HillCreste Apartments Reviews
HillCreste Apartments located in 1420 Ambassador Street, Los Angeles, California 90035, United States there are many issues and complaints with this community/location, scroll down to the reviews section to see the true reviews for this location
Contact Information for HillCreste Apartments
1420 Ambassador Street, Los Angeles, California 90035, United States
Phone Number
Website URL
www.thehillcreste.com
Year Built
1989
Total Units
315
Location
Detailed Information for HillCreste Apartments
Exercise extreme caution when considering properties listed by the horrible company “AIR Communities” on rental platforms. While their promotional visuals might appear enticing, prospective tenants should be forewarned of a multitude of hidden fees. Beyond the baseline rent, there are significant charges for amenities such as parking, water, and mail services, which often require an additional subscription. The following are crucial observations derived from reviews by past tenants across multiple platforms. It is imperative that you review these insights meticulously to avoid potential regrettable experiences.
Here is 18 reasons why you SHOULD NOT! consider moving into HillCreste Apartments:
- Deceptive Practices: Potential renters experience price changes and unexpected fees after initial agreements.
- Noise Problems: Complaints of excessive noise from neighbors due to poor sound insulation.
- Inadequate Response to Complaints: Management shows poor responsiveness and dismissiveness towards tenant concerns.
- Security Issues: Reports of frequent break-ins and car burglaries with inadequate measures taken by management to improve security.
- Poor Maintenance: Delayed or inadequate maintenance responses to apartment and facility issues.
- Unjust Charges Upon Move-Out: Residents report being unfairly charged for cleaning and damages, including items not caused by them.
- Mismanagement: Staff, including property managers, described as unprofessional and rude.
- Lack of Transparency: Hidden costs and fees not initially disclosed, leading to higher than expected living expenses.
- Inconvenient Package System: Complaints about mandatory use of a package room that is inconvenient and imposes additional charges.
- Excessive Rent Increase: Tenants face significant rent hikes upon lease renewal.
- Poor Building Condition: Outdated infrastructure and negligence towards building maintenance.
- Disregard for Tenant Safety: A lack of action to address safety concerns and health hazards such as mold exposure.
- Unfair Parking Policies: High fees for parking spaces and aggressive towing policies.
- Lack of Essential Amenities: Amenities advertised as luxury are either lacking or not maintained properly.
- Harassment from Management: Tenants report feeling harassed by management’s actions and attitudes.
- Privacy Violations: Incidents of privacy invasion, including inappropriate monitoring of tenant activities.
- Legal and Financial Disputes: Disputes over financial charges and legal threats from management.
- Lack of Community Feeling: Management’s policies and behavior contribute to a negative living environment.
- Health Concerns: Reports of health issues due to environmental problems within the apartments.
- Unwelcome Policy Changes: Sudden changes in policies that negatively impact residents’ living experience.
Reported Hazards for HillCreste Apartments
Dog Poop
Mice
Urine
Mold
External Links for HillCreste Apartments
Our website exposes the deceptive practices of AIR Communities. We link to external reviews on Google Reviews, Yelp, etc. but caution against trusting 5-star ratings. Many are the result of incentives for positive feedback, not genuine tenant experiences. We advise focusing on reviews of 3 stars or below for a real picture of these properties. Beware of manipulated ratings and seek the truth in the more critical, honest feedback
Reviews for HillCreste Apartments
My husband and I are leaving the Hillcreste after 3 years. We happily rented a townhouse we own in the South Bay while living here in order to shorten our commutes. We decided to undo this decision for a number of reasons, not least among them are the growing list of extremely petty and inconvenient policies Aimco has decided to impose in a steadily increasing fashion since our move in date. Yesterday really takes the cake. We, along with most of our neighbors, received a notice that the bikes we keep in front of our cars in our assigned parking spots need to be moved or they will be thrown away at the end of the month. When so many tenants need to be warned, the policy, not the tenants, might be the problem... The sheer number of tenants in apparent violation by storing items in their parking spaces is ample evidence that management did not consider some realities about living in the center of Los Angeles: Everyone owns a car; cars need oil, antifreeze, and other dangerous substances on a regular basis; no one wants to keep such things in their living quarters or seating areas of the car; most do not want to avoid these chemicals by relying entirely on third party maintenance as rents continue to rise as well. Furthermore, no one wants to store bikes uncovered. It is completely senseless to require tenants to scuff up the elevators and apartment walls by bringing them inside when ample space exists between the hood and the wall in a garage that is bound to get damaged by oil, rubber, and the occasional broken sewer pipe as our parking space neighbor experienced. Many other elderly residents also keep small shopping baskets with wheels in front of their cars so they can move their groceries from the car to inside their apartment. What is the building's solution to this? If you take their baskets away, I guess residents will just need to call security or management every single time they need help unloading groceries from their car. The notice says items such as bikes, beach umbrellas, soccer balls or other normal items you would keep in a garage cannot be kept in the garage nor on our balconies. I'm honestly wondering where else they suggest we store these items then??? Residents pay $80 a month for their parking spots. That's money that allows you to park your personal property (cars) in an assigned space. That money should also allow you to keep reasonable items in your assigned space other than your vehicle. There are other new & terrible features management has also introduced, such as the keyless entry systems which caused me (at 17 weeks pregnant) to be locked out for OVER an hour because the batteries died and management had taken away use our old fashioned keys, but this review is long enough.
