Spencer Hopkins

Review of Venice Lofts Apartments

I rented a 1 bedroom unit in this building from Oc...

I rented a 1 bedroom unit in this building from Oct 2018-Oct 2019. My experience at Venice Lofts was mixed. The units and staff are very nice and the location is great. The parking rates are reasonable. Unfortunately the building owners seem focused on flashy repairs to attract new customers while being very slow to address long standing issues. I experienced issues with my washer leaking water every time it was used. I had to open tickets over and over before they replaced the unit because each time maintenance would check they declare it was a clogged line, clear the line and report the issue resolved. After the 5th attempt over 10 months they showed up with a new unit. Despite posting that they trash shoots would only be under repair for a week the shoots are still not available after several weeks. The increased amount of trash in the in binds near the trash shoot on each floor is making the building smell. Meanwhile they're quick to do things like add flashy gym equipment, ironically when this equipment would break it would take a long time to fix. The other issue is that there are periodic threats of flooding to the parking areas. I never experienced a actual flood, but in one year we were told to move our cars to higher ground 4 times and the building lost power twice. Despite these drawbacks I was interested in renewing. But the owners sent me a letter about my next year's renewal rate, it was a $291 (17.7%) a month increase if I renewed immediately and a $330(20%) if I waited more than 2 weeks to respond and if I let the lease go month to month the increase would be $949 (57.7%). By emailing them about negotiating this rent the increase was altered to $150 a month. When I tried to counter again, they were unwilling. These strong arm tactics for existing tenants and the slow response to maintenance issues helped me make the decision to leave.