Westwood Villa

My wife and I moved in about mid-​2015, so we’ve been here about eight months now. Overall I would recommend this place for the staff, location and comfortable apartments, as long as you don’t mind the old building.
Pros:
++ Management staff — Alyssa, Lisa & Violet are always friendly and helpful, even at the end of a long day! (as was Lilliana, the previous manager) Issues I have raised (stuck window, noisy exhaust fan, etc) were all fixed by the end of the following day at the latest. Whatever evil witch manager the older reviews were talking about is definitely no longer here!
++ Location — Near the 405 and 10. Vons, CVS, Ralphs, Staples, IHOP, McDonalds, etc all within a few minutes walk. Bus stop 3 mins away has direct buses all the way north to UCLA/​Westwood and south to Culver City.
++ Apartment — for a 1-​bedroom apartment, the space is quite generous. Walk-​in wardrobe + standard built-​in wardrobe. Shower/​toilet room a bit small, but as the bathroom sink is outside of this room you don’t need much space there anyway. Newer apartments have wood veneer floors + carpet bedroom which is a nice combo. No noise issues between apartments (front door is another story, but the hallway is generally quiet so no biggie).
+ Environment — Apartment and hallways get plenty of natural light and ventilation. Open-​air style of hallways gives this nice Hawaii-​ish first impression — I don’t feel this way anymore but I still appreciate it.
+ Facilities — several 24 hour laundry/​dryer rooms per floor, very good machines but you might have to go hunting for an unused room during busier times. Haven’t used pool but it seems well maintained. Only two lifts, but wait times aren’t severe as it’s only 3 floors. Carpark is sufficiently lit and clean, with security guard on-​site after hours.
Cons:
— Location: It might be a tad TOO close to the 405, as the apartments get a fair amount of dust and noise from it. Windows are double-​pane though so no issues sleeping.
— Age: It’s an older building. Plumbing squeals if you leave the water at the wrong pressure, drywall studs can be in some strange positions, balcony screen door doesn’t quite lock, etc. Staff acknowledge this and have been more than helpful in fixing what can be fixed, but regardless keep that in mind.
— A/​C: In the 1-​bedroom apartments, the A/​C is only in the living/​dining room half, so 3^rd floor bedrooms like ours tend to bake in the sun. A box fan in the window at night helps, but depending on your heat tolerance you may need to get a portable A/​C for the summer nights.
Notes — thought I’d add this to address concerns in other reviews that I haven’t addressed above:
— Rats — Haven’t seen any… not even down at the dumpster. They offer free pest control if there is an issue with them, so I think that must have worked. Worst we had were ants (again, old building), but they were all gone after some RAID spraying at the trouble spots and a commitment to bi-​weekly mopping.
— Construction — management have been going through and rebuilding bad balconies, but the majority are done now. Even then the work was restricted to 9 to 5 (sucked for weekend sleep-​ins, but otherwise not too bad)
— Parcels — I haven’t lost a parcel that was delivered while the management office was open (9 to 6), however couriers that deliver after hours tend to just leave them in the lobby, so be mindful…
— Plumbing — coming home after work, I might see a split-​second of copper water when turning on the taps — definitely not 15 seconds worth. The water doesn’t taste funny, I think they re-​did the plumbing a while back.
— Price — the apartment is rent controlled, the increases are clearly defined when you move in. I don’t think anyone complaining about prices has researched the surrounding area properly, because there is definitely no apartment of this caliber and location for cheaper!

Lisa and Violet are so nice and helpful! They are always so cheerful and accomodating, they always helped me and my wife with a smile. We had to move out a little sooner than our 1-​yr lease because we needed to get a bigger apartment, and they were key/​instrumental in helping us with getting our apartment rented so that we didn’t have to pay the early termination fee. That was SO AWESOME!!!

Moved in a few months ago. Great staff in the office but they are doing construction that has been driving me crazy. It’s a good place to live, just beware of the construction.

Simply put, the people who work at the lease office are golden. They helped me immeasurably in a serious situation. I needed an upgrade in the size of my apt. for myself and my toddler son after originally moving into a jr. 1 bedroom. It wasn’t big enough and I needed help. Violet, in the lease office really stuck her neck out for me with the management company. She and her co-​workers Lisa and Patrick were able to upgrade me into a one bedroom that has made all the difference as far as setting up a home for my son and I to live in. I could not have asked for more personalized help and I will forever be grateful for it. Thanks again guys!

The truth is, manager Lilliana she’s very useful and very kind when ever I want help and services she provide me the best that she can I really had a good experience

I lived here for a year and it was awesome. I would definitely have stayed if I was remaining in Los Angeles!
Lilliana and the rest of the front desk crew are awesome, and contrary to other reviews, they were always very responsive to any questions or concerns I had. The apartment was very spacious and clean, and the pool area is awesome and definitely under-​utilized.
You can’t beat the location, and prices are standard for the area.

