| Location |
| 619 Pole Line Rd. (in East Davis, next to the DMV) |
| Contact |
| (530) 756-4020 |
| (530) 756-8387 fax |
![[MAILTO]](http://wikispot.org/wiki/eggheadbeta/img/email.png){kind=small} mailto:cambridge@aspensquare.com |
| Web site |
![[WWW]](http://wikispot.org/wiki/eggheadbeta/img/sycamore-www.png){kind=small} http://www.cambridgehouseapartments.com |
| Managed by |
|
Aspen Square Management |
| Featured amenities |
| Refrigerator, gas range, microwave oven and dishwasher |
| Free high speed Internet |
| Free Expanded Basic cable |
| **Free hot water |
| Two Laundry facilities, open 24-hour |
| Study lounge |
| Fitness center |
| Swimming pool with BBQ area |
| Pet friendly community |
| Recreation Room |
Cambridge House offers three types of apartments:
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The Berkeley: One bedroom/one bath, 650 sq. ft.
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The Claremont: Two bedroom/one bath, 750 sq. ft.
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The Stanford: Three bedroom/two bath, 925 sq. ft.
Prices range from *$1190/month to $1260/month according to their website. Each has a $350 security deposit plus a one-time $100 non-refundable connection fee for cable and internet. No weight limit on dogs *breed restrictions apply. This community is located on Unitrans P/Q bus line and A/M bus line. Payment includes Internet, expanded cable, sewer,trash, and water.
*Payments are made in equal monthly installments
****SPECIALS OFFERED FOR A LIMITED TIME: $99 deposit! Come in TODAY! Up to $400 off of your move in costs!
Pictures
For more information on rental housing options in Davis, check out our Housing Guide as well as our Apartments pages.
How do you like living here?
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2008-01-17 15:10:27 Where do I start:
1) If you like not knowing month to month who is in charge of the complex, this may be the place for you.
2) If you enjoy cleaning pet poo from your shoes, then you will love the fact that the office staff does not enforce the pet policies that you sign when you enter into your lease. Cat owners are the worst offenders to this policy (although there are many dog owners that REFUSE to leash their pets and REFUSE to clean up after them when they do their "natural" business in the common areas) . Cats are allowed to run around the complex and use the bushes around the complex as their litter boxes. I could go into detail about the health risks related to this matter but you can do your own homework. WOMEN REALLY NEED TO EXPLORE THIS ISSUSE. IT IS A MATTER OF YOUR PERSONAL HEALTH!
3) Rodents and roaches!!! This is a huge problem here. They may make good play toys for the cats, but are another health risk for everyone living in the complex (and expensive to the individual who must pay for outside help with this matter).
4) If you like to have a "quite night in", dont even bother looking here. It seems that when the bars close downtown, the party moves to the Cambridge House Apartments. (This may be nice for college freshman or others who do not need more than 4 hours sleep on average per night).
5) Parking here is a joke. There are as many cars in the parking lot without permits as there are with them. You can usually find a parking spot if you return to the complex before 5:00 - 6:00 P.M., but after that-Best Of Luck! There are cars that I have seen in the same spot for more than 3 months at a time (some of these cars are not even in running condition). I could go on about this problem, but as you can guess, what is the point!
I am not going to continue with my rant any more. There are soooooo many other problems with this complex! I feel that I am just rambling on and on about things that will NEVER be addressed (not that the staff will be here next month to address these, or other, concerns).
All in all, I would give this place a rating of 3 (on a scale of 1 to 10).
If you must rent here, I am sorry! Just make sure that you cannot find an apartment somewhere else. —heretoolong99
2008-01-17 15:53:50 After reviewing the comments on this page, I feel a need to actually defend this place. Yes, it IS apartment living and so you can hear your neighbors shower, stomp, and do other things...There were many repairs that needed to be made before we moved in and the apartment smelled funny, but maintenance was really good about taking care of all of our needs in a timely manner.
Many of the residents with dogs kind of suck (not the dogs, I love dogs) because they do not pick up after their pets. I haven't noticed the cat problem. Parking can be a problem, but it's only usually bad on Monday nights—it seems that's when everybody in the complex has their boyfriend/girlfriend stay the night. We did have a roach problem and it was pretty disgusting, but management was good about getting pest control here. Roaches haven't come back yet...
So overall it isn't that bad. The rent is cheap, and you get free hot water (keeps utilities down), cable, and internet (although it isn't always super fast). Roaches are gross, but this isn't the first time I've seen a roach in Davis. The core problem seems to be the residents. Most seem to be generally unconcerned with the rest of the community, but this is a college town and you're going to have to put up with it if you're living in an apartment.
2008-02-03 19:37:27 While I haven't had as many problems with this complex as others have, this place is definitely not the best. My biggest complaints are the lack of soundproofing and my roof. I live right next to the parking lot and I am frequently woken up by various things in the parking lot - I can literally hear conversations word-for-word in the parking lot with my windows closed! Also, I believe there is an old folks home on the other side of the fence and sadly people seem to die frequently as fire trucks and medical vehicles are constantly arriving at all hours with their sirens blaring. By far my biggest issue is my roof. It has leaked 4 times in two different spots in my bedroom in the last month. While I really like the maintenance crew (Marco is really nice, always say "Hi" and even came over in a relatively short time on a Saturday), attempts to fix my roof obviously haven't worked. I'm going to try to break my lease and move soon if I can as the living conditions do not meet tenant rights "habitability." —ea
2008-02-23 19:44:24 Same problems as people have posted above. No sound proofing in the walls or ceiling, leaking ceilings in both downstairs and upstairs apartments, lots of spiders/bugs, very old carpet and appliances, multiple problems with the plumbing (tiolets overflowed a number of times as well as the bathroom sinks overflowing with food particles from neighbors sink), windows do not lock, very bad paint (paint over sloppily every year), gross hot tub (only cleaned during the time period they try to sign on new leasers), unsafe area, when it rains it floods the area outside the door, very very bad parking-can't park anywhere near your apartment at night and difficult/unresponsive management that don't care and don't respond to your phone calls as soon as you sign the lease. Anywhere would be better than at Cambridge House, trust me. —hmm
2008-03-03 15:12:32 RE:hmm's post... I lived at a lot of apartments and not one of them has ever been been perfect, Cambridge House is not perfect, but I've never had a bug or spider problem. Every time something breaks, the maintenance staff is there the same day to fix it and they do a really good job. If you're looking for an easy apartment to park at, good luck. Sometimes you have to kinda search around for a spot, but you don't have to park "a mile away (thank you ninette santos)" I've never seen a snide employee. Generally I think the people who aren't happy here are the people who wouldn't be happy anywhere. For some it might be that apartment living should be serene and tranquil with their every need provided. It's an "Apartment" which means your house is a part of your neighbor's house, etc...
