Clair Del Gardens

Well, after coming in, telling Teresa that we were here to look at a unit advertised at $ 1108, she instead took us ALL THE WAY TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE APARTMENTS to show us a unit for $ 1400! She even told us «I can’t show you the unit because someones living in it, but I’ll show you pictures». REALLY!!! LOL! I had to stop her and say «We’re, again, here to look at the $ 1108 property» and she said «OH! I must have misunderstood you».
Why would I drive all the way here to look at pictures? I want to look at the unit! Well, it gets worse, ya’ll.
We spoke with Teresa who said IN ORDER TO MOVE IN you had to PAY 2.5 of the Rent ON TOP OF deposits and application fees. And it’s NOT for first and last months rent. It’s, and this is a quote from Teresa «To prove that you can pay it». We looked at a unit ADVERTISED at $ 1108 a week ago and were informed by Teresa that the unit had went up to $ 1185 IN A WEEK. She said «To move in, you PAY 2.5 rent, plus deposits, plus app fee». So, that’s $ 3,812.50 JUST TO MOVE IN! And, according to Teresa that doesn’t cover your first and last months rent. It’s JUST to move in. To «Prove that you can pay it» which is her QUOTE. I asked her if it was the deposit, and she said «No, you’re paying 2.5 the rent upon move in PLUS deposit. The 2.5 is to prove that you can pay it. It doesn’t cover your last months rent».
So, that’s OVER $ 1000.00 that goes to literally nothing else and you’ll never see it again, ACCORDING TO TERESA.
I asked her «So, it’s not for first and last months rent and it’s not a deposit, do we get it back?» and she told us the only thing you get back is «MAYBE half the $ 550 deposit». The key word being «MAYBE».
So, to break it down, You’ll be paying $ 1185+$ 1185+592.50+$ 550 and this only covers your FIRST MONTH RENT AND DEPOSIT: The other $ 1,777.50 goes straight to them so they can «Prove you can pay it».
Sounds like a scam to me. People, go somewhere else. These people seem so desperate for money that they literally come up with reasons to just TAKE IT from you. Go somewhere else where the money you pay on move in ACTUALLY goes to something else other then «To prove you can pay it». And trust me, We sat there with Teresa and had her explain this to us about 5 times. This is LITERALLY THE TRUTH. I’m not lying. This is what they want from you. She literally wrote out the above function for me and did it on the calculator. I even asked her «So where does the $ 1,777.50 go towards» a she LITERALLY TOLD ME «It’s to prove that you can pay it and you don’t get it back». AND it doesn’t go toward your rent. AND it’s not a deposit. It’s literally going to them to «PROVE YOU CAN PAY IT». These are all the things Teresa told me.

My boyfriend and I moved here in August last minute and signed our lease without a tour. I’m so glad this complex turned out great! We had a wonderful experience in the 6 months we lived here. Danny at the front office is great to work with and always helpful. The maintenance team responds and fixes things quickly! Our neighbors were great and we had absolutely no problems whatsoever living here! They are also dog friendly.
Our move out experience was great also! Everything went smoothly and easily with no problems at all! We had a blast living at Clair del.

There are some pros and cons about this place, but unfortunately the cons completely outweigh any pros.
Let’s start with the pros:
1. I have had good experiences with my neighbors. They have been friendly and they always say hello. It definitely makes it feel like home.
2. Danny in the front office is very nice and as helpful as he can be. That is it. I would not deal with anyone else other than Danny.
Now the Cons:
1. PARKING. Do not, and I mean DO NOT LIVE HERE if you have more than one vehicle. You are only given one parking spot and there is NEVER, EVER, EVER any parking on the street. Consider it a good day if you end up parking within a half mile of your apartment.
2. If you live on the side of the apartment building that gets direct sunlight, be prepared to burn up during the summer. Our bedrooms get direct sunlight and during the summer they are ridiculously hot and completely uninhabitable.
3. In addition to being burned by the sun, the old appliances (particularly the stove/​oven, even when not in use) in the apartment will also generate so much heat that you essentially live in a furnace throughout the summer.
4. While your apartment may have an A/​C, it is completely useless in reducing the heat in the inferno that your apartment has become as a result of the sun and your oven.
5. The gym has equipment that is also completely useless. This was a big one for me. Having a gym was a huge selling point, which is why I am extremely disappointed. There are two treadmills and they have been broken since at least October. When they were functioning, both treadmills could not be in use at the same time. If you attempted to use one of the treadmills while someone was on the other treadmill, you would blow the circuit and both treadmills would be out of commission until someone came to flip the breaker.
In addition to the aforementioned issues, when the treadmills were «working,» one of the treadmill’s belts would randomly get stuck and then jolt back into motion — mid run. The other treadmill would make a loud chirping, rubbing noise once you started running.
Also, the stationary bike is unusable as a result of the pedals being uneven. Once you start pedaling you feel like you are limping because of the drastic imbalance in the pedals. All of these issues were submitted to the front office in the form of a work order. Needless to say they were not properly fixed. This particular issue is so bothersome because the cost of your apartment takes into consideration the amenities you are afforded. This amenity has been completely and utterly deficient, essentially making your rent WAY overpriced.
Save yourself the headache, live somewhere else.