Nice place to live. Convenient location and 7 days on site management. laundry room is opened for 24 hours which is nice. And there is security in parking lot. that is more crucial since safety in la is not great.

I’ve lived here almost 1 year with satisfaction. Basically, sq. ft of a studio is much bigger than other properties. You never find a bigger studio at this price in West L.A. area since most studios in this area are too small.
Also, this property is very closed to the highway 10 and 405, it is very convenient if you need to go to school and work. It is also closed to Vons, CVS and etc.
Although the building is a little old, the manager tries to improve the building. They installed a new window to reduce noise and replaced the floor of the hallway, so the overall environment of the building is much better than before. And the managers are very kind, thye tries to help me when I have a question. I am so happy to live here.

From the first day of meeting Lilliana (the manager) she has been nothing but helpful. I’ve had a couple of instances when things needed to be handled and she was right on it. The building is quiet and clean. The other staff, Violetta and Lisa are also very helpful and friendly. If one is looking for a quiet place to live, this is the perfect spot. I am conveniently located to the freeway and have saved tons of time from my commute.

I just moved out like yesterday and lived there for 17 months. I do really like my unit, it was studio but I could put my dinner table and even sofa bed. The manager, Liliana, she’s the best. She made everything so easy and pleasant to live there. The only my recommendation is renovate the building, such as change the color of the building and others to look more modern. For the price, I got really great price to be honest.

I have lived here for two years，I think this apartment is a good place and the managers are very nice！I am very enjoy it！

I’ve been here for 9 years. It’s pricy and no breaks are given for long time residents, when in 9 years the rent was late 1 day and, I was charged late fees of $ 125.00 and had to get a cashiers check. I’ve had issues with mold in my bathroom and other bathroom issues and a cracked tub, which they refuse to replace. There is constant maintenance going on, and in and out of the apartment at least every few months to check on this and that. I’ve had rats on my balcony on and off for a few years. It is a very old building so there is a problem all the time. The grounds are clean and there is a since of security and being centrally located are what keeps me.

I have been a resident here for over two years and I could not be happier. The Leasing office presents with a family atmosphere and is always kind, friendly and professional any problems that may occur are handled very quickly. The common areas are cleaned daily and the maintenance staff usually handles all «emergencies» in a very timely fashion. I have had to endure a lot of changes here and some may have been poorly timed such as Pool renovations in the summer and patio repairs over the holiday but these were for the improvement of the facility. There are ample laundry rooms on each floor and all are clean and in excellent working order. The Pool is always heated and clean. The BBQ area, recently renovated is cleaned daily by the maintenance dept, although that responsibility should be that of those who last used them. Shopping, transportation, access to I-​405 and I-​10 are minutes away as are dining and movie theaters. There are many advantages to living here and the price is comparable to the area and in many cases it is less expensive than many properties in the area. My main concern, when choosing my living situation, has always been safety. This place offers secure parking and entrance is by key or keypad and I rarely see tenants letting strangers in. The Management is very strict on respecting the rights of its tenants so noise at late hours is not tolerated. This has been very pleasant experience living here and I would recommend Westwood Villa apartments very highly.

We moved here about 2 months. It’s little pricy for us but we absolutely love the place as the managers are willing to work with us & any ‘not so perfect’ conditions in the unit, they will have them fix right away. Really appreciate having manager office open 7 days a week. Location is also great 4 us. Right by Fwy, Von’s, restaurants.

Regardless of all the bad comments I can just say I am so happy with this place I absolutely love it!!! They are so helpful and they are always trying to work with u, I had trouble with parking and they helped me right away and they are always repairing everything so that everything is up to date and if anything needs to get repaired just let the office know and they will get someone to take care of it within the next day or so depending on how serious it is. I must say the girls at the office are super friendly and amazing and specially Liliana, she is a gold star!

Rats! In the apartment… twice so far and I moved in in October. Plus all the other bad stuff everyone else said on here, all of that applies too.

Don’t ever move here. Omg! Worst experience ever. I lost my package when I first moved in, and the manager here said she never heard this before while I saw someone else left comments here about lost packages all the time. I experienced water leak (pipe broken) in my apartment that ruins carpets as well. I complained to all the problems to the corporation, nobody there replies to you at all, basically you wastes your time!!! Such a bad management! By paying pretty high rent here, you will experience constant Maintenances (weekly basis), smell the stink in the hallway, and loudness. Worst worst worst experience ever.

DO. NOT. MOVE. HERE.
Management is corrupt; they will lie to your face with a big smile and rip you off big time. Everyone in the office is Satan’s spawn. This place is rancid and disgusting. If I can get ONE person to steer clear of renting an apartment in this hellhole, this review will be worthwhile.

