University Crest

Dont let this charming quaint neighborhood deceive you, like it did us. This neighborhood is fine if you dont particularly care about your own safety or your possessions. In the course of living here for 15 months, we were burglarized at least five times. Our car was broken into, bikes which were padlocked outside were stolen– the chain was cut with bold cutters. We had patio FURNITURE stolen on MULTIPLE occasions and both our and our neighbor’s lawn ornaments were stolen and broken in the street– the result of mindless vandalism.
I report these incidents but the homeowners association does NOTHING. They tell me I can prevent the burglarization by being more aware, checking that no lights are out, and being more active in the community. They tell me to call the police who subsequently ell me that there are no resources for such petty crimes — which I understand– take care of the murderers not petty theft.
The association and the landlords from which we rent tell us there is security which is sort of true. When we first moved in — summer of last year– there was 24 hour security which drove around and deterred criminal activity. This security patrol lasted until the end of the August and then there was nothing. The association actually lied about this and said there were random nightly patrols when security patrols were questioned. This was a blatant lie because I literally NEVER saw a security patrol. Apparently the security patrols are for summer (because they are back now though only for a few hours in the early evening) and are MARGINAL at best — a 19 year old kid driving around in a beater car or truck with a buddy and a flashlight while talking on their cellphones. This security patrol is laughable!
The only thing the association is good at is complaining about what furniture you have on your patio and writing tickets if you leave your shoes outside.
Homeless people regularly frequent the neighborhood, sleep on vacant condo porches, and on some occasions «squat» in vacant condos. Because very few people actually own and live in any of the condos in the area and the neighborhood is quite transient, there is little effort or incentive to actually care about the area. There is at least one vacant condo every other building and many units have been deemed unlivable and are boarded up — leading to more squatting.
There are daily searches through the dumpsters. I fear throwing anything away that has my address or even name on it at all because I know the dumpster will be looted.
We chose the neighborhood because I was finishing my degree at UNLV and the area was within walking distance and seemed «nicer» and «safer» than other area residents. The neighborhood is marginal — I understood that when I moved in– but with the promise of round-​the-​clock security, I took the chance. The result was me walking to class and being hounded by homeless people literally everyday. There is no way to walk to UNLV campus from University Crest without being harassed. This could occur in the alley behind the units, in the parking lot near campus where Café Rio and the Bank are or any other part of the area. No route out of the neighborhood was safe from the haranguing.
The neighborhood is pet friendly. It seems as though everyone has at least one dog or cat in addition to the neighborhood cats that run around. Everyone is very friendly to the pets in the neighborhood. Also there are quite a few dog parks in the area, the nicest is probably at Sunset park but there are also smaller, less frequented, less kept parks within a ten minute drive. What the neighborhood doesn’t publicize is that almost no one actually picks up after their pet so «pet-​friendly» turns enormous litter box for dogs and cats alike. Watch out for LAND MINES!
The neighborhood is relatively old for Las Vegas standards and this is represented in the poor craftsmanship in the structures of the neighborhood. The window panes are paper thing and the units have no insulation. This means HOT HOT summers and COLD COLD winters and higher energy bills. Rentors will tell you to expect low bills — don’t! or expect to deal with hot temperatures in the summer and cold temperatures in the winter.
For the price they charge to live here ($ 775 to $ 900) for some of the «nicer» units, you are much better off somewhere else.
Don’t be fooled.