I've been renting from this outfit for the past 4 years. During that time there have been 3 property managers, and one overhaul of deadbeat office personnel. (Most were fired but for 1 or 2.) The first property mgr who was here when I moved in did not take or return phone calls. Ever. For any reason. Instead, she had an underling at the office call back and make excuses as to why maintenance was not performed. The only reason I knew a property mgr even existed at VDL is because her signature appeared on sporadic announcements from the leasing office. Presumably, she was removed with the other dead weight by upper management to collect a paycheck at another property managed by Equity.

Recently, VDL has a new property manager by the name of Pletl. I haven't had any direct contact with him as of yet so I cannot comment on his competence or lack thereof, however, according to his intro memo that was distributed to tenants, he evidently was employed back in 2000 as a mgr. The property manager who preceded Pletl was here briefly, and only responded to legal threats whenever maintenance was requested on items he could not slap a band aid on and otherwise ignore.

Having said that, VDL can be positive or negative depending on what your priorities are. If all you are about is having your own place that your parents pay for and you like partying at the pool/hot tub and at home all night and otherwise making a bunch of noise waking the neighbors, then by all means rent here. Security is worthless and the leasing office could care less. Of course, the more intrepid (like me) of your annoyed, EMPLOYED neighboring tenants will not hesitate to contact the MVPD so I suggest that you keep your loud, obnoxious friends & parties in check.

Additionally, pay particular attention to your car alarm because if you ignore it and otherwise allow it to go off for hours on end, neighbors are happy to contact the MVPD, and, they are only too happy to show up 5 minutes after having been contacted to tow away your vehicle for disturbance of the peace. Note: This also goes for parking in someone else's *assigned* spot. The towing company the property uses is almost as happy to tow you as is the MVPD.

OTOH, viably employed, responsible tenants who consistently pay rent on time and otherwise respect that neighbors do not necessarily keep your 24x7 schdule, may want to consider the following before signing on the dotted line.

(1) Maintenance sucks. They barely speak English and once they touch something, you have to hound the leasing office to keep sending them back because they never fix anything correctly the first time. Your best bet if you're going to have maintenance come over is to know what the problem is and how to fix it. If possible, when you initially request maintenance, submit how to fix the problem in writing to the leasing office so they can give it to maintenance. Otherwise you'll be caught in an endless clusterf*ck of incompetence and finger pointing. In 4 yrs, the maintenance situation has not improved.

(2) VDL is sporadically plagued with theft presumably committed by unsupervised, problematic teens. My bicycle was stolen off my patio at one point and when the thieves determined it to be unusuable due to a flat tire, they deposited it against another bldg several hundred feet away from mine. Make sure you nail everything down on your patio or it will be stolen arbitrarily.

(3) MV is touted as the "safest" city, but don't believe the hype. Safe as in compared to the murders/tortures/rapes committed elsewhere, this kind of crime is negligible. Petty crime does, in fact, occur. Even on "safe" properties like VDL. Case in point: Approximately 2 weeks after having moved in, gang members from L.A. had broken into a vacant unit, and had a shoot out with other gang members that ended up in one death and several injuries. This incident was kept on the down low and the only reason tenants knew about it is because it is a State Law that all crime *must* be reported by property mgt to residents.

(4) Always communicate in writing with the leasing office for everything. This eliminates the need for the office people to lie about not having talked to you when they "forget" that you spoke to them on the phone.

(5) Do yourself a favor and read up on your California Tenant Rights. The California State Dept of Consumer Affairs has a FREE publication that is downloadable directly from the website. It's easy to understand and gives you the fundamentals as to what is and is not lawful when it comes to renting. If you don't know what your tenant rights are, then be prepared for an ass pounding, because if you rent from Equity Apartments, then expect that your ignorance will be fully exploited. In which case I have zero sympathy for you because it is your own fault for being too lazy to educate yourself.

(6) Accept that you're going to get screwed on rent no matter where you live. Hey, this is Stepford, I mean Orange County, what else would you expect. VDL has a lot of warts, but if you are reasonably informed as to your tenant rights, and keep everything in writing with the leasing office, then you should be OK. But you have to stay vigilant.

(7) Property amenties are nice provided that they are open for use. The second pool was closed for repair for the first 2 years that I lived on the property. When it finally did open, it was a guessing game as to which gate maintenance unlocked. Sometimes it was the gate facing the street, others not. Sometimes neither gate was unlocked when it was supposed to be. This remains true today. Be prepared for a game of guess-your-best when you want to use the second pool...is the gate unlocked... Round and round the wheel goes and where it stops, nobody knows, not even the leasing office!

(8) Hot tubs are usually open, but sometimes they are arbitrarily closed down for no apparent reason. Two weeks ago the hot tub by my bldg was closed because "the wind was blowing too hard." Tenants were not notified and reason was not provided unless you happened to find someone at the leasing office who had a clue.

(9) The gym and the pool at the leasing office are usually open during the hours they are supposed to be except for Sunday, when maintenance screws off until the office opens. So if you plan on getting to the gym on Sunday at 9a.m., don't bother because the gate around the pool that allows you access to the gym will still be locked. In fact, don't plan on getting into the gym prior to noon. Maybe by then the gate will be unlocked.

(10) Also on Sundays, don't expect the restrooms at the pool to be unlocked without having to hound the office. Maintenance is in charge of unlocking the pool, gym and laundry facilities, but because there isn't anyone in the leasing office until noon on Sunday, maintenance screws off more than they do during the week when there is someone in the office who can contact them on the WhereYouAT radios. Just to underscore, in addition to maintenance being useless when you need a repair performed, just as an extra bonus to you, they also cannot be bothered to unlock amenities. Please note that apathy/laziness are provided as a service to the tenant absolutely free of charge! BTW - complaints to management, no matter how often or how many are made, are usually met with claims the problem will be addressed. Of course, the check is also in the mail and I promise I won't come in your mouth.

Bottom line: Equity Apartment office personnel seem to respond favorably to tenant requests **only if** they know that tenants are aware of what is and is not legal and only if you make it known you aren't an uninformed/ignorant rube. OTOH, if you are a rube and can't be bothered to take responsibility for the contracts you enter into, then drop your shorts and bend over. Lube not provided by Equity.

User Responses
From: bytemybutt	Date: 12/01/2008
I disagree about the maintanence comments. Their staff is wonderful and always respond promptly (within 24 hours) and fix it right the first time. Of course, I treat them with the respect they deserve which may be why you don't seem as happy since you consider yourself superior based upon your writings.
From: vistadelavg	Date: 08/16/2009
I love the maintenance guys. Everything else in this review, I agree with you on, but come on. English or not, those guys do a pretty good job with what they have.

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