Centinela by Category — Local services in Los Angeles

Do not live here.

I had a very unpleasant experience living here.

First, the front tire of my bike was stolen from the apartment garage. The vertical bike racks available in the garage prohibited the use of a large U-shaped locked around the bike and front tire, resulting in my stolen tire as well as other fully stolen bikes and tires.

I reported the theft to management and received no compensation or action towards finding the thief (even though I was not the only victim of theft).

Fearful for my property, I moved my bike to the common area in the shared apartment living space, according to management directions at that time. Management then changed, and requested that I move the bike to the garage (which I was NOT comfortable doing). I was in active communication with management about a storage solution for the bike when one morning, unannounced, a person from management came to confiscate my bike.

My roommate saved the bike from being taken away. Management then assured me that they had recently fortified garage security and that my bike would be safe there.

After this promise from management, my roommate had HIS bike stolen from the apartment garage.

In addition, our apartment unit also had a dangerous roommate situation which was BRUSHED over by management.

A tenant moved in who backed my other roommate up against a way and verbally abused her. This same roommate also used my bathroom (after I requested he didn't) for about 3 months (had stuff in my shower, etc.) and tampered with my bathroom such that my things were flooded. He also threw things at another roommate, yelled at us, and refused to compromise on a single thing.

Management did little to nothing, claiming that this roommate just did not understand the female perspective.

Both myself and my other female roommate moved in with our friends to avoid being around this aggressor. We made this clear to management, and they did nothing.

It took physical violence (a full-blown fist fight) between the aggressive roommate and another male roommate for management to take notice- even though we had been cataloging and reporting the aggressive roommate's actions to them for months.

On top of ALL of this, the billing for utilities was NEVER properly explained, and new roommates into your unit were never announced.

Do...

Would highly avoid living in such an awfully managed apartment complex. You would do better spending your hard earned money with a local landlord or any locally managed company that actually cares. Common LLC simply does not care about renter experience or at least treating you like a human.

I was highly disappointed by how my year long stay at this glorified roach motel went, and the happiest day I had spending there was the day my lease ended and I was able to find a suitable rental in culver city.

Here's some highlights of my experiences with Common LLC:

-Endemic thefts of personal property from the mail, along with routine break-ins in the "secured" parking garage

-zero screening for applicants and room mates

The amenities include DSL-speed wifi, uncleaned public grills, and the occasional refill of basic sanitary equipment sourced from the dollar store.

-several instances of Fires, Catastrophic plumbing failures (Common attempted to blame myself and roommates for their subpar construction),

-horrible communication skills with the "management" (never spoke directly with manager, super shady)

-I often saw rodents and bugs running around the complex (usually around sundown)- so at least they're being fed well from the open-air garbage shute that makes the bottom floor smell.

-Getting anything repaired will take at least 2 weeks before they will even acknowledge the issue existing. So be sure to be persistent calling their 24/7 help line meant to screen your calls and complaints! (No help on the weekends, so I hope your hot water doesn't break on a Friday)

Your don't have a key to your own room, so I hope you can trust your room mates not to just walk in while you're out of the unit! :)

Oh my favorite part are the drug dealers that set up along Ballona Creek adjacent to the building, some of which you may be sharing a unit with! I was able to witness a police raid IN the building because one of them got caught - sucks for him.

I could go on in further detail, but I hope these select examples dissuade you from wasting your time and energy with this god...

Scam:

When you are moving into a new apartment, you take into account a variety of factors: cost, location, roommates, management, etc. For me, Common was a favorable option considering I knew next to no one in LA, and studios (sheds for $1500/mo) are not cheap.

In the process of touring and progressing towards signing a lease, the Common team is superb––they frequently call you to check in on the status of your application, they are affable and accessible, and make sure you are well taken care of. That all changes rapidly once you actually move in.

Once you get here, communication stops. "What about the building management?," you might ask. Well, there really is no "building management." We are essentially dealing with a "team" held up in a call center somewhere, at the vice of whosever idea this cash-rent-quick scheme spawned out of. If your cheap desk chair breaks from the act of sitting in it––good luck getting that fixed. Sink clogged up? We may be able to fit you in six weeks down the road. And my favorite line from management: "We'll be sure to relay to that to our team." Laughs audibly

Basic amenities––which are supposedly baked into our leases––are not met nor maintained. Cleaning service sucks, and is often just ignored completely. The public areas of the building are simply not cleaned altogether. We are supposed to be given supplies, yet those care packages have dwindled every month to levels not satisfying the bare minimum. Not to mention we have had chronic theft issues which are largely preventible.

In short, do not move here. It appears move-ins have slowed, so maybe this company has finally been found out, but if you are looking for a place in LA that has amenities like full furnishing et al, I urge you...