Throughout the last 3 years, my roommates and I have lived in a very clean apartment with critters in the walls. By “critters,” I am referring to both small German Roaches, beetles of varying sizes and colors, and large cockroaches. We keep our rooms, kitchen, and bathrooms meticulously clean, but the critters get in either way. When we pointed out the small holes in the walls where the “critters” were getting in, our landlord absolutely forbade us from filling or covering the holes. It felt like they preferred bugs to live with tenants than small markings on the walls.

Recently, we had a bee hive develop in our vents above the master bedroom. The landlords told us that it was not real. Upon sending videos and pictures, they ignored us for a few days. It was not until we pounded on their doors that they even acknowledged that we had an entire bee hive in the back bedroom of our apartment.

A few weeks ago, our ceiling imploded from a water leak and it’s taken multiple weeks for them to come to any solution.

On top of all this, the landlords only communicate via cryptic messages that never answer any questions you pose.

The apartment is great value for money. Apartments on Ellendale are usually pricier than this. The management is also friendly but sometimes things take time to get resolved. It gets ample sunlight. There are a multiple parking spots too but you need to sign up early to make sure you will get them. The only problem is walls are thin and since it's an old structure, you can hear people walking over the roof.

The complex houses USC students and very old Koreans (50/50) because the old landlord was a Korean man. The students and Koreans can be loud at random times but it is generally a quiet place to live. There are no issues with bugs, except cockroaches. I've lived here for 1.5 years (sublet over the summer) and have had 2 living cockroaches (able to kill both), and 4 dead ones showed up in my kitchen cabinets. The landlord responds to maintenance requests quickly, as I've had issues with the shower draining slowly and with the garbage disposal not working. There was no hot water for 4 days last Thanksgiving because the water tank broke, but it has been replaced. Overall, it's an okay place to live but I think there are better locations with more room on Ellendale. They allow pets, have AC and heater, and provide a parking spot. Laundry is coin-operated in the building. There's a lot of room and it's walking distance from USC. The apartment is very safe, which I appreciate. There's also a putting green in the middle and BBQs.