Avalon San Bruno

This review is specifically for Jen Smith, along with the complex as a whole. We transferred from Avalon Mission Bay to Avalon San Bruno just before the new year. Jen was wonderful — squeezed us in for a tour the same day, helped us sign a lease immediately and set up our transfer between complexes. Her support was much appreciated as we had a 3 week old baby and desperately needed the extra space offered at Avalon San Bruno. Jen has been extremely responsive to every request, comment and issue we have encountered — including adjusting our utility headcount accordingly and even routinely welcoming us throughout the community. She is friendly, professional and makes us feel at home here. 5-​stars for Jen!
With regards to the complex, we love it! For the slightly less than we paid at Avalon Mission Bay, we get a huge apartment in a great layout with all the amenities we need. Both my husband and I regularly swim in the indoor pool (and outdoor when weather allows), workout in the fitness center (which includes all the necessities), walk our dogs in the common area, BBQ in the courtyard and relax in the indoor and outdoor hot tubs. Our closets are enormous — big enough to be a small nursery for our child — and our bedroom is almost the size of our old apartment, let alone the gigantic bathroom! We grill on the patio and feel very safe in the building. For apartment living, we really can’t complain. Free underground parking is convenient and safe, although the parking spots are a bit tight and the visitor parking is always full. Maintenance is also very friendly and the elevators always smell clean. No stinky corners like the city apartment we moved from.
My husband takes Caltrain to work in the city, which is slightly less than a mile walk from the complex. I take tech buses from a satellite office within a 10-​min walk from here or hop on BART which is a 10-​min walk through the mall across the street. The shopping center has everything we need, including a grocery store, target and Starbucks. Easy highway access (both 101 and 280) and 5 mins to the airport make travel (for us and visitors) so easy. We regularly grab dinner from Jacks which is across from the complex, delicious and very reasonably priced.
We are very happy with our home in San Bruno, and we definitely recommend Jen when you come to tour the complex!

We’ve been living at Avalon since December and so far so good. Love the amenities — indoor pool/​spa, 24hr gym, pet friendly complex, etc… Tanforan Mall right across the street and Jack’s right next to the building. There is also dog park and playgrounds in walking distance.
Jen was very helpful giving us the tour and showing different options. She was able to help us switch units after we change our mind. She made our move easy and smooth.
The unit itself is decent. Nothing fancy but not crappy either. Stainless appliances in select top floor units only. The carpet in the hallway can be stinky sometimes but the cleaning crew takes care of it
The only thing I want to call out is that there’s barely any AT&T reception in the hallway and none in the garage.

Hiked up our rent 15%. Frequent car burglaries, fire alarm problems, loud noises from the community center behind the building, and air plane noises. Rent increased from 2800 to 3600 in two years. Not worth it.

This is the best place to live in bay area. Close to everything like public transportation, Restaurants etc… On top of that what the most important thing which matters to all tenants is safe, clean, secure environment and high level management. Avalon san bruno not only meets expectations but exceeds expectation on all levels of service right from signing up the lease to all miscellaneous maintenance issue .
Ashley and her team members know how to provide top level service to tenants and they provide a family environment in the community.
I do not hesitate saying that rent at avalon san bruno is well below average rate going in the same area. On top of that the services they provide to all tenants in the community is well above and beyond.

I moved here in October 2015, and the staff was very helpful throughout and after the moving process (my main point of contact was Rachel). I moved into building #3, which is newer than the other two and has slightly better amenities (newer appliances, gas stove instead of electric, etc). The maintenance staff has been very prompt (you can call or leave a request on the website). My work requires access to both SF proper and the airport, and the BART station is an easy 12 – 15 minute walk, which is fairly convenient. There’s also a nice mall within walking distance, which is nice for quick errands and going to the movies. My apartment was clean and had very few issues upon moving in (but the maintenance staff fixed them very quickly). The only downside is that the cost is higher than I’d like, but there are few locations with all the amenities that I was looking for, so I didn’t have a lot of options. I will consider renewing my lease, depending on whether or not my rent stays the same.

I love living here. The staff is always helpful and always quick to get back to me if I have any questions. They always have a smile on their face when I come into the office. The location is great.

