Tenant Reviews for 5184 W CLINTON ST

Been here for just under seven years. Living in this apartment complex leaves you off in a living situation worse than some Third-World Countries I've lived in before. The following is a list of the different incidents my partner and I suffered through, but long story short: If you love the person who is thinking of moving in here, don't let them commit one of the biggest regrets of their lives. The low price of the place isn't worth it. Seriously, it's not worth it. You'll easily spend more on bottled water, roach traps, and medical bills than what you'll save by living here. Incident (Frequency) 1. Random Electrical Fire - The fuses in this place are LITERALLY FROM THE 1920's! They don't make them anymore and the maintenance guy is forced to jerry-rig new ones every time it goes out. Management doesn't care enough to update system. Also, the fuse breaker can't handle too much energy usage, so if you've got the AC and the microwave on at the same time, or a toaster oven and the microwave on at the same time, get ready to call maintenance. (Once) 2. Ceiling flooding with other tenant's sewage and pouring like a dark brown fountain into our unit (Once) 3. Toilet flooding from the apt's main sewage line being clogged with tampons causing EVERYONE'S sewage backing up into our piping and seeping through the bottom of the toilet/bathroom (FOUR TIMES!) 4. The cabinet under the sink ALWAYS floods/leaks and only stays fixed for a week or two at a time (Lost count after the fifth time we asked maintenance to fix. He tried his best, but management refuses to renovate) 5. Gas leak - ALWAYS CHECK THE STOVE TOP! Appliances are easily 40 years old, so... yeah. (Almost DIED twice) 6. Mold - Constant never ending problem at this place. Sink grows mold in a week, tub in two weeks. Partner is a clean freak but this place broke her. (Constant) 7. No smoke ventilation in the kitchen - Massive one here. Even though you have a kitchen, unless you like getting smoked out of your own apartment, you basically can't use it for anything other than baking, boiling, or steaming. Wanna open the back door to let in a breeze? Welp, you just let in a few roaches as well cause the back doors are connected to the alleyways that the sewage runs underneath. I don't even wanna imagine how bad my lungs are after 7 years here... (Constant) 8. Windows that can't open - I think they're meant so that children don't fall out, but seriously, they open three inches in the bedrooms and the mechanism that keeps ones facing the courtyard open breaks very easily so get ready to purchase a large pole to prop them open! (Constant) 9. Roaches - Also a massive constant problem with NO SOLUTION. Again, the rooms are right next to grates that connect to the sewage so you will have a Roach problem if you live here, it's just a matter of time. Raid only kills the ones already inside. Roach traps are effective for a few weeks and then it happens again... (Constant) 10. Sewage backing up into kitchen sink and tub. - Somewhat explained up top, but seriously, this isn't normal. Also, sewage backing up into the sink and tub happened more frequently than through the toilet. (6+ times, lost count after that) 11. Walls that peel easily (Can't hang anything) - Walls have been painted over many times to keep it looking clean/fresh, but that also means using those picture hanging strips is pointless. Need to use nails, but it'll come out of your security deposit. 12. No built-in AC - MASSIVE ONE HERE!!! If your front door/windows face West, you didn't move into an apartment, you moved into a freaking OVEN! Had to buy a large AC unit AND install blackout window curtains that reflect 90% of the light/heat after temperatures inside the unit went over 100 degrees. Mind you, I'm a super skinny guy and I never had to have the AC on 24/7 ever before. (Constant and relentless during the Summer Months) 13. One of the residents is a Kelptomaniac - If you run into a fairly tall guy, dirty blonde hair, somewhat overweight, and a somewhat goofy "Aw Shucks" sort of demeanor, don't let him into your apartment... 14. Everything gets sticky in the kitchen from oil fumes - Somewhat covered above, but this is what happens if you try cooking in this apartment. The tile floor in the kitchen literally sticks to your feet like someone spilled honey all over it, and then did a poor job cleaning it up. 15. Possum visitor - Expect a nice visit from your friendly neighborhood Possum family about once a year! Whether you want to say hi or not. 16. Needing to compete with people from the studio close by for parking - This is a big one that nobody tells you about. If you get lucky, it comes with one parking space. But if you don't, or have more than one car, you'll have to street park. The nearby (half a block away) film studio attracts many people but never has enough parking for all of them, so get ready to walk a good 10 - 20 minutes if you're not lucky! (CONSTANT) 17. Fly problems - Dear god the flies... I think it's because of the palm trees dropping little fruit/berry-like things, but there are an ABSURD amount of flies all around the courtyard. It's also because of all of the dog feces littered all over any open spot of grass around the place. It's not the dogs' fault, it's the lazy owners who just don't care. 18. Torrential Rain - This is more of a warning for those who are new to SoCal. It's basically a desert out here, BUT maybe once a year a gigantic rainstorm will hit. Like, borderline rain forest-level rain for about half a day to a full day. Make sure you're not street parking in the wrong spot! Cause the sewage drains here aren't big enough to handle all that rain and the street ALWAYS gets flooded when the heavy rain hits. If you're unlucky, your car WILL get flooded (like mine did...) 19. Extreme dryness - BUY A HUMIDIFIER! It won't be enough, but it'll take the edge off. 20. Building management - Their solution to every problem you'll have it to have maintenance take care of it, regardless of whether or not he can. They'll never renovate. They'll never permanently fix anything. They'll never give you a refund. EVEN IF YOUR APARTMENT IS RENDERED UNLIVABLE DUE TO SEWAGE FLOODING!!! 