Okay guys. I’m in the process of moving into this building, and let me just set the record straight on a few of the comments I’m seeing on the other reviews here, because some of them are blatantly incorrect.
1) How utilities are billed: You get charged for water based on the number of people in the unit, NOT the number of rooms. This isn’t unusual for apartment buildings, and it’s preferable to a lot of the alternatives I’ve seen, such as one landlord who literally took the bill and divided it evenly among all the apartments. When you sign, they give you a worksheet that shows you exactly how to calculate how you’ll be charged.
2) Time Warner is the only TV/​Internet option: Nope. You can get Verizon if you hate TWC enough to want DSL, and you can also get Dish network. Either way, this is not unusual for this region of LA and not enough of a reason to give an entire building a single star rating. They can’t control what other companies have regional monopolies.
3) The parking garage doors open from the outside, not from within the garage: This is due to a little something we like to refer to as fire code, and you will find this in any building with gated parking. Also, it’s easy for someone to sneak in after a car. You really want them in a sealed-​off parking garage instead of in the apartments proper.
4) The parking garage is dirty: Well, sure. It’s open-​air, and if it were being regularly cleaned, you’d be paying for it in your rent. Is that really an amenity you want, in the larger scale of things? Also, comfy cozy parking garages are magnets for people who want to duck in and sleep overnight. If a few cobwebs are going to keep it so people just use it to get to their cars, I’ll take it.
5) Posted notices are left on the door without envelopes, so you can read what they say: Again, you’ll find this anywhere. Every landlord or property management company I’ve ever lived in has done this. And honestly, if it’s not on your door, it’s not your business, so maybe you shouldn’t stand there and read what drama they have going with the manager’s office.
6) The fireplace is a heater, not a real fireplace: Can you imagine how the building would smell with three hundred functional fireplaces, especially to those who can’t tolerate smokers on their decks? I think the heater is lovely, and it adds some charm to the room. Plus, we can put our TV over ours and not worry about accidentally melting everything!
Now, onto some of the cons others mentioned that I agree with!
1) I have noticed some hairs in the paint like another reviewer mentioned. it looks like they used a dusty roller in the bathroom when they redid our apartment. All the other rooms look fantastic, though.
2) The elevators are definitely slow, but there are a ton of stairwells that are open and tidy and easy to get around by. The only time we use the elevator is when we’re moving heavy things, anyway.
3) I think the noise level really depends on where you are in the complex. We have a corner unit away from Sepulveda and the freeway, and it’s completely quiet and calm. Can’t hear anything outside but birds and the faintest whoosh of cars which I have to focus to notice, but definitely DO ask to see the unit you’re renting if you’re worried.
As for what I like about the apartments?
1) Super close to good food and shops.
2) Guaranteed, secured parking.
3) Responsive, friendly office staff. They have a massive building to run, so I’m not surprised that things aren’t same-​day fixes if they’re not emergencies. I’m moving away from a landlord who took four months to fix a hole in my floor, so I’m not looking for miracles, here.
4) The layout of our single bedroom is amazing. I adore split bathrooms– you get so much more out of one-​bathroom apartments when the primping area is separated from the bathing area!
I’ll update this if my experience changes after move-​in, but considering where it is and the size of the building, as well as the cost of other apartments in the area, this is not a bad place to live.

I lived here for about 2 years because I was new to the west LA area. Although it was a couple years ago but from what I heard, the cons have never changed. Warning: Don’t be trick by the look outside, and the model home they show you. This building is very very old, and the plumbing has never being replaced.
Take home message: the management company (Moss & Co) is the least professional I’ve every met.
Pros:
1. Very close to bus stop and grocery stores.
2. Manager on site
3. Offer short term lease (but very expensive)
4. Repair usually done fast (but not necessary repaired).
5. Can’t think of any anymore
Cons:
1. Although there is a manager on site, they don’t do anything. Packages often get lost or stolen, and people in the office is rude.
2. The most disgusting thing is the plumbing. I had to have water running for 5 mins everyday because the water is yellow. The plumbing in this building is extremely old, and you will see yellow water stains on everything: sink, toilet, & bathtub. That’s why they seal toilet seat when showing the room.
3. The rent raise 3% every year.
4. You have to pay water, trash and sewage. It’s quite common for west LA apartment BUT, keep in mind your water bill is split based on «number of the rooms» instead of «number of the residence». So if some one-​bedroom has 4 people living in, you are paying extra shares.
5. Noisy: You can hear people walk in the doorway, talk in the next room. The worst part, TV from across-​the-​balcony neighbors. Oh, did I mention freeway noise? They seems to upgrade some units with double-​pane, but keep in mind freeway is right behind the complex. Also they constant have maintenance going in early morning on a weekend!
6. Dust and smoke: Same, what do you expect if you live next to the freeway? Also the distance between buildings is very close, so I my room often filled up with smoke when next door neighbors are smoking.
7. Depressing space: The orange-​tone and low ceiling made me very depressed.
8. Elevators: Imaging sharing 3 elevators with 300 people?
9. Do not live here if you could afford such high rent. You can easily find some nicer place in Palms.