Alvista on Baltimore

Signed a One year lease and moved in.
This place is a DOG PARK
Dogs URINATE and DEFICATE everywhere.
They have (designated areas for dogs) but many LOWLIFES that reside here do not use them and allow the animals to do the «business» on sidewalks, bushes, etc.
Lady above me was a TOTAL LOONY TUNE and would run water at all hours of the day and night. Literally, ALL HOURS.
Walls are PAPER THIN.
After MONTHS of not being able to sleep and awakening at all hours of the night with the sound of running water I needed to get the hell out of here.
My «Leasing Agent» Tara, was given by me, IN WRITING on several occasions, DATES, TIMES and specifics of the water noise coming from the LOON above.
It was so bad that I actually RECORDED the sound through the walls for a WEEK every night. Then Presented the Recordings to them.
FINALLY AFTER 10 MONTHS OF HELL, they allowed me to terminate my lease with no penalty.
The place under those conditions was UNTENABLE.
I left under good terms, was assured I OWED NOTHING and would be getting a final statement in a «few weeks» from CON M (the management company)
That NEVER HAPPENED.
NOW FOR THE INSANE PART…
FAST FORWARD ONE YEAR…
I receive a letter (ONE YEAR LATER) from some random attorneys office that they hired, to «Collect» an unpaid amount (according to them) of $ 156.01.
REALLY A-​HOLES???
So, like I really have a ton of time to WASTE on this Lame issue, I called the Attorney (KIMBALL, TIREY & ST. JOHN LLP) and they said that I have to resolve the discrepancy with ALVISTA directly, and that the Law Firm was retained solely to «collect» the $ 156.01
This is now the THIRD DAY that I have called and have left messages to the Leasing office to no avail.
My leasing agent is no longer working there.
I have also e-​mailed Corporate office and NO REPLY
This place is a Joke.
STAY AWAY FROM THIS CRAPPY PLACE AND ALL ITS CRAPPY PEOPLE
I am still attempting to clarify this matter, and have made myself VERY AVAILABLE for contact, dialogue, e-​mail and cell, 24 – 7
TO DATE: NO WORD FROM THESE FREAKS.

My car was parked in the parking lot and was hit by falling tree branches during a storm. A few days later I noticed a small dent above the driver’s side door, and contacted my insurance. My insurance company contacted the office on site, and was told that they do not pay for that type of accident because it’s an «act of God».
I feel that the trees should have been maintained so that they were free of the parking lot area. There are several large trees overhanging the parking lot, and my car was not the only one damaged on the property.
I have seen the dumpster divers as well, and the rent goes up every time you sign a new lease.

If you are interested in living in La Mesa, you would love living at this complex. Mainly due to the excellent customer service that Johana Nevarez will give you. She is on top of everything and will make sure she get backs to you immediately and takes care of the issue right away without fail. She makes it her full responsibility to make sure you are happy at Alvista on Baltimore. The views are spectacular as well as the landscaping and amenities of this complex are grandioso.

Ohhh how I regret moving here. There was one red flag after another before moving in, but my cheap self convinced my roommate and I that it was a good place for the price. WRONG. It is severely overpriced and this place is a dump. The landlords do absolutely nothing for nuisance complaints (the cops were even called by another tenant regarding some screaming, stomping, slamming sounds coming from our lovely upstairs neighbors).
The problems started before we even moved in. We were not allowed to look at our actual unit because of the «vendors» that were in there and the «chemicals» being used to clean. Well, stupid me signed the lease because I believed them, and the model unit we saw looked great. Upon moving in, there was absolutely NO cleaning that had been done. The walls were filthy (and not repainted as had been promised to us and stated in our lease documents) and God only knows what is in these carpets, as they were clearly not cleaned either. But they do charge a cleaning fee, which by LAW they must actually clean the apartment before the new tenants move in. This business clearly doesn’t understand what laws are.
Another issue: we filled out the lease application, and by THEIR own error, we were declined. It took them until a week before we were to move in that they decided to tell us this. Screwed much? Yep. It took us dozens of phone calls and e-​mails before they finally responded to us. Long story short, they fixed their error and we moved in. Looking back, I kind of wish they hadn’t. We might’ve avoided the hell that was to come with this place.
The walls at this place are paper thin. You can hear everything all around you, all the time. You can hear people walking above you, flushing the toilet, etc. There are dogs that bark, without fail, every single morning at 5−6am. And of course the owners just have to leave the windows and sliding glass door open so the entire complex can be woken up every single morning (and yes, we have complained to the leasing office and they don’t give a damn). The drawers in our kitchen are lopsided and don’t close right. A microwave didn’t come with the place. The showerhead is at eye-​level with me (I’m about 5’5″) and have to bend down to wash my hair. Thank God I’m not any taller, I would probably have to sit down in the shower to wash my hair. The doors to the shower aren’t even on the track properly and you can literally push the doors out instead of sliding them… they are attached at the top but not the bottom. It always freaks me out because I keep thinking they’re going to fall off the track but they haven’t yet… yet. The windows leak, which is extra fun when it rains and my bed gets wet from being up against the window. Did I mention our upstairs neighbors who sound like they’re having a wrestling match and blasting music on a nightly basis? Contacting the leasing office is a joke. They don’t answer the phone or return your calls or emails. Half the time there’s a sign on the door saying they’ll be back at _​_​_​_​time but aren’t back at that time. And this Lily person who comments the same copy/​pasted message on every post, don’t even bother responding to this review. You’re going to give me a phone number and no one is even going to answer if I call. Thanks but no thanks.

