SoMa Square Apartments

DO NOT LIVE HERE!!! By far, the WORST and MOST UNPROFESSIONAL Leasing Office Team we’ve EVER worked with. Lived there for a year and couldn’t wait to get out, partly because of the ridiculous rent increase (20%), but mostly because of them. Our neighbors also reported the same thing — moved out because the Leasing Office is awful, unprofessional, and corrupt.
1) We were not high-​maintenance at all, but every time we would go to the Leasing Office for help (even if it’s just to retrieve a package from the package room), they would treat us like we were a nuisance. Would roll their eyes and begrudgingly get up from their seats to come help.
2) Communication (and the lack thereof) was laughable. Calls and emails would go unanswered for DAYS/​WEEKS, and sometimes they wouldn’t even respond at all. Whenever I happened to catch Wade (Community Manager) or Mike (Leasing Agent) on the phone, they would say they would call me back but they would NEVER do it. What happened to integrity and keeping your word??? There was another girl there, I don’t remember her name, but when she answered the phone she was soooo beyond rude. Said Wade/​Mike would call me back when they had time, and barked at me when I asked for estimated time.
3) Our move-​out was an ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE. First off, they screwed up our move-​out date and was going to charge us beyond the agreed-​upon date that we confirmed with the Leasing Agent. The Leasing Agent ultimately said it was a mistake on their part, but that we would STILL have to pay beyond the agreed-​upon date that he discussed. Whahh??! We refused to pay and fought it for 2 months, all while getting calls from their Collections. It was frustrating and stressful. Finally after CONSTANT follow-​up with them that went unanswered, we googled the Regional Manager’s contact info and CCed him. Needless to say, the Leasing Office responded immediately and fixed the issue. However, the nightmare did not end there, because they still had not paid us back our Security Deposit. It took another 3 months beyond that point (so 5 months after our move-​out date), to get our Deposit back. Numerous calls and emails went unanswered. It wasn’t until I threatened to take them to Small Claims Court that they paid us back. Immediately, I might add.
I have never in my whole life worked with such an awful, unprofessional group of people who are so unprofessional, terrible at customer service, and lack integrity. If you happen to catch them on the phone, they won’t help you then and there. Rather, they’ll say they will call back, but they NEVER DO. And your issues will go unresolved unless you CC a Regional Manager or threaten to take them to court.
DO NOT LIVE HERE!!!

This review would include the actual experience living there, but Unilocal cuts me off. Office staff is rude, maintenance may be ever ruder. They messed up our move in date, never showed up for a walk through before we left. I faced the courtyard and listened to parties and screaming every night, which security did nothing about. Most importantly is the information below, and so it doesn’t happen to you, please read!
My roommate and I were contacted in December asking if we would be moving out or renewing and for a move out date. Why they would need a move out date baffles me, since it shouldn’t matter unless we intend to leave after our lease is up. We gave them a date though (Jan 17) since we had planned to be out early. Come Jan 1, our rent in the payment portal was short-​we assumed our rent had been prorated. A couple weeks later and the money showed up that we owed additional (even though we had already paid in full). I went to the office to ask about this and was assured the amount would disappear when we moved out. I then received a phone call CONFIRMING AGAIN, that it would fall off. I even received an email. Fast forward to move out, and I am told by the same individual that we are all good and he’s about to email us out move out checklist… needless to say, within the same hour he said we are «all good» he is letting us know via email we owe the money. I asked for explanation and basically they screwed up and thought out move out date was the end of our lease. Their mistake. No apology.oops. Human error they said. That is unacceptable. But it gets worse.
We were finally able to convince them to not charge us for the last couple weeks since they could get the apartment on the market faster and make more money on it. and since THEY SCREWED UP. Don’t expect fabulous customer service here though. My roommate and I have been waiting since move out (Jan 17) until now (June 17) for our deposit check. Below are dates of communication (NOT INCLUDING PHONE CALLS AND IN PERSON VISITS).
Jan 26 — We emailed waiting for update on whether we should turn in keys (are we to pay the two weeks left on lease or not)
Jan 27 — Management answered saying they are working on it and will have update by end of day
Jan 27 — We email asking for update we were supposed to get by end of this day and didn’t.
Jan 27 — We email again, asking for update. now our balance shows over $ 7K, asking us to pay for the month of Feb (beyond our lease)
Jan 28 –Management answered still working on it
Jan 31 –We email stating we will return keys, what is the update?
Jan 31 — Management is out of office
Feb 1 — Management is still working on it, no update
Feb 11 — We email asking again about balance update
Feb 12 — We email again
Feb 19 — We email again
Feb 24 — We email again
Feb 25 — Management says they are working on it — will finalize by end of day
Feb 26 — We email again as we had no contact by end of prior day
Feb 28 — We email again
March 1 — We submit a complaint to Resident Relations and also leave a voicemail for Equity SVP, Steve Merchant
March 1 — We email again
March 1 — Management still working on it
March 16 — We email again –still have heard nothing, no follow up
March 22 — We email again…
March 22 — Management emails providing us our statements (YES…just wait.)
April 3 — We email asking when we can expect our check
April 5 — Management says we will receive check within 21 days
April 22 — We email stating we have not seen a check
April 22 — Management says they will cut new check
May 3 — We email asking about check
May 6 — Management doesn’t know where check is
May 12 — We email asking for update
May 24 — We email asking for update
May 27 — We email asking for update
May 27 — Management says they haven’t heard from accounting
At this point, we have started to look into our other options. Little did we know we were able to file a small claims suit against Equity since they legally had to have our deposit back to us within 21 days (and keep in mind we already had documentation stating we were owed the money from them). If we had taken them to small claims court, it would have cost us $ 30 and we would have received our FULL deposit, possibly even double. If you decide to live here, please be aware of your rights as a resident and don’t go through what we did the past 6 months without our deposit and with little to no response from the office staff… just take them to court! By the way-​I am not sure we have had a single apology throughout this ordeal.

