All 25 tenant reviews.

“DO NOT LIVE HERE. There are many better options for the same price with better amenities in the area (Medici, Orsini, etc literally any of the newer buildings). Besides that, elevators are ALWAYS broken. Air conditioning frequently breaks and (this being the 3rd time this year) it takes on average 1 week to fix. Yea, DTLA in the middle of summer with no A/C is really fun. Walls are super thin. Several incidents have taken place at the dog park because management keeps letting in large dogs and breeds they claim to be banned from the building. Oh AND skid row is getting pushed out of downtown and apparently onto 2nd Street making it look like a homeless encampment. I used to be able to walk to downtown but would not even dare with the state the area surrounding the building has become. I'm sure the low income housing being built adjacent to the property will only help matters. AGAIN, MANY BETTER OPTIONS FOR THE SAME IF NOT CHEAPER AVAILABLE IN THE AREA.”

“Management at this place is what kills it. They just dont care. DO NOT BRING YOUR DOG HERE!!! Besides there being nothing to do within walking distance. My wife and I lived here for 1 year, paid about $3g/month for a nice loft, and were asked not to renew because we called animal control services after repeated vicious attacks by pit-bulls that are allowed to live at this complex. Dogs were bitten, hospitalized. Residents were bitten. What did Management do? Put up signs denying any liability and kicked us out when we called Animal Control. This place deserves 0 stars.”

“Not only is the weed smell all over the place, tenants leave their trash on the floor instead of placing it a couple of steps away through the trash chute. Again, weed smell all over the place and sound carries so much.Cant wait for the lease to be over.”

“I am a little over 6 months in, and can't wait to go. The issues others complain about are true, maintenance issues that are never resolved is my problem. I can get over the guest parking, neighborhood, etc. But just the basics of building management are not being handled. 1. The boiler is broken ALOT. That means no hot water people. That means bucket baths for all. And they take their sweet time to fix it, its happened so many times now I expect it. Elevators consistently broken, etc. smells like weed everywhere. I can't do this anymore, get me outta here! !”

“I've been a resident for 2 and a half years now and I've liked it ever since I moved in. The staff explained the lease to me in a clear and concise manner when I first took a tour here and the apartment had everything I was looking for. The community is nice and the people are very friendly including the employees I occasionally meet around the premises. The amenities are small but nice and not always crowded and are suitable to me. What I especially love about Belmont is the way they set up little events in the apartment for their residents such as when it's Halloween or Thanksgiving, they provide free food and entertainment and encourage their residents to know each other. It's very appreciative of them for taking the time to set up these events on top of their hard work in the office.”

“I came here for a tour the other day and absolutely loved the place. Alot of my friends live here and recommended it. The leasing agent answered all my questions and concerns and the security guards seem friendly. I would've leased but unfortunately the person that was suppose to take over my current lease had to cancel.”

“This is probably the worst building I've ever lived in. There was a parking situation with guest parking in which I will also claim some responsibility, but somehow, the building finds it acceptable for non-residents to harass tenants. Not only do the security guards do nothing when they witness people harassing their tenants...but then they share their views on what they saw. I don't care if you're on my side...the other persons side...or just impartial...you're security!!!...do your ------- job and secure the building and tenants that reside there! So...it wouldn't have been so bad if that had been where it ended...just to take ownership of my part of the initial incident...I went to the office the following day to own it...apologize for it...but also complain about it...so what the office does is they decide to take my info down...and my side of the story...and tell me they will resolve the issue...I then receive a phone call telling me that the policy of the building is changing and that I as a paying resident am never allowed to momentarily park my car in guest parking. From a business standpoint, I would think that people who pay money into the building would take precedence over one who doesn't live here (mind you...there were 2 other parking spaces that were open...so I wasn't actually preventing anyone from being able to park). Aside from that...elevators never work, walls are paper thin, the office try's to charge u for maintaining/fixing anything in the units, parking sucks and the staff is never helpful.”

