Villa Siena

 

1.

Parking is a total joke.

You will have random people park in your designated space at some point.

Good luck getting help to get them out.

Forget having guests over - there's nowhere for them to park.

But that may be a good thing in some ways because...

2.

There is a chronic, pervasive problem here with guests and 'interesting' residents trashing common areas, fighting, doing drugs, vomiting in elevators and hallways, partying hard and generally making other residents miserable.

I can't imagine how much worse it would be if there was more parking to accommodate more of these losers.

Lots of UCI students here.

Not sure if most of the party crowd comes from UCI or if they are just locals.

Never had much of a problem with neighbor noise on our sides.

There is no cement between the floors here so you will hear your upstairs neighbors.

If you are stuck with heavy walkers or 'slammers' (people who slam their doors, drawers and cupboards) above you....you will hear their every move.

If they wear heels in their apartment, the thumping will drive you NUTS.

Vandalism is a problem.

The gas grills at the pool areas are routinely stripped of their knobs and the temperature setting decals are scratched off.

Elevators doors are defaced.

Cigarette butts are strewn everywhere.

Another major problem here is fire alarms.

People think it is HILARIOUS to pull fire alarms at 2, 3, 4 AM.

I cannot tell you how many times I've had to get up in the middle of the night and stand on the street here waiting for the Fire Department to give the 'all clear' because someone has nothing better to do with their life than be a nuisance.

It also happens because there is a heat sensor in the garages that is too sensitive and it goes off unnecessarily (per the fire dept).

The firefighters are disgusted with Villa Siena and one firefighter told me that the Irvine Company won't do what they need to do to keep it from happening again.

Money, money, money.

3.

The grounds are beautiful but upkept in inefficient and obnoxious ways.

Groundskeepers walk around with leaf blowers blowing dirt, dust and debris onto patios and outdoor furniture.

And then you have the lovely odor of gasoline wafting through your apartment as the blowers go by.

Then they "powerwash" areas with a low flow hose and wash off walkways, the parking garages, patios, etc.

All it does is make your dusty dirty patio and outdoor furniture now muddy.

Sprinklers are aimed improperly and spray onto sidewalks and building walls.

Great playground areas are nice but littered with cigarette butts.

The fountains are very pretty and are a godsend - they really do cut some of the noise.

4.

Safety is a serious concern.

There are areas that are not well lit, many shrubs to hide in, and no security.

Oh sure, there are security guards but don't count on them doing anything.

If you can get a hold of one in the gatehouse they usually say they're the only one on duty or they're new and they don't know what you're talking about.

They are buddy-buddy with the troublemakers here so nothing ever gets done.

There are no cameras in the garages.

There are constant vehicle thefts and break-ins.

One day, someone will accidentally happen upon a theft and get killed.

Drug use out in the open in common areas.

When you tour the property, they tout that Villa Siena is a gated community.

Well, the walkway gates are pointless.

They are unlocked and usually propped open.

Anyone can come and go anytime.

The main gates for cars are useless as well.

Just wait behind a resident and slip on in.

The gates are cosmetic more than anything.

5.

Construction is poor.

Cracks in walls, cheap cabinets will draw fronts falling off, bowing shelves, raggedy carpets, hardware falls off sinks, chipped baseboards, blinds break easily.

No quality materials used here.

It seems that the objective was to get them up and rented ASAP.

6.

It is obvious that the Irvine Company has no interest in properly maintaining these units.

Maintenance requests are handled in the cheapest and sloppiest way possible.

The mickey mouse solutions they come up with here to problems such as water leaks, shorting fire alarms and mold would be funny if they weren't so crappy.

Hope there's never a real fire, because I won't know.

They disconnected my unit's alarm instead of trying to figure out why it kept going off for no reason.

Brilliant.

I had to caulk my showers myself because after 2 attempts they still could not do it right.

Maybe that's how they plan to keep costs down - do a crappy enough job and residents will just give up and do the work themselves.

Oh, and the elevator inspection permits (posted in the elevators) are over 3 months overdue.

7.

The staff at Villa Siena don't care.

They are just doing a job, following instructions.

Turn over is very high.

You can tell that they have all been sent to seminars on how to 'defuse' residents.

If you have any sort of problem and try to get help, they throw back this communication seminar crap in your face - 'mirroring' your problem.

"Oh, so you believe that you have a leak" or "I hear you saying that you think you are hearing your neighbor's activities at an unacceptable volume"!!! This kind of patronizing psychobabble is infuriating!! No, we DO have a LEAK.

No, our neighbors are RUDE and INCONSIDERATE and LOUD at 2 AM.

They try to talk circles around you and never address anything.

You almost start to question your own sanity because they make you feel as if YOU are the problem for calling.

Their famous line is "living in community is difficult at times, we all have to give and take".

Yeah, right.

When I'm paying this kind of money for rent, I want peace, quiet during quiet hours and usable common areas.

8.

Another issue: Rule enforcement.

It is nonexistent.

They make you feel like an imposition and unreasonable when you ask them to enforce rules.

RULES THAT ARE ON EVERYONE'S LEASES!!

For example, Villa Siena is supposed to be a pet free complex.

Boy, you would never know that! Dogs and cats everywhere.

I love going for walks around here and stepping in dog crap or smelling dog piss as I walk by shrubs.

Owners have them out in the open and no one ever calls them on it.

When I spoke to the office about it, they whined, "Well, what do you want us to do about it'" Gee, um, all you'd have to do is walk around the complex and hear dogs barking during the daytime.

Or, at 5pm and after, see owners walking their dogs after they get home from work.

It would be a very easy thing to do - they just DON'T CARE ENOUGH TO MAKE THE EFFORT.

Another example - no glass in the pool areas and no boom boxes.

Due to chronic trashing of the pools, security guards are stationed at at least 2 of the pools.

But it doesn't do much good because drug use still continues out in the open, people still bring in glass and loud crappy music is routinely played for everyone's 'enjoyment'.

The guards just stand there while all of this is going on.

Yet, if any glass breaks and gets in the pool, (or vomit, or food, or trash, or cigarette butts or who knows what else) and it has to be cleaned, they are willing to fork over $40,000 (amount revealed by management) to drain the pool, clean it, and fill it again.

Can you see why rent is so high (in part)' All of their wimpy 'mirroring' in the world is not going to fix anything.

Grow a pair and enforce your rules!

If you hope to make cell phone calls, forget it.

Most apartments here cannot get any cell reception.

Residents routinely line up in the road blocking traffic talking our their cell phones because they can't from their apartment.

You will hear top floor residents' cell phone conversations as they stand on their balconies yelling into their phones in an effort to be heard.

FYI- One of the selling points is the 4 heated pools.

Only 2 are heated year round and they are only heated to below 80 degrees.

Additionally, if you like clean air, be prepared to be frustrated.

People don't want their cigarette smoke stinking up THEIR apartments, so they go outside to smoke, so then it drifts into YOUR apartment.

If you like opening your windows, forget it.

Between the leaf blower gas fumes and the dust/dirt they kick up and then the cigarette smoke you will feel like you're imprisoned in your own apartment.

Smokers also congregate in the common areas so they are rendered unhealthy for everyone else.

They also smoke in the parking garages, elevators, stairwells, hallways.....

Remind me again why I live here' Oh, yeah, that's right...."LOVE WHERE YOU LIVE!!!"

Last updated: 9/8/2008

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