Shade Apartments at Desert Ridge

Since Tipton group took over, I highly recommend NOT MOVING HERE! I continue to live here currently only because I am in a lease. The fact is, the staff is substandard, they do not maintain the property well, and I get the sense that they do not care.
It’s a shame because when Mark Taylor managed this property, the staff was decent and they did keep things clean and maintained.
If you are looking for a place to live, go elsewhere!

New management «The Tipton Group» isn’t very good– Mark Taylor has superior customer service in comparison to Tipton group. I say this having lived through painful transition. Make sure you take pictures of everything and insist on final walk through otherwise they will take it upon themselves to make holes on a door if say they feel compelled you need buy a new one. Lastly, communication breakdowns are common since front desk including management such as Tracy is run by people that honestly do not want to help you.

Since The Tipton group has acquired this property any sense of intellect have gone out the window. When calling them to inquire about a new $ 2 fee to pay online the first response was, «We don’t know what this is.»
They stated a guest brought this up yesterday, however if I did not bring a check into the office by 5PM tomorrow to avoid paying online I would be charged. It’s not the $ 2 I’m concerned over, it’s the principal of the matter and the fact that they will not even try to provide any type of solution to any problems that arise.

This was the first (and only) apartment complex I ever lived in when I first moved to Phoenix back in 2007. Back then, the community was owned by Mark Taylor and had just recently opened. In fact, I was the very first tenant assigned to my unit.
As for my apartment dwellings itself, I was always satisfied since I only wanted a small, one-​bedroom and one bathroom unit. I was up on third floor with a nice little balcony that still allowed me to have a good degree of privacy. In some ways, I kind of miss the simplicity of it all.
The maintenance man, at least back then, was really nice and always willing to help me if I had any issues, which was rarely.
The office girls, however, were incredibly snooty. I’ll never forget my first day, politely asking how I work the laser key to open up the gates while she snickered under her breath at my apparent ignorance. Sorry, lady. I’m from rural Indiana. We don’t put gates around our communities. They wouldn’t let me pay my rent with my debit card, so I was forced to go across the street and get a cashier’s check at the bank every month. I also had a horrible time getting access to a lot of my packages because my work hours often conflicted with the hours of the office. Some guy who worked in the office ended up taking my friend’s cell number from her file so he could start texting her, which is about as creepy as things can get.
I wrongfully assumed I’d be living amongst young professionals, but it seemed to be more populated with rowdy kids whose sources of income always remained a mystery to me. One guy, who lived two floors below me, had seemingly nothing better to do than thump his rap music all day and night and shake the entire building.
Many people who lived here didn’t have vehicles, so they would often transport their groceries in (stolen) shopping carts that they would then leave littered around the community. It got so bad that, at one point, the manager at the Albertson’s across the street called to complain. They eventually had to implement a «fine» to anyone who was caught with a shopping cart within the community.
There was a guy on the first floor, whose girlfriend would make so much noise when they were having sex, that I didn’t know whether to call in a noise disturbance or ask him for some «bedroom tips» that I could use in the future.
The halls would often be littered with trash that would rarely get picked up. It was not uncommon to see beer bottles, spilled pasta, and disgusting cigarette butts just several feet from my door mat. I eventually had to start cleaning it up myself, since clearly no one else was going to do the job.
They somehow criss-​crossed the APS billing of my friend’s apartment with her neighbor, so she ended up paying almost triple in utilities what she should have been paying.
I had a shaded parking area and frequently had to have people towed out of my space. One morning, I found a pair of soaked briefs on top of my car, which I begrudgingly had to remove myself. The office staff found this funnier than I did. Maybe I just don’t have a sense of humor, I guess.
I left after two years when I decided to buy a house. Looking back on it, the overall experience was pretty poor and I don’t feel it’s a place that I’d ever recommend to anyone.

We have Rats!!! Disgusting place. I have complained and asked them to move me to a different apartment. Tipton Group just took over and continue to email saying they are waiting for approval. It’s been almost 4 weeks now. Tipton group (the new management) Does not give a $#!t about you. Just your money!
Have to hire an attorney!
BEWARE!!! Proof is in the pictures!
FYI I have lived here going on 3 years. Mark Taylor was amazing., Its the new management.

Pros: location, pools, poop bags for your dogs, quiet, gated, reasonably priced.
Cons: ants everywhere, loose dogs off leash, lots of smokers, not enough parking, office girls aren’t knowledgable and give out wrong info, have to give 60 day notice even if it’s when your lease ends.

I stayed at Shade for 6 months and just moved out to a place closer to office as Shade was too over priced for the facilities offered. The monthly Utility Bills were very high and in addition we had to pay for a Valet waste which was also high.
The place was always noisy and not well maintained. We once had a couple swimming at 1am in the night .They were so noisy and we could hardly sleep.
There was dog poop always left around and the stairways seemed like they are never cleaned.
I just got my final bill after vacating from Shade and for the 6 months that we stayed with no pets, they have charged me $ 185 for carpet Cleaning. The Carpet was already of very poor quality and there have been times when I have hurt my feet with the nails .The final utility bill also is way overstated compared to our usual average.
I feel completely cheated… will never recommend this place to anyone .
Glad I moved out and hate it that they try to make money in so many cheap ways.