Undeniably beautiful apartment complex completely wasted on incompetent management. I am not one to leave negative reviews frequently. You can look at my reviews and verify this for yourself. Now that that is out of the way, you can listen to me when I say this: Stay away from Hillcreste Apartments. The management team is run by a Cruella Deville incarnate, a woman named Norma. Norma is without a doubt the most unpleasant and miserable human being I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with. A hostile, lying, racist woman who undoubtedly got to her management position by birthright rather than positive customer service ethics. She is petty enough to ignore phone calls & emails from you once you've made her "sh*t list" (which must be infinitely long, by now.) She is also immature enough to completely ignore you outside her office until you barge into the room.If any resident's from this building need the phone number to contact corporate, feel free to send me a PM, as you won't be getting it from Cruella Deville.
I would not trust anyone from HillCreste. We never even completed the application and they have been harassing us for almost a year to pay a $1500 "holding fee" in which we never agreed to. They are even trying to send us to collections even though they no ground to stand on. I guess on one hand, you can call them persistent.
Me and my roomate have been here for about 3 months and we mainly chose this place for security reasons. It's in a nice neighborhood and appeared to have great security. Well 3 months in and my roommates car got broken into IN THE PARKING GARAGE. We share tandem spots and we went out of town for the weekend. We come back to find her car window broken and her personal items stolen. We alerted the security guard and they did nothing for us. We found out there are several doors with no locks meaning anybody can walk right in and there are no security cameras covering the garage areas. Absolutely absurd given how much we pay for rent and how cheap it is to install cameras and locks. I have friends in the area that pay 1/3 the amount of rent we do and they have cameras in their garage. I now feel unsafe in my own apartment knowing anybody can easily walk to my front door. We are constantly worried about leaving our cars in the garage at night. The sad thing is, there isn't a safer place to leave them.
I have had a mouse/rat problem on and off for years here. Originally, they gave me 2 glue traps and told me I was on my own. LSS - new management and a huge problem started in mid-August. Woke up one day to everything covered in droppings.Went and talked to the new office, who owned it this time. They sent pest control out the following Friday and a maintenance guy, who nailed some wood under the corners or the kitchen counter and on the sides of the pipes/hoses under the kitchen sink, with the promise that on Monday they would come back and fill up the holes with foam and have my furniture cleaned. Never to be heard from again, although I called the head of maintenance several times and talked with every maintenance guy I could find. Finally this past Friday the pest guy came back. He looked around and said: 1. the mice or baby rats are still here based on fresh dropping around the baseboard, 2. I should stop cleaning it up because I could breathe it and it's dangerous and that I should tell my doctor and 3. the furniture and baseboards need to be steam cleaned and holes under kitchen and bath sinks and all appliance should be moved and have those holes sealed. Back to the front office. That afternoon a maintenance guy and furniture cleaning company showed up. The result: Some of my furniture will get steam cleaned, but not the baseboards, they offered to bring in a housekeeper to deep clean the floors, to come back the next day and close up the holes. Of course, no one showed. Emailed the new manager and she did respond that she would look into it. Feel like I live in an expensive slum.
If you have a family and plan on moving here I would seriously reconsider!!! Management is terrible and does not care for the well-being of the tenants. I moved in only two month ago and have had nothing but a negative experience with management. Jennifer the property manager is impossible to deal with and does not care about the tenants. I have been asked not to have my family ( wife, 2 year old & dog) congregate all in the same room before 8AM and between 5-7 PM as it causes too much noise for the neighbor below me (this was a direct request from management) Security has knocked on my door at 7PM on a Saturday because neighbors complained that my daughters crying was bothering them!!! They will try and sell you on how they strive for an all accepting community it is a load of crap when trying to file a complaint I've been told by security just call the police as they refused to do anything. Stay far away from this place!!
Like other reviewers, I didn't bother to check yelp before renting. Now, as a current renter, I feel stuck until I look for another place to live. While the gated grounds are nice and the location is good, the building is old and noise travels through the walls and ceiling. The fake hardwood floors amplify sound so unless you're on the top floor, expect to be able to tell exactly where your upstairs neighbor is. But that can somewhat be expected from an apartment. The biggest problem is the leasing office people. Not only are they unresponsive, they're often rude. They don't return calls, and you don't get the feeling they enjoy their job. This trickles down to maintenance staff (except for a few good employees like the security booth people). I had an after hour repair person hang up on me because he told me it's not an emergency (without asking what the problem was or coming to see), and because I asked for his last name and his supervisor's name. Unless something breaks between 9-5, you can expect to wait till they feel like working. I don't mind paying for service, but for the rents they charge, you'd get better service at a self-service gas pump. I'd highly recommend checking other places to rent if you were considering the hillcreste.
I lived through a nightmarish experience in a building that, despite my attempts to approach it intelligently, turned out to be a dreadful place. The paper-thin walls left me constantly exposed to my neighbors' lives, as if I were sharing their space. The management's decision to increase rent to an outrageous extent felt like a calculated affront to my sanity. The maintenance man, living nearby, brazenly crossed boundaries and made me uncomfortable. When I reported this, their response was shockingly indifferent, showing a complete lack of empathy. The nightly arguments from the apartment above became a haunting melody of frustration, seeping into my every moment. Upon moving out, the seemingly inconsequential charges, like the absurd "$1.02 for final pest control," chipped away at my deposit until only half remained. My unhappiness is profound, and I wouldn't dream of recommending this place to anyone.
There continues to be break ins as usual. Nothing will ever change. Management just doesn't care enough. They refuse to put more cameras throughout the complex and in the garages. Actually pathetic of them.
Increased accountability and security needed to curb rampant crime and burglaries that put resident safety at risk. If you move here, note that burglars use it on weekends as their date night activity. Despite multiple burglaries, little to no proactive measures by management. I feel terrible that they seem to value my rent money more than my personal safety.