What do I like about Cambridge House?
1. Awesome sweetheart managers and cool maintenance staff guys
2. Great landscaping, pool, exercise room
3. Great neighbors
4. High Speed Internet
5. Close to Safeway (3 minutes on a bike)
6. Close to Campus (12 minutes to Engineering side)
7. I don't have pets, but a lot of people here do, so that's fun.
What do I not like about Cambridge House?
1. Parking is a constant battle, but what I do like is that the manger will tow you if you're not supposed to be here
2. Windows are old, but take heart! They are being replaced as we speak.
3. The game room is great, but not cared for by a few who ruin it for everyone else.
Everything else considered, I would recommend this place for anyone who is a little older, in grad school, or working. If you want crazy, there are plenty of places closer to campus. If you want your own house, then get ready to cough up $2200/month. Peace Out —KS (This review is the only edit this user account has made on the wiki. While it does not invalidate this review, please keep this in mind)
2008-03-05 00:17:13 I guess to respond to KS post, I would disagree that this is a place for a grad student/working person, I would think its more for a party person who doesn't care about noise (because there is a lot). If you want to have a party house that you don't feel bad about trashing, this is the place for you. As for the spiders, everyone of my neighbors I have talk to has the same problem with excessive spiders and the "high speed" internet is not high speed at all! Halfway through our lease the management started charging us $10 per person who wanted to pay their rent with a credit card after it was previously free. I don't even think this is legal!I don't know even one of my neighbors who is renewing their lease, so that sould say a lot. If you do decide to rent here, you have been warned! *Also the warning about KS reputation above should be considered because it sounds a lot like a property manager—hmm
2008-03-19 21:07:45 This place is horrible! Our mailbox has been broken into twice since January and they have done nothing to fix the lock. Tonight, my underwear got thrown around the laundry room. People never pick up their dog shit and you step in it all the time. The internet never works right and if you get home after 7 you're screwed because there is no place to park. If I could figure out how to get out of my lease right now I would!! It's horrible!! —CrissyMel
2008-04-12 14:08:15 I've lived at Cambridge for almost a year and these people are totally blowing things out of proportion. It's actually pretty great here. I have NEVER ONCE had problems with my internet. There is not a pest problem and newsflash to the person who says its infested with spiders: they're spiders. and they're outside, and the whole city of davis has spiders outside. lol. I pay $960 for a one bedroom and they only charged me ten dollars more to renew for another year. Which is totally worth it because I dont pay cable or internet. Parking is not more of a problem than anywhere else is Davis. It gets more full at night because everyone is coming home. Thats how it is EVERYWHERE. My heater and my AC work just fine. The girls in the office are super nice and the maintenance is always nice and quick. I won free tickets to a comedy show! and they had a movie night with free pizza a couple months back. The pool is super nice especially cuz its getting hot these days.. It's no where near as bad as people are complaining it is. I'll probably be here until I finish with my undergrad. -Me
2008-05-08 20:05:00 I'd sure like to live in the same fantasy world the previous poster is living in. I'm not impressed with this place at all. It is old, dated and very run down. I literally moved in to find one of my sink pipes duct-taped to the wall, stained carpet, broken cabinet door and a cracked window. This is AFTER the place is supposed to be repaired for the new resident! Parking is a very big problem, more so than what I found at Greystone or Alhambra apartments. I've had to call for repairs on the shoddy construction about once a month. The repair guys are very professional and nice and fix the problems quickly. It seems they just got stuck working at a bad place. It is overpriced for what you actually get. The girls at the front desk are nice, but the policies of management are pretty silly. Internet is a big problem. It seems to go out for about a day twice a month. It never seems to get fixed until you call the office to complain. The place has gotten a facelift, but in reality, it is very superficial. What really counts, the places you actually live in, are still pretty bad. I'd much rather have good plumbing and efficient A/C than a "pretty study/game room" that I never use. —DaveCar
2008-07-13 00:13:43 I have lived here since September of 2007 and after reading the reviews on here, I feel I have to add something. The apartments aren't all that bad here. The maintenance staff is very polite and helpful in making repairs, the management seems nice and polite to my husband and me, and the pool is cleaned every day, so that's great. However, the apartments are old. The paint is peeling, the AC/heat is a joke, the windows don't seal all the way, and the carpet is threadbare. It would have been nicer to see all the money that management put into their game room into upgrading the apartments instead. Who cares if there's a great pool table or Air Hockey game (that doesn't work very well) if I can't get good AC in the summer heat? And the laundry prices are outrageous. I pay $1.50 for each load for wash and $1.50 for each dryer. And half of the washing machines do not work, most of the time. There are noisy people here, and we came close to calling the police once because of a late party (but someone beat us to it), but this is a decent place to live. We renewed our lease once, but we will be moving next summer, for sure. Overall, I'd give this place a 7/10; despite all it's pitfalls, it's still a nice place to live. The ground are generally clean and I feel safe living here. Parking is a pain, but that's what the DMV lot next door is for. —HAS
2008-07-15 07:49:33 Yeah, it's not that bad if you've never lived in an appartment before, or have incredibly low expectations for anything. Here's another tenant with an AC that hardly works, thinks the managment is unresponsive (they SOMETIMES don't have much choice with some of the stupid policies here), when the parking doesn't suck and there ARE open spaces in the parking lot, their parking patrol company is incredibly over zelous (ok yeah, my car, A RESIDENTS CAR, was just towed, sure I could have parked on the street, but the parking lot was half empty, I LIVE HERE, HAD GOVERNMENT PLATES, and it was 6pm and no one was in the office to give me a parking pass. My car was gone by 6am).