This place might be fine if it was reasonably priced. Not exceptional, but mostly acceptable for young professionals who are at the office a lot and just need a place to sleep and store their belongings. However, you had better be both highly-​paid and willing to waste your money because the rent costs rival those one might find in a desirable SF neighborhood (except that you get to pay this price for the privilege of living in… San Bruno.)
Because you will be paying out the nose for your apartment, it is valuable to note that the apartment building itself is very cheaply constructed. The walls and ceilings are very thin compared to every other place I have lived, and my roommates and I can hear our neighbors’ conversations with clarity. We can also hear every step our upstairs neighbors make, all day, every day (and night.) I’ve lived with upstairs neighbors several times in the past, and was never disturbed by their movements to this degree. I don’t blame the neighbors, but rather the apparently paper thin floors and lack of soundproofing.
The appliances and finishes in our apartment are also cheap, with dingy beige carpet, mismatched cheap wood trim, and linoleum flooring in the kitchen. The stove barely works (the burners are tilted, and take 15 – 20 minutes to heat up enough to melt butter) and we have to run the dryer three times in order to dry a load of thin t-​shirts and blouses.
Again, these things don’t matter too much to a person who is looking for a place to live temporarily, or to a young person who is looking for simply for a place to eat and sleep. However, the exorbitant bi-​annual rent increases make this place exceptionally bad. When you sign a contract with Avalon, you might think «Ok, these rent prices are high. But surely there isn’t room for them to go up much further!» Well, you would be wrong. For the last two years, our rent was raised by at least 40% at least once a year. We are software developers and well compensated. But even so, it seemed irresponsible to pay such a large sum for such a mediocre apartment in San Bruno.
I highly recommend that prospective renters look around at other properties in the area. We recently moved, and are living in an infinitely better apartment of the same size, still less than 10 minutes away from work, and paying less than we were even before 2015’s ~40% rent increase. Life is a lot better. Don’t waste your time renting here unless you don’t have any other choice.
Edit: I forgot to even mention that there is no cell service here!!! Due to the construction, or something, you will probably not be able to make or receive calls on your cell phone while at home. Even with a range extender. This applies to at least AT&T and Verizon networks. While this might be nice at a cabin in the woods where you go to «get away from it all,» it is pretty inconvenient at your actual home, especially if you occasionally or always work from home.

I just moved into Avalon San Bruno and it’s been a great experience. Staff is great, very informative. I worked with Jen and she made moving in the easiest thing! They always let you know when things are closing/​urgent matters come up. I had plumbing issues this year and they came within an hour to fix it for me, which was amazing. Thank you ASB!

I am in love with this place! Everything about this place is amazing. I have a 2yr old daughter so to have an indoor pool and a park in the property keeps her entertained. The moving-​in process was such an ease, Jen was amazing! I remember coming in for a tour with no appointment and she still made time and kept contact through email until everything was settled.
Comments on weather/​airplanes are pointless to read because anywhere within 20miles will have the same problem. Personally I love the weather and I never hear the planes go by when i’m inside.
I 100% recommend this place!

I give them a star for the condition of the apartments, which are in a good stage. The apartments are only 3 – 4 years old. I like spacious rooms and bathrooms.
Everything else is terrible here. I’ve been leaving here for the past 4 years and i can’t wait to move out. –The location is extremely noisy ! The staff is not helpful and not telling the truth. Before moving to this apartment i specifically asked people at the office if that back side is quite or not and one of the ladies from their office (who also lived in the same building) said yeah it’s pretty quite in there. I was having a 5 mo baby and she literally would wake up every time because of the noise from outside. Specifically this was the noise from the garbage cans, they hit them pretty hard to the garbage car and this starts at 7:20 am in the morning ! — right in front of our windows. The other crazy noisy is from the leafs blowing machine which is terrible to hear right next to your windows as well starting at 7 – 8 am in the morning. So if you are planning to have babies or already have them think 10 times before moving to this apartment complex.
We went and talked to staff numerous times, nothing has changed. Another thing is the staff is changing pretty often, so even if you talk to someone once and you think it will be taken care of in a month you come back and you have to start it all over again.
even if they price dropped 50% i wouldn’t stay here !
–People don’t clean after their dogs, so the surrounded area smells pretty bad.
— When exercising in the gym, the cleaning people would come with the cart full of chemicals and cleaning staff and would leave it there … while i was exercising i was smelling those chemicals!
–used the dry cleaning service two times. first time was not happy and decided to give them another chance. the second time i gave them my brand new skirt to dry clean and they ruined the skirt. Now i am trying ti get a refund for my skirt. This is just terrible!
Don’t move here if you have another choice! you will be running from here as soon as you experience all of this.
oh and by the way the AT&T connection is saks here (we had to get a booster) as well as their internet connection is. The two floor apartment only has internet on the 1^st floor, the second floor doesn’t have internet at all.
There is no Comcast in this area.
Every year they would raise your rent by $ 300-​$ 400. This year they proposed us new lease with almost $ 500 extra for new lease. When i checked the price on their website exact same apartment was renting for $ 550 less.
We went to the office to check with them what’s going on and so that they honor the same price for us. Unfortunately, the staff couldn’t explain the reason or help us with that.
–oh and of course when you move out they will try to charge you as much as possible so they don’t have to refund your deposit!