By far the worst place I have ever lived in my entire life! Not to mention, I have not only lived in the United States, the majority of my life, but I've also lived in the Middle East, and in Europe, and this place beats them all. Let me start off by stating that I lived here for a little over aprx six months moved out now but I'm going to list the reasons on why this is worse than even a one star rating! First, let's start by when you're told how much rent is going to be lol If you're being told (like me) that you're paying $3610 a month be prepared to pay over $4100 per month for rent, if you think you're going to live in peace, do not because you are going to hear every single foot step from above, as well as every word in all directions, the walls and ceilings are the thinnest I have ever experienced, it's a smoke free facility, but be prepared to have marijuana smoke come from all directions, the unit has the worst management in the world where you will be charged one thing when in reality, you were told that the charge wouldn't even exist, there's no way to get hold of the actual owners but until today I'm going to show you how you can because I left that building and now they're trying to ask for another thousand dollars approximately when in reality they actually owe me my entire deposit so be prepared to lose your deposit like I have, Management will say one thing in person but in writing and emails it is a totally different story, there is a rat and squirrel infestation and you're also going to be charged monthly for that, on your statement you're going to notice something called a convenience charge. This is actually a charge to pay your own rent, they will not tell you how to get rid of that charge but I'm going to tell you it's by walking in and paying via check NOT THE PORTAL WHICH THEY PUSH DURING MOVE-IN... If you're paying any other fashion you're going to get charged an additional fee. I suggest you stray from even looking at this location run as fast as you can, stay away from it, you're going to think one thing, but in reality experience an entire different dimension when living at the HillCrest!!!! In FACT... I guarantee you!!!!! if you do move in whatever your rent is, add an additional over $500 on a monthly basis. I was being charged for random things even when I showed Management proof the billing was in my name... all along impossible to actually communicate with the owners because management runs that facility in every way possible! Because the actual owners have no idea what's really going on. HERE IS THE OWNERS DIRECT LINE WHICH ALL SHOULD HAVE: +1 (866) 592-2719 Attached are pics saying now that I've moved out I only owe around $250 & there's another picture from my voicemail from the owners asking for more money!!
Would give 0 stars if possible. The people that work on the property (specifically Jennifer and Diana) are nice enough but the rest of management is truly horrible and unreasonable. Good luck finding a unit with much, if any, natural light here. The apartments are cheaply refinished. Noise carries between the floors of the units if you have a loud neighbor. Expect to get nickel and dimed on your way out for the cleaning and painting fees etc so that they can cover costs to turnover the apartment. Was told we were charged a cleaning fee to cover cleaning of the outdoor windows. Elevator was broken for 3 months with no accommodations given to those inconvenienced by this. Fees for utilities which are controlled by the management company (trash, sewage, pest) are also severely inflated on a monthly basis. Package room is generally overflowing, expect to spend a long time retrieving your package from the shared lockers. If looking for a new apartment here, proceed with caution.
So I originally wrote a good review because an email said I could win $500 but that was as close to the truth as my original positive report. There have been so many issues that you just would not expect to happen at an expensive place like this. Rent will cost you at least $2,000 here, even if you have a roommate with all the extras they charge. My first month when I was trying to get acclimated, I was few days late on the rent and they charged me $150 late fee! I complained and they said there was nothing they can do. This is of course after the leasing agent promised me she would remind me that rent was due for the first few months. Which is the answer you can expect anytime they have the opportunity to bleed you for more money. In the past 24 hours my heat was busted, the hot water did not work, and my garage opener, which was replaced yesterday, stopped working. I called to see if I can get some money off for all of these problems but of course- "there in nothing we can do." The apartments are nice, but not that much better then any other place where rent is significantly less. The only redeeming quality is the Jacuzzi and the gym - both of which I had at my last place where I was paying hundreds of dollars less. You can spend your money better and you should. Don't be ensnared by the outside look of the place. It is a pig with lipstick.
I have lived here for 3 years. Recently, my car has been broken into twice and the community said they are not accountable. Also, 2 homes have been broken into since 2020. My rent also increased more than 8%. Clearly, I am moving. Awful resident service. Don't be fooled
RUDEST STAFF EVER!!!! My mom and I were doing uber eats and the staff out front was super rude. My mom was trying to tell the guy that the customer told her to wait outside by the security and the guy was making no sense whatsoever. He yelled at her "do you not understand?" and when I told him he didn't have to be rude he said she was being rude but all she did was try to show him what the customer said. When I tried telling him she wasn't trying to be rude she just wanted to show him what the customer said, he slammed the window in my face.
One of the worst apartment management team we've experienced. Even prior to moving in my roommate and I required a revision to our potential lease and experienced poor responsiveness. The leasing agent did not notify us she went on vacation while reviewing our lease and had to locate another employee for help. Moreover the lease was revised less than ONE WEEK before our lease was scheduled to start. After moving in we have experienced even more poor communication with management as they are severely delayed or just don't respond at all. When detailing lease violations they conveyed an unwillingness to help and even put the blame on the reporter. Not sure if they require a larger headcount or better employees in managing this property as it is nice on the "outside." However please beware of management.