The free internet might as well be no internet. I've also had my mail stolen at least 3 times (so has my neighbors). After reporting it to the management and police, the police mandated the complex change the mailboxes... still hasn't happened. To their credit, they are doing other upgrades... and giving you less than a days notice to have your appartment ready for them (Yeah they're doing construction on appartments while the residents are still there). This is not an appartment I would ever recommend. I'd also suggest you consider how many places a positive reviewer has actually lived.
Just because there are a lot of shity places to live doen't mean it's ok to settle for one. Having any sort of standard will keep you away from Cambridge House. —TealPeterson
2008-07-15 11:44:30 I've been a resident for almost a year now and have never had any (EDIT: parking) problems. My car was towed last night which is amazing as my parking pass was clearly visible, as it has been for the past year; right on the dash. When you sign your lease, they also take down your car's information - with the express intent to double check to make sure you're truly a resident - before they tow you incase the parking pass is not visible.
Now, I have to get a ride to the towing place, pay $220 and miss part of class (I'm a college student) and be late to work all because they're too lazy to double check to see if the car belongs to a resident.
They use Patrol Plus to check for the parking passes. After speaking with the manager I was told that Patrol Plus doesn't have access to our information, so they cannot check to see if the car belongs to a resident. Why then, would they take down our car's information if not to use it as intended?
If the fee is not refunded, I'm going to file a complaint with the City of Davis, the Better Business Bureau and pursue legal action if neccesary. If your car has also been towed wrongfully, please let me know. I know of three other cases where this has occured recently. —DaveCar
2008-07-16 16:21:27 Update: So it turns out the manager who told me we'd be contacted first before our cars would be towed was wrong and has since left the company. As the guys at All About Towing said, "Cambridge House has a very high turnover rate with their managers." My parking pass had fallen off my dash and into the car as I showed it to the All About Towing guys as soon as I could get into my car. They felt terrible as they could see the pass was literally "right there" - visible as soon as I opened the door. They offered to void the towing fee if the management at Cambridge House would give them a call and tell them to void it. They couldn’t void it themselves as they are contracted by Cambridge House and would need the “ok” from them.
Unfortunately, the upper management at Cambridge House decided not to make the call as they'd be liable for all the other residents who have also been towed due to similar situations. I pointed out that they wouldn't have to actually pay the towing fee - All About Towing would simply void the transactions, but they declined anyways. It is unfortunate as the manager who actually works at the property, Monica, has been very kind and patient about the whole thing. It was her boss's call and there's nothing Monica could do. This case really solidifies the impression that the employees who work here just got stuck working for people with poor management skills. As I've said in a previous post, the maintenance guys are awesome and do good work - it’s just unfortunate that they have to work at a place that is in such poor condition.
When I lived at The Seville and Greystone, they had mechanisms in place to prevent residents getting towed if for some reason their parking passes weren't visible. The Seville used to patrol the parking lot at night, themselves, (as a manager lived on the property) and same with Greystone. In addition, at Greystone, if someone was parked in your spot, you literally had to show your lease to the tow truck driver (with your car's info) and prove that you owned the spot, before they'd tow the car. As the guys at All About Towing said, "most apartment complexes are careful to not tow their own customers as that only pisses the customer off". I have to agree. I guess Cambridge House couldn’t be bothered to do the same.
Basically, some places care about their customers and others don't. Some are willing to introduce simple measures to prevent situations like these. What makes matters worse is Cambridge House is talking about switching to using Jed's Towing, out in Dixon, so not only will you get towed if your pass isn't visible, but you'll also have to drive out to Dixon. All in all, it’s very poor management and obviously not geared to retaining customers or maintaining good relationships with current customers.
It was my fault for not making sure the parking pass was on my dash. Since I’d never had a problem before, I didn’t even think to double check as I got out of the car. As frustrating as it is, I decided long ago not to renew my lease as Cambridge House is overpriced and in terrible condition – even as far as Davis apartments go. It is clear that the management doesn’t care about their customers and instead only wishes to cover themselves. As past and current residents of Cambridge House, along with All About Towing mentioned, this happens quite often. Patrol Plus is over zealous in their reporting of cars without “clearly visible parking passes” and most likely receives kick backs from All About Towing.
Anyways, don’t take my word for it; the majority of past and current residents’ opinions are clearly negative here, (only 33% of past or current residents recommend Cambridge House according to ApartmentRatings.com). It’s a shame as the employees who work on site have always been kind and good at what they do. I’m impressed with them and think its sad they just got stuck working for bad upper management. I apologize for the long post but felt it was important to present the whole picture as best I could.
Also, tape your parking pass to your windshield, no matter where you live.
Ack, double post, sorry. The internet went out as I was trying to post my comment. Another benefit of the "free high speed internet" here is that its not really that fast and isn't exactly "working" all the time.
2008-07-22 19:40:10 They recently did an upgrade on their internet and I can totally see a difference. Before a Youtube video was something you let load up for 20 minutes, now it might take just a minute or two. I've only had the internet cut out on me once after living here for 7 months and it was only for a few minutes. —DominicBulone
2008-07-25 12:35:04 Dominic is right, the internet seems to be faster and more reliable now. The company that provides internet for the property, ApartmentHost.com, just made some changes on their end. If your old programs (such as online games, etc) no longer work and you're a resident, just call ApartmentHost.com at 1-888-755-0445 and they'll let your program through their new firewall setup. They're very friendly.