All in all it wasn’t bad living here. Great location. Close to Target, the movies, AT&T Park, 20 min walk to the Embarcadero, 15 min walk to the BART. I enjoyed the gym and the pool quite frequently. Having laundry units on every floor and a trash chute in the buildings also helped.
Downsides to the apartment is definitely pricey, the appliances were not super new and the kitchen wasn’t updates. The bathroom was small, and no A/​C for that price is a rip off. The staff is so so. Maintenance usually came on time, security was so so, and office staff had their ups and downs.
If you want a convenient location and don’t mind what you get for the price, the amenities probably make it worth it. If you are looking for a nice updated apartment inside, might look elsewhere.

I can’t believe this apartment has 2.5 stars. Surely all written from jilted ex-​tenants. This place is an oasis in the city. It’s gated, safe, impeccably maintained, and feels like it’s own self-​enclosed community. The amenities are phenomenal — nice library, conference room, fire pit with seating area, multiple roof patios, well equipped gym, and the pool area makes you feel like you’re on vacation when you’re there. Not to mention an efficiently functioning mailroom, so you don’t have to worry about being home to sign for parcels or them being stolen off your porch. The units are very modern and renovated, and any maintenance request is answered within 24 hours. They work hard to put on community events like doggy play dates, ice cream socials, and food trucks by the pool in the summer. And the rental prices are always on par with genera San Francisco prices. The area can’t be beat, it’s close to literally anything you could need and many of the best parts of the city. And the office staff is amazing, they are SO nice and work SO hard to accommodate whatever you need. I’ve lived at places with inflexible and rude concierge, but these guys go above and beyond to help you be happy here. We’ve been here for 2 years and will be renewing our third year this month because I couldn’t imagine leaving. Don’t listen to the other reviews, this is a fantastic place to live!

As a current tenant leaving soon, I feel totally screwed over by SoMa square or Equity or whoever sets their pricing. If you plan to stay for more than 1 year, read this:
Online listing prices change daily but your renewal offer will not and will be no where near those prices! I was at 3167, got a renewal offer for an unjustified 3550 (12% increase, although market didn’t go up that much) 2 months before my lease was up. 1 day before I had to give notice and after some begging and constant checking in, the best renewal they could offer me was 3350, but SoMa square was listing better apartments for 3290 and a few other places I’ll be happy living at are at that or below, so I signed the form to move out. My apartment goes up within 2 hours and is listed as 3214. Next day 3209.
Once they get you in, their pricing model and slowness to give you a fair price will screw you over claiming it’s market pricing. Online pricing for new tenants changes everyday because the market changes :)! But current pricing for renewals is estimated way out with a huge «predicted» market increase, and then the market freezes on renewals :(!! This makes very little sense and really pissed me off. It’s an ugly business model that screws over your current customers.
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The 3^rd and Folsom intersection gets a little busy and if you’re considering a street facing apartment, try to visit during the weekdays when commuter traffic is high. Open the windows and listen. It’s a very different experience from Saturday/​Sunday. When summer’s here, you might want to open your windows for that night cooler breeze but with traffic zooming by, it depends on how much noise you can sleep through.