When we first moved in, we had a bad experience with fleas in the apartment. I guess that’s the risk you take when you move into a pet-​friendly building. Fortunately, Elliot was really good about it. We got it treated three times for free (though we ended up also using a bag of diatomaceous earth on the floor to kill them for good), and they covered our hotel costs while the apartment was being treated. So good job for handling the situation well.
I was also a bit dismayed at the high costs of using some of the facilities in the clubhouse ($ 200 for 4 hours, for either the theater or the multi-​purpose room!). Fortunately, they recently changed their policy to make it free-​to-​use (with a deposit). The system still isn’t perfect — you can only book the rooms in 4-​hour intervals, and you need to bring a deposit check instead of them just putting any damages on your account, and the number of times you can book the rooms is very limited, but it’s a vast improvement. So good job on that, too.
Other than that, there’s nothing the other reviews haven’t mentioned. Good location, loud planes, bad mobile reception, nice amenities, and all the advantages and disadvantages that come from being a pet-​friendly building. I haven’t been through a rent increase yet, but I highly doubt the increases will be out of line with the rest of the Bay Area.
Unfortunately, the bad reception and airplane noise keeps it from being 5 stars. Everything else is pretty solid.

Having our last grill out at 1000 National Ave.. We are going to miss this place BIG TIME!!! Such a GREAT place to live. I love living on the ocean too but if you can’t… Avalon SB is tops! Constant huge airplanes… great amenities, Very Dog friendly! Nice neighbors, great staff!!! .
About the planes… If your windows are closed you don’t hear them and I was on the top floor. I always had mine open because I love them and the constant breeze.
The staff… Very professional, friendly, and ON IT!!! Anytime I had anything to be looked at they were very prompt! It’s a VERY dog friendly neighborhood so if you DONT like dogs it might not be for you!
The grounds… Beautiful, well kept & maintained. Enclosed dog park around the corner. Nice play/​park area for kids and family.
I would DEFINITELY go back and refer my friends to this place :).

So my new «home» at AvalonBay in San Bruno has been wonderful. I’ve only been here for 6 months, however they have been great! The most important issue besides being a great place to live w/​your pets is the extremely outstanding kindness of the staff, ESPECIALLY Elliott & Amanda!!! Anthony is also very warm & friendly as the other staff. I’m always greeted w/​a smile & «How do you do?» greeting!!! Whenever there a question or concern the staff, (Elliott, Amanda, & Anthony) are there to help. They’ve taken time to get to know me as well as my dogs!!! For the most part, this little «community «is friendly & nice. I’ve already made life-​long friends. And so important to me is the fact that there are so many dog owned families, which is extremely important to me!!!
So far, AvalonBay at San Bruno is a warm & safe place to call home!!!

I haven’t lived here for a year. But it’s been good so far. Perfect area and great staff.
My problems however are that I am so afraid of an over priced rent increase, the website says AC but there is none here, and what makes very scared is that the FBI busted this place because a guy was running a brothel here in the past…

Lived here for over 6 months. My experience with the office team is that they are very friendly and helpful. Grounds are kept up, and there is great communication about events around the community. Had a few very minor maintenance items, all were handled immediately.
I have a courtyard unit and it is very quiet. There is occasional airplane noise of course but the reality is that only the 4-​engine planes are loud enough to notice and only when they are routed over the property which seems to be pretty rare.
I expect the rent to increase based on the overall market… it is the bay area… now the most expensive place in the country.
The Avalon management team seems to do a great job. Thanks.

I lived here for one year.
Things that went well:
1. Good neighbors, initially I could hear a couple having sex couple of nights a week, but later I guess they moved, no disturbances. You will not hear neighbors unless they scream on top of there noise nor will you hear there TV. I would say noise insulation is pretty good in that respect when compared to other places I have lived.
2. Walk-​able to BART and Caltrain
3. Walk-​able to Mall that has Target
4. Weather is not foggy nor too hot
5. Units have microwave, dishwasher and washer/​dryer
6. Airplane noises generally doesnt bother me, its just filtered out of my brain.
7. Opted in for $ 254 clean up fees. I had maintained my apartment well. Was not charged anything more. I guessed its better to pay them than get someone from outside to save 50 bucks but not to there expectations resulting in extra charges.
8. One reserved car parking in basement. Covered and keeps the car pretty clean.
Problems:
1. Rent increase, I know this is the bay area etc but my rent was increased by 20%. So, if you are moving in consider if you are ok with a +20% increase after an year or would you be ok to move out after an year. Personally, I dont like to move every year. Also, when I leased atleast verbally I was told rent would increase around 5−10% max, strongly suggest not to believe that. Market prices are high, agreed, but 20% increase for a current resident is definitely not what I was expecting.
2. Zero to 1 Bar cell network. You will need a landline to which you will have to forward cell calls. You can manage this, not a deal breaker.
3. Fire alarms, so many false alarms you will just stop getting out of your apartment. Yeah management will send an email with warnings to whoever pulled it, but it doesnt solve the problem. The only way it will be solved is if camera’s are installed and hallways are monitored at these places. Not a deal breaker either.

