You've Been Warned. They say they are located in San Pablo; however, they sit on the border line of Richmond & San Pablo, where the post office recognizes it as a Richmond address do your research on Richmond! This is not your Standard Apartment complex experience. My husband and I are used to the basic essentials of a complex we don't have high demands, we just like to pay our rent and be left alone and this was far from it. We have Never had to write a bad review about any complex we have lived in and we have lived in many apartments for 10 years out of our lives; and it is unfortunate that I have no choice but to warn others and write about this sad experience with a low morale staff; the staff in which we have dealt with has been Brian and Beatrice directly; and the owner indirectly.
On the day we were scheduled to move in after driving from 40 hours away long distance, to our worst nightmare, the unit was not ready.
It didn't become ready until a few weeks later. We were forced to have to move into a studio apartment cramming 2 Bedrooms of furniture items into the studio and into two small storage units in two separate locations. Unbelievable and I felt so bad for my husband as he was extremely fatigued that someone had just moved out of and was unclean. When our apartment was finally ready; to our surprise again, they actually attempted to charge us regular rent for the stay in the studio; this was laughable; he also suggested that we could just move to another place now. What? As if after paying thousands of dollars to get here, we just have money to put ourselves in a hotel and additional money to pay another complex in hopes that they have availability. We had been patient expecting that they were going to do the professional business move and compensate us in some way for the high level of unnecessary stress and inconvenience they caused to us. No apologies, what we got was a combative argument from the same representative who promised us the unit would be ready on the day we signed up for after giving them our application money. After our unit was "ready", this complex hired some random unprofessional, unlicensed movers to move our items into our unit. Here's the kicker, midway while moving our items, they vanished. Again, we were stuck and let down.
When we got into the unit we were significantly let down due to the fact that they stated our unit would have hardwood flooring, red accent wall, and granite counter tops. We had been hit with two double whammies, so by now, our expectations of integrity and competence on the end of this company is now extremely low as we have been dealt a nightmare apartment. While signing the lease, we actually asked the same person who was there to take care of the paperwork also the one who dropped the ball on our apartment being ready for permission to place a decorative curtain around the patio and also to place our small sofa out there. He specifically told us that it was okay to place the sofa but that we couldn't have the curtain because the inside had to remain open for the owners to see in understandable - I'll follow up about this at the end of this review. Therefore, we were not surprised to see that our floors were carpeted, no granite counter tops, and no red accent wall it was actually burnt orange. This complex has gas appliances including heat; therefore, I emphasized to the unit that they need to check to make sure our carbon monoxide detector is operating properly; they assured me it was. 3 months down the road, I had the urge to check it myself, big shocker, It was not working. Not only was the carbon monoxide detector not working, the Smoke Alarm wasn't working either.
Infuriated about the carbon monoxide and smoke detector because our health was put in jeopardy because of their carelessness, I reported it to management and they had both replaced. Another weird thing; the contractors they hired to put the toilet seat on and paint; the toilet was an eggshell shape, they put a circle toilet seat over this my husband and I were truly amazed and proof that this apartment was rushed together; also, the kitchen sink had a leak. More proof that it was rushed together was after I opened my closet door in the bedroom which is very close to the wall. After closing the door back, the wall appeared to be peeling; but this was simply the fact that the paint had not yet dried; now we're inhaling paint fumes same thing was going on with our window seals and maintenance had to come back to take care of this as well. In 9 months of living here, our water has been turned off about 5 times due to the fact that they have an old pipe line that runs in our building and if they have to fix a leak in one apartment in our building, then the entire building goes without water until it's fixed as explained to me by management.
After putting us through all of this, they actually had the nerve to put a notice on our door that we owed $10.00 for unpaid pet rent that should have been included in the initial payment at move-in because the manager forgot to include it. Keep in mind, we paid our deposit and had been paying pet rent since we got into the place; you would think that something as small as $10.00 wouldn't come up after the unbelievable amount of stress they had already caused. Wow, is the only word we could formulate in our minds at this time. Another kicker, after having only been here 5 months, we discovered that our car was vandalized and broken into filed a police report. The police officer explained to us providing us with fair warning that they have been called multiple times to this complex. A very nice officer who empathized and could see the frustration in our eyes. The complex; however, offered no sympathy. 9 months into our lease, the owner actually placed a notice on our door giving us 3-days to remove the sofa from the patio or be subjected to legalities, What! We explained that we had permission to place it there by his managers and also that They're movers moved it in. We explained to them they could get their maintenance guys or someone to move it simply because I was now pregnant with complications and my husband has a bad back. They attempted to proceed unsurprisingly to state that they Never said that it was okay. Also, the manager had the nerve to tell us (well since you are with a moving company, how come you can't get your movers to do it.
