SB Lofts

 

Having lived at SB Lofts for almost the entirety of its existence, I sincerely implore those interested in renting a loft from this establishment to look elsewhere.

Indeed, the most problematical element of this review is contemplating which transgression, in an alphabet soup of abundant transgressions, to start with.

Possibly the most important element of any apartment complex is the quality of its administration.

Barry Shy, the owner of SB Lofts, has a reputation for being one of Downtown's worst and most storied slumlords.

Countless news articles (and court actions) bolster this claim: http://truedowntown.com/barryshypress.html SB Lofts is not immune from Mr.

Shy's grandiose ineptitude, as my tenure as a resident there has been marred by the following:

1) THE MANAGEMENT.

The SB Lofts apartment complex is managed by Bertha, the building's sole apartment manager.

Bertha will all-too-willingly take a tenant's monthly rent check, but is functionally competent to do little else.

Repair requests are only responded to if the manager is contacted multiple times or if legal action is threatened.

I personally went without a functional heater from October-March; each phone call and email from Bertha promising me a new one "soon." My washer/dryer unit broke in September, only to be replaced in July.

The built-in closet shelves collapsed in November and were finally repaired in September.

The list goes on ad infinitum, but the most glaring problem about Bertha is her sheer avoidance when it comes to work requests.

In this case, repetition and persistence does not pay off.

Written work orders are responded to in the same manner unspoken work orders are responded to: they aren't.

If you spot Bertha in the hallway after you've called her multiple times to repair a major appliance, she will literally walk the other direction out of total evasion.

Bertha's utter incompetence as a building manager does not end at work requests alone.

Which brings me to the next issue:

2) THE RESIDENTS.

Noise is to be expected even in the nicest of apartment developments.

However, the boorish and insolent residents of SB Lofts take the term "noise" to a completely different, deafening level.

My unit at SB Lofts faces the inner courtyard of the building, and sounds easily echo and bounce off the walls if they are produced by any other inwardly-facing apartment (of which compromise half of SB Loft's units).

So, yes, the person insisting on blasting Celine Dion and singing along to it at all hours of the night is heard by all.

Neighbors continually HOWL at one another on weekdays.

Pulsating techno parties are as commonplace as breathing.

The level of noise produced by the cavalier residents of SB Lofts actually increases as the night wears onward, peaking at around 3:00-4:00 AM.

It'd be one thing if this was a rare occurrence, or if it was only done at a slight volume, but the noise is preposterously overbearing and the clamor is outrageously earsplitting.

Do not be fooled--the profuse noise is not produced by a select few residents, rather, it is made by nearly all.

Not surprisingly, calls or written requests to building manager Bertha about the problem ironically fall of deaf ears.

Moreover, Bertha has admitted to me that residents have actually broken their leases and moved out because the noise is so severe.

Knowing this, Bertha continually does nothing to assuage the problem of the screaming, screeching, shouting residents at SB Lofts.

Needless to say, residents' problems do not stop there.

Multiple tenants own large dogs.

During the day, dogs can be heard howling out of basic negligence by their owners.

All hallways are caked with dried dog urine due to a lack of common courtesy to wipe it up.

Dog feces are generously interspersed along the sidewalk SB Lofts resides upon, again due to the residents' casual haughtiness.

Smaller issues also factor into my lack of respect for the residents of SB Lofts.

Many will not hold the door open for you.

Many will bump up against you and not apologize.

Many will see you run to the elevator, only to not hold it open.

3) THE PARKING GARAGE.

SB Lofts offers indoor garage parking for the exorbitant price of $150/month.

Construction has been in progress for over one year, and no end is in sight.

Aside from every tenant's car being covered in heaps of concrete dust, construction workers oftentimes damage automobiles without consequence.

Complaining to the management does no good--they always claim the damage was done prior to the construction mishap.

Moreover, constant construction makes for some interesting and unwelcome maneuvering around the parking garage: stepping over wooden planks, bending below scaffolding and walking on every other stair (due to debris) is a daily occurrence.

It's a lawsuit waiting to happen and, quite frankly, they should be sued.