Staff —
Leasing office and staff are fast to complete paperwork, answer emails, and return phone calls. They are also more than willing to show you around and every floor plan available. They will work hard to get you what you need.
Grounds —
Very clean and landscaping well kept.
Tennis Court: Fine.
Gym: Seems pretty legit.
BBQ/​Patio Areas: Fine.
Dog Parks: Enough space to run dogs around and play.
Pools/​Hot Tubs: In good working order and never super busy.
Laundry Facilities: Electronic WASH/​WEB PASS based.
Apartment —
I ended up with one of the recent studio remodels with new vinyl flooring and appliances. Extremely spacious for a studio apartment.
Kitchen: New Fridge, Stove, Plenty of Counter Space & Cabinets.
Bathroom: Shower/​Tub, Sink, Med Cabinet, etc.
Flooring: Vinyl Wood styled.
Storage: Large walk in closet.
Patio: Xeriscaping. Enough room for additional storage, small patio furniture or bicycle.
Door: Peephole, Door bell.
Sliding Glass door for patio access.
550−600sq ft
Community —
Neighbors: Haven’t really interacted much with anyone besides a hello or a nod from neighbors. People seem to keep to themselves but sometimes that’s really the best you can ask for. Non-​invasive, non-​confrontational, and very quiet most of the time.
Seems to mostly be working professionals, small families, and students. It can get a little more active during the weekends or nights, but nothing crazy or disruptive.
Neighborhood: Close to the 8, 125, 15 freeways. Mission Trails and Cowles Mountain for hiking. Costco, Trolley, Guitar Center, Grossmont Shopping Center. Up the hill you’ve got old La Mesa’s bars and shopping. Plenty of nearby food via Mexican, Italian, Sushi, Pizza places.
711 & gas station also close by. Wells Fargo & NIFCU for banking. You’ve also got bus stops for public transportation and bike lanes.
Safety: Parking lots are well lit, Hallway and Grounds lights are always on. I feel pretty comfortable walking around at any given hour. Haven’t had any car or unit break ins.
Maintenance —
Any issues I’ve encountered so far were minor and quick to be resolved the same day. They leave notices for inspections and call ahead of time. Nothing major has happened.
Parking —
Open parking unless you pay for an assigned spot. Some marked visitor spots. I haven’t had any issues getting parking or for my guests.
Noise —
Pets: While there are a lot of pet owners who live here, I would say a majority of them take care of their animals properly so they’re not stressed out or barking constantly. It’s very easy to tell which tenants have dogs by doing a simple clap or stomp test on the stairs or hallway.
That said, I haven’t really had any issues in my building. It’s been very quiet. So if you do a tour make sure you note which units/​buildings are bark prone and if it would bug you. I myself am very sensitive to barking dogs and haven’t encountered a problem yet.
Music: I haven’t had a problem. Bass noise will travel. It’s all pretty typical apartment life if you’ve lived in one before.
Ambient Noise: Again, typical apartment life and all within reason.
Billing & Rent —
Water/​Trash/​Sewer isn’t included in the rent. You’ve got online options to pay rent, as well as mailing it in, or just paying in the leasing office via the dropbox.
Overall —
So far I’m enjoying it here.

