I found Villa Venetia back in 1992 when it was privately owned. AMAZING! The location of the complex and the size of the apartments cannot be beat. I moved out in 1999 and moved back with my husband in 2004. The property had gone from private ownership to being managed by Lyons management. We moved into a 1 bedroom and stayed there for a couple years, then transferred to a 2 bed/2 bath. We never had ANY problems with management or the look of the property until the last year or year and a half. The current management cannot care a bit about the tenants and their complaints.
We are not only talking cosmetic concerns. During a scheduled power outage, management failed to have back up lighting in the parking garage or stair wells. Tenants put out glow sticks down in the garage to help guide the way. Numerous tenants complained about this and 8 months later, no emergency lighting has been set up by corporate or management. The stairwells are BLACK even during the day.
The pipes are old, so test the water before moving into a unit. I cannot take a bath, because of rust in the water. I was told, this is how it is because the building is so old.
Most recently our intercom/security system stopped working to buzz people in, when I spoke to management I was told, that because they are planning a huge renovation they will not repair this. So when people come to visit, we have to run downstairs and let them in. They are also not going to repair any a/c units in the unit should they breakdown.
There is also run off in the planters which always smells like Lysol. We heard from an old employee of the company, that indeed it is toxic waste running out from there and is totally illegal.
Visitor parking is always an issue, because there are only 15 spaces, but it has been better since management has enforced tenants to park in their spots and not in visitor parking.
The bike room in the garage is not safe, we had a friend have his bike chain cut and someone stole his new bike.
Ammenties we had when we moved here are down to ZERO now. They closed the fitness room, the dry sauna, paint chipping all over the building, old as hell carpet in the hallways, bulletin boards used for tenants to communicate sales and such by mailboxes are gone. Exposed electrical wires hanging in the garage, Stucco falling over the outdoor stairwell, broken down dryers or not operating fully not taken care of...the list goes on and on.
The maintenance team is AAMAZING! So nice, kind, great at their jobs...Love them.
Unfortunately we are stuck here for another 9 months because we can't afford moving costs at the moment. Our view and size of apartment almost make up for the lack of care from Lyons Management and on-site management. The people in the leasing office are really great, but the management leaves little to be desired.
I always used to tell people about the place I lived and suggested them moving here, now I tell them how horrible and run down it is.
Think twice about renting here. In fact, save yourself some major frustration and headaches and don't rent here.

User Responses
From: dwightsmith	Date: 04/17/2009
Goodness, it sounds like the place has actually gotten worse since I moved out. As an aside, taking down the bulletin boards is just the kind of mean-spirited thing this property manager would take the time to do. For some petty reason, they destroy something that actually builds a sense of community. As for the big reno, well...I will believe that when I see it. They have every expectation of tearing down the whole building and turning everyone out the first chance they get. So if you decide to move in, don't be too surprised if a year or so down the road they boot you out.

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