Also, thank you moderators for catching lisagoetz when she tried editing and deleting some of my comments. I think she may work for Aspen Square mgt. —DaveCar
2008-07-25 12:39:47 Also, as for Cambridge House possibly switching to Jed's towing, it was the guys at All About Towing, Mark specifically, that told me that. —DaveCar
2008-07-25 13:16:17 Yeah, I just checked, Lisa Goetz does work for Aspen Square management. This is interesting though as she's the lady I signed the lease with (who told me they'd call before they'd tow). I was told she no longer works there and had spoken in error when she said I'd be notified first. I know this because her signature is on my lease, holding deposit receipt and other forms. I'm shocked that an employee would try to delete and edit my comments. (See the edit history for this page). I'd say more, but Aspen Square's actions speak louder than my words ever could. Sorry for the multiple posts. I'd be happy to consolidate them if the moderators would prefer that. —DaveCar
2008-07-31 11:04:15 Ever since the upgrade, the Internet is not working. I get very inconsistent speeds, which render my VoIP phone useless. I thought I was getting a deal with the "free" Internet, but I'm just stuck now with bad Internet. The worst part is that one cannot do anything about it. As they point out in the office "it's free". I guess you get what you pay for.
On an unrelated note, the pool is getting a little scary with all the dirt and the number of trespassers who feel they can just walk in from the street and use it at any time of day. I saw a couple in the pool the other night who seemed to be having sex. I think I'm going to skip using the pool for a while and let the water filter clean out whatever they may have left behind. —MikeO
2008-08-17 14:38:32 You can get around the free internet by getting your own internet, like I ended up doing out of frustration... Just a note for those who do end up living here, you can upgrade your TV service for the difference between what you want and what Cambridge house provides... (premium tv for $20 or whatever it is I pay). —TealPeterson
2008-09-15 13:51:37 It doesn't seem to stop. Landlords are legally required to return damage deposits within 21 days of the end of a lease with an itemized statement of charges. Once again, Cambridge House is edging toward the wild side of the law. I'll be taking them to small claims court for taking more than 3 weeks to return it to me. I guess I can't complain too much. They're liable for 3 times the amount of the damage deposit.
Nice appearance or not, shitty management can make or break your experience at a place. It's not enough to do your job half the time. —TealPeterson
2008-09-17 15:34:02 After some talking around, I've found out that I'm not the only tennent to have not recieved their damage deposit yet from their move out/end of lease on August 24th. —TealPeterson
2008-09-17 15:47:34 I've had the same problem as Mr. Peterson. My damage deposit was also not post-marked within the legally required 21 days. If you've had similiar problems, this link is very helpful in getting them resolved. Tenant Rights
Update: 2008-10-06: I didn't want to post the full details until the issue was resolved. The check that reimbursed me what was left of my security deposit wasn't even made out until three days after the date it would have been post-marked to legally arrive within twenty-one days. From my security deposit, Cambridge House tried to keep the full, additional pet deposit I paid, listing them as "pet fees" - which is illegal as explained in the "Tenant Rights" link above. This was particularly interesting (and sloppy) as the pet deposit is listed as a "deposit" on my contract and not a fee. In fact, on the contract, in the space provided for "fees" it clearly says "$0". However, on the itemized security deposit refund (which wasn't itemized in that it didn't detail each charge), the pet deposit was clearly listed as a fee.
I wish I could say I was shocked, but honestly, I was expecting something like this based on past experiences. I called and politely asked for my full security deposit back after explaining why I deserved it. I stated that I would take the case to small claims court immediately if the full deposit was not refunded. I was told they'd contact their manager and get back to me. The next day I was told I'd get the full deposit back, which I did a week later.
The issue is now resolved, and apparently I'm not the only resident this has happened to. If something similar has happened to you, I highly recommend fighting it as most apartment management companies do try this. They know the average person is too lazy to stand up for their rights, or doesn't know any better. Lastly, the employees who worked on the property were very kind, professional and helpful with this process. It seems they just happen to work for an incredibly deceitful company (see past resident comments being edited, false posts from the same IP Address, and illegal business tactics).
I'm thrilled to be done with this place and glad to get my deposit back.
