I just moved out last month after 6 and a half years in Ventana Canyon. When we moved in, it was very safe, clean and well-maintained, with a caring staff who knew each resident by name.

Safety: Originally, there was a security guard on premises all night and he handled noise complaints and problems quickly. That ended in about 2000 or 2001. I've read other reviews here complaining about drugs and section 8 housing. I honsetly never saw any deals going down, but I will say that the overall feeling is that it is less safe. The lights on the outside of the buildings are often burnt out and I was sometimes nervous walking in alone at night.

Noise: It's become somewhat of a free-for-all. Lots of noisy kids, lots and lots of dogs that people leave locked on their porches. You can hear you neighbors phones ringing from inside your own apartment.

Grounds: Probable one of the areas that had gone downhill the most. A lot of people don't pick up after their dogs, even when the mitts are provided. Every six months or so, Management sends out a letter saying they are going to crack down, but I have yet to see it happen. The grass is spotty and brown and just dead in a lot of places. Once a year they throw down seed, which just attracted the pigeons (who eat all the seed so the grass never regrows), so now there's a large pigeon population. The covered parking is coming apart in spots and there was graffiti near my space for about 5 years - no one bother to check, I guess. Paint is peeling on quite a few of the outside storage doors - tacky looking.

Pets: There are a lot of very big dogs, some of which are "dangerous" breeds, so if that's an issue for you at all, skip this place.

Maintenance: Has become HORRIBLE (did not used to be that way - had gone downhill the last 2-3 years). I had maintenance requests that I put in in August of 2006 that were completely ignored, including black mold that infested the master bathroom (we finally re-caulked it ourselves after waiting four months for them to get around to it). When I complained time and time again I was told by Taylor (former manager and another story altogether) that "Oh, it's probably not toxic". The requests were still pending when I moved out and the new management seemed uninterested.

Management: I have lost count of how many managers this complex has had (I think it's around 13-15 in my time there), each one worse than the last. They threw attitude, acted like every tenant was just a big complainer, even when you had a valid complaint (Lack of maintenance, for example). When I spoke to the aforementioned Taylor about how I felt she was very disrespectful towards the tenants and that customer service should be a priority, she snapped at me that she was a manager and not interested in customer service or how we felt about it. She also told me that if I didn't like her policies (i.e. being forced to move our grill onto our balcony - dangerous!) that "If you don't like it, move out." The new managers don't seem very interested in fixing problems, either. Overall, management here seems to think of the tenants as one big problem.

Rent: Bottom line - the rent keeps on going up and the service keeps getting worse.

I would not recommend this complex unless they make some very serious changes in how they treat their tenants and the maintenance of the facility, especially considering the rising rent prices. (When I left, my month-to-month rate was $1030).

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