Tenant Reviews for 1237 N SYCAMORE AVE

The pictures for the apartment advertised looked nice enough so I made a call. When I asked if there was carpet or hardwood they told me I could have either. They didn't bother to mention that hardwood was an extra $75 a month until I'd driven across town to see the apartment. The top floor unit I was told about over the phone had tenants living in it so I couldn't view it (another fact no one bothered to mention until I got there). I guess they want you to lease an apartment site unseen based off pictures. The whole interior of the building just seemed sort of dirty and old and had dark hallways. The first floor apartment I was shown had hardwood floors, but only in its small den. The kitchen and bath had your typical cheap linoleum and the bedroom had dark brown ugly carpet. I can't imagine paying $75 a month for about 15 square feet of hardwood flooring when they sell it for $2 a square foot at Home Depot. This little scheme has got to be the biggest rip off ever. The tub seemed kind of old and disgusting. Basically, the pictures looked like they were from when it was first built and the actual apartment looked like it was twenty years later. It was a complete waste of my time. Had the management company been honest and upfront about the apartment and the amenities I would've never wasted my time seeing it.

EDIT: THIS REVIEW IS MEANT FOR THE PROPERTY NEXT DOOR WHO OBVIOUSLY HAD THEIR LISTING ON THIS WEBSITE REMOVED BECAUSE OF THE MANY NEGATIVE REVIEWS. THIS REVIEW IS NOT A REVIEW OF THE ST TROPEZ APARTMENTS BUT RATHER 1229 SYCAMORE, JUST SOUTH OF THE BUILDING CALLED ST TROPEZ. I BELIEVE IT'S IMPORTANT TO LEAVE THIS REVIEW UP FOR THOSE WHO ARE LOOKING FOR A REVIEW OF HMMY MANAGEMENT AND PROOF OF THEIR TACTICS TO SILENCE REVIEWERS ONLINE. MODERATORS, PLEASE FILE THIS REVIEW IN THE BEST PLACE TO BE FOUND BY THOSE SEEKING A REVIEW OF 1229 SYCAMORE. I don't know anyone that's had an enjoyable experience here. It's a building that was once nice, but due to decades of neglect the building is now just a below average dilapidated mess. If you want to be happy living here, have low standards for cleaning and build quality. Expect to have to vacuum your apartment a few more times as you move in since they didn't do anything to the unit between tenants. It's the only way you'll be able to handle it there. If you ever have a problem, you'll be told to perform the latest and greatest jury-rig to your problem by the landlord in lieu of him actually fixing it. They absolutely will not allow you to hire any professional to perform anything that they believe can be done by someone making $5 an hour, which is everything in your apartment. He refuses to hire pros to do any repairs, paint, maintenance, carpet installations, hardwood installations, anything. When any repair or upgrade has been made to your place, it's quite obvious that this repair or upgrade was performed by someone making minimum wage, not a specialist; and it shows in every detail, from the grouting in the bathroom to visible seams in the carpet to incorrectly installed dishwashers and light switches that don't work or are wired backwards, etc. All of which are STILL problems in my apartment even though I have complained numerous times to management about it. It's not hard to blame the poor people who work for the shady management but it's clear that the building owner is the leader of the lazy vibe this management staff exudes. The two handymen they hired are working for minimum wage and are official fresh off the boat immigrants who don't know any better than what they've been instructed and none of the help around lasts long. There's a constant cycle of people through those jobs creating a security problem for the entire building IMO. The office staff are helpful to a point, but are clearly subscribing to the lazy standard that is set before them by the cynical old man who has been trying ti manage this 52 unit building by himself for 30 years. Every staff member is just sort of unprofessional and unkempt, like the whole place. It's not like they don't have the cash to hire real managers, every tenant is paying the highest possible rent. The management company for the last 30 years has just been taking and taking without giving back a cent to keep their building in good shape, and the renters are beginning to notice. They'll want you to sign a lease for a unit after showing you a different one and telling you the one you'll get is better. This is what they did to me. Apparently my unit was at one time the manager's unit with upgraded blinds, carpet, faucets, stove and dishwasher. Of course when it was move in time the blinds are broken, the carpet is old, worn and showing seams with obvious pet damage not to mention pet hair everywhere, the upgraded faucets have parts inside the garbage disposal that I found 'the hard way' and the stove and dishwasher were incorrectly installed and not secured to the floor properly. When I called to rectify these issues I was treated as if I was the liar in the situation when I bring up what was promised vs. what was delivered. They bait and switch almost every tenant that signs under the veil of flexibility (mentioned in the 4-star review they gave of themsevles earlier), sell you one floor plan and then have you move in to a floor plan that is 100 square feet smaller without telling you (as referenced in other earlier reviews). They depend on the constant inflow of naive people who do not know the area very well to garner overpriced rent that is upwards of 30% higher than even the building directly next door. Be careful when dealing with the landlords because they will also find any possible way to charge you extra money, or try to trick you into thinking you owe them more money than you really do. Deception is a very large part of their daily routine. They will refuse to write anything down for you so you can have a record of what is promised (this will come in handy for them later when they will claim you never asked for something or they'll give you the runaround when they do not perform what is promised), and insist you appear in person to talk to them multiple times about a relatively problem you may have, creating the largest inconvenience possible for you when you need something from them. Very VERY passive aggressive. It's a vicious cycle of laziness and corruption that results in nothing more than every single tenant that lives here leaving with a bad impression. The rest of the reviews don't lie folks, they are true. Stay away from HMMY. As for the tenants, they are all pretty nice, but none very smart as the managers would like to keep it. This results in the occasional party next door or 2am domestic that you can hear. The building was well built originally and seems to have thick walls. This, of course doesn't insulate the sound of the constant helicopters from LAPD hovering over the building since the location is very close to some high interest spots for the police. Nearly every night there will be a helicopter hovering that you can hear. Quite the annoyance. The managers say they are pet friendly, but what they really are is 'pet damage friendly.' Any reason they can find to take from your deposits they will, and if they know you have a pet, you can count on at least half of your deposit being taken by them for flaws that were already in the apartment when you moved in.