Typical San Francisco property management company. From a distance, you can see the benefits — amenities, location, community feel, move-​in deals, very low security deposit.
However, the closer you look, you can see why they experience high turnover, vacancies and poor reviews.
Let’s start with the quality of your apartment at SoMa. I mean it’s a business-​minded company trying to maximize their margins. So here is what you’ll get. Hardwood floors? Try linoleum-​quality plywood that is essentially one large piece of material draped across the floor. I guess that’s not so bad, but wait until you see the uneven floor. So much, that we had to stack furniture felt pads under our bed, dresser and couch just balance it out. It helped, but our couch was creaking like it was built in 1910. The overall apartment is cheap from a quality standpoint. Like the community itself, it might look nice, but once you get close enough, you’ll get cheap everything, from the kitchen sink to the bathtub to the hollow, plywood doors.
The community itself is another nice feature, until you actually live in this place. The location is great if you’re in tech and like to walk to work. That is one of the few positives. If you drive or want to catch an Über on 3^rd and Folsom, you’ll hate this location on most days. Sometimes Howard is blocked off from a conference, everyone on Folsom is trying to get on 80-​East, and everyone on 3^rd is trying to get to Market. And even though you’re on 3^rd, it’s still SoMa and you’ll get your share of petty crimes. They give you a gate fob, so you can feel secure in your community. However, you’ll see a homeless person or four strolling through, digging through the trash. In my case, and a few other apartments (when speaking to the police), you’ll also get things stolen right from your outdoor patio. Two bikes in our case. So yeah, security is a great feature, until it doesn’t work when you might need it. In addition, on several cases, you might be awaken by the fire alarm in your building at 2am, which takes a good 20 minutes to turn off. Have fun at your 9am meeting the next day.
If apartment quality and the amenities/​community inconveniences don’t really bother you, ask yourself if you’re willing to move out after a year. I mean moving is a pain, but you’ll most likely have to. Our already insane rent for a place that simply offers location to FiDi office buildings went up nearly $ 400/​month after our year lease. If you’re moving to SF from somewhere else, understand that this place is not rent controlled. I just moved to a place in Cole Valley that is actually cheaper, higher quality and over 50% larger in space, and they can only increase the rent 1.6% every year. It’s also a 20-​min muni ride vs. a 15-​minute walk to work — hardly an inconvenience to move out of SoMa. You’d be better off looking elsewhere (places that are 1979 and older are rent controlled in SF).
Finally, your $ 99 security deposit might seem like a steal until you receive your move-​out bill that covers cleaning and painting costs. So we still owed SoMa $ 120 on top of our security deposit. They will nickel and dime you, because yes, they’re a company trying to maximize profit and revenue. They will clean and paint your place regardless of how much you cleaned before you moved out.
In conclusion, avoid what appear to be benefits when you’re being sold on SoMa Square. I suggest looking around, because what they charge for a 1BR can be easily attained elsewhere. And you’ll most likely end up with a higher-​quality, rent-​controlled apartment in a much more livable area.

The management people there are the most disgraceful I’ve ever seen. I shortened my lease term for one month well ahead of time, reached an agreement with one of the staff, filled in a form, and he submitted it for me. I was too busy between then and moving out to ask him for a copy for myself, but the leasing term and due charges were all promptly changed on my online portal so I didn’t think otherwise. But then after I moved out they informed me that I owe them one more month rent and everything on my online portal suddenly changed back to before I shortened the lease, and they claim that they never received my form. My guess is they know that I forgot to ask them for a copy of the revised agreement and decide they can simply discard their copy and rip me off for that. Honestly it is my fault to forget to ask them for a copy, I was really busy with my move and everything. But what they did was simply disgraceful. I hope people can learn from my lesson and take extra caution to deal with them — they really have no bottom line when it comes to extra bucks.

