Tenant Reviews for 1415 ALVARADO TER

Didn't live on the top floor, but the floor below that. They didn't take care of the roof and gutters..One day we hear all this noise in the middle of the night. We later learned it was falling plaster. Apartment above us got flooded from a backed up gutter. Water made its way into our place as well. My apartment got water damage, turning a room so moldy it was unusable. Water dripping through the ceiling also ruined some books. Their solution? Paint over the mold. The apartment had roaches. The heater would break ALL the time. My car got stolen right in front of the building. At the time there were drug dealers standing at the corner all night ( the park across the street was lit up like a football field at night, with signs stating extra time would be tacked on to your sentence for drug offenses. There's a reason for that). When we left we got the exact paint from the exact store to touch up the place (just normal minor wear. But I had a good sense we were not dealing with honest people, so I was extra paranoid to get it in great shape). We deep cleaned it. Steam-cleaned the carpet. They refused to give us our deposit back. We took them to court. They claimed we got the wrong paint. I showed the receipt. They claimed we didn't leave it clean. I had photos to show otherwise. And photos documenting bugs, mold, crumbling wet plaster, exposed outlets, etc. They blanched when they realized we were prepared, with all our evidence organized in an accordion file for quick retrieval. Got the deposit back. But we should have never been placed in that situation in the first place. It seems the manager may have changed by reading reviews ( but I'm not even sure of that). The owner has not. And she is the definition of a slumlord.

This place is ran by great managers but the owner is an outright greedy old hag. She is so cheap she wont even replace necessities without having to jump through hopes. These apartments are over priced, in a bad neighborhood and there is molding mildew in all the back apartments because she is to cheap to fix the gutters and deteriorating bricks. Stay away from any building one by Susan Blais. I warned you.

I just recently moved here and think this building has great character. The managers are great and friendly too. The neighborhood is great considering we are so close to downtown. I wish I had one of the studios that overlook downtown. I can't imagine why anyone would have anything negative to say about this building or the managers. parking is hard late at night, but what do you expect in a big city. Live in New York or Chicago and then you will complain.

The scam. They will initially collect/confuse the first and last months rent. All year long you will not recieve any assistance for anything that costs money. They sleep all day and do an hour of work a day and are never available. When u go to move out, they will try to ask for a last months rent on the first. DO NOT pay. Simply tell them that it doesn't make sense for them to have 1800 dollars of your money one month before u leave. The scam is, they will only return a couple hundred or no money at all and then come up with 1000 excuses to blame the tenants for existing problems knowing full well most that live there cant affaord lawerys. SLUM LORDS. Also, monitor their stories because they will lie and say anything to swindle a buck out of you. Write down everything, the "evictions" they talk about are not evictions at all and have no legal backing. All of their documents, not real and willmhave tons of mistakes, which again was how I knew they knew nothing about evictions or the law. Just a couple of crooks with no purpose in life.

I lived at Terrace Castle Apartments for one year and I had a great experience. The management of the building are very friendly and always willing to work with if you have any issues. They even collected some packages for me that didn't get forwarded to my new address, called me, and made time to make sure I got them. I never had a problem with noisy neighbors because noise does not travel very far in older buildings like this one. Pro's: 1) Inexpensive! I paid $850 for a studio apartment and the only utility I was responsible for was electricity. 2) Cats! I had two cats with me and that wasn't a problem with management at all. 3) Location! We were close to USC, the 10, and downtown. 15 minute walk to the Red Line, tons of bus stops near by. I never felt unsafe in the neighborhood (DISCLAIMER: I am a 28 year old white male). Con's: 1) Parking! I was on the waiting list for a parking space for the entire year I was there. Street sweeping is Thursday and Friday mornings from 8am-10am which meant trying to find a parking space on Wednesday and Thursday evenings was a nightmare sometimes. Luckily I bought a smaller car 3/4 of the way through my lease and it made parking WAY easier. If you've got an SUV, good luck. Management was very up front about what would come out of the security deposit and I received my check in the mail within two weeks. I work in property management so I'm very familiar with the way an apartment complex is supposed to run and I can honestly say that Terrace Castle was always honest and friendly with me. I only moved because the company I work for offered me a great apartment that was closer to my work and included parking.

Our castle is a joy to come home to everyday! The building is kept up so clean and the lobby is beautiful! We had our very first Annual Holiday Bldg Party and it was a hit! We got to chat and get to know one another and it was a joyous festive event! Thank you to Maria and Corey Best Managers of the Year!!!!!

Awesome View. Clean, quite, and secure. Beautiful and quite neighborhood. The manager is a very nice gentleman. He keeps the property in great condition and is very good in dealing with the tenants. Parking is adequate. Great location which is close to businesses, schools and downtown.

Clean and secure Castle. Awesome View. Great and beautiful neighbors. I like the way the manager attends to this property. He keeps it clean and secure. He responds to the tenants requests quickly and sensibly. Parking is adequate and easily accessible. The park is one minute walk. Beautiful and historic homes make up most of the neighborhood. Great location; Very close to the downtown and USC. Rent is affordable and cost effective. A quite and cozy place. Read more: http://www.apartmentratings.com/rate/CA-Los-Angeles-Terrace-Castle-Apartments-111173934.html#ixzz2ifhCmqSW

I enjoyed my stay at the Castle. Awesome view from my window, great neighbors. I love the surrounding architecture of the neighborhood. Moved to SF June, 2013. Wish my rent was the same!

BED BUG ALERT! This building has bed bugs. It didn't come up on the Bed Bug Registry probably because there is an error when you type this address into that website. So, I asked the building manager, ----- if there were bed bugs. He told me "no." I moved in only to be covered head-to-toe in bites. Thinking I was having an allergic reaction (denial), I went to the doctors who informed me that they were BED BUG BITES! I soon found out that SEVERAL other apartments had BED BUGS! The owner ----- refused to treat and urged me to pay for extermination. The other tenants complied; however, according to California state law, it is the landlords responsibility to exterminate. I couldn't do another sleepless night. I moved out and ----- threatened to keep my deposit. This place needs a professional extermination. Self treating only forces bed bugs into other apartments and they come back. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!