We have just moved from San Francisco to Long Beach and in the moving process Danny from the management helped us with every step until we were moved into the apartment. The office is right at the entrance and they are very friendly and helpful. However, the apartments are slightly old fashioned with the heating system. The gate only opens with a card and you have to drive very close to the machine and it is hard to insert the cart inside the machine when you are getting in and out of the gate. The laundry room is very small and there are only 4 washing machines. We just moved in a couple of days ago and so far everything is fine. The studio has ambient lighting and is spacious enough.

Clair del Apts is a great place to live. It is very clean. Great manger. Ashley, and Danny r great people very friendly.

Short review at top, long review at bottom for the curious. I’ll update this on move-​out, whenever that happens.
common areas: ⁵⁄₅
parking: ⁵⁄₅
apartment quality (aesthetics): ⁴⁄₅
neighbors: ⁴⁄₅
apartment quality (functionality): ³⁄₅
management (overall): ³⁄₅
move-​in experience: ²⁄₅
Common areas: well kept plants, mostly functional laundry w/​convenient keycard system, mostly functional gym (few people use it here, so definitely better than paying for a gym membership), clean pool, clean sidewalks.
Parking:1 clean, easily accessible spot per apartment is basically the Ark of the Covenant in the LA area. Most spots come with a storage area above where your hood would be if parked. I recommend confirming with the front office which parking spot # you will receive if this matters to you (exposed spots are available for tall vehicles, too).
Apartment quality (aesthetics): clean carpets, fresh paint job, decent counters, clean appliances, unstained linoleum, no odd stains/​smells. Some of edges of the drywall panels are poorly aligned, some smudges/​cracks in the wall and ceiling, but it’s not the end of the world. The square footage estimates online are a bit generous.
Neighbors: everyone I’ve met so far is really nice. Occasional arguments/​yapping dogs, but for such a big complex it’s surprisingly quiet. Good for families and people who don’t plan on hosting huge parties.
Apartment quality (functionality): The water-​efficient shower and toilet are a really nice touch to help keep the water bill low, and the gas stove and fridge are a little snug in the kitchen but are exactly what we need. The kitchen itself is pretty small, which is a fair tradeoff for the larger living room. The A/​C, unfortunately, does not circulate well at all in the apartment. On the flip side, the kitchen sink runs at temperatures between hot and heat of ten thousand suns. There are also a couple gaps between carpet padding and carpet nails sticking up (ouch) which took a few days to notice.
Management (overall): There are definitely some great people here who deserve 5 stars on their own, but balanced against some others the rating goes to the baseline 3 stars. Some of this rating is also due to the move-​in experience discussed below.
Good experiences include: prompt response to request for pest control, friendly staff to help through the 57 page lease and lengthy application process. The bad: for one, we were overcharged online and the mistake was barely fixed in time to pay the right amount of rent. Overcharges in particular really bug me because it’s the most basic task to confirm a 4-​digit number. On a separate occasion we were misdirected (at great expense) by a new worker and the higher-​ups refused to consider anything beyond a simple apology.
Move-​in experience: this is usually the part that management companies shine at, and they did initially. However, we were not shown the actual unit that we moved into (we were shown a different one with a completely different layout) so we had to donate family furniture the day we moved in because it didn’t fit down the hallway. On move-​in day (before anything we owned was moved in) we found roaches which haven’t quite disappeared.
Advice for potential renters: make sure you go into any place with a list of questions (at least in your head) and get satisfactory answers for each of them. My roommate and I are happy with our choice, even if some things went badly. Overall, Clair Del is a decent place at a palatable price for the LA area.

The office staff is always very friendly! When ever you need anything done (request for work in apartment) it happens very quickly. The grounds and the pool always look great. It is a great place to live!

I’ve been living here since March 2015 and I had a great experience. The staff is always friendly and the maintenance crew is always on top of things! If I submit a work order it is either completed that same day or the next, never do I have to wait.
The building is quiet and everyone that lives there is so friendly. I’ve never seen any trash left behind, the building is always clean. I highly recommend Clair Del to anyone who is looking for a quiet and friendly apartment community to live in!