—DaveCar
2008-09-23 18:05:12 I have lived in Davis for over 5 years now, and at Cambridge House for over 2 years. This is by far the best place I have lived at in Davis! Management is always friendly and helpful while the maintenance always gets things done in a timely manner. If I have printer issues and I have a paper due and it's 2am, I can easily print my class work in the study lounge and not freak out. I like to frequent the pool and it's awesome cuz it's rarely used but always clean and clear! I haven't ever had to park on the street but I rarely get the spot right in front of my room. Safety is a big concern for me being a single female and I have always feet safe living here and walking to surrounding stores being we're only 1 block from the police department. Everyone's experience varies but I have had nothing but good experiences while living at Cambridge. Good job gals and keep up the good work! :) —beebeewoof
2008-09-26 12:40:54 It looks like, once again, a poorly reviewed business is trying to add positive comments pretending to be customers. (See Dave Palmer, HeatherClaire, BeeBeeWoof, KS's IP addresses).. I mean, it seems obvious that overly positive reviews must be fake, especially when they include the term "reasonable monthly cost" in it. But I thought I'd mention it anyways! —VanessaZ -I'm enjoying how now those "people" are going back and deleting their own comments. Awesome. :)
2008-09-26 13:02:43 Good call VanaeesaZ. beebeewoof and HeatherClaire sound like poorly written "testimonials" from a late-night infomercial. My BS detector was going crazy, then I read your comment. Maybe if they are real people they will respond. When we moved to Davis we looked at Cambridge House and I swear, the sales pitch was almost identical to those 2 comments. —aharjala
2008-10-06 00:21:46 I do not recommend living on the first floor if you have heavy neighbors above :X. Also, I think it's a bit outrageous that I pay an extra $10/mo for my patio and not get to have whatever I want out on my patio. They say only bikes and patio furniture—nothing else. :( —MichelleV
2008-10-20 16:36:18 Hi, as stated on the Cambridge House Apartments page, we provide free internet to all of our residents, which is why both positive and negative comments are posted from very similar IP addresses. The office computers run off of a different system than what we provide for our residents, so our IP Address in the office is not the same. Cambridge House staff would not post positive comments posing as residents. We appreciate the feedback and if you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us in the office. Thank you. -Cambridge House Management —Cambridge
2008-10-26 21:16:42 Regarding the IP addresses, perhaps, but Cambridge House HAS edited residents' comments in the past. Specifically, see revision 74, 75 and 76. Lisagoetz works for Cambridge House as I have her signature on my old lease. The user "cambridge" also got caught trying to silence bad reviews. See revisions 37 and 41. Editing comments goes against the core idea of what the wiki is. It is as bad, if not worse than posting false positive comments. —DaveCar
2008-11-04 17:37:28 As the days grow shorter and the nights grow colder, it is often easy to forget the simple things in life that help us in pursuing our dreams. Things like shelter and food. Cambridge House has volunteered to be a drop off point for any non perishable food items to donate to less fortunate people. All food will be donated to Davis Community Meals where they will give the food to people in our community that truly need our help. With the holidays just around the corner and the economy at a standstill, let's come together as the community we are and make a difference. Stop by the Cambridge House Office anytime Monday - Friday from 8am to 5:30pm. Thanks and have a wonderful holiday season —Cambridge
2008-11-13 16:57:06 So I've lived here for 3 months now and its not that bad. People complain about the parking but I don't think I've had that much trouble with it. People leave late at night so every now and then you get lucky. If worse comes to worse, I just park down the street next to the other apartment complex. I'm not to keen on the management here. They waste so much paper with the flyers they post on your door and its kinda useless. They even remove bikes that are chained to the pillers and stairs bc it's "unattractive to the apartment." They do ridiculous things here and the still have the sprinklers on even when its raining. The location isn't so bad, the buses is walking distance. The internet it kinda slow and it goes in and out. There's no central heating or AC so its pointless when I'm in my room most of the time. I had to bring up my own heater and fan. Honestly i wouldn't live here again. —h3llokitty
2008-12-07 21:18:19 I've lived here a few months and would say the earlier complaints are exaggerated or things have changed since then. Yeah, it's an older complex (under the 6 layers of paint) without central heating/AC or a garbage disposal (which I miss from my Sac apartment). Yes, the internet is pretty bad (high latency, terrible bandwidth). Yes, the rent is rather high (compared to Sacramento, anyway). But it's not the hellhole people make it out to be. Also, parking hasn't really been an issue for my wife and I more than a couple of times. When it was, we just parked a little ways down the street—like a minute walk, if that. You're right next to the A, M, Q, P, and L bus stops, too, which is great if you're a UCD student. If you're interested in maybe living here, just do a walk-through of a regular apartment here and what you see there is what you get. It's not luxurious by any means, but it's not *that* bad. —RobertM525
2009-01-10 01:26:44 The dog problem is overwhelming in these days. Unleash dogs, annoying dog-barking-marathon and selfish owners letting their dogs to pee in front of other residences' door(1~2 feets). I have seen a MONSTER size Great Dane here, which is banned in this apartment. I am wondering if the manager knows anything about the dog problems here.—rjwesley
2009-01-19 13:51:35 Thank you for the feedback with issues we can work harder on to correct. Please call the office with specific complaint information (i.e., apt #, the issue and how long it has been happening). I cannot fix a problem that no one is telling me about. I am at the office Monday -Friday from 8am-5pm, please feel free to stop by so we can work on this issue. Also, fortunately for large dog owners, we have no weight restrictions. We do this because we realize it is hard to find a home with a large pet and most people will not just give up their animals. We do however have breed restrictions. Great Danes are not on that restriction list and are in fact able to stay here, please refer to your lease for any additional information on our pet policy. Thank you —Cambridge
2009-02-02 22:16:53 In case anyone was wondering about the performance of the "high-speed internet," here's what I've observed, bandwidth-wise (with http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest though I have seen similar results with other speed tests).
First, it should be noted that the bandwidth seems to change constantly. I believe this is because everyone here is sharing bandwidth—more people on thus means worse bandwidth (and latency, though I'll get to that in a second). I have observed anywhere from, right now...
Download Speed: 853 kbps (106.6 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 823 kbps (102.9 KB/sec transfer rate)
...to, on January 26:
Download Speed: 307 kbps (38.4 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 313 kbps (39.1 KB/sec transfer rate)
Or, on August 23, 2008, I had a download speed of 383 kbps (47.9 KB/sec) and an upload speed of 91 kbps (11.4 KB/sec).
September 2, 2008:
Download Speed: 239 kbps (29.9 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 149 kbps (18.6 KB/sec transfer rate)
October 25, 2008:
Download Speed: 3157 kbps (394.6 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 1558 kbps (194.8 KB/sec transfer rate)
November 20, 2008:
Download Speed: 292 kbps (36.5 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 493 kbps (61.6 KB/sec transfer rate)
December 7, 2008:
Download Speed: 413 kbps (51.6 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 598 kbps (74.8 KB/sec transfer rate)
So that should give you a relatively good reference for what to expect here. Now, how does that compare to other types of Internet? My brother, who lives in Los Gatos, has Comcast's High-Speed Internet. On January 26, he got these results:
Download Speed: 12468 kbps (1558.5 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 3021 kbps (377.6 KB/sec transfer rate)
Also on January 26, I tested the download speed in the UC Davis library on their computers:
Download Speed: 61539 kbps (7692.4 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 8242 kbps (1030.3 KB/sec transfer rate)
What this does not show, and what it's been harder for me to find methods to reliably quantify (beyond a command prompt ping or tracert), is the latency—my biggest gripe with the internet here. The easiest measure of this I have is when I'm playing World of Warcraft. The latency seems to vary more than the bandwidth does. I've gone anywhere from around 120ms of latency to as high as 14,000ms of latency. Needless to say, the latter is EXTREMELY frustrating, as it makes the game unplayable. Lately, it's been especially bad in the afternoons and I have basically written off my ability to play internet-based games—which require low latency—between about 3pm and 11pm. Over Christmas break, when there were fewer people here, the latency was perfectly tolerable almost all the time. But that's definitely not so these past few weeks. Right now, at 10:56 pm, I'm getting 1,378ms of lag—it's extremely frustrating.