“I returned on the 6th from travel and had not paid the rent, which I take full responsibility for. When I arrived at my door, there was a "notice to pay rent or quit" letter on the door. My issue is not with the notice but with the fact that it was purposely folded to show the "notice to pay rent or quit" title as well as my FULL NAME below it. It was very visible to any one walking by. It was signed by a Sherry Perez. I've seen notes on others' doors and it was folded so that no information was shown. This was done purposely. I deserve respect and privacy from management while living in this community. The fact that I wasn't granted that, and instead my privacy was breached as neighbors walked by and saw the letter with my full name, is appalling. I would like to speak to someone from Essex about this. I've dealt with the broken elevator all of the time, the sketchy and unpleasant-looking neighborhood, and the thin walls, but this is very mean-spirited and really proved to me that it is time to go.”

“10 REASONS WHY I HATED LIVING AT BELMONT STATION APARTMENTS, and why you will too: 1. PAPER THIN WALLS! I could hear my neighbors' cell phones, laughing, talking (not even being loud). This was the #1 problem for me because even when I wanted to sleep, if my neighbors were still awake I could hear whatever they were doing! They weren't even loud people, but it was unbearable at times. I can't even imagine what life would have been like with LOUD neighbors. 2. RUDE MANAGEMENT WHO DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU! They were incompetent, and didn't care at all when we had problems with our unit, parking situation, and when we told them we were moving out they turned downright nasty! The management was much better when we moved in. The manager at the time had very good customer service and actually cared when stuff broke! The current manager is a very mean and rude person who shouldn't be in customer service. 3. The crowd got really shady here. It always smelled like WEED everywhere, even in the common areas. Not cool because there are lots of little kids who live here! I would NEVER live here with a child, I would rather break my lease and pay the penalty. 4. LOUD PARTIES ALL THE TIME. For some reason a lot of tenants loved to party IN THEIR APARTMENTS instead of going to bars or clubs. Every weekend without fail, there would be super loud clubbing music playing somewhere. During the day there would be loud music and parties too. 5. RAISED THE RENT CONSIDERABLY AFTER PERFECT HISTORY OF RENT PAYMENTS - They raised the monthly rent by about $200 when we had never been late on paying rent during our lease. 6. NICKEL AND DIMED ON THE SECURITY DEPOSIT! Don't even get me started on this...SHADY COMPANY!!! No wonder they nickel and dimed us when we cleaned the apartment ourselves and left it in perfect condition, because EVERYONE WAS MOVING OUT WHEN WE DID! The weekend we moved there were at least 3 other people moving OUT. The apartment across from us took over 6 months to fill the vacancy! Now that's a bad sign. Their occupancy rate may have gotten lower, but not the noise! 7. DRUNK PEOPLE RUINED THE CARPETS AND IT TOOK THEM A YEAR TO FIX IT - We got to stare at multiple red stains from the drunk girl who barfed all over the carpets on NYE until June. Before that the carpets were already super nasty. They do not spend money to maintain the stuff here! 8. BOTH ELEVATORS ALWAYS GET BROKEN AND TAKES FOREVER TO FIX THEM! One elevator was broken for over 2 months before they fixed it! Unacceptable. Every time I would get in the working elevator all of the tenants would complain to each other about how bad this apartment company is!!! 9. SHADY NEIGHBORHOOD. Take a look around... 10. VULNERABLE TO SHADY NEIGHBORHOOD - The visitors' parking garage is simply open, with no gate or anything. Many a time I've seen homeless guys go into the parking area, and even into Belmont lobby to use the trashcans and bathroom. The side garage is gated but it's ALWAYS OPEN! I know they keep it open for movers, but a lot of times it would just be randomly open on the weekdays and at night, and I would see random people walking in and out of there! 11. NO VISITOR PARKING, but there are so many vacant spots in the parking structure! We were counting the days until we could move out. You can do so much better for your money than this place. They seriously rip you off with the rent prices. If it was a lot cheaper I wouldn't be complaining like this but we moved to a MUCH nicer place for the same exact price!”

