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January 2024 by Erik Jehle
Great place! Except....I have a mezzanine apartment which means my apartment is two levels. Upstairs is the bedroom and has an incredible open deck with a view of Mt. Rainer, the sound and the Olympics. The upstairs bedroom is really small and basically unusable except with a twin/full mattress. The problem is for whatever reason, the people designing this apartment had smoked crack the day they designed it. There is really no way to explain it. Twenty foot ceilings, which the management can not access without hiring a scissor lift. Some apartments have a natural flow where you can sense where furniture, TV's, tables and lights should go. This apartment is the exact opposite. Should have been a complete two level apartment with a full upper level. Neighbors are awesome! Dog friendly. Parking in the parking garage is super tight. Since I moved here I've learned to dislike road construction and ferry traffic. The coffee machine in the lobby is super cool!!! Latte, cappuccino or hot chocolate at the push of a button. Management and maintenance have been great!
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December 2023 by Harrison F.
Fire alarm for the building has gone off 4 times in 1 month.
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October 2023 by J Hosford
Love living here. We’ve been here for two leases and we recommend the place to anyone who asks.PROS:Very convenient location and the staff is cool and helpful. Ryan and Dean do a great job. Units are quiet and well built. There are a lot of amenities and a great community. Free coffee is a nice perk too!CONS:The one consistent complaint I have and hear from other tenants is that the hallways don’t seem to have any ventilation and the hallway carpets are dirty. If someone cooks a meal with the door open, the smell lingers for days. Someone has been spraying perfume in the hallway as they leave their apartment and it’s overpowering and aggravates my asthma. I can’t imagine the building was designed to not ventilate. Some fan needs to be turned on. When they stained the exterior this summer, the fumes in the hallways were making our eyes and throats burn for hours. At the least, they could have propped doors open and provided fans in the corridors. As someone with lung disease, it was distressing to have the building filled with with fumes and have the staff make zero effort to dissipate the odor. When I complained (I’m not the only one) the email response I received from management was “sorry the fumes are bothering you.” The hallways just seem musty, dirty, and stagnate and with so many animals living here, they need more TLC. The gym is cool but has issues. They don’t consistently restock the disinfectant wipes which feels really unsanitary. We started bringing our own. A lot of the machines are covered in dry sweat when you arrive. Pretty nasty. The machines also need to be replaced or serviced as many of them have loose or squeaky parts.All in all we are happy living here. With some minor adjustments it could be perfect.
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September 2023 by Robert Zalenski
Despite my late arrival, Amanda gave me a warm greeting and the full tour. The amenities are fabulous, such as the Yoga room, Rooftop Perch with views of Mt. Rainier, and all the cool rooms to hang out, like billiards, kitchen, and board rooms. We go to the spacious parking garage, and a numbered EV charging spot awaits my BMW i3. After the tour, I explore a bit: I walk out the East door, and I'm in the serene Robert Cave park; out the north door, and I see and smell the roses across Hanami Lane. BLIS is AMAZING. If you are seeking beauty, peace, and tranquility, consider being my neighbor.
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August 2023 by Maritza Fernandez
Apartment just like the photos but better. Move in literally so easy.
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June 2023 by Not the One
Great location to live on the island
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April 2023 by Craig Dolezal
We have so enjoyed our time as BLIS residents. Ivy has made such a difference here. There is a true sense of community and caring and a level of professionalism that is unprecedented.And the true embrace of dogs is such a bonus. Our 13 year old Golden is welcomed and celebrated by the staff.We will miss being part of BLIS but our time here was special due to Ivy’s kindness and compassionate management.
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April 2022 by Smash M.
These other reviews are from people clearly just not reading the agreements and are upset. All of these issues the other reviewers have written are clearly identified in your lease agreement before you sign. You just have to, you know, read it. Parking isn't included and that's obvious when you fill out your application. As far as I'm remember a small amount of your application fee is not refundable but the remainder goes towards your first months rent. There is a pet fee, but they supply dog bags for waste and maintain a very small dog run. So it's not like your money goes no where. Plus I have never rented somewhere where this wasn't the norm. It's an ok place to live, it has downs sides, like everywhere, but be realistic with your expectations.
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March 2022 by Rik Langendoen
I have been working with Cameron Wilson, the property manager at BLIS, and I have found him to be exceptional in terms of being helpful, responsive and professional. He represents BLIS very well in my opinion.