DONT LIVE HERE! I have lived here for a while now, and over the past 3 months (since Alvista was bought by another company: Google it to confirm), this place has become a ghetto, loud, dog barking ALL day and night, smoke filled, dumpster diving, filthy laundry room, OVERPRICED shit hole. And WHOEVER «Lily J.» is that will respond to this review, SHE DOES NOT WORK HERE-​NEVER HAS!
Apartment: Almost $ 1400 for a TINY, 1 bdrm, 1 bath. Only one AC unit in the kitchen, so warm months you will be drenched in sweat when you sleep, and you will sweat as soon as you get out of the tiny ass shower also. Old kitchen appliances, cabinets, and floors. NO diswasher, NO ice maker, NO microwave. The walls are paper thin. When your rude upstairs, OR DOWNSTAIRS neighbors want to stomp around, argue, listen to the TV loudly, flush the toilet, slam cabinets-​YOUR ENTIRE APARTMENT SHAKES AND VIBRATES. The leasing office does nothing about it but make idle threats to send them a 3 day notice. They never send a notice, they just tell you they will talk to them, and actually suggest you «Call the police», instead of taking any action.
Ghetto: In the last 3 months, they have moved in Section 8 trash, with crying kids, multiple people living in the unit, meth heads that will STOMP around, and nasty looking, rabid dogs that will BARK CONSTANTLY. Let’s not forget the foreign residents that smoke and speak Arabic LOUDLY in the main parking lot. Like having dog fur, and dog shit on your clothes? Well, you will. This place has 400 units, and I am confident that 98% of them have dogs, do your laundry WILL have dog and cat fur and feces. Trust me!
Dogs: If you are not a pet owner, and you value peace and quiet– DONT LIVE HERE. When I first moved in, their was a tolerable amount of dogs, NOW, I have dogs in EVERY, FUCKING, UNIT AROUND ME. They bark all day, and all night. You will not be able to sleep, earplugs don’t work due to thin walls, and the barking ranges from squeaky, yapping dogs to deep, large barking dogs, and the BEST of all: «The wimpering all day at the door because my owner is gone» dog.
Noise: 3 days per week, without fail, the LEAF BLOWER starts work between 7:30 and 8:00 AM. Read it again, every week, 3 times per week, you will ABSOLUTELY be awaken at 7:30 AM, while the landscaper wearing an incredibly loud leaf blower backpack spends 2 hours blowing leaves. Every week, 3 mornings per week, you will be awakened by a leaf blower. If you work from home, stay at home, or work later in the day, it does not matter, you will be awake at 7:30 am. Believe me.
Dumpster Divers: Every day, a ghetto man in an old, black Mercedes will creep to every dumpster, rip open ALL of the trash bags, and pull out recyclables, AND your old BILLS, and any other personal information you threw away, your prescriptions, bank statements, random flyers that have your name, AND unit number-​anything he can use to steal your identity, or plot a breakin. No, the office does not care, and No they have not put locks on any of the dumpsters. But, they do have a key to the laundry rooms, and gym because God forbid any of THEIR property is stolen or damaged.
Leasing office: The leasing agents are friendly, all of them, with the exception of the COMMUNITY MANAGER. She is confrontational, hostile, accusatory, and discriminatory. I will not divulge much else, but she is very rude to minorities.
Parking: 400 units, and open parking equals: NO PARKING-​EVER. I have to pay $ 35 to rent a tiny parking space. You will have to park on Baltimore drive, and walk uphill to get home.
Ambulances and Trolley horns: We are 5 minutes away from Grossmont hospital, and 3 minutes away from the Amaya Trolley station. That means: SIRENS AND TROLLEY HORNS ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT. Legit, all day and night. No rhyme or reason, just whenever there is an emergency, and whenever the trolley conductor decides to toot his fucking horn.
The proximity to the 8 freeway is great, as well as being close to Grossmont center, costco, wamart, target and Trader Joes. It is not worth all of this noise, and over $ 1400 for a tiny apartment.
As I’m typing this, 2 dogs are barking their asses off. I hate it here. .just read the other reviews of you need more proof. Don’t move to Alvista.