Overall, it’s fine, but for the price, it’s not quite what I’d expect.

Do not be fooled! This apartment complex looks nice but it’s a farce! We lived here a year and went through 3 different property managers and several leading consultants. They only focus on new tenants. Once you’re hooked good luck getting anything from them. Several apartments were burglarized but management did nothing to help the tenants and even wanted to keep it secret from the rest of us. When we asked about added security we were told it wasn’t in the budget. When we asked about current security that was failing we were told there was nothing they could do about it. We made appointments for pre-​move out walk through and they flaked on us then proceeded to charge outrageous cleaning and repair charges when the apartment was cleaner and better than when we moved in. This place will rip you off at every chance they can. I expected a lot more for the price I was paying.

I don’t believe that SoMa Square Apartments should receive this one star and should be zero stars because they’ve been nothing but the most disrespectful, un-​apologetic, add obscene cleaning charges after moving out and stated in an email per property manager stating that you won’t see any outrageous charges, run an hard inquiry on your credit report and their outsourcing agency stating that it is to get a line of credit/​loan for the apartment we were renting at the complex, and can’t uphold their agreement to do a pre-​inspection move out process. My husband and I decided to move into SoMa Square Apartments last year in March 2015 and during the process we dealt with Elvis Amponsah which was a leasing consultant that was working there at the time and I was told that when they would run my social security number that it would be a soft inquiry and before they would run the application I had to contact my attorney’s to make sure if it was okay to provide SoMa Square my personal information. After the approval, they ran the information and on March 3^rd, 2015, I received a credit alert on my credit report and after logging into my alerts, it showed that Kroll Factual Data ran my credit report as a hard inquiry after being told that it wouldn’t be. So, after filing a complaint to Kroll and the leasing office, the property manager Sally Krapf stated in an email on May 15^th, 2015 that SoMa Square and Kroll Factual Data will have the inquiry removed and since then the inquiry has not been removed. Second, after a few moving into SoMa Square Apartments we found out that there have been constant robberies within the complex and after finding out we went into the leasing office to discuss why have there this many robberies, we were told to keep that on the DL because it would hurt their reputation. Third, we noticed that the elevators we were using to get to our residence that the certificate of inspection/​permit has been expired since June 6^th, 2011 (which I have a picture), and the other elevator does not have a certificate of inspection/​permit anywhere. Fourth, when we decided that we did not want to renew our lease with SoMa Square, we went into the office and spoke with Jermaine during the week of February 7^th, 2016 and said that they would need to do a pre-​inspection before moving out and the date was set for February 18^th, 2016 between the time of 11am to 4pm and Jermaine signed the agreement letter. So, my husband took the 18^th off and no one even remotely showed up even after emailing and calling them to find out what was going on. Fifth, during our process of moving out on the last week of February 2016, my husband and I did a full cleaning of the whole apartment (took 160 pictures to prove that the apartment was literally cleaned). Sixth, my husband contacted Wade the property manager by email on February 28^th, 2016, he received a response on March 4^th, 2016 about not meeting on the set appointment that we were suppose to have back on the 18^th of February and that you will not see any outrageous charges on the final bill. When the final bill came SoMa Square charged us a $ 120.00 cleaning fee, $ 215.00 full repaint (which wasn’t needed at all, because I have the pictures to prove that), and a $ 72.00 carpet clean in the bedroom (which also wasn’t needed as well). We contacted Wade about the charges and he said that he was unable to look at our final bill because he doesn’t have access to that, only the accounting department. Until that time we got two letters in one day on March 13^th, 2016 about the outstanding bill we owe and also two more letters on March 27^th, 2016 about the outstanding debt we still owe them. Seventh, they did credit back the $ 215.00 dollars in the full repaint charge, but neglected to credit the other charges. They still kept our security deposit for no apparent given explanation. My husband and I know that we owe SoMa Square apartments $ 1735.17 and decided we could only do payments so we did pay $ 870.17 on March 15^th, 2016 and then the money was taken out on March 16^th, 2016 which brought down to $ 865.00 left to owe them. But not even 30 days we decided to make another payment in the amount of $ 265.00 on April 7^th, 2016 and then the money was taken out of the account on April 8^th, 2016. But, after finding out that they still can send you to collections even know they’re accepting the money and not denying the transaction or refunding our money, they can still can send you to collections even know they’re accepting the money and not denying the transaction or refunding our money, they can still threaten your credit reports, threaten to submit delinquency information to the apartment industry database. So, I had to make the last official payment using one of my credit cards on April 9^th, 2016 of $ 600.00 dollars so that it would not be sent to collections. Eighth, I would never ever once recommend anyone to stay at SoMa Square EVER!

