Hillside Terrace Apartments

The pool has been empty and run down for years now. All of the outside areas are run down. All the amenities that they claim to have they do not have and have not had for over 3 years. Yet they still raise the rent every year. Unless you’re desperate, I’d advise moving into a different place.

Where to start. Everything breaks. There has not been a pool for over 2yrs, laundry machines were replaced and keep breaking and management doesn't care to repair. The gym was torn out with promise to have a newer gym, and nothing has been done. The parking structure was caving in so it will be closed for "6months" everyone needs to park in the street and there's very limited parking spaces. They are good at tearing things apart but not putting it back together. Getting a hold of management is nearly impossible. Despite all this, every year you are slapped with a 10% rent increase! The complex across the street was completely renovated from rooftop to the ground in less than 6 months and offer a lot more amenities. DONT MOVE HERE!

The interior of apartments here are roomy and updated. However this does NOT outweigh all of the negatives of this complex and its management. The pool has been drained for a year and a half. Gym gone for a year. No office hours for property management. Our mail has been stolen multiple times and cars broken into IN the gated parking garage. Elevators and laundry rooms are out of order at least once a month. There is very loud construction 5+ days per week to fix multiple areas of structural damage, which will continue for at least 6 more months. Would HIGHLY recommend moving elsewhere.

When we first moved in there was a pool and a gym with a sauna. Then due to the structure falling apart they had to do pretty drastic repairs to the lowest garage under the pool resulting in the pool being drained. This project started late summer 2021. It is now almost spring 2023 and the pool is still drained with 0 updates from the property management team. The gym was torn apart with a promise that it would be remodeled quickly to make up for the lack of pool but then once it was disassembled it was just left and I haven’t seen work performed in it in almost a year. The upper garage has large areas where the concrete is sagging and currently has multiple large sections cut out where construction had began on the repairs but hasn’t finished. Due to the rain the last few months one of the elevators keeps breaking down and they still haven’t been able to completely fix it. Our individual apartment is great but the complex has been getting worse day by day and management has not given any substantial updates during this construction process and they only gave a one month discount on rent back when they first drained the pool.

I have lived here for over a year and don't have a lot positive to say outside of the price that we originally locked in. As time has moved forward that value has gradually decreased, and the amenities of the property has drastically been but back. Courtney is a kind property manager that works within her capacity to offer what she can. Main factors to consider about living here:: Phone service is non-existent. You will completely rely on wi-fi calling and if your internet goes down you will not have a phone. The place originally had a pool and a gym with a sauna. It now has nothing, and ownership refuses to offer anything in the form of compensation for the loss of these things. Meanwhile, the owner has hired the most inefficient construction crew known to mankind. The work they do is sloppy, and the materials they use are cheap. The construction crew also had little regard for tenants living here. While the gym was open you would be working out on the treadmill or weights and rather then bringing portable bathrooms like a construction company would normally do, they would just use the gym bathroom. Yes, you would be working out and then have the pleasure of having one of these people come through and blow up the bathroom mid-stride on the treadmill. The laundry machines rely on a card that you have to purchase and put money onto to use the machines. More often then not this machine is down and needs to be serviced so if you try to do your laundry on days off it's very likely you will encounter a situation where you're unable. Bug problems are consistent. I keep a clean home and have encountered significant issues with ants as well as gnats. The parking garage is a nightmare to go up if you are located in the upper part. It's a winding thing that is very difficult to navigate and you are very likely to scratch your car at some point or another because of how tight it is. Positive factors: Courtney is kind and a lot of these circumstances are not within her personal control. I imagine it is like juggling many items and trying your best to catch what you can and make the most of it. Walter was a great maintenance guy, and Kaylin (I could be spelling this wrong) is a good follow-up. They both care(d) about doing what they can to make your living space comfortable. The area being on the border of Rolling Hills and Torrance is nice, and the trail next to the apartments is nice for exercise.

Where to begin... The ceiling of the lower garage is crumbling. Was told at the beginning of April that it would take 3 weeks to fix. It has now been over 3 months and it looks as if no repairs have even been completed. Then they proceed to drain the pool in the middle of the summer with no timetable for when it will be back operational. My suspicion is that there is MAJOR structural damage that they are not telling us about. Currently the only construction going on at the complex is to remodel all the apartments so they can increase the rent instead of fixing the building which earns no extra revenue. Tenants are notified of changes / issues the day they occur without advanced notice. For example, they sent notice the day they pulled the laundry machines out to switch to a new vendor. Now everyone who had a balance remaining on their laundry card is out that money because the old laundry company cannot tell you the balance on the card and does not refund people when the machines are removed. I could go on but this review is long enough. I really loved this place when I moved in but the building is deteriorating and the owners are only concerned about chasing the older tenants away by raising their rents in order to remodel the apartments to raise the prices even more. I would highly recommend looking elsewhere for an apartment.

I feel I need to write this review as Ms Teresa is mentioned in such a negative light. While I can’t take away someone else’s opinion or interaction, I can share my own experience with her and it’s great. She has never been rude or disrespectful to myself, husband or children. I feel we are respectful towards her and she gives back was is given. I have only experienced minor issues/ repairs needed and they have handled with such speed and all around my scheduling needs. Maybe she was having a bad day with those other tenants or maybe they were but I can only say that she has always been warm and kind to our family.