ 500 for pet deposit). During move-​in, they told me I would get most of it back minus about $ 100 in cleaning fees if there were no damages. Just before my last day (I had already moved all of my stuff out and it was in the condition it would be upon full move out but was paying through the end of the lease, see next section on breaking leases) they did a «preliminary damages inspection» and quoted me $ 350 in cleaning fees (no damages!!) — approximately $ 175 for cleaning the apartment and $ 175 for cleaning the carpet. This was after I had thoroughly cleaned the apartment (I am a neat freak) including the carpet. I had lived there for 2 years and since I take very good care of my living quarters as a general rule in life, the carpet was absolutely immaculate minus normal wear and tear that comes with living on carpet for 2 years. If I understand my renters rights (
), they legally are not allowed to withhold a deposit for these things and I’ve been through a lot of stress and anxiety arguing with them about it and anticipating what I can do to get back what I should. We’ll see what happens.
4. Don’t expect to be able to break your lease without huge expenses (2 months rent). Expect to pay on the order of thousands of dollars upon moving since the timing never works out to move out of one place on your last day of your lease and into a new place on the first day. Month-​to-​month will cost over $ 4000 for a 1-​BR here so that won’t be an option. There is no negotiating and be aware moving from here will cost you no matter what.
Again in summary, your best bet is to find a private landlord that charges you reasonable rent for being a good tenant, doesn’t try to screw you out of your deposit, and stay away from this big complex.

Before I begin, the one good thing I have to say is all the people that work there were all very nice. My complaints are not with them but with corporate decisions.
Issue #1
Rent went from $ 1800 a month (August 2014) to $ 2300 a month (August 2015). Oh, and the offer to go month to month was over 4,000k+/month, so don’t expect this to be an option.
Issue #2
Within that one year period, they had to come into our apartments over 8 times! They were installing new electric meters into every apartment so they could squeeze every penny out of the residents.
Issue #3
The apartments were very outdated. Just look at the kitchen cabinets.
Issue #4
There were rats during the end of our stay! There was a bulletin stating that this had happened before and that they recommended residents buy rat traps!
Issue #5
Soooo many bike thefts!
Issues 2 – 5 we could put up with but the over $ 500/​month jump in rent really shows that the company responsible for the complex doesn’t care about their residents.
You guys have been warned.

The place is terrific. But what I want to draw everyone’s attention to is the community representative Ms Katlyn Chase– truly a jewel among the stars. This is the best luck we had running into her!
We didn’t worry about anything at all! Our move in at eaves apartment was abreeze!
She took care of everything for us! After signing the documents for the lease– our folder for all the move in were ready it’s like having a super assistant Wonder Woman and feels like she got your back!
I say this with all sincerity because I have been in apartments for so long as I can remember and Ms Kathleen Chase is fantastic I would be comparing community associates to her and not one would even par ! Lucky me– I’m in good hands. Not to mention the property is ok lots of pool space and parking impossible to miss a spot! I think Kathleen Chase should train more people in order for our lives to be comfortable important And tenants will always have that feel of luxury around her!-Doti Mac

What these guys do with the rent prices is horrible. They make it very expensive for you to move out. They set up the lease terms so that it is cheapest for your lease to end at the beginning of the summer. Then, they make the month-​to-​month price almost double the normal rent price. Thus, you either have to renew the lease for another year or move out within a month of your lease expiring. That leaves you with very few options.

I lived there about two years ago. The rent went from $ 2700 for a two bedroom to $ 3100 and then to $ 3600. There’s no rent control and it just sucks to move once you get quite comfortable in a place. And the rent price didn’t even come with laundry in the apartment unit.

Looks very impressive when you first walk in to tour the place. Once you live there for a few years you’ll see it’s faux-​luxury. Management practices soulless corporate nickel and diming at it’s worst
1. The WORST thing is the exorbitant (10−20%) rent increases after every lease period. You are left to choose either just eating the rent increase or moving. Both suck.
2. Same experience as Sandy B. Multiple pushy messages to store our bikes in their bike storage and NOT our balcony. Result: Someone stole my bike rack for my car.
3. Rent being charged is that of a luxury building without the amenities you’d expect such as modern appliances, remodeled kitchen, bathroom etc. TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AT THE BATHROOM/​KITCHEN in these apartments and you will see that everything is CHEAP. What you will find in every basic apartment in Mountain View.
They did update the furniture around the pool/​hot tub area. It’s very impressive looking but when you take a close look at your actual apartment you’ll see it’s no different than places that are MUCH cheaper.
4. Every other apartment I’ve lived in has expected normal wear and tear on walls/​carpeting after a few years. They put in a brand new carpet and a fresh coat of paint when you move in. Of course it’s not going to look as pristine when you move out but they will charge you. If you wrap your walls and carpet in plastic then you MIGHT get your security deposit back.
Rent for a 1 bedroom went from $ 1800 to $ 2300 to $ 2800. I can only imagine what it would have been had I renewed again.
They way they dealt with me after I moved out in terms of trying to nickel and dime me for every single last thing left a terrible taste in my mouth. The amount of $ was inconsequential but I know this:
I will never ever ever even consider living in a building managed by Avalon ever again. If you read this and decided to move in anyway god bless you. Just please remember to Unilocal them when you leave and experience the same treatment.

Your sprinkler is broken and you’re pouring water out into the street, during a drought and no one answers the phones!

We lived there for 5 years. At each change of ownership of this complex, it got worse.
Let me tell you our experience. Most people who knew how good it was before, left the complex.
— Their bike storage area got broken into and one of our road bikes got stolen.
(They forbid residents to put their bikes on their balconies so they created a kind of storage for bikes… With a tiny lock.)
— My car got broken into.
— There is apparently security on site… They probably play hide and seek.
— The pool is cool (cool like the temperature I mean). One day they stopped heating it… A lot of people could not go in because it was too cold.
— You can rent a 1 BR for almost 2.5K and a 2Br for 3.6k. I found that a luxurious complex in downtown Sunnyvale rents 2br (loft style) at 2.7k. What’s the catch here?
— Leasing office shortened its operating hours (again) — it is on regular hours, so if you work from 9 to 6… then you basically can’t reach them in person.
— More dirt and spider webs in stairs
— BYOT: bring your own torch, maybe ¼ of their lamps were out of service.
— They cut water without a warning… Not good when you wanted to take a shower before going to a job interview.
— Tennis courts are closed by 10pm. But some instructor was giving classes after 10pm for a couple of Fridays. We complained many times.
— Hot tub should have been renamed to cold tub… Its temperature was at 92 degrees. My friends complained about it for 3 weeks at the front desk.
— They replaced flowers by rocks, wood decorations etc.
— They fired a lot of employees so maintenance was not as good as before (too much work, not enough people)
— There used to be breakfast, since Avalon took over… no more.
— Can be very noisy if you live close by the tennis courts and the hot tub /​pool.
We gave up with this place. They won!
A few positive things though (because I am not so mean!)
— they offer free Zumba class
— can deliver packages at your door when you ask them
— front desk staff is very nice and responsive.
— nice gym and sport courts
— close to downtown + transportation
I know I am sarcastic here. But this is the ugly truth about this complex.
They keep changing their name… But most Avalon owned complexes are way overpriced for the service /​quality.
They did not even offer a gift card or anything for our stolen bike.
When we moved out we’ve been told that the 1 month rent fee will be waived (we just had to write a letter and explain why we move) but it never need.
And now even worse: if you break your lease you will pay until they find someone for your apartment. Some friends had to break their lease and they paid the rent for many months…