Emerson Valley Village Apartments

Gaby Capozza

This complex was really great when we moved in. The administration was super helpful and very attentive, which is hard to find in the greater LA area. However, when moving in we were told we would have a private patio in what seemed to be a safe and secure complex. This is false. We have been living here for 6 months and several times we noticed trash/clothes left on our patio couch set. We brought this up to the complex and they advised us to put a sign up saying it was private property. We knew it was most likely a homeless person since the door coming up from the garage doesn’t lock. The apartment told us that since you need a garage fob, there isn’t a need to lock the door coming up. However, the garage fob doesn’t prevent homeless people from walking/crawling in behind cars. We were tired of not knowing what was going on on our patio couch set, so we installed a ring camera. Long behold, a homeless man as been coming at night. We have not heard back since we told the complex about this 3 days ago. I’m hoping this is enough proof to add a lock. The photo attached is the homeless man. *UPDATE* been a couple weeks of this. Added another picture of him smoking crack.

Sean Farina

I interacted multiple times with Patty, the manager for the Emerson properties on Riverside Drive and Kling St in Valley Village, in a professional capacity. When I approach an apartment manager, I can't count on a willingness to cooperate so I can do my job but Patty has been a delight to work with every time. Knowledgeable, professional, and organized, I know my visits to Emerson properties will always go smoothly. I also witnessed her very courteously and helpfully address renters' needs and guide potential renters' visits to the building. Residents and colleagues are in good hands here.

Michael Shen

A few positives: You can go monthly if needed. Alfonso who runs maintenance for the entire complex is stellar. Most of the neighbors we'd encountered are friendly. Now the negatives, of which there are many. This property was once managed by another management company before it was taken over by Essex. Every single resident we have talked to over the 15 months we were there liked the previous management company better. That speaks volumes. If you're spending $3000 - $4000+ per month, you should expect more from a property such as this. With 3 young kids, the number one priority for us was to be in a well-insulated building. I worried about my children making noise for others. I was told repeatedly that noise wasn't an issue, everything was well-insulated, and they almost never get any complaints. This is demonstrably false, not just for me but also for other tenants who told me their stories. I trusted the leasing office, but then day 3 after moving in, we had security called on us. In short, the complaint was from an egocentric neighbor below us who never showed his face or even made an effort to have a cordial conversation in the 15 months we were there. What were our kids doing? Laughing and playing hide-and-seek. Not bouncing a ball. I tried to take the high road and wrote an apology to the tenant, who clearly conflated contrition with obsequiousness. Over the months, he repeatedly scared our kids (who started referring to him as "the angry man") by constantly banging loudly on the ceiling, even when he heard noise from neighboring apartments and not ours. The leasing office never apologized for misleading us as they were clearly concerned with was filling empty vacancies. More proof? The communal fireplaces, used as a selling point and told to me during the tour that they are to be repaired soon, never worked. In fact, they haven't worked for years according to some. The excuse from the leasing office? As soon as they got reports, they started taking bids and then had to shut the project down due to Covid-19. Clearly, the timetable does not back up this claim. Months earlier, they had no issue hiring people to redo landscaping out front and painting concrete into white and black squares to match tile by the door. Naturally, curb appeal to attract new tenants took priority over the concerns of existing tenants. More proof? The pool table had a rip in it...never addressed or repaired. Gym equipment? The grips on the universal were coming off, and the rubber was never replaced, just trimmed off. Swiss ball popped one day? Never replaced. Flooding that occurs inside the stairwell on the first floor by the dog run after a rain? Never remedied. How about VOMIT? One day, someone vomited in one of the elevators. We told someone in the leasing office face-to-face late morning/early afternoon that Saturday. He said they got several calls about it and will address it right away. Vomit stayed there until late Monday morning. Can you imagine the stink it left for nearly 48 hours? I understand that no one is on site except for emergencies on Sunday, but clearly if the lone cleaning person is unable to tend to the mess that Saturday, someone in the leasing office should have. I've had my share of dirty jobs. Leaving that mess there on the floor was unacceptable by any health standards. This is just the tip of the iceberg. I haven't even addressed other safety issues like elevator doors that either won't close (only flinch) or elevators that jerk suddenly up and down right when you get in (at random). Again, never addressed or remedied. How about electronic keypad locks that were installed on every door to make it easier for maintenance to enter units? Safety hazard: try telling someone chasing you down the hall to please wait while you enter a complicated 6-digit code and a check mark before you can go inside. The garage gate also consistently failed and stayed open for days on end at times. I can't speak for all Essex-managed properties, but I can definitely say that you should avoid Emerson Valley Village at all costs.

Gina Shakhbazyan

I've been living here almost one year now, and will add my second year. You all are just wonderful and I thank Patty, Sandra and Alfonso so much for always coming to my rescue. The maintenance team keeps the building & grounds immaculate. Thanks for all your hard work to keep our community clean and safe!!! -Gina