I urge prospective residents never to rent from SB Lofts for the aforementioned reasons.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 11/18/2008
I live at the SB Lofts as well and can vouch for and back up all the stories above the Barry Shy and whole family, and even his other buildings SB Manhattan, SB Spring, SB Grand, ShyBarry Grand, SB anything is beyond poorly managed by relatives of landlord Shy , and will cost you more money in the end that you can possibly justify because of the SHYstery Shaytbarry Grand management staffed by his whole family. Shalom Shy = brother - Amit Tidhar = Nephew - Romy Shy = son, and Yaniv Abiner = Nephew of the Shaytbarry Shyster Barry Shy. Save yourself some trouble and rent from a better landlord and management company.
From: Anonymous	Date: 12/02/2008
I heard that Barry Shy got arrested for entering our building because someone had a restraining order on him - and even though he entered his own building, that was too close to the person who put on the restraining order. Does anyone know if that's true?
From: Anonymous	Date: 03/27/2009
I do live here and I agree with the complaints. I am waiting on my lease to expire. Another BIG problem: building is infested by ROACHES. Yes, at that price rent, living in a roach-infested apartment it's disgusting. Also, during the winter, the heater would not function during the coldest days. Apparently the owner refuses to turn the water up when it is too cold, because it is too expensive.
From: Anonymous	Date: 04/03/2009
It's all true! The SB Lofts are a terrible place to live. I cannot wait for my lease to expire so I can move out. It has been an awful experience. My apartment has been flooded numerous times. Management refuses to fix anything. The building itself is dirty and smells like trash from the trash chutes in the hall. The other tenants are loud and disrespectful. It's like hell on Earth here.
From: Anonymous	Date: 05/26/2009
Has anything improved since this review? I was considering moving into SB Lofts (548 S. Spring), but there seems to be a lot of negative press. Is there really a roach infestation? When I visited, it seemed clean and quiet, however I was there during the day, so it may be different at night.
From: shambolo1	Date: 05/28/2009
And by the way... why are all the postings on here from anonymous people?
From: letmeout12345	Date: 06/24/2009
I live in SB Lofts and I have to say, I enjoy it immensely. I have never heard a peep out of any of my neighbours. If I didn't see them occasionally in the hallway, I wouldn't think they existed. I am in a outward facing unit and when the windows are open, no matter how high up in the building you are, you will hear street noise pretty loudly, but when the windows are closed, you can barely hear it. The other residents have always been very polite. One man saw me struggling in the lobby with some furniture I had bought and he helped me bring it all to my door. Just the other day a nice couple waiting for the elevator helped me with my groceries. I put in a relatively lengthy maintenance request and Bertha called me to confirm it, and it was taken care of the next day. I did have a bit of a roach problem, but I put out some traps and haven't seen one since. It is annoying that those weird flies always hang out right around the lobby, and if my windows are left open during the day, they swarm in, hover around and leave at dark. I have never had any heating issues or hot water issues. I would recommend this building to anyone.
From: Anonymous	Date: 07/25/2009
Everyone here sounds like barry bashers. If you don't like barry then don't worry because he doesn't live here. nor does he handle the day to day maintenance nor does he pop out of the beautiful bathrooms that the SBlofts has. Please people. if you pay your rent and mind your own business this is one of the best lofts to live in downtown. The management is exceptionally kind and responsive, the amenities are very modern and the residents are very cool. in other words, Your either pregnant or not. so if you don't like barry, ( which you probably haven't even met ) please it has nothing to do with living here. I've been here long enough to know that it's a great place to live, the location is excellent with all the businesses moving into our corner 6th and spring and the management is very cool. Don't listen to the haters. they always bring up barry. barry is actually cool. I used to own two stores at 315 W 5th street. I was one of those tenants who paid my rent on time.
From: Anonymous	Date: 08/31/2009
Renters - probably have a better deal than the homeowners. Barry Shy did get arrested for violating a restraining order. The guy is bad news any way you look at it. People who rent from him, do not really get the full dose of experience. I feel exceptionally unhappy with my purchase in his building. The management does not respond to homeowners. And just ask them for the accounting and see what happens.
From: Anonymous	Date: 09/12/2009
The anonymous person who left the comment on 4/10/09 is Bertha, who might on say absolutely sucks as a building manager. The building smells absolutely disgusting and management does NOTHING after numerous requests to repair broken appliances. Several of my neighbors have moved out and I can't wait until my lease is up so I can get out of this hell hole! DO NOT MOVE INTO THE SB LOFTS! YOU WILL BE DISAPPOINTED!
From: Anonymous	Date: 10/21/2009
I moved out of SB Lofts last January and it was bad then. Sounds like it has gotten worse. Some days there was hot water, some days there wasn't. The treadmill in the "gym" (and there was 1, by the way) was broken for about 4 months. The hot tub wasn't hot. The pool was filthy. The building smelled. All I can say, is that I'm glad I got out when I did. Yes, Barry Shy bought up tons of buildings, but he did a disservice to downtown but renovating them cheaply. Downtown deserves to be better, but unfortunately, in a few years, these buildings will be nothing more than new slums.
From: Anonymous	Date: 11/08/2009
Its 3:16AM and I'm up due to the most disrespectful residents. This has been a common thing here at the ------ SB lofts. I have made numerous complaints.. nothing has changed. I have called the cops 4 times tonight and not one cop has shown. I'm counting the days for my lease to be up! Not only are these people loud they throw cigarette buts on my balcony as well as liquid.. I hope its some type of drink.. but I wouldn't be surprised if someone pissed off the roof. I feel like I'm paying a -------- amount of money to live in a Fraternity/Sorority house. I have to deal with the loud parties all night and then Opera singers and Karaoke shmucks all day. This is not worth paying 1600 !!! If you want your sanity don't move here! Stay FAAAARRRRR away from this hell hole!
From: Anonymous	Date: 01/18/2010
Holy crap. I was searching SB Lofts to see my boyfriend's new humble abode that I will be visiting in two weeks for the first time. He has not been living there long.... he has enjoyed it so far though. It will be interesting to He does extremely well financially so it shocks me if he did in fact, choose to live in place that could be even remotely like what I have read here. I have never been to LA. I live in a small southern town in North Florida. For all I know, this could be the standards expected for so much $$$ because it is Downtown LA? These conditions sound like the apartments we have by Florida State's campus that are about $600/month to rent. Obviously the cost of living there is astoundingly higher but still.... Is it that the demand for that loaction of LA is in such demand that a building owner/manager can get away with not providing the expected basic services as a caretaker despite the high cost? This situation sounds like it has some damn good ingredients for a sitcom....
From: Anonymous	Date: 01/20/2010
has anyone have issues with roaches or rodents in this loft or at shybary grand?
From: Ezrider77	Date: 02/07/2010
I live at 548 S. Spring and am happy there. It's clean, cozy and quiet... That was my criteria when I moved downtown, so I'm glad I got exactly what I was looking for.
From: Anonymous	Date: 04/07/2010
i just leased a penthouse at Manhattan Lofts but I havent seen many reviews on this particular building, good or bad. I hope I didnt just make the biggest mistake...boohoo

Your thoughts? Post a response to this review. Display my response: with my username anonymously Responses appear below reviews and one response per user is permitted.

   Free estimates on moving trucks      Find apartment share/roommates