Solaire on Scottsdale Apartments 801 East McKellips Road, Tempe, AZ 85288

"I’m bummed to be moving from Solaire. I’ve lived here for four years. It used to be such a nice community. The new owners quickly increased the rent, tacked on a bunch of fees, and to justify the cost increase, poorly implemented several amenities. Such as a trash service that charges people to leave trash outside their front door instead of walking it a few steps to the dumpster. The cockroaches and rats love it, but it stinks up the neighborhood. They also tore up a bunch of grass, laid down a plastic sheet, covered it in gravel, and called it a dog park. It will be too hot to use in the summer. It will bake like a urinal cake, the perfect breeding ground for Valley Fever. They painted the patio fences black, making the hot summers even hotter. It seems to me that the developers are out-of-towners who made no effort to consider the unique challenges of desert living and are scrambling to justify their asking price. The office staff are difficult to get a hold of. I had to make changes to my lease and requested the required documents in person three separate times before they sent them. I have brought my concerns directly to them and those conversations are generally dismissive and not solution-oriented. While their goal is to “create an exceptional community” they seem unwilling to take actual steps towards that goal. The portal they use to manage payments is buggy and clunky, a monthly headache. The maintenance guy is super cool and helpful. Parking never seems to be an issue anymore since people don’t seem to be moving in. While they are “confident in the value that our community, location, and service provide”, I am confident that my neighbors and I are looking to move out as soon as possible."

"Used to be a nice complex but the owners changed recently and these new people don’t know what they’re doing or they do and are just being sneaky about it. They added all these “amenities” that no one asked for and are adding charges for those amenities on top of the rent they raised. I’m finding multiple fees on my rent bill that I don’t know what they’re for. They avoid our calls, but say we can talk to them about our concerns whenever they’re in office. I also have walked to their office on multiple occasions when they open and no one is in office yet. I do not recommend this place to anyone."

"Solaire was recently bought by a new management company and they are really raising the prices. It used to be a quiet, affordable community. The new management advertised new amenities to the residents but they bill you for the amenities at the end of the month on top of your rent and you can't opt out. Upstairs apartments have no balcony or outside storage. No fitness center. I always made sure to lock my car when living there as the homeless and others will steal things from your vehicle."

"They will charge fees for everything. You will pay $300 extra in fees. They will force you to use their internet and charge you $61 a month. They will install a ring camera on your door and charge you $35/month (you can buy your own for $20 on Amazon). They will charge you $30/month if you live on the 1st floor because you have a "patio". If you have more than one car, you only get one parking slot. They also charge you $30/month for sewer and trash, and they add 8% sales tax to every single thing they charge you including the rent. The residence next to them (Brenda Arm's Apartments) is much cheaper. The maintenance guy is great and both managers I dealt with are very nice and helpful and it's not their fault that the greedy corporation that owns this complex is charging people this much."

"We lived at Solaire for a year and would have continued had we not moved out of state! Pros: Very helpful management- Juley was so friendly and responded instantly to concerns. Washer & Dryer in every apartment- was amazing to not have to go to a laundromat! Nice wood flooring in apartments (apart from bedrooms) Giant bedrooms with good size closet space Quiet complex- you rarely hear any noise All of the apartments face into a courtyard full of trees. I felt completely safe walking around at night as a solo female. Lots of people keep plants/chairs/bikes outside their doors and no one takes them. :) You can pay rent online. Cons: Biggest con would be no ceiling fan or light in the main living space- I would have loved that! Only 1 parking spot assigned per apartment, so you do have to drive around some nights to find parking. It's not a huge deal, but can be annoying if you work late. Our apartment was east/west facing and would get very warm from the large living room window- would have loved a blocking screen! Bottom line: probably the best bang for your buck in North Tempe/South Scottsdale area. Never had issues with maintenance or bugs, and cooling costs were relatively low with our largest bill in the summer being $100 average and $45 in winter."