Pacific Beach Investments Corporation

PBIC is fantastic! Lived in an apartment for two years and have no complaints. Lauren always returned phone calls and emails fast, always addressing any concerns and answering all my questions. Eric is so friendly, made sure to give 24+ hours notice to show our apartment. Paying rent and water online is so easy. Whenever we had an issue or appliance problem, they fixed it. The moving out process was painless. We wanted to stick with PBIC when we moved because they are that good. I am already counting down the days from my current lease so I can rent from Eric and Lauren again. Highly recommended!

Lived at one of their locations for a year. Anytime we had an issue it was promptly and properly taken care of. Eric was our landlord who helped us out on a few different occasions. He works with Lauren who handles a lot of the day to day stuff who was also great to work with. They always kept the place clean and responded quickly to any dispute we might of had.

I lived in a 2 bedroom unit on Agate for a year and quite honestly loved it. It’s a great location– close to the water, restaurants, bars, coffee, boutiques, groceries stores– everything you need! Eric was amazing — took care of every little issue we had (not that many) and always with a sincere smile. It’s a good, clean, updated place to live in an amazing neighborhood– zero complaints here.

Awful, awful management! Not only did they attempt to show our apartment 5 – 6 times before we had even sent in the non-​renewal form, but when we said no they would still try to get us to agree to show it. It was extremely uncomfortable working with this unprofessional company. After moving out, our security deposit was devoured for false reasons, such as smoke damage in an apartment with zero smokers that cost nearly $ 600 and a $ 45 charge to fix the drain cover! They’re definitely taking advantage of young kids and already get enough of our money on a monthly basis with the outrageous rent prices. The places are nice, but be ready to forfeit your entire security deposit and not have any privacy for a couple weeks! I will NEVER work nor rent from these pigs again. They’re dirty money thieves who take advantage of their tenants. And that one star was extremely generous!
The fact that this company had the audacity to comment this review and provide completely untrue information just shows their level of professionalism. Much of what is stated below is far from the truth. I stand by every statement I’ve made and after working with 3 other rental companies in Pacific Beach I know, without a doubt, that this one is a joke. It is a shame that some companies can function like this.

Lauren was great with communication, always responsive and fair. No complaints about PBIC. I’d rent from them again, but never again in the building on Sapphire.
Every unit in the building seemed be getting renovations. For the better part of the last year we kept getting notices about power or water being disconnected for repairs. In the two years I was there the building had issues with sewer and water line. Last summer I had fans and dehumidifier in the bathroom for a week to dry out the baseboards that got wet. A couple months ago a water pipe that leaked took out the bedroom floor and kitchen cabinets. Since I was near the end of my lease I offered to leave early and PBIC was reasonable with terminating lease early, rather than try to relocate me or renovate with me in the unit. 2 big headaches.
No issues with move out, but that might have to do with the issues noted above. Deposit minus balance of water bill was returned within 2 weeks of turning in keys.

We left our North Pacific Beach apartment in February. I’m torn as to how I want to approach this review. On one hand PBIC Property Manager Lauren played an integral part in making our extremely short notice (had to break our lease) cross-​country move as smooth as possible, but on the other hand my husband and I feel that PBIC on occasion has been dishonest.
THE GOOD:
Lauren generally responds to emails in minutes, and this positive trait was critical in my obtaining the info I needed to post our unit on Craigslist and find a replacement tenant in a timeframe that I think must be some sort of record. I appreciated Lauren’s answering all my questions, entertaining my request to put certain things in writing, and providing photos of the complex and vacant unit for me to include in the Craigslist posting. Quite honestly, our move couldn’t have happened in such a swift manner had Lauren not been so responsive. For that we’re grateful.
THE BAD:
Moved into the North PB apartment in 2011 when the property/​complex was run by Crown Management. After PBIC took over the property some abrupt changes were made. First, our water bill was nearly doubled – from 3% of the complex usage to 5%. When we inquired about the substantial change we were told that we should have always been billed for 5% rather than 3%, that Crown Management had made a mistake in our lease by indicating 3%. I didn’t buy that explanation; I’d gotten to know Crown Management well, and they don’t make those kinds of mistakes. Then, our already-​pricey rent was increased by $ 30/​month for no particular reason. Oh, and that water bill percentage? Of course when it came time to renew our lease the revised lease stated 5%. When we received the first water bill under the new lease we were sent a simple bill with no itemization/​explanation at all, which I thought was shady, though I was provided the itemized bill shortly after I requested it.
THE UGLY:
Husband and I are tidy people. We have nice things and take great care of and pride in where we live. Though we had so much stuff to accomplish prior to our quick move-​out, we took time to clean before our departure. Never in my renting life have I seen such a list of security deposit refund deductions, and the enclosed receipts were a joke, especially the «housekeeping» invoice that contained no details (e.g., items/​areas cleaned, hours worked) whatsoever. For the most part, we were charged through the nose for normal wear and tear such as paint and spackle for nail holes in addition to the excessive cleaning charges – $ 135 for «housekeeping» + $ 60 for «carpet cleaning» for a single small bedroom. (We’re not just bitter former tenants; husband used to be a property manager.) Saying this is out of character for me, but had I known we’d get back so little of our security deposit I wouldn’t have bothered to clean much at all and would have better spent the time enjoying my last few days in San Diego.
Another example of bizarre and dishonest charges? We were charged $ 80 for a 2″ superficial crack in the refrigerator crisper drawer, a drawer that we happen to know was not repaired or replaced by the time the next tenant moved in.
After putting in some substantial email time and phone time, we were able to reach somewhat of a compromise with PBIC and Ownership… but boy did we have to work for it. The compromise is what makes this review (barely) 3 stars instead of 2 stars.