Apartment Review for Coronado At Newport South - Newport Beach, CA

Lots of negatives abound on this site in general. I'll try to add some positives in my review, along with the negatives.

The goods: 1 mile from PCH. Low crime. Nice pool and jacuzzi. Family friendly. Parking is great, even if you come home late; then you just park on the TOP of the structure; mileage may vary based on location of unit. EXCELLENT sound insulation; the windows are the weakest link in soundproofing, but if you have them closed, you're pretty much guaranteed a quiet time, and can make your own noise without any worry. Recent (12-14 mos) external renovation looks pretty nice. Good weather; there's no 'real winter' here, although it gets a little cold. Room sizes are good, not massive, but definitely not small.

The bads: Rent raised $100 each time I renew, 3 years in a row. Ouch! (2 bedroom) Maintenance; 1 or 2 of the guys are great, but the rest dont speak a word of english, come unannounced 90% of the time (contrary to the legally required 24 notice for intent to enter), and if you have any complaints, forget about it. Management cares not if you are (un)happy. They are strictly a business, and once you sign the papers, you're done for. Have a problem that falls outside the scope of 'something is broken', too bad, they wont even acknowledge it. In other words, lets say you are unsatisfied with your crumbling wall, and that you've submitted work orders for over 12 months now, and it is still not fixed. In my case they gave me a 3 day notice to remove my nice 100+ dollar bamboo shades, or I would be evicted. At the same time, they were OK with my entire patio wall falling apart. Such a contradiction, especially since it was for 'beautification' and making me remove my nice bamboo exposed the crumbling wall to the world. How's that for beautification?. And forget asking for compensation; for someone to just do something to 'make it right'; those requests are ignored. I'm pretty certain it's a policy; not even regional or corporate cares if the tenants are happy, just that they pay their rent, and that maintenance does enough to cover what is necessary, legally, which they usually walk a fine line on.

Bottom line: Typical apartment. Make the most of your interior, with nice furniture/etc, and you'll probably be happy. But you WILL have some headaches. Like when you get a 3 day notice to pay $ or be evicted, and the notice is for a measly $3 that it turns out you dont even owe.. (happened 3+ times now..) Apartment living.. sucks. All that aside, this is my favorite of 4 apartments I've lived in, so its not all bad.