“I've lived at Belmont Station for three years now and I love it. The staff is professional and friendly and the maintenance do their best to keep it clean. I use the amenities every chance I get. The gym is clean and there are free yoga classes!Things seem to get better here every year with more maintenance being done.”

“Everything is always broken from the elevators to the parking garage door, and it never gets fixed. The elevator across from my apartment has been "due for scheduled maintanence" for 5 weeks. This is not new, it has happened before. The walls are super thin, you can hear everything. People are not considerate either, playing loud music, screaming and yelling, and smoking weed outside so if you live near them your entire apartment reeks of weed. If you want to have people visit, plan on them having to park in shady areas. My boyfriends car was broken into while parked right next to the building on Lucas. The garage isn't that safe either. A friend who lives in the building's motorcycle was stolen from the parking garage. The management is awful. They will actively try and screw as much money out of you as possible. Tread lightly. Also, they will tell you one thing and do another. It is incredibly frustrating. Oh they seem nice when you sign the lease but they are just not. They do not care about you they care about your checkbook. We have been here only a year and are counting down the days until we no longer have to deal with this place. On a positive note, the maintenance staff and security staff are incredible. Basically it costs entirely too much for what it is worth. It looks all pretty but it is one of the worst places I have lived. Seriously, can't wait to move out and be done with Belmont Station forever.”

“I've been living at the Belmont Station, less than a year and I can't wait to move out. reasons: 1. The elevator is always broken. So far, it broke 6 times, and this time it's been 4 weeks straight without an elevator. 2. The walls are so thin. I can hear when my neighbor is watching tv, I can hear when my upstairs neighbor is walking, and its more like marching. 3. The barbecue area is where the dog park is. AND they only have a tiny little table, and 2 grillers, but one is broken. 5. Having a washer and dryer in unit is convenient, until all of my white clothes started to have rust marks everywhere... I'm honestly disappointed, and if you are thinking in moving in, think again, you can find so many other, and better places for the same price.”

“Dropping them down to one star after their ridiculous response!! I received an email today immediately after I wrote to the Essex property relation's office, 63 days of ignored emails and a certified letter. The housing manager said she just saw it because she was away on a one-week vacation. She emailed saying I should be thankful that the charges are what they are since I damaged the carpet.... this is the first I've ever heard about this. They failed to tell me this: in my pre-inspection, move-out itemized list or on the email response they sent me saying I did not damage the apartment. SHADY!! Thank goodness I have email documentation. This place is also notorious for telling me to call them to discuss, but never do that since they deny things they tell you. This also happened when I tried moving out, but that's another crazy discussion. Get dated copies of all conversations of everything you send them, because even emails you can see them flipping their story. ---------------- Video of our apartment at move out: http://www.youtube.com... Hidden move out costs: After 2 1/2 years my roommate and I moved out of our 2 bedroom and 2 bathroom apartment last month and was told "You were not charged for any damages, but for normal turnover charges that were NOT outlined in your lease" .....BAM a $213.55 move out cost. Our lease states that in our pre-inspection if there were any associated costs to our move-out they had to tell us before charging us :( They didn't say there was going to be any charge to us. Cons: We had a noisy street facing apartment near the main entrance door, the security staff smokes right beneath our window. I told management and they told me he's allowed to smoke there and I just shouldn't open the window. If you have a street facing apartment, be prepared to sleep with street noise. Weekends were especially bad you would hear a lot of drunken fights through the wall. I kept earplugs next to the bed. The staff also has a very annoying habit of coming to the apartment without permission; they've come in at least five times. At first it was unannounced, then a paper was left on your door saying they were going to come mid-day in the week. We hear gunshots at night, stabbing across the street and my friend got held up at the Chevron gas station down the street. You're also not walking distance to anything. Plus: Belmont station is a decently new apartment and the amenities.”