If anyone is interested, the ISP here is Apartment Host, found here: http://www.apartmenthost.com/highspeed.asp —RobertM525
2009-02-05 16:16:23 Whew. I can't finish all the comments. I wanted to reply to the many who have stated that the cons of this complex are like all the other apartments in Davis. I have never been to this complex, but it seems like you guys pay a lot for what you get. To the specifics....no, not all apartments in Davis are loud, not all apartments have terrible parking, not all apartments have thin walls and ceilings, not all residents in apartments are loud, not all Davis apartments have bug infestations, and (this last bit is loose conjecture) vandalism and break ins seem more common in certain areas of Davis and possibly certain apartment complexes. I have been living in Cranbrook, and though like all apartments it has it's own negatives, it doesn't have these supposedly universal negatives. I just wanted to be sure some people realized that they have apparently developed unrealistic and negative assumptions about all Davis apartment living. It is possible to get a very quiet apartment, it really is. Don't expect too little, and always read your lease very very carefully before you sign it. This link is a very very helpful guide....http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/catenant.pdf —JW
2009-02-17 17:55:15 Yeah, this place sucks. For starters, when my roommate and I decided to check this place out, we were not allowed to see the actual room we would be leasing, instead we were shown a model room that I believe is a room that is never leased. We finally were able to see the apartment when we moved in and noticed that the grill for the heating unit was bashed in and was supported only by a few nails bent in such a way to keep it from popping out. I had noticed a leak underneath the sink when I first used it and it took the service crew three visits of them saying that it was fixed when it was not until they finally caved to putting out the money to replace the fixtures. Chipped paint can be found everywhere from the bottom of the doors to deep on the inside of the closet. They cover up many damages with layers of paint. There are clear concavities in doors due to people apparently kicking them in and such, which the owners merely painted over. The only door that does require excessive force to either open or close is the front door. The first night I stayed at this place I noticed a big roach problem in our kitchen. Everyday I see roach droppings underneath our microwave and in a few of the shelves. The internet and cable come with the apartment, but the internet is really slow and shuts down from time to time. You are better off going some place else and getting your own internet and cable through Comcast. There are a lot of laundry facilities here, but people who live here are either jerks or incredibly stupid as you may often start a load of laundry only to find out when you return that someone else has carelessly stopped the machine by opening the door. The AC does not work and the oven heats up the apartment better than the heater. Lastly, parking is a pain. —zckfox
2009-02-27 10:14:59 While we appreciate the suggestions and feedback Daviswiki users provide, we strongly urge all apartment hunters to come by for a tour and see for yourselves what a great community we are. We do not have a specific apartment we fix up special and use as a model throughout the year; we lease all of our apartments yearly and often use a vacant apartment as a model. We understand, based on this website that there are some people who have decided that this is not the place for them, however, there are many people this year that have renewed and we are still currently accepting renewals from our residents. With the amount of people renewing, it is easy to show that there are a number of people who are happy and comfortable here. It is common of rating websites and wikis that most comments are negative. This is because people often feel the need to share their negative experiences as opposed to positive ones. When people are happy, they are generally content and don’t feel the need to share it online. Daviswiki is a great website and we often get many new residents who find us by searching here. You could be one of them. Stop by M-F from 8:30-5:30 or on Saturdays from 10am to 4pm. We are more than happy to help you. Thank you —Cambridge
2009-04-10 11:17:14 very disappointing overall. the apartments must have been built 50 years ago, there are shady people living here, everything is beaten down and barely maintained. they cemented in the hot tub because they said it was too much to take care of. basically, if you have a soul and enjoy life, don't live here. —ufodog624
2009-04-14 22:41:35 The fitness center is suck! The main reason is that it doesn't have it's own air-conditioner/heater in the room. The air-conditioner/heater is connected to the rental office. In summer, managers turn on the air-conditioner during their office hours. During office hours, you can still breath in the fitness center. However, they turn off the air-conditioner after office hours. How can you exercise in a room without window and air-conditioner??? It seems like a steam room with just dead air inside!!!! If there is more than one person in the room, the condition will be worse. Well, the fitness center has two fans, but the fans don't work because the fans just keep blowing the HOT dead air in the room. In winter, the managers turned on heater during office hours. At the same time, the fitness center is heated up, too. I believe no one can exercise, especially run, in a room with heater on. It is extremely uncomfortable to have any work out in the room. The Managers do not allowed us to open the door to drive the air in. It is really crazy!! I understand that it would be noisy outside if the door is opened. However, I don't think there is other way to drive fresh air in the room if the fitness center doesn't have it's own air-conditioner. Exercise regularly is healthy, but exercise without FRESH air is NOT. —kikokiko
2009-05-07 13:35:48 I never actually made it through the lease signing process. In my opinion (this entire posting is my opinion, only) these guys are the kind of corporate swindlers I cannot see myself ever renting from. They showed a model apartment (pictures are on this site), would not let me get in any sort of contact with the current tenants (perhaps because the current tenants are unhappy?), and sent me the most ridiculous lease ever. The way they swindle is hard to pick up. Essentially, my lease started July 17th, 2009, and went to July 6, 2010. I was supposed to give them a full TWO months rent on the first day of the lease, to cover the second half of July and all of August. When I noted that the lease ended July 6th of 2010 (and therefore the second half of my first month's rent paid this July could be applied to only the first few days of next July), they said that they couldn't make it for a full year, and that I was still to pay 12 equal payments of rent to cover my yearly rent total. They do not prorate. Essentially this meant I was to spend an additional $430 dollars, or an actual $45/month in rent, OVER the amount I was supposedly being charged per month (because for 15 days my rent was apparently also $1190). So, while they said that the apartment was $1190/month, it was actually $1235/month, I would just be paying the extra during my first few weeks living there.
