Casa De Vida

I’m writing this review as a neighbor of these apartments. A number of tenants in this complex have parties at night, many times starting at 1−2am onwards.
The management are very unhelpful and don’t appear to have a problem with the police being called on a regular basis to their complex at night.
My recommendation would be to stay clear from these apartments unless you are happy living in a place with noisy and rude neighbors, and a management team who are unwilling to help resolve issues.

Hi Eric Carl,
thank you for your replay, even if I don’t really know who you are. Vanessa Morell is the last Casa de Vida manger that I’m aware of. One of the three that we had in the last year, I have to assume you are a new one? Nice to meet you!
As far as you reply goes I’d like to point out that Vanessa contradict every single word you just said.
Regarding the dog park situation she wrote to me in Dec 2014 and I quote:
I am purchasing signs to put on both ends of the walkway that will assist with not allowing animals to use that area as a dog park, these should be here shortly. Also, I will be making some changes with the landscaping for the area. I am considering a few different options with synthetic grass or possibly some sort of repellant that keeps animals off of the grass. This new change will definitely go a long way with allowing animals on that area to relieve themselves.
Needless to say that this never happened and the inside of the complex is still the main area where dogs are taken.
It seems clear to me that Vanessa said that dogs were not suppose to use any of the green areas inside the complex as a dog park, to change that on the following email when she said:
We have many signs just as the one near your balcony posted throughout the property to assist with reminders for Residents to clean up after their pets
So now the story is that they can use the green areas inside the complex as long as the owners clean up after themselves.
To finish up with:
If you truly are convinced that there isn’t anything else we can do, you are able to move forward with submitting your written 30 day notice to vacate. Please see attached.
So if you guys just want me out you’ll have to wait for me to be ready to do that!
Meanwhile:
How hard is to do the right things? Don’t you see the difference in the review that you guys are having between the two Casa de Vida?
Hire cleaning personel and remove that sign that allow dogs to relive themselves as long as their owner clean up after them with the one that doesn’t allow dogs to relive inside the complex at all!
And because the owners are not gonna listen to you guys anyhow, buy a 45 $ camera to surveil the area!

Stay away from this cockroach infested hole, management is crap, they are difficult to deal with, they kiss your behind before you move in and after they «approve“you to live in this dump they will kick you in your behind. There were lots of shipments that were misdirected and many were lost forever, thats before they implemented the new retarded rule of getting packages dropped off at the office!!! This place feels like a concentration camp with all the do’s and don’ts.Never again even if they offered to live rent free here!!!

This is our first apartment in LA and we really like it!
As long as we are international students and had no records at all, Anastasia did a great job to let us live here. Thank you so much :)
Now a little bit about our experience here:
–our apt face Sawtelle so sometimes it is nosy a bit but mostly time it is okay
–we live here since december 2013 and did not have any bad experience (as you can read at previous reviews)
–we really like that we have pool, gym, sauna and jacuzzi (I might suggest to add dumbbells to the gym equipment)
–all the staff of Casa De Vida is helpful
–the residents here are friendly
–the location is great: it is close to Venice, Santa Monica and Culver city — so you have a variety things to do
P. S. Anastasia, thank you for help and care about residents!

THIS IS THE WORST APARTMENT IN LOS ANGELES I’VE EVER LIVED IN.
I’ve never reviewed anything on Unilocal.This is my first review because I’ve never experienced anything more terrible in my life.
The 405 is extremely loud especially if you live on the 3^rd floor. The complex is not secured, both my roommate and I lost a bunch of packages while living here. And there were a lot of car break-​ins too.
The management is completely ridiculous. Our lease ended on ⁷⁄₃₁ and we were deducted an insane amount from our deposit. First, we were charged $ 100 for not returning the parking sticker, which you can’t even reuse in the first place. Second, we were charged for one day’s extra rent even though we moved out before the end of our lease. They charged around $ 200 for carpet and cleaning fees, which is fine and expected. But they charged us over $ 500 to paint the apartment!!! They claimed that if you stay under 18 months you will be charged the paint fee. We were not aware of this rule at all!!! Also, $ 500 is extremely steep just to paint an apartment in Los Angeles. I told them I could hire someone to paint the place up to their specification for way cheaper and I was told there’s nothing they can do.
Casa de vida deducted almost $ 1000 from our deposit. They are literally thieves.