I have lived here for a little over a year now, and STILL love it! The grounds are nice and the staff from front office, back office, to maintenance have always been SUPER friendly, and accommodating. My ONE bone of contention has been that they never answer phones, and didn’t return calls till end of day! However, in the last several months with new front office staff Joanna and David, they almost ALWAYS answer the phones, are so friendly and accommodating! When they can’t address my questions or concerns, they have someone call me back that can. I do not wanna go without giving kudos to Ubi (sp?) and the rest of the back office staff who seem to «pick up the slack» when front office is simply too busy. Now, on the VERY rare occasion when I have to leave a message, I TRULEY feel that I have «taken a number» and am next in line :) Kudos ALL of Alvista on Baltimore staff! You’re the BEST! Carefree, hassle free, stress free! That’s what I come home to :)

I chose Alvista because it had really great Unilocal reviews. I don’t know how they managed to avoid bad ones, bc there is no way people lived in this place and had nothing bad to say! I have lived in SD for 3+ years now. This is my 4^th apartment here. It is about my 13^th in my life. I have to say w/​complete honesty that this is the WORST I have lived in.
I’m sure you are curious to know about the quality of this place. It is old. The apartments are built like cheap college dorms. Cheap windows that leak. Cheap as f*ck plastic shower doors and toilet seats. Old cabinets, counters, and appliances. This place needs some serious updating, or some serious downgrading of the rental price. NOT worth what they charge.
The biggest problem is that the walls are basically made of paper mache. You can hear literally EVERYTHING from your neighbors. EVERY.THING. When they go to the bathroom, you can actually hear them urinating. Heaven forbid someone has a bad meal, and you have to listen to them expel it in an explosive manner. Sounds gross? True story. Be prepared to hear it. You also get to hear every single time they flush the toilet or take a shower. NO insulation in this place. It was SO cheaply built.
You can hear music SO clearly through these walls that you can actually make out the lyrics and sing along. You can hear your neighbors singing along as if they are personally performing a concert for you in your living room. You can also hear their conversations clearly as if they are talking to you on the phone. Seriously, I have actually spoken to my upstairs neighbors through my ceiling and they have replied back. It’s THAT bad.
Recently, they’ve apparently grown desperate for tenants and have started to let a lot of ghetto riff raff in. There are people who blast their music with the bass up so high that it shakes my walls and furniture. You’d think you were living on the Eastside of Cleveland with what it sounds like (and I know, because I used to live on the Eastside of Cleveland… brings back memories… that I don’t necessarily want.) But, if you tell the office about it, they will give you the runaround for two months, then not actually solve the problem. Even though by law, the landlord is liable for the nuisance-​like behavior of their tenants. They don’t give a burning crap because, what are you going to do? Break your lease? NOPE. You’re stuck!
Seriously, save yourself. Live somewhere else. Unless listening to your neighbors pee in the middle of the night is your thing…

Sharing my experience. I had to change my stars from a 2 to a 1. Ive been at Alvista over a year. The best thing about this place is that it is a great dog friendly place. However many residents don’t pay pet rent honestly. I was bitten bad by an angry dog at the private dog park who wasn’t even on the owners lease. The police got involved after going to the ER and I still see that damn dog at the dog park without a muzzle.
There are many dumpster pickers. I feel so uncomfortable throwing out my garbage for someone else to pick through. It happens 6am and around 8pm… like clock work. Alvista has done nothing. I’ve seen the alvista maintenance people myself watch the trash pickers driving their golf carts and not stop them or write down their license plate. Ive called the cops myself; garbage picking is usually the last thing to investigate. There is a night guard that walks around 10pm-​5am but its a huge property. Regardless, don’t feel safe at night.
Our car was broken into as well as many others in the last year alone. Motorcycles have been taken too. Alvista sends out notices when apartments are broken into but when cars are, they send the police report copy to their corporate… which does nothing. It’s a 400 apartment complex, one bedrooms start at $ 1300, plus additional costs. Thats at minimum profit of $ 6,240,000+ annually. Alvista claims it is not in the budget to add another night watch, cameras or signs to intimidate criminal activity. We’re a military family and the last thing we want to worry about is our property.
The online portal to pay rent charged our bank account twice for rent. Alvista on Baltimore didn’t catch the whopping $ 3,000+ glitch and we had to pay a $ 25 bank fee for Alvista’s bank returning our money. They claim it’s our fault for paying twice. No one wants to pay rent the first time to begin with.
Oh and if you need to reach the office, don’t bother calling… they won’t answer even though they’re at their desk. Hope this review helps.
I can’t wait to move.