“I love this place. And I didn't realize exactly how much I loved it until I had to move out. The pros out way the cons, let me explain. I get my own parking spot. In a covered and gated parking garage. How awesome. There's a full gym, movie theater, 24/7 security, leasing office open 7 days a week, pool & jacuzzi, dog park. Central air, NO BUGS AT ALL, quiet area for where it's located (near downtown la). I've never even seen one single ant while living here, and that is awesome. It might be because I live on the highest floor (5th) but this place is still so well maintained. Dishwasher, new appliances, nice carpet, modern features. The elevator has never broken down on me, I've never seen dog poop anywhere inside the premises, maintenance and security are very friendly. I've never once felt unsafe in or around this area. Lots of visitor parking (inside garage, on cul-de-sac and on lucas). Only gripe is the cost to live here - $1400 for a studio is kind of steep.”

“I've lived in 4 apartments in the last 8 years, and this is by far my favorite. The building is very new and very well maintained in the common areas (gardens, pool, party room, dog park, etc.) I guess there were a lot of problems with the dog park before, but they put in astroturf for the ground and new grills. Almost everyone cleans up after themselves in the dog park, and the maintenance staff comes in regularly to clean too. My apartment is very nice and we've been here a year and never had to make a maintenance call. I think it's very quiet - I never hear people in the hallway, I just occasionally hear my neighbor's cabinet doors banging closed. The area is perfectly fine to walk around during the day. I wouldn't walk around at night without my dog, though. There are sirens and helicopters and the occasional loud music - but in LA I don't think you can get away from that, unless you live in Beverly Hills or some other posh overpriced neighborhood.”

“Belmont Station is expensive. And the location is very sketchy...so, if you are a jogger, I would not reccommend this place for you. Often you will see homeless people outside the building or some wierd activity. And the walls are super thin. I can hear my neighbors all the time. But there are a few pros to the place: 1. In unit washer dryer. 2. Assigned Garage Parking....this is pretty hard to come by in downtown los angeles 3. 24 Hour Security...most of the guards here are nice. 4. Efficient Maintenance staff. They are quick to fix and the place is fairly well maintained. 5. On site leasing management....if you got a complaint...atleast you know they are right there to go to. There is usually always someone in the office during normal business hours. The building is fairly new. I never had problems with mold or bugs. Which is a major plus for me. The only major dislike about this place is the area. I feel safe once I'm inside the building. But not so much of the outside. Also, the elevators do have a tendency to break down once in a while. But, I have yet to live in a apartment building with elevators that do not break. If you know a place like that...please post. I would love to check it out.”

“We just renewed our lease to January, 2012. No place is perfect. This is a nice complex and nice people working here. If something needs fixing, they get to it right away! Rates are about right for this location near downtown. Grounds are well kept and clean. No problem with crime in the building. Only some problems we experience: 1)The ceiling, flooring and walls are very thin, therefore you can hear and feel thumps and sounds more than other places we have resided in at this price range. 2)The side street "Toluca" has small older houses across the street with loud mexican music, loud cars, horns, alarms and yelling most of the time, especially at night and early morning. Cops are often there. 3)Fire alarm often going off at anytime and than fire deparment with sirens blazing showing up each time. 4)Not enough visitor parking due to too much reserved parking for future residences. 5)Management and security allow moving and delivery vehicles to park in red curb zone in front of lobby, creating a very unsafe visual driving situation when pulling in and out of the parking area. 6)Management does not assign parking spots closest to the units, grrrr. Anyway, we are still here until next January, than hoping to buy a home. Maybe Ownership should buy the houses on Toluca and tear them down to make additional visitor parking! If the above were addressed, We would stay longer and pay more to see it happen!”

“Worst worst worst!”

“Belmont is nowhere near as bad as anyone says it, or bad at all. Everyone who has come to visit my apartment, including people who live around here and other areas of West LA, have commented on how nice our place is. Maintenance is good with the few issues we have had and I mean very few, and they were because the dial on the washing machine in our apartment was wrong. I am very picky in terms of noise and everyones' reviews on here have complained about paper thin walls, but I swear, I have never had an issue with it. The pool is great as are the rest of the amenities. I don't know what college you guys went to, but I went to a 40k PUBLIC! university and my dorms were in no way comparable to Belmont Station---seriously where did you go to school where this is what your dorm was like---lucky bastards. P.S. You could not ask for a better parking situation and I have never once felt unsafe here.”

