Las Kivas Apartments — Local services in Albuquerque

(See updates!) Been living at Las Kivas for 3 months and am really impressed with the effort that the property manager, Ned, and his staff puts into managing Las Kivas, and the "extra touches" (a birthday card!?) that make residents feel welcome. I really appreciate their professionalism, responsiveness, attentiveness, courtesy, and seemingly genuine caring for the residents and property. From speaking to them on the phone from across the country to line up the rental, to touring the property upon arrival, and promptly addressing maintenance issues, to their courteous greetings when picking up packages in the office, it's been a pleasure working with them. The complex itself is pretty quiet, clean, and well-maintained, but nothing fancy. There seems to be a wide range of single professionals to young families to older couples living here, and many dog-lovers. I rarely hear any of the neighbors or their pets; only occasionally with the windows open, but never through the walls. I love having a garage to store gear in and as reserved parking because the unreserved parking is very limited. My unit is a good sized 2-bedroom, 1 bath--nothing fancy, but not run-down like a lot of others I looked at elsewhere. The carpets, counter surfaces, fixtures and appliances aren't top-notch, but are new, work well, and match. Nice having a clothes washer/dryer in a separate closet that's not attached to the kitchen. The closet space in the bedrooms is very good--we joke that we could sublet the master closet as a third bedroom. Overall, very happy with my choice to live here so far.

Update: 1.5 years later... still very content here!

Update: 3 years later... remain content even with Management change and new maintenance crew. New property manager, Marisela, has also been very pleasant to work with. Very accommodating with empathy atypical of people I've dealt with in her position. She goes the extra mile to follow through on any unresolved issues, and doesn't seem bogged down or hamstrung by an inflexible corporation. Maintenance is less impressive. Not the highest level of attention to detail or quality as the previous person or as pleasant to deal with, poor follow through. Initially responsive, just not great work.

Update 4 years later: less and less content. Fitness facility (very basic) has not been accessible outside of office hours for 2 years, pool broken and unusable for 2 years... Neither "just a covid thing". Management slow to respond/less accessible and hung up with corporate red tape. Sounds like rates are going up again. Place is literally falling apart... roof tiles fell off this summer (never fixed) and stairs crumbled (months to fix, then partial, shoddy job). Sad they're not doing proper upkeep. Not thrilled, looking to move.

Aug. 2022: will be my last lease renewal. New owners are jacking up lease rates, essentially forcing residents out. 6 month lease increase of $200, but shorter/longer options completely unreasonable (up to double). Pool STILL not in use (under repair, at least). Fitness room STILL only open during office hours (dependent upon pool repair). Maintenance drastically improved, however. Mauricio is dedicated to making repairs right, literally going the extra mile (3 stores and another property) to get parts for 3 return visits to temporarily, then permanently, fix AC.

Feb. 2023: Blech! Moved out in February and haven't...

I’ve lived here for several years, and the quality of the property has gone downhill. When Lu was managing, maintenance requests were handled quickly, she was always available in the office to answer questions, and it truly felt like she was part of the community.

Now, It’s been nearly impossible to get ahold of anyone in the office. Promised office hours weren’t kept, emails went unanswered, and the temporary on-site staff couldn’t help with most things because they had no system access.

We’re now told there will be a new permanent property manager, but the office will stay locked at all times and only be available by appointment. Meanwhile, we’ve been introduced to “Tessa,” an AI “resident experience manager,” which feels like a poor substitute for real on-site support.

While the grounds weren’t perfect before, they were at least maintained to a mostly acceptable level. Now, the grounds look terrible. Pet waste is often left behind, and some buildings are literally falling apart with holes in the stucco. Repairs have been attempted, but the cheap contractors management keeps hiring aren’t doing quality work. Stairs are coming loose again, including ones that were repaired just a year ago.

Safety is also a concern. Despite being a gated community, the gate has repeatedly been broken and left open for weeks at a time. One evening I went to throw out trash and found a man hiding behind the dumpster with boxes of canned drinks, and just a few days later I saw a homeless man walking inside the property early in the morning. The gate has supposedly been fixed again, but it remains to be seen how long that lasts.

On top of that, the new billing system has been a mess. Statements have been incorrect due to the switch, and instead of notifying residents of the issues, management sent immediate threats...

I recently moved out of Las Kivas, and I loved the place so much that it was hard to leave (seriously, I teared up a little saying bye to everyone). The price/value of the apartments is what originally drew me to Las Kivas, but the great staff ended up being the best part. Ned, the property manager, has been around for quite a while and was always extremely friendly and helpful. I met some friends who lived there around 7 years ago, and when they realized I lived at Las Kivas, the first thing they said was, “Is Ned still there? We loved Ned!”. As the handyman, Steven was always very quick to get to work orders and did great work. Ned and the rest of the staff always went the extra mile, such as sending out birthday cards to their tenants, going all out decorating the office for different holidays, and having goodies for kids and dogs (or adults like me that can’t say no to candy). It’s rare to find an apartment where the management actually cares about the tenants. Stick around long enough, and they start to feel like family! When there were changes to the rent payment system, they worked with tenants to ensure that people understood the process for updating automatic payments instead of just waiting for them to get missed so they could charge late fees (something I’ve heard of others in the area doing). The apartments themselves are pretty nice, and I always felt safe living alone in this complex. The pool and hot tub area isn’t fancy, but they were nice to have. I’m really glad I chose Las Kivas over the other complexes I looked at. Thanks to everyone at Las Kivas for making my first apartment in Albuquerque...