I've been at Hillcreste for almost 13 months and have been wanting to get out of here since 6 months ago. There have been numerous burglaries and management fails to address them to the residents until residents complained and signed a petition about the robberies happening. On top of all this the fob sensors and call box broke at our apartment making matters worse for more potential burglaries. Hillcreste told residents at our building via email that the call box and fob sensor pads would be fixed in a few days and wasn't fixed till a week later. Hillcreste can't do anything about this but my apartment is always dark and doesn't have any natural light. It's highly depressing. Also the walls and floors are extremely thin. I can hear my neighbor have yelling outbursts in the morning and yawn at night. Oh parking isn't free you have to pay monthly for something that should be included in rent. Greedy much? Include this in the rent instead of it being a separate fee. I mean come on! $80 a month for a tandem spot and $50 for a single. Also there are signs on all the windows around the complex that state this is a smoke free community...it isn't. I can smell people smoke weed or cigarettes from their balcony or right outside the gate. The smoke from those at the gate just travels through and into the "smoke free" complex. Don't guarantee or promise things you can't promise. Can't wait to leave.
My husband and I are leaving the Hillcreste after 3 years. We happily rented a townhouse we own in the South Bay while living here in order to shorten our commutes. We decided to undo this decision for a number of reasons, not least among them are the growing list of extremely petty and inconvenient policies Aimco has decided to impose in a steadily increasing fashion since our move in date. Yesterday really takes the cake. We, along with most of our neighbors, received a notice that the bikes we keep in front of our cars in our assigned parking spots need to be moved or they will be thrown away at the end of the month. When so many tenants need to be warned, the policy, not the tenants, might be the problem... The sheer number of tenants in apparent violation by storing items in their parking spaces is ample evidence that management did not consider some realities about living in the center of Los Angeles: Everyone owns a car; cars need oil, antifreeze, and other dangerous substances on a regular basis; no one wants to keep such things in their living quarters or seating areas of the car; most do not want to avoid these chemicals by relying entirely on third party maintenance as rents continue to rise as well. Furthermore, no one wants to store bikes uncovered. It is completely senseless to require tenants to scuff up the elevators and apartment walls by bringing them inside when ample space exists between the hood and the wall in a garage that is bound to get damaged by oil, rubber, and the occasional broken sewer pipe as our parking space neighbor experienced. Many other elderly residents also keep small shopping baskets with wheels in front of their cars so they can move their groceries from the car to inside their apartment. What is the building's solution to this? If you take their baskets away, I guess residents will just need to call security or management every single time they need help unloading groceries from their car. The notice says items such as bikes, beach umbrellas, soccer balls or other normal items you would keep in a garage cannot be kept in the garage nor on our balconies. I'm honestly wondering where else they suggest we store these items then??? Residents pay $80 a month for their parking spots. That's money that allows you to park your personal property (cars) in an assigned space. That money should also allow you to keep reasonable items in your assigned space other than your vehicle. There are other new & terrible features management has also introduced, such as the keyless entry systems which caused me (at 17 weeks pregnant) to be locked out for OVER an hour because the batteries died and management had taken away our old fashioned keys, but this review is long enough.
Everything seemed OK upon move in. Prices were high, but I only needed to be there for a short time. Facilities maintenance was very poor. They kept upgrading the lawns and gardens, but left building maintenance off the schedule. Never fixed anything in my unit. Were nasty about getting rent half day late (after the office closed on first of month) and charged a ridiculous late fee. Noisy location, lots of ill-mannered people, just not the place you want to have to come home to. Upon move out, they approved a two day late move out due to the weekend timing and said a minor charge would apply - then socked me for $500. They said I did not have to paint or clean carpet, then charged for doing so against my security deposit. The unit I had was poorly constructed and paint so thin that a wipe with a towel removed the paint from the walls. The office help was nasty and inconsiderate. Unless you want to pay a LOT for a miserable place (you better be single male or female who longs for being 25 again), you should avoid this place like the plague.
This place is a bit of a nightmare. The facility is clean and has nice amenities, but this does not make up for the fact that the floors and ceiling have no padding, whatsoever. As mentioned in all the comments below, you hear literally everything going on in the apartment above you. Not only is it loud, but the sound coming from above actually shakes and reverberates throughout your unit, startling you or waking you up. There are times where I could not tell if the noise was my upstairs neighbor or someone trying to break down my front door. My old upstairs neighbor was a night owl, so he'd wake me up in the middle of the evening. At first I thought I had a sleep issue and even got a sleep test, but my marks where all normal. Eventually, I realized I was walking up due to my upstairs neighbor's foot steps, conversations, arguments, moving things, etc. You can completely hear the people above you having sex and the people below you can hear you. I cannot tell you how many countless nights of sleep I missed as a result. My new upstairs neighbor is a morning person. So now, instead of being woken up at 2:00 a.m., I'm instead woken up at 6:30 a.m. by their dog. I can hear it barking all morning and when it drops a chew toy or thrashes against its cage, my whole room vibrates and I get woken up. If peace, quiet, and sleep are important to you, this is not the place to live. The facility also nickel and dimes you with fees. Each month, I'm forced to pay a fee to receive my packages in the mail room, which is neither secure nor practical. I recently saw signs that they are going to be charging guests for parking. Of course, that's not all that surprising as I also pay monthly for my parking spot on top of my prime LA rent price. If you are moving in, demand to be presented with all fees so you know the real rental price before signing. The management will tell you they are doing their best and some guy will respond to this review with some corporate speak but, at the end of the day, the management / ownership are aware of the issue and will not do anything about it other than raise your rent.
