Artiste Apartments

Need a cheap flop? You ll find one here. Most of their apartment selections are okay but nothing to write home about. The rent is cheap so that s the trade off.

The buildings are old and most are well cared for; however the neighborhoods where some of the buildings are located aren t always safe for you or your vehicle. (I have had several car break-ins in one neighborhood) and I often see car break in evidence (broken car windows) in Koreatown especially.

Here are a few items you should know about Artiste Apartments that don t pass muster.

Company uses gas powered leaf blowers to clean around some properties which are illegal as per Section 112.04 (c) and Section 112.04 (c). so good luck concentrating or hearing anything if you re at home during clean up days.

Be forewarned, company seems to use illegal terminology on their pet agreement forms. The appearance of the phrase nonrefundable on a deposit rental agreement is illegal in California. Civil Code Section 1950.5 Section M.

All properties are very old.
Repairs are done but they can be slow to act, be prepared to wait. This ain t the Hilton, but they will be done.

If you have kids, please reconsider living in one of their buildings (or any other building constructed before 1978). Because of their age, lead based paint is present in some areas, and may not have been removed, only painted over. Lead is very dangerous to children and their developing brains. This company has been sued in the past for disclosure violations but they seem to be up front now with tenants. Re: archives.hud.gov/news/20…

On a positive note:

The managers (so far from experience) Artiste Apartments hires are very easy to relate to and make living here relatively easy.

Some properties are just drop dead gorgeous, so if you can wait for an opening, wait.

Because of the artist vibe going on, you re going to meet a lot of people in the entertainment industry so network!

They are pet friendly (cats, dogs) on the surface.

Most of the properties owned by this company have not appeared in the bed bug registry. That my friends, is worth a million gold bars because there are so many cheap rentals out here that do (Alexandria Hotel, Rosslyn, I m looking at you.)

Properties owned by Artiste Apartments currently under scrutiny by bedbugregistry.com

General Notes: As with any company or landlord in California, especially for old properties, request a copy of that property s/apartment s Certificate of Occupancy from the city to verify you are living in a legal apartment.

How to request a CO: Go to the Building Department located at 201 N.
Figueroa Street, 4th Floor. Ask for a CERTIFIED COPY of the
certificate of occupancy. If they can t produce one, question the
company/landlord you are attempting to rent from.

Also, before you choose which neighborhood to live in, check the crime statistics here: projects.latimes.com/map…

Most neighborhoods in LA have some sort of crime problem, using these maps will help you decide which crimes you re willing to put up with. e.g. excessive car break-ins versus excessive burglaries versus
excessive assault and battery reports.

About Lead Paint:

If you did not receive the Disclosure of Information on Lead-Based Paint and/or Lead-Based Paint Hazards form when you bought or leased pre-1978 housing, contact 1-800-424-LEAD (5323).

Happy Home Hunting!

Author note: I have been a tenant for almost 4 years in two different locations. I am still a tenant and hopefully this review won t end that tenancy. or be filtered.

Artiste, it s been a fun ride. You sold our building (N. Kingsley) to a company that is, by far and large, worse.

I can t actually believe I m saying this, but I miss Artiste and while you have your issues that many tenants must deal with (expanded upon above), you are not tree haters, drunk with power, unable to see the human element in any transaction.

We at Kingsley are all rats in a cage now, tagged with a dollar sign as our identification number. The one comfort I can get from the transaction is that you sold a gilded dump to some unsuspecting royalty. Thank you for that. We hear them complaining about how ugly it is, (due to their decisions). You can t fix the neighborhood LOL

It s the amazing people here that made the place beautiful, not the refurbishments.

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DO NOT RENT FROM THIS COMPANY-YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

They charge late fees on rent checks you deliver on time, their buildings are kept like slums (I ve had the misfortune of living in two of them) and if anything should need repair- good luck buddy, you re on your own there.

Perfectly maintained your apartment? Oh, don t worry, they re still going to keep your deposit, because, you know, FEES! What fees? Any fees they can make up.

There is a reason another reviewer called them criminals- they are. This is a shady, shady company- please, don t make the same mistake that I did by trusting them.

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Be extremely careful when moving out! My boyfriend initially had to put down a double deposit and is now only receiving half of it back. They sent him the check with a statement that said his initial deposit was 1,000 dollars less than what it really was. He has his move-in paperwork that shows that his deposit was 2,050. Once he brought it to their attention, they are now saying that he had fees that they were taking out of the security deposit the entire time that he was paying his rent. Convenient that they did not show any of these fees when they sent him his final statement. They only incorrectly showed that his initial deposit was 1,050 dollars, not 2,050. This place is clearly stealing money and hoping that tenants will refuse to go through the hassle of obtaining their full security deposits. We are getting an attorney.

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Please read before you make the same mistake I did. I had a huge cockroach infestation for the 5 months I lived there, see pictures. They sent an exterminator to my apartment once a month but it didn t help at all. When I was fed up of this lifestyle, waking up in the middle of the night to screaming fights, crying babies, drug dealers, dog excrement everywhere, shutting off water every Tuesday, attempting to cash my rent check multiple times, incompetent bumbling building manager, to name a few. I gave back my keys moved out. I got a very unprofessional sloppy letter from Artiste Apartments at my new address stating I owed them through the rest of the lease, 7 months of rent, on top of damages, cleaning fees, etc when I left the place cleaner in better shape than it has ever seen. Needless to say, with my unsolved cockroach problem, they have no basis for demanding this outrageous amount of money from me, and they know it. These people are criminals.

Do your homework. You can find a decent place for similar price around here. If you have standards as low as these you are better off staying in a motel.

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