21. Weekly mowing - The mowing, NEVER ENDS. Even when there is no grass to mow, they will mow: EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Get used to hearing leaf blowers too, for HOURS on end. 22. Neighbors partying/talking loudly on the porch until 3AM during weekdays - I'm not a light sleeper in the slightest. I can sleep on airplanes riding in economy class through turbulence like a baby. I literally stayed asleep through a 5.0 earthquake before (much to the annoyance of my partner...) But these neighbors crank up their music like they're running a makeshift club in their units. And it's one thing to have fun on a Friday or Saturday night. I wouldn't complain if they did on the weekends. It's a little more annoying when its 4 AM WEDNESDAY MORNING AND THEY HAVEN'T LET UP!!! (Died down b/c Covid, but used to be about once a week) 23. The carpeted floor was FILTHY when first moved in. Had to rent a Rug Doctor from Home Depot and go to town on it. Didn't get reimbursed by Management even through I showed them the receipt and video footage. They refused. 24. Constant rotting garbage smell every morning or evening - I think this has to do with the plumbing here. We take out the trash every evening, and are greeted with a putrid garbage smell EVERY SINGLE MORNING. The very first thing we do every morning after hopping out of bed is open the windows to ventilate. 25. Water Quality is Terrible - I've never been a bottled water type of guy ever before in my life. Drank from the tap literally my entire life until I moved into here. I swear to God there's something in the water. Never drank water that leaves your throat itchy before in the States. Run it through a filter? No dice. I literally felt a lump growing in my throat, developed a hacking cough, and was having trouble swallowing liquids until I decided to just bite the bullet and purchase bottled water. And within DAYS, it all went away. Water quality this terrible should be illegal. 26. Weed smell - This one is minor compared to the previous ones, but the neighbors like walking around the courtyard smoking weed at night. They must be smoking up a couple of grams an evening because it REEKS. 27. Dangerous Neighborhood - Now this isn't the most dangerous place I've lived in before, you're not gonna get mugged walking down the street, but my car has been broken into twice (they smashed windows to try and steal car radio/things inside) and they constantly tell us to buy a specific "Anti-Bolt Cutter" type of lock for the garage. So, take that as you will. Also, you may run into homeless people near the garage area. They like to pick through the trash and someone once decided to use the alleyway that connects the courtyard to the garage as a bathroom... If you've made it this far and are wondering why I never moved out earlier, why I put up with it all. It's not because there are some sort of hidden benefits to living here. It's because this was all I could afford. I LITERALLY could not leave this godforsaken apartment into a nicer place because everything else was too expensive. If you have options, please pick somewhere else. Even if this is the only place you can afford, think twice before signing that deal with the Real Estate -----. Look at other nearby areas. It's not worth it. This place almost destroyed my marriage TWICE from the stress of living here, and has almost KILLED us a total of FOUR times in the seven years I've lived here. IT'S NOT WORTH IT.

I've lived in this building for over 14 years. The best thing about Clinton Manor is its location - walking distance to Larchmont Village. The second best thing is the grounds - it's beautifully landscaped and maintained very well. The units themselves have some charm, but having been built around 80 years ago, it really isn't equipped for life in the 21st century. Outlets are few & far between, the kitchen is sorely lacking in counter space, and the cabinets have to be original to the structure. Mine have about 50 coats of paint on them. There is garage parking in the back, which is nice, and the neighbors are all pretty great - most of them longtime residents like myself. We had a couple rough years a while back when management allowed some less than savory characters to move in and we had a rash of break ins and loud parties. Those people were evicted and it has been serene ever since.

We called the police six times in three years for incidents related to this unit - not just in the building. When we alerted other renters to security issues for their own safety, we were threatened with eviction. We were trying to help folks stay safe but that is apparently not allowed - even if it's just casual communication. More and more people experienced break-ins but management tried to keep it under wraps to get new renters. No safety measures have been taken by management that we can identify. I can't believe how mean they were to people who paid rent on time and didn't break any official rules. It was really upsetting.