The Hillcrest has begun charging guests for parking. Much like a shopping mall, the residence now requires your guests to pay $2/hr in order to park on the property. Making matters worse, there is no reasonable street parking in the area. The meters directly next to the building are an anti-grid lock zone and the surrounding neighborhood is all permit parking. As you can imagine, this makes things incredibly difficult if you're in a relationship. Previously, my girlfriend would stay weekends with me, however, under the new scheme, it would cost at least $100 each weekend for her to leave her car in one of the guest spots. I've also heard people complain that this makes it difficult to have friends and family over. Residents must also pay for their parking spot. I pay $50/month on top of my monthly rent in order to have a spot for my own vehicle. I'm also charged $10/month to receive my packages. This is on top of the prime LA rent prices as well as a slew of other fees, such as landscaping fees and utilities. The price you get quoted for your rent, is not the true cost of living here. Myself and several other residents have brought this to managements attention and everyone has unanimously agreed: they do not care. This isn't the only reason I'm giving the facility a 1/5. If you see my original review below, the building suffers from a systematic noise issue due to poor padding in the floors and ceilings. Several times a week, I am woken up by my neighbors upstairs who get up at 5am. When they open doors / close windows, my apartment (which is below them) shakes and I am startled and woken up. See my original review, below, for details.
I was a tenant here . 1)Very noisy right on Pico. Fire station nearby, police, ambulance always rumbling down street. A recently posted sign says sewer construction begins soon for 1 year right in front 2)they kept a dossier of all my activities. I lived on the third floor. Norma the manager dropped a camera from the roof to my both patios and took pictures. Maybe they also took pictures inside my unit where children were. Many of the employees also live on the premises, so they also report on you. 3)The utility company bills the entire building. Hillcreste supposed to divide the cost evenly among all tenants equitably and the landlord. One month the rates doubled and stayed doubled. Classic case of the fox watching the hen house. They just decide to charge the tenants more and the landlord less. Kevin the area manager devised this scheme. 4)The clubhouse sparkles because that is where prospective tenants arrive. Rarely see ay cleaning of the apartments themselves where the tenants live. 5) Classic case of the pig wearing lipstick on Pico. Overated for the price!
Do not rent a place in the complex. I repeat do not rent an apartment from these people. It is a trap, once you rent here they have got you to suck dry. they will start charging you for breathing the air in you apartment, that is how bad they are. Read their lease very very very carefully. By utilities provided they mean you have utilities in your unit. It does not mean it is free or included. They have many misleading statements like that in the agreement. Be careful what you are getting into with this place. they are horrible people to deal with. don't do it.
I wish I could give them 0 stars. They quote you one price over the phone, which matches what it shows online. The minute you walk through the door for a showing, the price magically increases and this increase is not reflected on their website. Beware of their unethical business practices.
A picture is worth a thousand words. So how about 2? At least 3 burglaries and car break-ins in the past month. Management needs to get their act together for the safety of the residents.
I lived through a nightmarish experience in a building that, despite my attempts to approach it intelligently, turned out to be a dreadful place. The paper-thin walls left me constantly exposed to my neighbors' lives, as if I were sharing their space. The management's decision to increase rent to an outrageous extent felt like a calculated affront to my sanity. The maintenance man, living nearby, brazenly crossed boundaries and made me uncomfortable. When I reported this, their response was shockingly indifferent, showing a complete lack of empathy. The nightly arguments from the apartment above became a haunting melody of frustration, seeping into my every moment. Upon moving out, the seemingly inconsequential charges, like the absurd "$1.02 for final pest control," chipped away at my deposit until only half remained. My unhappiness is profound, and I wouldn't dream of recommending this place to anyone.
If I could, I would give Hillcreste Apartments and their ownership company Aimco a negative star. There have been many break ins within the complex. My neighbors have come to me and said they have been robbed. Ownership refuses to do anything about it. Security cameras are not functional. We pay a tremendous premium and management has refused to make minimal upgrades. The whole community feels unsafe and under siege. And yet ownership takes no responsibility. This is not a safe community and speak any residents and they will tell you the same. The previously posted photos are accurate. We have a real crime problem!
The worst place I've ever lived. Don't do it. Management are wicked bitter sub par humans. An overpriced slum. Rats. Spiders. Garage flooded with waste water. The garbage chutes/closet smell so bad you have to hold back barf. The hallways have carpet that are ancient and stained with dog poop. The elevator was broken for an entire month. Norma the manger saw me lugging groceries up the stairs, with a cast on one leg and a crying toddler and literally laughed - no offer to help. The apartments are old, decrepit cheap everything, fake wood floors, cheap blinds. Old appliances that were the cheapest possible buy when they were new. Luxury apartments- a joke !! Don't live here. It will depress you and make you lose faith in humanity - not to mention burn through tons of money on BS fees and aggravation.
Beware before renting here!!!! People here are constantly moving in and out.....daily. Also Oakwood temporary housing rents from Hillcreste ; Oakwood trucks are here on a daily basis. The corporate office seems to be more concerned with the appearance of the outside. They are constantly raising rates on just about everything they can get away with. At first one was charged to park your car for $10 month. Now they have increased the amount to $50 a month. No one should be charged to park your car to begin with. Its not a public parking garage!!!!!!!!! When there are "break ins" and yes there are break ins in this gated community no one is notified .... notices are not posted. If so it is usually a month after the fact that one is notified that apartments have been broken in to. There are so many workers from outside that apparently have access to the buildings especially Oakwood. The security guard is basically there but not for security reasons. If one leaves in the bottom apartments the security guard at the gate is of no purpose to you. Understand your rent is paying for the guard. The gate at the the bottom (Peerless Place) breaks often. Not only that but anyone can drive their car through easily . It happens all the time. In the past 3 months each month the water bill, the sewer bill and the trash have all increased which you are billed through a service company hired by Hillcreste which you too are paying for the service of the billing company.
