OK.

So again, for the record, I don't work here nor have I lived here. I'm a prospective renter on the hunt for a new place.

I've seen Carmel Landing numerous times during my visits, but never the inside. I was rather turned off by the outside appearance, and the lack of a garage. Additionally, I didn't really care for the 3 story building design. But as they claimed to recently have renovated I decided to give it another chance.

For those that don't know, Carmel Landing is the older complex out of the two (Carmel Summit being the other). It has a charm that is not representative of San Diego. On the downside, it's hard to really enjoy the place, because the buildings are so compacted together as to negate the possibility of a view. If that's important to you, look elsewhere.

The nicest thing about Carmel Landing was the front office. It's a far cry from the actual apartments, which is sad.

During the tour, we walked through a breezeway, and the faint smell of urine hit me in the face. It was dirty, and an electrical outlet was halfway out the wall. There was also no lighting besides the normal daylight which could not reach into the hallway. It seemed a prime place to get mugged. Definitely a turn off.

Parking seemed at a premium as well. Apparently you get a reserved spot, but because the buildings are compacted like I mentioned before, it's difficult to see how you could feasibly park more than one car for any extended period. Even one car would get a little cramped, as the spots are somewhat close to one another. Closer to the front office isn't too bad, but you can bet your bottom dollar that those would fill up quickly by 5pm.

Stock is at minimum, as the largest apartments were all occupied until October. Just to get a sense for the interior, we decided to look at the smallest 2 bedroom model. My initial reaction was that of shock. How could something so small cost so much money' I mean literally, the ceiling was obscenely low, and the rooms just felt cramped. The renovations were nice - nice appliances, etc - but the apartment itself did not feel like the 800 square feet it claimed to be unless they were counting the patio (which was reasonably sized). They shouldn't be counting the patio though.

On the plus side, the renovations ARE nice. It had a warm, welcome feeling inside, and the countertops in particular were quite pleasant. It had a 'home' feel to it that is unique to an apartment of this style. If BRE renovated the exterior, added some exterior garaging, and built some two-story buildings, this would be an ideal apartment complex. I often ask myself why they don't just combine Summit and Landing into one, have Landing be the large, spacious floorplans and Summit be the small and medium floorplans. I think they'd make more money that way.

User Responses
From: ricepattiegirl05	Date: 08/27/2008
i agree.... small apartments, expensive, it is tight in there and the parking is the worst ever. i got towed for my sticker that fell on the floor of car =/ BUT it was always safe.. this is the safest place i ever lived n we move a lot! too much! no muggings or crime occur in this area. check the crime reports for the area.... when i did in 2005... there was nothing! we always left our nice cars open too n no prob there. anyway, i think the other one across the street is gonna be the more expensive one? atleast i was told. i lived at Reflections in 2005 after moving from el cajon (way cheaper but at 1100sq ft @ $900/mo but bad area). i was in a 1/1... less than 600 ft at reflections. yes it was cramped even for me n the hubby but we moved here bc we were tired of people in bikes and coming out of freeway bridges - the hood. =/ i was pregnant and went through a claustrophobic phase at Reflections and always had to leave everything open, even the door and bc it is in a good area of sd, i was able to do that - never if i was still where i was. so the money was worth it definitely. it's really nice place and and close to everything. i would have stayed but i wanted to be closer to my mom. oh and lots of spiders.... because of all the "greenery" i walked around like a mad woman flinging arms so it won't hit my face if there were any.

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