Everyone is crazy who wrote anything bad about HMMY. If you pay your rent on time and communicate with management they are so accommodating it is unbelievable. I let them know I was behind on my rent and that I would get my paycheck 15 days after it was due. Because I delivered as promised, they waived all late fees and worked out a payment plan for me. Name one company that would do that. Love it.

Do not live here as the managers find every excuse to take money out of your deposit. The only good thing about this place is that it is safe and its in a great location. The place is OVERPRICED for what it's worth. You can DEFINITELY find a better place for the same price. Take this advise and look elsewhere.

These people are crooks. We had to sue them to get back our deposit. We left the place immaculate and they claimed we lost ALL the deposit on the damages-- even though the damages were a result of the crappy building and workmanship. Don't take a chance on this place. There are better deals--and people--out there. This landlord has pretty much ruined me financially for almost half a year now, holding our deposit illegally.

PROS: safe neighborhood close to everything (best buy, target, ralphs, hospital, etc...) Allows pets (no matter the size and/or weight) Very friendly and hardworking maintenance staff CONS: -loud --- inconsiderate neighbors (and management does absolutely nothing about it when it goes on) -Old units (the appliances are old as hell and thinking how much you pay for monthly rate and the down payment, you would think they would at least upgrade them). -OVERPRICED (the building is not all that and there isn't even a pool or gym for the price you pay when other apartments charge the same amount but provide a pool and even a gym) -Dirty units (I am extremely meticulous about cleaning and my unit is somewhat clean, the units are so old and unkempt). -Problems with laundry room (there has been a time when change machine was not working and multiple washers were out of service. The room is small, not very well lit, and I believe they removed the security cameras that were once there).

This is an absolutely awful place to live. When we were first shown the apartment, we loved it. However, once we'd signed the lease, they showed us our actual apartment and it wasn't the same one at all -- much smaller, not a very appealing floorplan, etc. Our initial move-in date was pushed back a good week or so because there were still many unsatisfactory conditions in the apartment itself. Management is very unprofessional and we've gotten the runaround more times than I'd even like to mention! At one point, our sink overflowed and flooded the kitchen and instead of it being fixed, we were given a number to call and a plumber didn't come out until the next day. Oh, and they told us we had to pay for it. Nice! And if it's sleep you're after, this is not the place. The neighbors are so rude and inconsiderate at all hours of the night/morning. I've heard a screaming match or two at one tenant yelling at the other that that have no consideration for the other tenants. And when you try and move out, enjoy the constant "showings" of your half-packed, mid-move out apartment. That is, when they actually decide to show up at the time they told you they'd be there. However, on the bright side, if you have a dog (which we don't), it's a great place. You can hear all your fellow dogs barking all the time so you'll feel right at home! You can also smell them in the elevator and maybe even step in their pee on your ride down to the lobby! HOORAY!

Moved to LA recently, and found this property. I was lied to over and overt, moved in a unit that was completely unfinished, and in over two months time, Ive barely gotten them addressed. The cockroaches are a health hazard, and the answer is a can of raid bomb in the house! I'm very outspoken, although I have been called picky numerous times. I'm not picky, I only know right from wrong, and, its wrong here! Don't recommend, I could and may break the lease. I will say, finally the huge amount of repairs are almost done, he did discount my first month, cause I was unhappy. He is also now having some really nice hardwood floor installed in the kitchen, but, I'm afraid the cockroaches will be an ongoing problem. He refuses to call in professionals!

I lived and continue to live at 1229 N. Sycamore Ave. The location is great. Incredibly close to Banks, Ralphs, Best Buy, Target, and really good restaurants. The parking is a little tough to get in and out of, that would be my biggest complaint...well that and sometimes the elevators are a little slow, but there are 2 of them, so that helps. The managers for the most part are very friendly and maintenance is really easy to report and get done. Jobs are done for the most part right away.

I do recommend living at 1229 N. Sycamore Ave. The units are very nice, maintenance is done very timely (although the main maintenance guy loves to talk and sometimes is a little unprofessional but always does get the job done), the management is nice although one manager is sometimes a little grumpy, but overall they're very easy to work with. My only complaint is the parking...it seems like they change your parking spot a lot, although recently it has gotten much better. It's also a great central location close to pretty much anything you can think of. It's safe, the grounds are kept very clean, it's overall a really good place to live.