Don't even think about signing a lease. You will regret it to the very last day ! I promise you, you are making a huge mistake ! If you really think you have found the right place, make sure to sign a short term lease, that way you can get out once you realize the disaster you got yourself in. This is my only negative review I have ever left on yelp. Check out all my other posts, I am a very reasonable person........ Do not sign a lease at Hillcreste
There have been too many apartment break ins as well as car break ins over the past year and 1/2. Aimco the corporation that owns the Hillcreste has done very little to prevent future break ins.; they apparently do not want the expense to install better security or hire a real guard not just a courtesy attendant. Most residents no longer feel safe here. Also the manager currently at the Hillcreste is one of the most unprofessional managers I have ever encountered... rude doesn't even begin to describe her. I was looking forward to changes here but not negative changes. This complex is not what it once was. Residents seem to be moving out frequently because of all the negative changes... that includes me.
Very poor management and leasing office, slow to respond, all they care about is money. I was deceived by the leasing agent who advised to extend my lease term when I signed up for an apartment instead of extending it toward the end given I was not sure about my move out date. Never told I would still be financially liable if I decided to leave before the the extra days I extended for.
we will never contact this complex again, they deceived us, said the price was $ 3000, a week later they called back and said 3500, we did not agree, then they demanded additional fees from us for refusal!! These are scammers carefully
"Appalling management and apartment scams , "fraud". They take your details, then claim the apartment isn't available and only expensive ones are left, then demand compensation for refusal!!! Disgusting!!! Be cautious!!!"
we will never contact this complex again, they deceived us, said the price was $ 3000, a week later they called back and said 3500, we did not agree, then they demanded additional fees from us for refusal!! These are scammers carefully Fr@ud!!!!
Looking for a manager (Jennifer) who yells profanities at residents, tells you to call the cops or move out in response to a complaint, weekly cop visits for unknown reasons to neighbors? Well you've found your home! You ask if this is too good to be true? You even get weekly breakins to cars and apartments & management that literally change nothing to help your safety. But hold on the your hat! Here comes the best part - the security they advertise can be found sleeping, playing on their cell and just about anything that has nothing to do with your safety. So if this sounds like home to you come join us at The Hillcreste!!!!
Where should I start? water heater flooded our apartment and we were displaced. Horrendously difficult staff to deal with during the ordeal. We didn't do enough research before we decided on this apt due to being in a time crunch. But please do yourself a favor and eliminate this place. We had countless other issues as well such as cigarette and pot smells seeping thru vents which the management did no do anything about. Just a horrific horrific place.
I live in Hillcrest and there are many robberies and there aren't caring about it, this has happened for years and when they do something it is cheap and I love mark walton.
The inconvenience happened because of leasing office staff who convinced me to extend my lease when I first signed up for the apartment without mentioning that I will be responsible for the rest of the rent even if I gave my 2 months notice. It took the regional manager almost 3 weeks to reply to my emails and only did after I complained to #AIMCO. #VERY BAD #NOT RECOMMENDED.
I lived here for 3 years. Paid 100k to Hillcreste communities and I have lived in horrible conditions. Management was beyond awful. Our apartment was super dirty when we arrived and now that we moved out, we get charged for cleaning services. I know for a fact that Hillcreste was going to remodel the whole apartment so they could make it nicer and charge way more money to the next tenants. Basically, they are going to make a mess with the apartment but they expected us to leave it clean? One of the reasons we moved out is because they accepted people with a dangerous dog that tried to attack our 2 year old son and 4 months baby. We let them know about it but like always, they answered with "We will contact you about it" (They always said that but never contacted back with any solutions). We have had for months a laundry machine that was destroying our clothes. We had the worst stove ever that every time we cooked, we could smell gas in the whole apartment... We had neighbors smoking weed and management didn't care about it (never replied to some of our emails complaining about it). When I knew Hillcreste was going to charge me with cleaning services I said I didn't agree with it and I explained why. Management, once more, said they would let me know if they could remove that fee. Of course, we just got the check and you know what? We got charged for cleaning. Beyond ridiculuous. Be aware, many of google reviews are good because Hillcreste always send surveys to tenants asking to make a survey (and leave a review) with the chance of getting a $500 dollars gift card. This company is horrible. Also I must add that things get stolen in this place and management doesn't care about it. A $1600 crib was stolen from me and there were cameras to record it but according to management, they didn't see who did it. However, I was told different versions of the story of what happened to the package. One person from management told me they moved the package close to the elevator. Another person told me they didn't move it. Definitely super shady management. This place deserves a class action lawsuit one day because of how much they ignore tenant's rights. I attach some photos of how dirty the place was when we entered.
"Appalling management and apartment scams , "fraud". They take your details, then claim the apartment isn't available and only expensive ones are left, then demand compensation for refusal!!! Disgusting!!! Be cautious!!!"
I've decide to write an honest review: This place is way overpriced and if you have any issues very little will be done to help you. You are lost among a sea of other residents and there is no individual help. I just moved in here and was immediately hit on the fourth of the month with a hefty late fee. When I complained that I had only lived there for 3 weeks and was not told that rent was due on the 1st, they told me I signed off on the inauguration email which explained rent is due on the first... Also very loud I hear EVERYTHING that is happening above me... Also, every other morning at 8 AM a garbage truck shows up and beeps for 30 minutes straight so forget sleeping in on the weekends... All this, on top of the ridiculous rent = 1 star
This is a corporate horrible place! If you like smoking at the pool,nasty signage in the elevator,reminding you that therea re rules 24/7 (and cameras watching your every move)paying a deposit(which they will try and keep for your pet) and charge you an extra 150 a month for, Have a horrible sign on your car saying it has to be in the garage (even your guests)or you will be TOWED IMMEDIATELY.Like a fake lawn that is filthy with people who do not clean up after their dogs (oh right the same people who smoke at the pool and leave their cig butts everywhere!)Do you like drunk shouting neighbors?floods from faulty pipes,intercoms that do not work for weeks on end and an attitude from management that you should be grateful.??? Then you have found the place for you
I live here last 3 years, and it is a NIGHTMARE!!! Run away!!! Walls are with toxic paint, I almost died of allergy, Management is so rude and acting with no manners at all. My packages are disappearing. I almost died here, Security is never acting well, it's DANGEROUS!!!!!!