If I could give this place zero stars I would!!!
I moved into shade apartments in February and I just finally got out of my lease. The office staff are useless and the maintenance guys are even more useless!!!
The complex has good facilities but they need to maintain them better.
I’ve lived in apartment complexes all over the world and this place is the worst.
Katie in the office is the only one who has any clue about customer service. Asked to deal with her only one that can do their job!!!
The manager lady is about as useless as legs on a snake and couldn’t organise a drink in a pub with a handful of $ 50 bills!!!
I’m so happy to be out of there it’s very close to being a ghetto!
Rant over!!! DON’T LIVE HERE!!!

I’ve recently move here it hasn’t been a week yet and I hate it. I wish I never signed a lease with them. They give you false hope on everything.
I came to work out to find the bathroom trashed not only for 1 days it’s been trashed with no toilet paper!
I went to use their computers I sat there about 20 mins in I find a roach on the floor near my feet.
The apartment itself isn’t worth the money I’m paying 1200. I’ve lived in a cheaper
apartment who were higher class.
The staff aren’t friendly only one. After you rent with them they honestly will treat you like your nothing.

I lived in these apartments from June 2011 until about 2 weeks ago and let me say this:
This is, hands down, the WORST experience I have EVER had with a rental community. I kept the apartment in very good condition and followed all rules and regulations. I payed my rent on time as per my rental agreement and was an upstanding member of the Shade community. Shade apartments, however, failed to do the same. Where do I begin?
— Every single day, no matter what time of day, I had to walk my puppy around the piles of feces left all over the property. The ground are absolutely disgusting!
— There was NO noise ordinance despite their «rules» about quiet time after 10pm
— There were drunk people and homeless people sleeping at the pool
— My apartment was infested with cockroaches and bugs and I am a CLEAN person!
— Now, upon move out, I am being told that I owe close to $ 800 for replacement of carpet because of «excessive pet damage». The carpet was of the lowest grade possible; a step up from a thin stack of papers and every time I walked on the carpet I risked getting a staple in my foot. The black top from the outside traveled onto the carpet with me which is normal wear and tear, NOT excessive pet damage. My puppy is all of 9 lbs and NEVER had one accident in the apartment. When I spoke to someone in corporate, she made it clear that she could have cared less. Her response to my concerns were «oh well, I’m sorry you feel that way».
I would not recommend this place to ANYONE!

I lived here for two years. The staff is rude and un responsive. For a property that is supposed to be a luxury property they fall short. The nickel and dime you and do not follow through on there commitments.

I agree with Steve O. and Craig V., I have lived here now for over a year and am now paying month to month until my house is built. I really enjoyed the apartments until maybe 4 months ago when the grounds seemed to go down hill. The surrounding areas (shopping/​dining/​bars) couldn’t be better. The people moving in are shady, loud and dirty/​litter. With the price paid for these apartments I am not sure how it has gone so down hill. Just really disappointing because if I looked at these today while looking for an apartment, I can’t say I would have moved in. Office and maintenance staff are great and nice pools and fitness room. If this is your first aparment and you want to party, you are golden!

Most of the time this is a relatively quiet apartment complex, but there are a few times a year that they have massive pool parties. The noise is so loud that it can be heard from all ends of the complex and ruins everyone’s day that wanted nothing to do with the party.
If you are looking for a safe, quiet place for your family, do not live here.

It’s a great location. Clean, well maintained. It was sold recently to foreign investors. There has been some noticable cost cutting since!

I am a current resident. I moved in a year ago and recently resigned for another year. Unfortunately after resigning I realized I made a mistake. The type of residents moving here are questionable. It’s extremely noisy, there are parties on the weekends and sometimes during the week. They have a major roof leak problem when it rains. If it rains on the weekend you’re out of luck and will have to deal with a hole in your ceiling until Monday. This is my 4^th apartment complex in Phoenix and unfortunately the worst.

I lived here for a year and it’s an amazing apartment to live in

I dont live at Shade but I teach Yoga and Pilates at Shade. Mark-​Taylor is a great company. The actual «shades» are a very cool concept. I love that there is a Starbucks a pizza place and a Walgreens right there. They are across from Desert Ridge mall how convenient! I love the location of North Tatum. Its far from the bustling crowd yet close to everything. They have a great Yoga room, one which is separate from the gym so it is quiet. The property is very nice and I love all of the colors they chose. My husband & I plan to possibly to the Shade next year.

I lived at Shade from March of 2007 through November of 2008.
The staff were always very pleasant, and the units were new and clean; however, I just could not seem to get maintenance issues resolved. I had an issue with my toilet from the day I moved in that plagued me until about the day I moved out. Finally they replaced everything but the bowl, and it seemed to be fixed, but it took over a year and multiple maintenance requests.
I paid a premium to live at a Mark-​Taylor place figuring that I’d get upscale service, but I just didn’t get that at all. And it was sad to see people who had no respect for the common property destroy it.
My particular apartment also had a HUGE bug problem. I had to vacuum at least daily if I wanted to have there be no black little bugs in my carpet. It was fairly disgusting.
The apartments are fine (and probably on par with other complexes), but not worth the premium, in my opinion.