Velo and Ray

The Velo building and units themselves are nice. The cleaning crew did a great job keeping the lobby and main areas clean despite residents of the building not knowing how to use a garbage chute. Maintenance requests are answered very quickly. Why I'm giving them 1 star is because the move-in and move-out process is absolutely terrible. I was initially interested in a very specific unit, made an appointment to see the unit, and on the day of was told that unit wasn't available and my appointment was made in error. I had to take time off work to go to that appointment. I contacted them by email and let them know I was interested in that unit only and to let me know if the application fell through. A week later I don't hear anything and I see the same unit listed again on their website. This time I just applied and paid the deposit to secure the unit. Red flag. Once I move in they forget to add me to their Amazon locker system and or notify me about said system. Received zero orientation on the building. When my lease was up I emailed to ask if they would consider lowering the monthly rent since the second bedroom was marked incorrectly and had no windows. They told me no, that it was already below market value. However, unit ended up going for $100 below what I was paying. Lastly, the move-out process was terrible. They scheduled a pre-move out walk thru on the day I had movers! I tried to schedule a formal move-out but they ignored me and posted a 2-day notice on my door anyway. The maintenance person that did the pre-move-out inspection told me I would be charged for cleaning regardless of how clean I left it and then tried very hard to look for issues to charge me for. The bathroom wall had some light scuffing and he told me the whole wall would need to be repainted. When I asked why the whole wall and not just a touch up he very rudely pointed at the light scuff marks in a sarcastic way and proceeded to tell me that's how their paint was, that they can't touch up they have to paint the whole wall. Moving out, I received zero deposit and a bill. The itemized receipt not only contained information for my unit but for another unit as well. They seem to be pretty careless with confidential information. I was charged over $300 for paint and almost $200 for carpet cleaning. However, receipt also showed the carpet was replaced for regular wear and tear. Ultimately, I had to contact them and fight the charges and they returned my deposit.

I moved in about a week ago so I will update this review as time goes on. But this is an excellent place to live. The management team is very helpful and supportive and made the move-in process easy. They allow self-guided tours of any available units. This property is fairly new and really well-maintained and clean. Package lockers, lounges, fitness center (latter two closed right now due to COVID), and an incredible rooftop patio with grills, lounge chairs, and gas fire pits with a stunning view of Seattle, Lake Union, Queen Anne, Aurora Bridge. Gated parking garage but I have to start off with a compact spot next to a pole, so parking takes a lot of precision unless you have a small car (which I do not). Very nice unit with large windows (though only a little bit of the window opens), fresh paint job, nice Whirlpool appliances and tons of cabinets, washer and dryer, large closet. And the location is PERFECT! Walk to Gas Works Park or into Fremont, or across the bridge and climb up Queen Anne Hill. Bike along Burke Gilman Trail to U-District (and beyond) or Ballard and Golden Gardens. Short walk to Fremont Brewery. Delicious BBQ joint literally next door and plenty of food options in all directions. Easy to get to freeways or into downtown or up to Green Lake area.

Velo has really gone downhill since the management changed from Greystar to a company called Essex. Previously, we would have community events and services, the front office would store packages when the Amazon hub was full, and the leasing staff would answer emails from residents. The building was also much cleaner and better-maintained. Now, our mailroom is overflowing with packages because the leasing offices refuses to store any. This has led to an increase in stolen mail. The leasing staff has not answered a single email or phone call of mine, and there have been no community events. The building is dirty, the management did a horrible wax job in the front lobby, there are often washing machine units just sitting in the front lobby for days on end. It's horrible.

I'm moving from DC to Seattle, and looking at apartments remotely was rough. In addition to the great pictures online, the leasing agent, Marco, gave us a tour of the apartment using facetime. The lease signing was all online with digital signatures, so there was no printing and scanning necessary. Once we signed, Marco texted us pictures of the apartment so we can plan our move around the layout.