I have lived here for 10 years and I have been happy here until all the burglaries and robberies started. Management is doing NOTHING! I spoke to one of the guards and he had no idea this was happening. Management doesn't even tell the guards. We need to have guards posted at both entries 24/7. You charge enough rent and do nothing. WAKE UP MANAGEMENT!!
I was a tenant at Hillcreste. It was a horrible experience! 1) They kept a dossier on all my activities. The manager Norma lowered a camera from the roof on to my 2 patios and took pictures. Maybe she also took pictures inside the adjacent bedroom where children were. Many of the employees also live on the premises, and they also report on your activities as well. 2)The utility company mails them the monthly bill for the entire building. They supposed to pay their share equitably with all the tenants. All of a sudden our rates increased 100% from the previous month and stayed 100% up. This is a classic case of the fox watching the hen house. They make the tenants pay the whole bill and they don't pay their share. This scheme was devised by Kevin the area supervisor. 3) The club house is sparkling clean because that is where prospective tenants come to the leasing office. They hardly ever clean the apartment buildings themselves where the tenants actually live. 4) Very noisy! It is located on Pico with a firestation nearby with fire trucks, ambulances and police cars sirens constantly rumbling by. They have a sign in front for sewer repair coming soon that will last 1 year. 5) The pig wears lipstick on Pico. Overated place! Stay away
Stay away from this place. Whereas everything started off fine, it ended in a nightmare and with us out an extra $6,300. I have never written a Yelp review, but I am so disgusted by the way the Hillcreste management and AIMCO conducts business that I felt obligated to share our negative experience and warn people before they sign a lease. Please know that my husband and I are reasonable people, both physicians, we have two kids and have never had legal issues in the past. Long story short, we needed to terminate our 7 month lease early. They gave us two options- either pay one month's rent ($3,000) or take our chances and hope that they find someone to rent our unit before we leave, in which case we would owe nothing. Two weeks after we gave notice, I called to ask if a friend who needed a place to live could take over our unit and I was pleasantly surprised to hear that they had already found someone to rent our unit. Of course, we were thrilled and were looking forward to getting back our security deposit and getting out of there. We moved into our new home soon after and 3 WEEKS later we received a call saying the renters backed out and we were now obligated to pay the remainder of the lease. This was after we had spent the money we had saved on furniture for our new home, AND after my friend had already found a new place to live. Although initially the management apologized (clearly recognizing their wrongdoing), they soon denied any responsibilty and were unwilling to negotiate at all. They sent us to collections and because we didn't want to damage our pristine credit (or hire a lawyer which would cost thousands), we felt we had no choice but to pay it. I am appalled at their behavior and regret having ever moved in there. In addition to the above, the elevator broke down constantly and often took all day to fix which was unacceptable given the fact that i had a new born and had sustained an injury that made walking difficult...
Its been over 2 years since living at the hell creste apartments! I'm merely writing this now because I am finally back to being my normal healthy self. I had tremendous health issues living there due to extreme mold exposure within my ac unit and in the bathroom in the floors and carpet and walls. This is an epidemic there! These apartments are very old they were built in the 70"s and just renovated with paint and minor up grades to the appliances, but other than that there is major floods over the years and when i lived there they had carpet which was poorly replaced and ac and water heaters that where so old and always on the fritz., I also experienced a gas leak that was by my car. Who knows how long that was there? I told Norma about it many times and she did nothing I myself had to call the gas company to come check and they found the meter in front of my car had been leaking ! I also had to hire my own certified mold tester to come out to test the toxic mold that i was ingesting and coughing up! I knew something was wrong when I began to couch up black phlegm! I want people to know what they are getting into by moving there I wish someone would have saved me from this disaster it cost me thousands of dollars in doctor bills many health issues and lots of stress, you can not imagine after also involving the city whom also agreed there was a mold infestation the hell creste response was giving me a letter stating I may not live there or at any of there sister buildings. This was a blessing in disguise because I would have never stayed there anyways. There is so much more I could write about my horrible experience living there, but i think by now you get the point! Please do not impair your health this is true and serious ! I hope that I may have saved someone by moving there and having this happen to them , GOOD LUCK , take care
I used to love the Hillcreste. Lived there for years. Sadly, the rapid increase in rental fees came with a rapid decrease in customer services. As I said, I really loved the place but would not recommend it anymore at all - a shame really (happy to share details, inbox me).
One of the worst buildings I've ever lived in. Management is a joke and brushes you aside. Rent is ridiculous for how much everything is always broken. I've stayed at cheaper apartments/homes with much nicer layouts and design. Don't waste your time and money here unless you like having a new bill placed to you all the time. Also they make you pay to hold your mail for over one day. $5 charge per day. Money Hungry Scam Living Apartments more like it.