Every time I tried to fix it, they said it was against company policy. They would not refer me to their superiors. It was an awful experience, and one that cost me at least $50 in application fees (possibly another $200 more, I'll let you know if they refund me my "holding deposit").
DO NOT RENT FROM THESE PEOPLE. They make you do everything within 24 hours in hopes that you don't read the fine print and sign away your soul and your hard-earned money. I have posted a complete, redacted .pdf of my lease. However, I do not want Cambridge accusing me of releasing it to everyone, so if you would like to see what you'll be signing before you give them your application fee and your holding deposit, please e-mail me at apt.critic@gmail.com. Believe me, you want to see this thing.
EDIT: Apparently Cambridge has informed me that they will allow prospective tenants to view their potential lease on demand, before holding the apartment. If this is the case, I will not be releasing my redacted lease. However, if you find that this isn't the case, I will still be accepting e-mail at the above address. —Ceebs
2009-05-07 17:41:07 Like previously stated, Cambridge House always appreciates the feedback from residents and potential residents. We do not appreciate the implication that we are trying to “swindle” people out of money. Over 35 new leases have been signed this year. Every new resident has signed the same lease without any issues and we have even had those people refer others to our community. We have absolutely nothing to hide and our full lease, application and any other documents you wish to see are readily available at any time at your request. Each apartment has different lease start and end dates. If you are interested in viewing a lease before you put a hold on an apartment please stop by the office and request one. Please do not ask for a copy from the above user, as that lease is no longer an original of Cambridge House.
As a side note, once this person cancelled, they were immediately refunded the $200 hold deposit without argument and should be receiving it shortly. We try our best to be sure that you are happy to live here at Cambridge House. If you do not agree with the lease agreement we provide you, it is not mandatory that you live here.
We have an amazing community and a great management team. The number of residents that have chosen to stay another year clearly reflects that. If you have any additional questions please call us at the office at 530.756.4020. We are open Monday through Friday 9am- 6pm and Saturdays 10am-4pm. Thank you.
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Perhaps you could clear up the claim that you charge a full month's rent for half a month? Reading this I know that would be my main concern, as it would seem rather underhanded. —MasonMurray
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I would also like clarification. -ES
2009-05-08 12:02:07 I wonder how many of the 35 people who have signed leases for next year work for attorneys? I do... :-) —Ceebs
2009-05-08 15:31:29 Plenty actually. —Cambridge
2009-05-16 10:30:05 2009-05-16 10:28:48 Plenty actually is right. Prior to me moving in to this horrible property, I also worked for an attorney. I no longer do, but I would really advise anyone who is having issues with the property management to consult with one. Do not think you're getting a deal. The property is WAY over priced, considering what you're getting in return. I originally thought I was moving into a nice, quiet, and student-geared pad. I was SO wrong. A good portion of the tenants are drug abusers. I was harassed on several occasions by the upstairs tenants. It was actually quite scary at night time. If the actual property wasn't bad enough, the property management was absolutely terrible. When I was moving in, they gave me a hard time about the PG&E being hooked up. I had no idea what they were even talking about. I had just driven up from Southern CA and was exhausted. They sat there and discussed a text message one of them had received from some guy the night before. It showed a total lack of professionalism. In addition, I am well aware that property managers do not make much money (usually because they do not do much). If you take a look at the vehicles the property managers drive, you'll be taken aback. They drive luxury vehicles - which they park on the property itself. Just shows you that they're ripping people off. Take my advice and definitely see what else Davis has to offer before you settle on this dirty complex. —Disgusted
2009-07-11 18:29:55 I'm saddened to see that things generally haven't changed here. Although these are the opinions of a few, note that they all skew towards the negatives and there are few "real" tennants (not managers posing as tenants - see the edit history) that have anything good to say about the property. —DaveCar
2009-08-05 17:00:59 Don't be fooled by the pictures or the "model" apartments. This apartment complex was absolutely filthy. It is by far the worst place I've lived in years including apartments around Davis and the bay area. Everything from the paint, the windows, and the carpets to the broken microwave and broken blinds are the cheapest I've encountered. Other apartments in Davis have been $20-$50 more expensive but infinitely better quality. The value for money at Cambridge House is wretched and the living conditions borderline horrendous. I would NOT recommend staying here if you have any other options. I've found other apartments recently that are actually cheaper per month and offer a much higher standard of living.
The panes of glass in the windows did not fit the metal frames, the frames were warped and covered with filth, and the windows did not close properly. Also every monday morning when the gardening crew came all sorts of crap got blown through the gap in the window, causing huge allergy problems for my roommate and I. The carpet is disgusting and feels more like cardboard than carpet.
The bathrooms were horrendous. The small ceiling fan was so clogged with mold that it caused mold to grow on the walls all year round regardless of bleaching. The only thing the management did about the mold was bleach it and paint over it. They used the same method on the fake tile in the shower. The plastic shower walls were also not sealed at the bottom and had enormous amounts of black mold growing out of them.
The walls are surprisingly soundproof between apartments, however the ceilings are surprisingly thin. As previously mentioned, do not live downstairs if you have heavy upstairs neighbors or people who bang around a lot when playing video games or other things if you get what I mean.