DO NOT LIVE HERE!
Absurd rent increase, obnoxious neighbors, tenants smoking in their balcony, noise pollution — freeway/​traffic/​cars, airplanes passing by every 10 minutes, barking dogs, marine base sounding their horns at 8am and 3:45pm daily, parties from the mormon church once or twice a week, daily garbage truck pickups, alarms going off whenever a plane passes by, etc. Can’t stand this community! I can’t wait to get the hell out of here! I will write a full, detailed review after my lease ends. stay tuned.

Several years here. First few years, the average rent increase was $ 300+/mo. Last year it went up $ 350/​mo. This year… it went up $ 800, or 25% of our current rent.
THAT IS NOT A TYPO. The rent increase for one year was 25%. EIGHT HUNDRED FUCKING DOLLARS. A 2b/​2b is now almost $ 4k.
It doesn’t matter how long you’ve lived here. It doesn’t matter how exemplary of a tenant you are. It doesn’t matter if you keep your place spotless and they don’t have to do any work on your apartment for the next tenant.
Services didn’t improve with the increased costs, by the way. If anything, they got WORSE — less office hours (wtf??) so it’s harder to pick up packages, more restrictions on guest parking, INCREASED pet rent (yes, rent. monthly per pet. this is after your separate pet deposit, of course.).

Do not live here. Yes, the apartments are nice. Yes, it’s a great location, close to bart, freeways, and the city.
But after what I’ve experienced lately? I’m getting the hell out of here.
When I was given a tour, the guy told me that the average rent increase was around 5%. I received a letter about a week ago informing me that our rent was increasing from $ 2325 to $ 2810. That’s 21%. Someone mentioned that we shouldn’t be pissed about exorbitant rent increases because Avalon is a company and not a charity. Well that’s the dumbest argument I’ve ever heard. Being a company doesn’t excuse them from having morals and the duty to treat their tenants with respect.
Other complaints: the hallways smell, always. The fake grass smells like dog pee, always. There are homeless people living being the large sign on the corner of commodore and el camino. It’s hella dusty from the freeways being so close. Our fridge constantly leaks water even though we’ve had maintenance out here twice. And if you have AT&T, you will have very little cell service in your apartment and absolutely none in the hallways or parking garage.
I’ve been reading the reviews about getting charged $ 500 for cleaning even when the tenant had it professionally cleaned upon moving out. That shit won’t fly with me.
I also saw that someone wasn’t given receipts. THAT’S ILLEGAL. Receipts have to be provided.
I’ll update my review when I move out.

**These fuckers at Avalon San Bruno are big time scammers. DO NOT MOVE HERE. You will know that shit when you leave. Curious? Read on.
Pros:
–Floorplan is decent
–Ammenities + parking included
Cons:
–Very expensive
–Airplane noise. Opening your patio door to get some fresh air will make you regret everything you have lived for and feels like you entered a war zone. You will hear the loudest airplane noise of your life as 5 different aircrafts take off one after another right above your head.
–Airport proximity creates an insane amount of problems with cellular and wifi networks. If you want to talk on the phone ANYWHERE in this building, forget it. When an airplane goes over your head (every 5 minutes), your phone signal is even worse, and wifi cuts off for a minute or two. Once you go into ASB, you are cut off completely. Don’t even bother with technology. An Alcatraz Welcome. If there is an emergency, you better run out for your life because your cellphone sure ain’t gonna work. People have to pay for microcells which is basically installing a cellphone tower in your living room– not like that’s going to give you cancer or radiation or anything.
–Staff is rude, incompetent, and misinformed. (with the exception of one lady– I think her name is Heather or Samantha, I forget. But it doesn’t matter, because she probably doesn’t exist, or transferred, or is a figment of my imagination) One Indian looking female makes a point to turn up her nose whenever I walk in, and always refuses to help me, citing that «she’s busy. Then again, that’s probably standard Indian female to Indian female bizarre behavior that I still have trouble understanding. They have an insane amount of turnover in staff (every couple of weeks I go in there and it’s a whole new cast of clowns) which just shows you that ASB is a shitty place to work AND live.
–THEY WILL EAT YOUR BANK ACCOUNT ALIVE after you leave. Despite getting my place professionally cleaned, they piled on «cleaning charges» of over $ 500 on my bill after swallowing my security deposit. So that’s a total of $ 750 deposit + $ 500+ fake cleaning fees = $ 1250. These fuckers are big time scammers. The other Avalons I have lived at never did that. I’ve paid security deposits of $ 2,000 at brand new Avalons in NYC and other older Avalons with the entire thing refunded, but fucking Avalon San Bruno decides to push off the guilt of their 20 year old dump on to me. Sad day for residents.