The Blake Apartments

We bought a home here in West Seattle and recently moved out of the Blake Apartments after renting a bright, light-filled 2 bdr apartment for a year. We were so impressed with the staff -- the feeling of community they inspire, and the positive, helpful attitude that we experienced.

Brandon was always there for us whenever we needed anything, and his upbeat, "can-do" personality combined with his stellar skillset was all that one could hope for in a Maintenance Manager.

Lacy rocked it as a... Property Manager -- responsive, always on top of things, and continually creating a friendly, community oriented atmosphere that made The Blake feel like home.

And last but not least was Caleb, who fits in perfectly at the Blake and always made us feel like we had a good friend ready to lend a helping hand.

The truth is, had we not found just the right house to buy, we probably would have stayed there forever! Lee mas

I stopped by to inquire about an apartment and the manager was outside and said "I DON'T HAVE TIME TO SHOW YOU ANYTHING RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I'M VERY BUSY" !

She was planting a couple of small flowers in the potted planter by the front entrance.

Based on that experience I have NO plans on renting there if my inquiry was too much of a bother for her to at least talk to me for two minutes.

Rude and unprofessional. Nope, no plans on going back there.

When I moved in I asked management if they had secure bike parking. I was shown a locked secure room with entry only by assigned key fob. They stated that their had been no security issues. My bike was stolen within a month of moving in. I let the property manager know (Paulette). I was told that security camera to that room was inoperable at the time of the theft. After no follow up by management I wrote it off as a 2500 loss.
I left a post on the community web page. At that point 3 other... tenants also disclosed they had their bikes stolen. This made the manager so mad she accused me of making up the theft of my bike. I was so angry by this time I paid 3000.00 to break my lease and moved on. Avoid any apartments managed by the property management company managing The Blake. Good Luck out their!

Lee mas

1. The utility company wrongly charged us a $40 vacant fee. When I brought it to management's attention they said not to pay it, and they would take care of it. Each month that passed, the utility company added on late fees to the unpaid charge. Management continued to say they were working on it, but it was "out of their hands". When we contacted the real estate company who owns the property (SIX MONTHS later) it was finally addressed. If we hadn't involved the real estate company, the... apartment management never would have taken care of the issue.

2. One of the reasons we chose to live at The Blake is because it claims to be a smoke-free building, and we have health issues that are aggravated by smoke. The tenants below us began smoking on their balcony, and from inside their apartment all day and all night. Each time this happens, our apartment fills with smoke. We first brought it to management's attention in January 2018. They said the tenants admitted to smoking, and a verbal warning was given. However, the smoking continued. Management then said they were serving the tenants with a 10-day comply or vacate notice. When we checked on the status of the notice, they admitted that since they had "dragged their feet", they weren't able to act on the notice. It has now been FIVE MONTHS of this, and the management still says they're "exploring their legal options".

3. Last week, we woke up in the middle of the night to water pouring out of our ceiling/walls and our smoke detector. We called the emergency maintenance number, and the maintenance guy said the person in the apartment two floors above it had an issue with their toilet. It became an all night/all morning ordeal, and I had to miss a day of work to deal with it. It has now been one week of large and noisy fans and dehumidifiers running 24/7, making our 600 sq ft apartment 85 degrees. The machines use so much energy that we can only have one light on in the apartment, or else a fuse blows. I emailed the apartment manager a week ago asking if our electrical bill would be adjusted to account for this. I also asked if they could tell us what time the restoration company planned to come back every day for testing. Of course, I have not received a response back. In fact, when they came in to take pictures of the damage, their only remarks were, "These things happen. Renter's insurance covers a lot."

Overall, I would not recommend living at The Blake. Lee mas

I recently relocated from Los Angeles, and wasn't able to tour the building before signing a lease which was pretty scary. Tawny, the office manager, made everything so easy, keeping in constant communication, answering any questions I had, sending me pictures etc..last time I checked we had 30 emails! I was so impressed when I finally moved in and got to see the apartment for the first time. Pictures were beautiful but didn't do it justice-my apartment,an open one bedroom, is huge! I easily fit... a sofa, desk, two benches, bookshelf, chest and side table with still plenty of space left over in the living room. The "living area" is large as well-I easily fit a queen size bed, night stand and TV console. The building even smells good ha! I honestly feel like I live in a hotel. I've met several other tenants and everyone has been beyond friendly. SO happy this is my new home!! Lee mas