I have lived here a few months now and am very happy. I was a little discouraged by living so close to the 405, but now it kinda sounds like the ocean haha!
The girls on the office are so nice and helpful, and the pool and workout room make me very happy! It’s quite social as well. It is a happy welcoming environment.

My family and I have lived at Casa de Vida for almost three years. I met with Nicolle and Barbara and they made the rental process very easy and pleasant. They went out of their way to make us feel welcome and to answer all our questions. Our new community manager, Patricia has already made some wonderful changes, like opening the gym and laundry rooms earlier. Our rent is very reasonable for such a lovely place.
The grounds are so beautiful with many trees and flowers. We even have banana trees. I appreciate all the amenities, the pool, hot tub. gym and rec room are maintained very well. I just love using the rec room for parties and gatherings, it is such a great perk.
What I appreciate most about Casa de Vida is the staff! I have found everyone to be friendly and professional. The folks who run the office, Patty, Barbara, Anastasia and Stephanie have been so kind and helpful. It is always a pleasure to interact with them. Miguel and his staff have resounded quickly to every maintenance request I have made. They are always busy keeping everything working and looking beautiful. Maria is delightful, it seems like everywhere I look, there she is, keeping everything looking beautiful.
I love the diversity in the community of folks who live here. I have the best neighbors. I so, appreciate Casa de Vida and highly recommend it!

I’m not that kind of person who would be too harsh and have to complain on Unilocal,but this time I think I should say something to solve my problem and other neighborhood’s living here. Well, i’ve been living here since Sep. There’s many things I’m not really happy, but i still can handle it. Then, I just lost my package which cost a lot of money. My friend came in to talk to the manager, but they said they have no responsibilities for the mails. Then, i found out later, many of my neighborhoods have been lost their packages also. This is really inconvenient and frustrating. It happened recently and I hope the manager should do something to solve it. Like setting a camera around the mail box area or take all the packages to the office and check id and the apt # when someone comes to pick it up. In that way, they will have to do more work, but isnt it the best way to see their customers happy? Or they dont even care? Just get money every month and that’s it? If i’m living in that kind of unprofessional community, i would recommend another place. I dont mind if I pay for a higher price to live in a safer place. Furthermore, according to what I have paid for the rent, i believe i deserve to be treated nicer.

I lost lots of my mail worth more than $ 500 so far. Will continue to write more when I’m home…

I’ve been a tenant at Casa de Vida since August and while it looks like a safe and secured building, it is clearly not. My car’s been broken into once in October when I parked inside the complex (not even street parking) and my stuff shipped from online retailers have been stolen twice when carriers leave them at the lobby in the mailbox area. When I came in and asked about lost packages, management would automatically blame the carriers and never took any responsibilities for it. I just hope they would develop some sort of safe and secure living environment for all tenants but nah, after they get you signed the lease, you’re nothing to them anymore.
I’m very frustrated about lost packages and so are my neighbors around the buildings. Please put all packages in the office and when people come pick them up, check their ID and apt # so that this won’t happen. I wouldn’t mind a little hassle picking them up in the office. It is much better than losing them all and yes, I purchased expensive stuff so it is very frustrating losing $$$ and time. This never happened at any other places I’ve rented.

I have a suggestion that will not cost any money and will benefit many or most of the tenants that live here !
And that is to OPEN THE LAUNDRY ROOM AND GYM at 7 am
Most building open their facilities at 7 am to allow tenants that early morning exercise before they go to work …
or to clean or dry that outfit that they need for that day .!
Security could easily unlock those facilities before they leave in the morning
and I am sure no one would damage anything since it is an advantage for everyone to have access to these 2 essentials !
Susan Artz

Been living here around 3 months now. The grounds are decent. Tired of hearing all the loud parties and music by the pool. Also the walls are thin and the carpet padding is very cheap so you can hear your upstairs neighbors (it’s not the tenants fault the building is old). Management is not that great. i have already had a few interations with them and the leasing mgr needs to brush up on her customer service skills. I have also had the pleasure of interacting with Stehpanie and she is always polite and very helpful. The price is descent so my husband and I will probably just live here until our 1yr lease is up and then we are definitely moving on.