Terrible place to live. There are lots of bugs and the management doesn’t seem to care. You are assigned a parking space but if someone parks in it the management won’t do anything about it. Especially if it is after business hours.
Lots of people do drugs in their cars here. They double park their cars in the middle of the road. This makes it impossible to do anything. People have loud parties almost every night and the management doesn’t care as long as the party people submit their rent.
Lots of things break and the management won’t tell you, outdated utilities and cheaply made walls. You can hear all your neighbors.
They are trying to raise the rent and have made very few improvements.
Tdlr: Poor management, lots of problems with neighbors and management does nothing.
Don’t live here. Look for other options, there are better options out there.

Noisy and trashy, I was hoping for the best when I moved into clair del gardens but found out it was just a trashy shit hole. Yes you have a lot of garden plants and bushes but they all have to be maintenanced by a circus show of ass clowns who care less at the fact you live there and need peace and quiet. If you like being woke up to the sound of gas powered hedge trimmers outside your bedroom window or the sound of a pressure water compressor directly outside your front door then be my guest. Parking is totally fucked and is a complete illegal trap to gain revenue for the city, I’m serious. The street cleaning happens 3 times a week and sometimes the meter maid actually has hidden at 11:00 at nite to give people tickets. They even wrongfully impounded my vehicle because they are so unorganized and dysfunctional, I got my car back without expense but still, it shouldn’t have happened to start with, then a week later the guy who did it got fired, Henry dushe bag loser. There have even been shootings and murders on this block and complex. Plus all the grass and plants in the «gardens» complex are constantly shit and pissed on by all the loud dog owners dogs so don’t walk or sit in the grass areas it’s disgusting. Stay away from here it’s a dump.

So I don’t actually live here, but I did spend about two to three hours at Clair del Gardens Apartment looking for an apartment. I called on a Friday and was told by a woman that I could come in as early as 8AM to view an apartment I saw on Craigslist. I arrived at 9 and was let in by a man named Danny who was all smiles and very friendly. He answered all my questions with confidence and ease, and made me feel comfortable and relaxed. While we were chatting about the apartment area, several tenants walked through or by his office. He smiled at all of them and seemed to know every single one by name. He took me to go view an Apartment, and they were in the middle of re-​doing the floor because the carpet had quite a bit of wear and tear and there were some stains.
I really, really liked the floor plan of the apartment. It had a nice island area, a great bathroom, a nice new fridge, a lovely balcony/​patio area for dogs to go outside, and a decently sized bedroom. Danny was very knowledgeable about the previous tenants and had all the move-​in dates memorized. He was quick on the computer and pleasant to talk to. He also accommodated our pup, a small Yorkie, in his office. He let us play ball in there and also put out a plate of cold water for our dog and Toshi lapped that up dry! It was very thoughtful and nice of him.
Overall, it was a great looking place. Green grass, nice pool, renovated gym with a yoga area, and BBQ pits. The tenants I talked to while I was there all said they loved living there. However, it was just too far from my BF’s school and the parking on the street was kind of a downer. If that weren’t the case, I’d move there in a heartbeat. Danny was so nice and friendly – he deserves all the stars for fabulous customer service.

this apartment complex was disgusting. cockroaches everywhere, total infestation i submitted 35 pics of them in the complex and my apartment when i turned in my notice. teens hanging out front smoking weed and no parking on the street! My husband had to walk blocks to get to the car through a seedy neighborhood. Cops there a lot, very bad idea to live there. Only one star only because it was a roof over the head.

The staff is very friendly and willing to accommodate any needs. The maintenance staff will fix any issues with 24 – 48 hours. I enjoy living here.

I live here and I find the place flawless. Walls are sturdy. Windows are clear. Water is very wet. Dog gets too poop right on the grass. Swimming pool is packed with water. Washers and dryers spin like you wouldnt believe! Id recommend this place to humans. Oh! theres an Am/​Pm just across the street which sells you things for various and sundry. If you die, there’s two graveyards within walking distance.

Though the surrounding area isn’t the best, the property itself is a beautiful to live and there are relatively few problems while you live there.
The problem comes when you try to move out. According to their contract, the apartment must be returned EXACTLY the way it was given to you – that means if there’s ANY wear and tear on the carpet, they’re replacing the ENTIRE apartment (because it HAS to match) and charging you the $ 900 minus the years that you’ve lived there. The manager, Ashely, will tell you exactly why with a smile and pep in her voice, too.
They allow pets, but they don’t allow them to poop on the property – you’re supposed to go onto the streets for that. Makes no sense whatsoever.
For the price of rent, pet deposit, and pet rent, you’d THINK they’d treat their tenants a bit nicer, but hell, I guess not…