This place is horrible! Do not rent here!!! Like many of the previous posters, I have never written a review on yelp but was so frustrated with the management at this place that I felt a moral obligation to let others know before they rent here. I lived here about a year ago and I am still in disputes over the fees they charged me when I moved out. I rented a 1 bedroom apartment for 9 months - that's right - 9 months only and they still had the audacity to charge me for breaking things that I never even used and were broken before I moved in!! I told them about the bad paint job on the first day I moved in, and they assured me that they don't charge for repainting the apartment upon move-out. What liars, I got slammed with a $150 paint job when moving out. The staff in the management office consistently told me lies and contradicted themselves, and the office manager Norma is so unprofessional she should have been fired years ago. Oh, and for all of those people considering to rent here and unsure about the validity of these posts, let me tell you that I was in the same place before I rented and I didn't listen to the bad reviews. Boy was that a big mistake.
Looking for a manager (Jennifer) who yells profanities at residents, tells you to call the cops or move out in response to a complaint, weekly cop visits for unknown reasons to neighbors? Well you've found your home! You ask if this is too good to be true? You even get weekly breakins to cars and apartments & management that literally change nothing to help your safety. But hold on the your hat! Here comes the best part - the security they advertise can be found sleeping, playing on their cell and just about anything that has nothing to do with your safety. So if this sounds like home to you come join us at The Hillcreste!!!!
I've never written a review before and I honestly didn't want to write this negative review, but I am so shocked by the lack of respect and concern for community safety that I felt I should share. I actually really like the apartment complex and building and do not have any complaints about the grounds. Recently I caught someone breaking into my car and there was a dispute as to who was responsible. I called the manager to see if she would make the building aware of what happened and for a general reminder of neighborhood watch since i am big on safety. The manager was so rude and basically said that she did not care because she did not believe my story. I told her that I felt bad that the person I caught was a guest of another resident but that it was rather obvious that he ran out when he saw me and left the car door open. Since she said she had met the individual in the past, she did not think he was the "type" nor that it was him. The bottom line was that someone did break in (whether it was this individual or someone else) and they showed absolutely zero concern. I even told management that I wasn't looking to press charges since nothing was taken or broken, and that I was just looking to make the community aware for a stronger neighborhood watch in case this were to happen to someone else. However, she basically said that she was not going to do anything and that I should know to lock my car door (which was locked by the way). This left me feeling very unsafe since no concern was shown, I do not believe anyone should feel that way in their home.
Overall these are great apartments and a great complex, but it's corporately managed and decisions are made by people who don't live here so policies and decisions are made that don't make common sense. My number 1 overall gripe is this package room they mandated all tenants use. This complex is large and the package room is located in the main building which is the equivalent of a two block walk from our apartment, but they DO NOT ALLOW packages to be delivered to our apartments only the package locker room. While this may work in some of their other buildings or complex it's a huge inconvenience to have to walk with large boxes or multiple packages the two blocks. Think about when you first move in and the amount of items you order for your new home and having to walk with all those packages. Kinda defeats the purpose of being to order online and the convenience of having those packages show up at YOUR DOOR. Oh and if you don't pick up your package w/ in a few days they charge you .Also the delivery companies get lazy and stuff the all the packages into the shared lockers or leave in the room. All in all it's a disaster, and when we complain and reasonably ask to be able to opt into or out of this "amenity" we are told that not an option. We have written to corporate who tell us they will forward it our onsite managers who in turn tell us it's a corporate decision. So before you move in just take note on how far your apt is from the package locker and what it would be like schlepping multiple or large packages from it to your door.
Clean common spaces. Grills were always cleaned the next day and location was central. Apartment amenities were good overall. The management/leasing office was disorganized and unprofessional at times. Of note, there was a surprise painting fee upon move out ($400) which wasn't brought up beforehand is apparently charged to "everyone".
I have lived at The Hillcreste Apartments 3 times over the last 15 years....this is a wonderful convenient property to live either short term or long term. THe staff is genuine and very helpful, i feel very safe living in this environment and I would totally recommend to any possible future resident to reside here.
We've been living at Hillcreste since 2015 and used to love this place. The pools, the gym, the friendly staff, and security (gates, fob based entry, guards) were all selling points when we initially signed our lease. Now, 5 years and numerous break ins later, we are no longer impressed. If the AIMCO staff spent even a fraction of the amount of time, money, and energy they do on our landscaping (the common areas and foliage always look beautiful) on security, we wouldn't have all these issues. The refusal to have 24 hour guards (until pressured by everyone in the community, even though we all thought we had that the moment we signed our leases), the slow to action response to all the recent break ins, and the "if you don't like it, don't live here" attitude are extremely disconcerting. We will be moving at the end of our lease given no one seems to care about residents' security. Such a shame after 5 years...
There are TWO complexes, each with their own address. There is 1420 Peerless Place, and 1420 Ambassador Street, which has the gym and main office. Peerless place has no gaurd in the front. Guest parking is also very limited, even more so now as management is rolling out a "Premire Parking" system, where they have converted guest spaces to paid, assigned resident parking (which guests park in anyway). Forget about having reliable package and mail delivery at Peerless since carriers have tons of problems entering the complex. I have recieved so many items later than I should have it's rediculous, I'm planning to shell out for a private mailbox. I could feel ok about paying 2500/month for my 2 bedroom, but not 3700/month for a 12 month lease. The nicest thing about this apartment complex is it's close proxmity to Beverly Hills. Other than that, if you are looking for a full service building, you are better off looking mid-city or downtown.
We have been living Hillcreste for last 2 months. I am happy to live here except one issue. The property advertises itself as smoke free but actually not.. My neighbour living downstairs smokes on the balcony at night.. For example now I opened my balcony door and I had to close due to smell of smoking..Terrible..
Community Team