Apartment Review for Embassy Apartments - Los Angeles, CA

I moved in three years ago. Back then, I was pleasantly surprised how reasonable the rent was (considering the free month special they gave). Thinking I might move once the special ended, I stayed because the rent was probably 'at-market', but the apartment, building, and most importantly manager/management/maintenance were absolutely amazing. No comparison to the other half dozen places I've rented, even though most of them were good.

The building was sold a year or so ago. Since then, rents have been raised three times (5-7% each time). The building now allows pets which mess up the building fairly often and although the cleaning staff seems to be around a lot, but the place never seems clean, irrespective of the pets. Maintenance is horrible (months of reminders to get things fixed that previously were done next-day better than desired). The manager rarely does her job -- good luck if you're locked out. And capital improvements are random and seem to degrade, not upgrade, the property (taking out good furniture/carpet/etc. and replacing with uglier ones). At a recent tenant/landlord meeting over the pending condo conversion, it was surprising how many people shared the same views.

Bottom line, the apartment / building is still good, but the trend is downward, the rents climbing very steeply upward, and management completely night and day from the previous ones who made the place exceptional.