Wow, she totally disregarded the fact that it's still an extra expense, this lady is purely ignorant and she further stated that we haven't been happy since we moved in. You think? Who would be happy under those conditions and treatment at move-in, this company is truly irrational and in a category that doesn't compare to even a basic apartment complex. Also within the 9 months, the City of San Pablo was called out to perform a serious inspection on this complex due to the lack of upkeeping and complaints. The walls are extremely thin and literally, we here everything that goes on with the neighbors above us, including their domestic disputes that got so out of hand it woke me up at 2:00am one night.
I could go on and on about the poor management of this slum but I choose not to proceed, I'm certain you get the picture by now. The above statements are facts as they have been documented and all statements but the sofa issue have been backed on paper by management. Bottom line, my husband and I have lived in apartments all our lives with no problems and were very content with the last apartment we stayed in. We have NEVER been subjected to a complex with such low levels of integrity, upkeeping, competence, and lack of customer service or remorse for the issues that they cause. It is amazing that this complex hasn't been condemned by the city but I think it's on its way.
Special note: It's easy to overlook this small fact but this complex also does not have A/C, only heat. Therefore, you are forced to have to keep your windows and sliding door patio open to air out the apartment from time to time. Summer heat is horrible and a fan helps, but it's not the best remedy.
Final note: The only good thing that came out of this complex is their One Maintenance Manager. He is the best and we don't know what we would have done without him. We would probably be in a court battle with this complex had this maintenance manager not been here to assist and see to it that we had somewhere to sleep while waiting on our apartment and some type of storage space to fit our items that could not fit into the studio. He's very prompt when getting things fixed.
I urge you Please Do Not entertain this complex and to look the other way. Believe what you see on from other previous tenants, they are true stories. Contact your local police department and they will also verify. If you absolutely have to live here; be sure to do like I did and get Everything Documented on Paper. Our mistake was that we went off of what we saw online as we were unable to afford to make a trip to view the apartment beforehand. If we could afford to do it, we would have been out before our lease was up. Our priority is our new addition baby to the family soon to be here and we are forced to keep our stress levels down. However, when our lease expires, we will no longer be here; we were ready to leave the moment we got here as this has been anything but a welcoming experience. I'm trying to keep a positive mind, but this complex truly makes it hard for a human being to do that.
The two managers indicated above are Brian and Beatrice, please beware.
Montoya Garden Apartments Reviews
You've Been Warned. They say they are located in San Pablo; however, they sit on the border line of Richmond & San Pablo, where the post office recognizes it as a Richmond address do your research on Richmond! This is not your Standard Apartment complex experience. My husband and I are used to the basic essentials of a complex we don't have high demands, we just like to pay our rent and be left alone and this was far from it. We have Never had to write a bad review about any complex we have lived in and we have lived in many apartments for 10 years out of our lives; and it is unfortunate that I have no choice but to warn others and write about this sad experience with a low morale staff; the staff in which we have dealt with has been Brian and Beatrice directly; and the owner indirectly.
On the day we were scheduled to move in after driving from 40 hours away long distance, to our worst nightmare, the unit was not ready.
It didn't become ready until a few weeks later. We were forced to have to move into a studio apartment cramming 2 Bedrooms of furniture items into the studio and into two small storage units in two separate locations. Unbelievable and I felt so bad for my husband as he was extremely fatigued that someone had just moved out of and was unclean. When our apartment was finally ready; to our surprise again, they actually attempted to charge us regular rent for the stay in the studio; this was laughable; he also suggested that we could just move to another place now. What? As if after paying thousands of dollars to get here, we just have money to put ourselves in a hotel and additional money to pay another complex in hopes that they have availability. We had been patient expecting that they were going to do the professional business move and compensate us in some way for the high level of unnecessary stress and inconvenience they caused to us. No apologies, what we got was a combative argument from the same representative who promised us the unit would be ready on the day we signed up for after giving them our application money. After our unit was "ready", this complex hired some random unprofessional, unlicensed movers to move our items into our unit. Here's the kicker, midway while moving our items, they vanished. Again, we were stuck and let down.
When we got into the unit we were significantly let down due to the fact that they stated our unit would have hardwood flooring, red accent wall, and granite counter tops. We had been hit with two double whammies, so by now, our expectations of integrity and competence on the end of this company is now extremely low as we have been dealt a nightmare apartment. While signing the lease, we actually asked the same person who was there to take care of the paperwork also the one who dropped the ball on our apartment being ready for permission to place a decorative curtain around the patio and also to place our small sofa out there. He specifically told us that it was okay to place the sofa but that we couldn't have the curtain because the inside had to remain open for the owners to see in understandable - I'll follow up about this at the end of this review. Therefore, we were not surprised to see that our floors were carpeted, no granite counter tops, and no red accent wall it was actually burnt orange. This complex has gas appliances including heat; therefore, I emphasized to the unit that they need to check to make sure our carbon monoxide detector is operating properly; they assured me it was. 3 months down the road, I had the urge to check it myself, big shocker, It was not working. Not only was the carbon monoxide detector not working, the Smoke Alarm wasn't working either.