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September 2021 by Dave G.
Quickly realized that this apartment complex good first impression was the only good thing about it. Had the worst apartment experience of my life. The manager Cameron was unwilling to help with anything further than the bare minimum of his duties. He was untruthful about several aspects and policies of the apartment, and imposed strange punishments on the tenants. One punishment was restricting the use of moving dollies that we were promised would be available to us because one tenant forgot to return their dolly to the lobby. Another punishment was sending mail back to the sender if not picked up after three days, because some tenants were not promptly picking up their packages. The entire complex should not be punished for the actions of someone else in the building. If Cameron's supervisor would monitor his day to day operations, I suspect there would be a new manager instated at Blis to replace him.
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August 2021 by Monique S.
GREEDY BUSINESS PRACTICES COST US HAVING TO FORGO $324 APPLICATION FEE. BLIS apartments on Bainbridge Island require you to pay a $324 application and administrative fee. When we got the lease contract they increased the rental period by 2 months that we asked for in addition to an extra $150 parking fee. We were told in order to get a 6 month lease we would have to pay an extra $300 a month in rent. This was NOT mentioned in the listing. It was also not mentioned you had to pay for parking. The lease ended up being $450 a month extra. At that point it became to expensive and we backed out of the application. I asked for the $300 administrative fee back but the answer was NO. It was not refundable despite the bait and switch practices of this apartment conglomerate. They have everything set up to extract money out of you. They have a massive amount of legal rules too burdensome to deal with. BE CAREFUL BEFORE YOU APPLY! Also their rent is way above the going rate. Unfortunately they take advantage of the tight rental market at your expense!
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July 2021 by Allyn T.
BAIT AND SWITCH - RENTER BE WARNED I think all potential renters should know and be warned about the multiple deceptive practices of BLIS. I reserved an apartment in early May to start at the end of June. At the time, I had to make a $324 non-refundable application deposit to reserve my apartment. The agent knew that I was in the process of house-hunting and assured me the yearly lease could be terminated upon 2 months notice. (I was also given the option of a 3 month lease then month to month, but the year lease with its easy notice provisions seemed the best for a house hunter). I was also told it was pet friendly and I would be assigned a parking space as close as possible to my unit. I did not see my unit or the lease until 5 days before I was supposed to move in. The terms were a complete fraud in several key ways. First, there were a number of fees adding up to hundreds and hundreds of dollars that the manager hadn't disclosed, including a $300 pet application fee and pet rent and various additional deposits. I didn't mind paying additional for the puppy, but I should have been told at the time of contracting in May. Notably, there was no application for the dog, just a way to charge me more. Second, the only parking space they would give me was the one furthest away from my apartment against a wall. I was offered 2 small spots together that was closer, but of course at a $50 additional upcharge from the unannounced $150 I was required to pay. Finally, and worst of all, the agent had lied about the lease termination provisions. It was not 2 months notice, but a 2 months liquidated damages provision and you were still liable for the entire year's rent!!! This was the end as after discussing it with my mortgage broker it was clear that having a year obligation would interfere with my ability to get a mortgage. To add insult to injury, the BLIS agent said they could no longer offer me the short term lease despite his misrepresentations about the lease. So 5 days before I was supposed to move I had to find something else in the hottest real estate market. Nice. In the end I found a beautiful beach house to rent, probably better for me, but at a significantly higher cost with incredible amounts of stress and anxiety days before I needed to vacate my last house. BLIS was recommended by my real estate agent as it is a new building and close to downtown. I thought it would be an ok place to live in the interim as the facility looks ok, but the contracting practices - the lies and the additional fees- are like the practices of slum lords. I cannot warn potential tenants enough to be very wary and stay away.
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March 2021 by Matiah Thorsted
Cameron is AWESOME!! He always goes above and beyond for his residents. Thank you for everything you do! The community is absolutely beautiful and the staff couldn't be friendlier.
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March 2021 by josh plum
Staff is rude and condescending. They lock up parts of the building as punishment if someone fails to clean up after themselves. Essentially punishing every tenant for the actions of somebody else. I would not recommend.
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March 2021 by Christopher
Beautiful building, nice people, perfect location. But...super noisy at night, oddly. I’m talking about 1-2am late/early. Multiple complaints later, and no resolution. Given we were told there were concrete floors, this has been the ultimate disappointment, considering the near-perfect building otherwise. ?