SoMa Square Apartments are fantastic! I have lived in this complex for 7+ years and there has been a marked improvement in ALL areas with Equity as the new owners (previously) Archstone.
Some of the highlights– the security team. The security team in place who also act as concierge are fantastic. They do an outstanding job of keeping the entire complex safe and secure. In addition they are very friendly and quick to fulfill any request.
In addition to the security being hugely improved, SoMa is now so beautifully landscaped (trees, scrubs, planters) and really gorgeous tables and chairs that have completely opened up the open areas to lounging and enjoying the outdoors.
The maintenance staff is wonderful and the facilities are clean and if I ever have the slightest need such as a burned out light bulb needing to be replaced, they are so fast to do so.
I really appreciate living in such a beautiful and safe oasis in the middle of downtown!

Love it love it love it. Great location, awesome staff & the best apts. Mike Lopez the leasing agent found us THE PERFECT apt, we gave him a list of yeses & no no no’s & he NAILED it. Every person in the leasing office are always polite & willing to help. The property manager Wade aka Chad reached out to us with a very nice welcome email & phone call. If I could give more than 5 stars I would…2 thumbs up for Equity Residential & Soma Square!

The positions is perfect. Walking to market st., whole foods, target… And quite.
24 hours fitness room, good equipments. Spa pool and swimming pool.
Renewed furniture. I have been living here for 2 years! I fall in love with this place.

Apartment searching in SF is not easy, but if you are looking at Soma Square make sure you ask for Jermaine Wilson to be your leasing consultant. Jermaine made a complicated process simple, went above and beyond and anticipated my needs perfectly. He is good at his job and makes Soma Square a better place to live.

The location of this property is one of the best in San Francisco I will give Soma Square that much. I have lived here for 2 years and although the location is great, the buildings are not. The common outdoor space is also nice and they have decided to paint the façade of the building, and put new carpets. This cannot cover up the fact that these buildings were once low income housing. As such, the quality of living here is poor as the HVAC, and construction of the property is poorly crafted. The building has poor ventilation and frequently you will smell backed up garbage on your floor. The walls are so thin, I can hear my neighbor using the bathroom (literally peeing) while I am in my bedroom since we is a share a wall.
Although there is a security room, there is hardly ever a Security Guard on duty. In addition, they have allowed a Drug Dealer to move into my building. Despite the many complains from neighbors on this person’s activity, Management chooses to ignore the problem and has not done anything to rectify the situation. This Drug Dealer brings in all kinds of unsafe people into the building and it seems that all Management cares about this person’s money and not the reported disturbances.
As far as parking, this property is not zoned by the City of San Francisco. This means that you must pay the Leasing Company’s expensive parking rates instead of the $ 110 annual permit parking that SF Residents are granted. Overall this property is really for those who are looking for low-​quality, temporary, chaotic, expensive housing in the heart of San Francisco.