Infuriated about the carbon monoxide and smoke detector because our health was put in jeopardy because of their carelessness, I reported it to management and they had both replaced. Another weird thing; the contractors they hired to put the toilet seat on and paint; the toilet was an eggshell shape, they put a circle toilet seat over this my husband and I were truly amazed and proof that this apartment was rushed together; also, the kitchen sink had a leak. More proof that it was rushed together was after I opened my closet door in the bedroom which is very close to the wall. After closing the door back, the wall appeared to be peeling; but this was simply the fact that the paint had not yet dried; now we're inhaling paint fumes same thing was going on with our window seals and maintenance had to come back to take care of this as well. In 9 months of living here, our water has been turned off about 5 times due to the fact that they have an old pipe line that runs in our building and if they have to fix a leak in one apartment in our building, then the entire building goes without water until it's fixed as explained to me by management.
After putting us through all of this, they actually had the nerve to put a notice on our door that we owed $10.00 for unpaid pet rent that should have been included in the initial payment at move-in because the manager forgot to include it. Keep in mind, we paid our deposit and had been paying pet rent since we got into the place; you would think that something as small as $10.00 wouldn't come up after the unbelievable amount of stress they had already caused. Wow, is the only word we could formulate in our minds at this time. Another kicker, after having only been here 5 months, we discovered that our car was vandalized and broken into filed a police report. The police officer explained to us providing us with fair warning that they have been called multiple times to this complex. A very nice officer who empathized and could see the frustration in our eyes. The complex; however, offered no sympathy. 9 months into our lease, the owner actually placed a notice on our door giving us 3-days to remove the sofa from the patio or be subjected to legalities, What! We explained that we had permission to place it there by his managers and also that They're movers moved it in. We explained to them they could get their maintenance guys or someone to move it simply because I was now pregnant with complications and my husband has a bad back. They attempted to proceed unsurprisingly to state that they Never said that it was okay. Also, the manager had the nerve to tell us (well since you are with a moving company, how come you can't get your movers to do it.
Wow, she totally disregarded the fact that it's still an extra expense, this lady is purely ignorant and she further stated that we haven't been happy since we moved in. You think? Who would be happy under those conditions and treatment at move-in, this company is truly irrational and in a category that doesn't compare to even a basic apartment complex. Also within the 9 months, the City of San Pablo was called out to perform a serious inspection on this complex due to the lack of upkeeping and complaints. The walls are extremely thin and literally, we here everything that goes on with the neighbors above us, including their domestic disputes that got so out of hand it woke me up at 2:00am one night.
I could go on and on about the poor management of this slum but I choose not to proceed, I'm certain you get the picture by now. The above statements are facts as they have been documented and all statements but the sofa issue have been backed on paper by management. Bottom line, my husband and I have lived in apartments all our lives with no problems and were very content with the last apartment we stayed in. We have NEVER been subjected to a complex with such low levels of integrity, upkeeping, competence, and lack of customer service or remorse for the issues that they cause. It is amazing that this complex hasn't been condemned by the city but I think it's on its way.
Special note: It's easy to overlook this small fact but this complex also does not have A/C, only heat. Therefore, you are forced to have to keep your windows and sliding door patio open to air out the apartment from time to time. Summer heat is horrible and a fan helps, but it's not the best remedy.
Final note: The only good thing that came out of this complex is their One Maintenance Manager. He is the best and we don't know what we would have done without him. We would probably be in a court battle with this complex had this maintenance manager not been here to assist and see to it that we had somewhere to sleep while waiting on our apartment and some type of storage space to fit our items that could not fit into the studio. He's very prompt when getting things fixed.
I urge you Please Do Not entertain this complex and to look the other way. Believe what you see on from other previous tenants, they are true stories. Contact your local police department and they will also verify. If you absolutely have to live here; be sure to do like I did and get Everything Documented on Paper. Our mistake was that we went off of what we saw online as we were unable to afford to make a trip to view the apartment beforehand. If we could afford to do it, we would have been out before our lease was up. Our priority is our new addition baby to the family soon to be here and we are forced to keep our stress levels down. However, when our lease expires, we will no longer be here; we were ready to leave the moment we got here as this has been anything but a welcoming experience. I'm trying to keep a positive mind, but this complex truly makes it hard for a human being to do that.
The two managers indicated above are Brian and Beatrice, please beware.
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