The best bang for your buck on the west side! I have lived here for 14 years. The ever improving complex and amenities make it worth it! Property management is present, responsive and helpful. The staff have handled all my issues expeditiously. They have stepped up security as of late. Great part of town. Next to an elite private school and a wonderful park.

I’ve lived here many years. My only complaints have to do with noisy parties in the rec room, where people don’t close the doors and windows, like they should. I’ve had little interaction with the front office in recent years, but our dealings have always been professional and courteous. The complex itself, moreover, is pleasant with attractive grounds and very good amenities. (Recently remodeled gym and rec room, for example.) Building staff has dealt with every maintenance problem I’ve had in the last several years promptly. (Earlier regimes were not as good. And, to be fair, staff has to deal with aging infrastructure.) As for the apartments themselves, they’re good for the price, and new rentals are thoroughly remodeled. Overall, I’d recommend it to people looking for a well-​kept, large complex in a good location on the Westside.

I have lived here for almost 3 years. The complex looks beautiful and new but its a bit of a fake out. The amenities and maintenance staff are great. Always friendly, professional and prompt. However the hours you can access the amenities are inconvenient. Laundry room/​trash chutes and gym are open from 9am-​10pm. That means you can’t work out in the morning before work or take out your trash off hours. Some residents resort to leaving their stinky trash outside the laundry room b/​c of this. Clearly you need to have a job to be able to afford living here yet the amenity hours don’t accommodate us working folk. It’s ridiculous. They should just be more lenient on the hours to when its convenient for the residents. Not for them.
Also Nicole in the management office is awful. She’s rude, cold and dismissive when you make maintenance requests or even just as you’re turning your rent in ON TIME. Lastly, but most importantly, the plumbing is old and the water comes out brown every time you turn on the water after an extended period of time. I live on the 2^nd floor (out of 3) and my ceiling leaks when it rains– not to mention the loud rain pipes right by my bedroom window that sounds like pouring rocks on metal every time it rains. I’ve reported all these issues to maintenance but they have yet to fix it. They’ve raised my rent 3 times already since I’ve moved in so I’m probably not going to live here much longer at this price with so many inconvenient issues.

In the middle of our lease we decided to upgrade to one of the newly remodeled apartments. Decron Corporate office was very helpful with this process. They worked with us in all areas that we needed. Management is in the office 7 days a week so it’s easy to speak with them. The property is well maintained. You always see someone cleaning or gardening or cleaning the pools. We really enjoy the BBQ and pool area. Maintenance issues are resolved usually in only 1 business day. Our updated apartment is amazing. We are very happy in it and have no plans of moving out. I appreciate the assistance they gave so we could move in and enjoy our new home.

I would also do –1 star if I could.
I also agree with the other posts that this place is very nice to live, but horrible and very difficult and inflexible management associates.

When you want to lease it, they asked for ridiculous bank statement. You need to show that you have the bank balance of 1 YEAR of rent! If I have that money I won’t be renting an apartment anymore, geez. Most apartment only asked for 2 – 3 months of rental balance in your bank account.
Anyway, my roommates and I manage to get that amount of money and we stayed there. Their rent is pretty low but be careful, its excluding water and trash. We didn’t realize it because it was not mentioned to us, although it was listed on the contract in super small fonts. And it also doesn’t include fridge so you need to either buy or rent your own fridge.
Their laundry card charges $ 0.25 each time you top-​up your card (other apartments won’t).
Then when you want to move out, they will give you a hard time. First, if someone wants to replace you, they need your roommate to also move out of the apartment first because they want to clean the place (what?!!).
Then, after your lease ends, you can only remove your name from the lease, IF your former roommate can provide proof of another 1 YEAR rent in his/​her bank balance without your help!
You can’t just freely take your name out from the lease even after your contract ends if you roommate wants to continue living there.
Nicole is a bitch. She doesn’t give a damn about the tenants, she is so cold and rude.
NEVER STAY AT THIS APARTMENT! The place is pretty good but the MANAGEMENT SUCKS!