“Boy, am I glad to finally move out of this dump. I am scheduled to move out at the end of this month. My lease here is finally over. I have nothing good to say about this dump, a place I felt ashamed to call home for the past year. The walls are super thin, the office staff is never helpful (they change employees over month or so). It seems as though the leasing agents change every month or so. I always see new faces. What they should do is get rid of the manager and assistance manager. The common areas are so dirty with trash all over the place. This apartment is part of the section 8 housing so you have low income residents here. So while the rest of us hard working people pay market rate rent, there are others who pay $700 a month for a $2500 a month unit. One of my neighbors had 9 people living in one unit. It was so loud and the apartment was full of people all the time. I have notified the office of this issue and they did nothing. They had kids running around inside. The office is no help. They do nothing to assist. Please please read all of the reviews and make a good decision before considering Belmont Station. Think hard.”

“I want everyone and I mean everyone to know what a dump this place really is. I moved in here because this is one of the very few apartments in downtown with a dog park. I have a dog and he loves to play outside. I took my dog to the park and he ended up getting a virus for the park. He also got a cut on his paw from something sharp. They really need to clean this place. I would rather have my dog play in the trash than to take him to the dog park inside the building. I pay pet rent every month. They should take care of this. Many residents have concerns regarding the dog park and the manager won't do anything about it. She insists we, the residents need to clean up after our pets. Don't get me wrong, I agree but it shouldnt have to be my job to clean the park and water the lawn. Well, whatevers left of the lawn. Please, if you have a dog, do not take them inside the park. Take them for a walk across the street. It's so much cleaner there.”

“I hate the manager. I know, I know "hate" is such a strong word but that's the only thing that comes to my mind. I'm not sure if the upper management is the issue but she can't seem to understand the needs and concerns of the the people that live here. Maybe she just doesn't care. She must hate her job or something. The intercom in the front has been broken for sometime now. If the security is out and no ones watching the front desk/lobby area, how are we supposed to get in? They keep the front door locked and the key fob doesn't work. I've made several recommendations and requests to have this fixed. Sure, the securies are there most of the time but again, not always. They really need to do something about the intercom in the front. Some of the securities that work here at night are so rude. They know I live here because they see the key fob that I'm waving in the air but won't get up to open the front door. They're on their cell phones talking to their friends. When I went to pick up a package the other day, I sat down on the sofa and waited over 10 minutes while she was on the phone. I've only been living here alittle over 3 months but it seems to be getting worse. It takes me 15 minutes to walk to work. That was the main reason I moved in here. But now I'm wishing that I didn't. The walls are so thin. I can't believe how thin they are. I can hear my neighbors using the bathroom and farting. It's gross. They have guest parking but never is it available. It's always packed. I say you can find a way better place in downtown. Afterall, Belmont Station isn't the only apartment in downtown. It's not even luxury. Well, the only good thing about this apartment is the washer/dryer inside each apartment.”

“I just moved in less than 2 months ago. The heater in my apartment was not working and I requested to have maintenance come up and take a look. I was told that they will come back tomorrow to have this fixed. I waited all day the next day and no one came by. I called the office the following day and was told that they will have maintenance fix the heater that day. I was at work so I gave them permission to enter my apartment. I came home and nothing was fixed. I called the office again, for the 3rd time and was told the same thing. They will have maintenance fix the heater that day. I came home after work and the heater was still not fixed. I gave up and decided to wait till the weekend to go and talk directly with the manager regarding this problem. I stopped by the office on Saturday and the manager was not in. I left a message for her to give me a call on Monday. I waited till Tuesday and no one called me back. I was so upset regarding this issue. I shouldn t have to track the manager down and have to wait over a week to have my heater fixed. I finally got one of the maintenance guys to fix this problem. It took 2 weeks to fix a heater. I can t understand why it took 2 weeks to repair a heater. I think the management and the maintenance are not taking responsibility for anything. No wonder why everyone in this building is unhappy with the management office.”