Also mentioned previously, there is copious amounts of pet poop around the complex in the grass, so stick to the narrow sidewalks when touring around.
Despite the numerous complaints about rodents and roaches, our apartment was fairly free of them, although spiders coming in through the windows was a huge issue too.
Surprisingly enough, the hot water is endless. We've had multiple people take decently long showers while the dishwasher was running and never ran out of hot water.
There is also not enough parking for all of the tenants, and if you manage to find parking, expect your vehicle to get lots of dings as the parking spaces are narrow and hard to park in for anything but smaller cars.
Finally, and this is probably the biggest problem we ran into, they charged us a full months rent for a partial months worth of lease. My roommate and I used the direct deposit method to pay rent and were assured a week before the last months rent was due that it would be canceled and that we would have to bring in a check. We brought a check in on the 1st only to find out that they had in fact "forgotten to cancel the direct deposit". We quickly rushed to deposit the money before we were charged, only to have them withdraw the full months rent from our accounts. —sepheretti
2009-08-14 21:49:33 More info on the high-speed internet...
Using http://www.speedtest.net/ I have run 37 tests of my connection speed since 7/21/09. My results were a mean download speed of 2.38 Mb/sec (with a standard deviation of 1.17), a mean upload speed of 2.72 Mb/sec (with a standard deviation of 1.48), and a mean latency of 27.38ms (with a standard deviation of 18.21). The minimum download speed I observed was 0.35 Mb/sec (7/21/2009 6:27 GMT); the maximum download speed I observed was 4.55 Mb/sec (8/4/2009 8:21 GMT). That and the standard deviation numbers should show how... variable the internet here can be. What it doesn't show is the frustratingly large amount of time you'll be told that "the page cannot be displayed" the first (or second) time you try to visit a web page. Not all the time, but often enough to be annoying with the connection's lack of reliability.
It's too bad they didn't provide the internet from the same source they provide the TV (namely Comcast, who have the highest speed internet in the Davis area according to speedtest.net at an average of 14.09 Mbps!). —RobertM525
2009-08-14 22:06:12 Regarding sepheretti's comments... (S)he is being rather hyperbolic, but is touching on some accurate issues.
The apartments aren't filthy, though the windows do not, indeed, fit very well. I suspect this is because they are very old. I live downstairs and I can, indeed, often hear my neighbors above me.
Parking's usually not an issue for me. I've lived here for over a year and only been forced to park outside the parking lot after I get off work at roughly 10pm a couple of times. They've been very quick to tow my friends' cars (two of them made the mistake of parking in the parking lot visiting me), which honestly is a good thing since that means residents will be more likely to get parking spaces if non-residents' cars are being towed. Just warn visitors. :)
Roaches and beetles are, indeed, a constant problem. I believe this is because the apartment complex is old so there are numerous ways for them to get into the apartments. Short of massive renovation, I'm not sure what could be done about that. Or the easy-to-hear-through ceilings. Our bathroom is, indeed, inadequately ventilated to evacuate steam and mold can crop up. Painting over things (like the kitchen sink!) is, indeed, one of the management's favorite ways to clean things.
Oh, and there's no garbage disposal. Which makes cleaning the sink a constant chore.
Still, it's not the absolute disastrous hellhole sepheretti is describing. It's just an old apartment complex whose rent is probably too high. If they'd spend that rent on renovating things, that'd be great, but I don't foresee that happening. Given that the management company, Aspen Square Management, is from West Springfield, MA, I don't think they care that much. :) —RobertM525
2009-09-30 19:28:04 REDICULOUS!!!! The PARKING here SUCKS!!! Most complexes have assigned parking spots for atleast one vehicle per apartment, here they DON'T!!! Sure they give you a "sticker" so you can park in the lots, but it's a free for all. It seems like they give atleast 1 sticker per person living in the complex; so if thier is 5 people in an apartment, they all get a sticker. So don't even try and think for a second that you will get a parking spot; because you WON'T. So needless to say, try and park on the street, because those are taken too! So now you and your guests have to park 1/2 a mile from your apartment, just to find a spot!
Whoever else here is having a problem with the parking VOICE your opinion, this needs to CHANGE!!!
WE WANT PARKING REFORM!!!! AND WE WANT IT NOW!!! —skooldude
2009-10-01 01:36:58 I have been living here for almost four months, and have had no problems at all. The day we moved in they were unpacking a brand new fridge, and any problems(loose closet doorhandle, no stopper for the bath) we had right away were fixed. The whole complex is beautiful, and the free cable and internet is a big plus. Of course, we expanded our cable package(you get extended basic cable to begin with, but no food network or USA or MTV, etc)—but we on;y have to pay the difference, rather than the whole thing—so we get hundreds of channels for about $16 a month! The walls are super thick(Not once have I heard a neighbor, I even had to check to see if we had any! (we do)), though the floor/ceiling seperation can be a problem. i'm on the second floor, so no problems for me, but our downstairs neighbor has complained now and again. The gym has great hours—so that's convenient, and the pool is always clear and clean. I have never had trouble finding a parking spot—permits are required but any resident can get one. still, no problems. No bugs to speak of. The air conditioning/heating wall unit works well, but unless you leave it on all the time during the summer it won't be able to cool the whole apartment, just the half that it faces. Standing in front of it's lovely, though. It's close to Safeway, and it's practically on 5th st/Richards, which is what the campus is off of. By car, it's 7 minutes to the MU. All in all—I'm glad I chose Cambridge house! —JeanD
2009-10-14 03:04:26 Oddly, I just discovered that the "Cambridge" account here posts from an IP address associated with Comcast, not the internet that we residents get (ApartmentHost.com). Now why is that? Because our internet, frankly, rather sucks? (Lately it's been about 0.25 to 0.50 Mbps and very laggy. Definitely not "high speed.") If we've got Comcast TV, how 'bout Comcast internet, too? If the internet here is not good enough for the management, then it's not good enough for the residents! —RobertM525