As someone who hasn’t lived here, but slept over quite a bit (basically through the end of my boyfriend’s lease, I practically lived here)– I can’t provide too much, but I can provide a little insight. (My boyfriend lived here, and I stayed over at least once a week on a regular basis) Yes, the rental prices are expensive, yes it’s in the middle of SoMA. But it’s not bad? Compared to other expensive apartment complexes in the city, SoMa Square is decent. It’s above a bunch of restaurants, is convenient, and decent.
I can’t speak to the quality of the apartments previously (my boyfriend can attest to it.) But the layout is a little bit weird. I don’t like that the bedrooms are carpeted, but what can you do? Luckily, the living room is hardwood floor, so good for spills. The kitchen was tiny, so it was very hard to fit more than two people in the kitchen at a time. Also, the cabinets were WAY too high. My boyfriend is around 6 feet tall and the cabinets were so high that even he had to step up on his tip toes.
I have issue with San Francisco apartments and their lack of A/​C. Luckily, SoMa Square was cold enough. Also, while the windows have screens, there are still some big enough tears in the window screens that the management sorta skims over and doesn’t fix. That doesn’t bode well for bugs coming in! I’m happy to say that there is enough ventilation that the room gets (and stays) cold– and that there is a heater if needed. However, I noticed that the heater was poorly placed on the wall and was about ready to fall off. Whoops. Good thing we hardly used it. The nice thing about SoMa Square is that if you have a 2 br, you’re probably gonna have your own private bathroom. My boyfriend was lucky enough that his bedroom also came with a nice, huge hallway closet. A minus is that because you get some space, there is no in unit W/​D– only community floor W/​D (each floor has one.) Elevators occasionally break down and are very slow too. A lot of young people live here so sometimes it gets very noisy at night. I also think most units get a tiny patio that you can sit or smoke on. They also have security, but I found it very easy to follow someone in/​out of the gate (when the guards were not present)– so maybe make sure your community is a little more. secure?
If I had the choice, I would probably also not live in SoMa Square, but it’s decent enough for a starter place, and it is in a great location. I also didn’t feel unsafe walking around at night like I have in other neighborhoods. The rents are going waaaaaay up though. However, if you are looking for a starter place that is VERY pet-​friendly (seriously– so many dogs. The place is like a mini dog park) with decent amenities («old» gym that didn’t have updated equipment, a rooftop for one of the buildings, and a small pool) that is located in a very central area– then you should move here.

Lived here about one year. My apartment got stolen three times, management did nothing until the third time when 5 other apartments were stolen. They didn’t provide any support with the situation and even charge us for the new kids.
Will never recommend this place to anyone.

I think this place gets a bad rep because of the notoriously terrible Equity Residential Management. In the scheme of things (and my experiences living in different apartments around San Francisco), this place is pretty damn good after being here for 5 months.
My boyfriend and I initially came to look at a studio based on our budget. Elvis gave us the tour and 3 out of the 4 remaining open apartments signed for within the 30 min we were walking around. one even as we walked into one! Talk about a competitive market. Anyway — we sadly walked away with our standards for a new apartment heightened.
Luckily a few weeks later, I received an email from Elvis that there was a one bedroom opening, and the price had dropped into our price range! Needless to say our search was still going nowhere, so we jumped on it! Upon move-​in, we were informed that the place was refurbished with new appliances, paint and floors. It was nicely done, but you could definitely tell that no expense was spared — the blinds, closet sliding doors and the appliances are on the cheaper end.
The pool/​hot-​tub, gym, lounge are all super convenient and I’m a big fan of the security system. Coming from a small apartment in an alley above a bar and a homeless crazies hotspot, the gated system is a thing of beauty. One complaint would be the system with the packages. The hours are pretty inconvenient and the guy that sorts them always seems a little clueless and stoned… hah. Welcome to SF.
If you’re willing to pay for the fantastic location and the benefits of a gated community, SoMa Square is pretty great. The maintenance guy is very efficient and quick (we’ve never had to wait more than 24 hours to have a drain/​light/​something fixed), and everyone who lives here is pretty down-​to-​earth (I’ve had some parties with noisy music and my neighbors vise versa — there’s a basic understanding of «I won’t tell if you don’t tell»).
Overall, we plan on staying for as long as we can :)

Brand new to the apt space in SF. Everything in SF is crazy expensive even when you’re trying to save in lower nob hill/​tenderloin. This location in Soma is everything if you’re willing to spend 2 – 400 above the average for a better location and less crime. As someone new to the area this was key for me. The kitchens are updated and the balconies are spacious. I only wish all the apts had wooden floors, mine is carpeted. But when moving in, everything was super clean, unlike other apts I viewed.
I had Mike and he was very truthful about everything in the apt complex. Would recommend him as your next leasing agent.

The management company fails on every level. Security fails to provide any level of service. Picking up packages and deliveries are not easy to retrieve. Hours of service change arbitrarily. Merchant shows products delivered, but the complex fails to allow residents to pick up items. They hold items random, until they are ready to «work».
This complex is not safe. No security cameras. Security sneaks off in rooms and is no where to be found. Lighting in area is sparse. Not safe.
The parking garage breaks on occasion and service is not available during non-​business hours. Look elsewhere if your looking for a friendly safe and clean environment for your next home!