I have lived here for a year now and moved here from an apartment complex up the street. I was drawn here from the low prices and how dog friendly the complex was.
Staff: The lease office staff is very friendly and easy to talk with. However it is difficult to keep communication with the staff unless it is in person. I would try to talk through emails and get an initial response but no answers after that even when waiting a month.
Maintenance: I was actually impressed by the maintenance here. They normally respond fast, are very polite, and get the jobs done in a timely manner. Even when using the online service request they will show up quickly. However, when you ask them to contact you before showing up, this doesn’t happen. I’ve had them just show up at random times but luckily I’m home, or they don’t contact you at all and I have to call the office to schedule a time. Which may be a organization issue and not the maintenance staff’s fault.
Complex: Starting with the apartment itself, the outside of the apartments make the buildings look more updated, but when stepping inside you are disappointed. The floors are laminate and not to mention being uneven, which goes great with the popcorn ceilings. The kitchen has plastic like counters, very outdated appliances, minimal storage/​counter space, and provide no microwave or place to put one. The walls in our apartment have plenty of marks and gashes in them you can tell that were just painted over. There isn’t any central A/​C or heating but the in wall A/​C doesn’t do too bad cooling the living room off but won’t reach the bedroom. The heating is done with coils in the ceiling that works pretty well but takes a hour or so to start working. Going outside, they do provide a decent amount of parking with assigned covered parking, designated resident parking, and visitor parking. Alvista is very dog friendly and it’s awesome having a dog park on site! They have plenty of places to take take your dog’s out and always refill the dog stations with new bags.
Community: The area has a lot around it when it comes to business and makes it nice for committing being close to the freeway. The community seems very family friendly with a park across the street that families are always playing at and Lake Murray down the street. However, in the past year there have been multiple break-​ins/​theft. Talking with neighbors, there have been 5 that we only know of. 1 apartment broken into, a motorcycle stolen, and 3 vehicles broken into. There has also been a lot of trash pickers. I know alvista can’t control people entering the site due to it being open access or completely stop any theft. But the fact after talking with the staff that Alvista/​ConAm that they are not planning to do anything to help deter criminals such as installing cameras or increasing the night courtesy watch or even letting you purchase your own cameras that they can install to help monitor your carport or door shows what the future will bring with Alvista. My wife doesn’t even want to take the dogs outside due to shady people in the parking lots and has even tried to throw trash in the dumpster with someone in it! They’re only response is it’s all of Baltimore dr and to call the cops. But from moving from an apartment complex ½ a mile up on Baltimore last year we had to criminal activity even being an open site complex.
Overall: Alvista is a decent place to live and is very dog friendly. Hard to find apartments that allow bigger dogs. Their amenities are nice with the community grills, pools, jacuzzi, and gyms. With the recent theft rates and increasing rent which jumped up $ 100 with our new lease when we’ve had no updates to our apartments or the lack of their help for protecting our belongings/​feeling of being safe around the complex I would be very weary of living at Alvista. We will definitely be leaving Alvista once our lease is up.

I wanted to take my time and thank some of the amazing staff here at this development. Make you feel great!

When I first found this place I was in love, I couldn’t believe how lucky I was that I was going to live here, after 3 months I realized what a mistake moving here had been.
There was only one AC unit for the entire apartment and it was in the kitchen, you are not allowed to put fans or your own units in Windows which leaves the bedroom almost unbearable when it is hot and the living room barely decent since the one unit is in the kitchen. Then after a few months the AC unit only worked occasionally and would trip and need a day to cool down, worthless old garbage.
The office staff keep the STRANGEST «business» hours I have ever seen, what’s posted on the door was not the same as the recording when you call the office which was also not the same as what the website listed several times in the 18 months that I lived here… then when you did manage to magically come at the «right» time it was not uncommon to find a sign that said «will be back by xx: xx o clock» but it was already 15 – 20 minutes past whatever listed time was on the door, other times there would be a handwritten sign that said something to the affect of «Out all day for training» or «unfortunately we are closed today» wth?!? Maybe if you don’t have a job to go to to pay the overpriced rent for this place you could sit around and wait for this staff to actually assist you but I certainly never had the time.
Several times when I did talk to staff members, usually over the phone because the only way I could get ahold of someone was randomly calling throughout the day on work breaks, they were extremely unhelpful and confused. Several times I would get a «well I’ll write a note and ask xxxx when they get back and they can call you»…I never got a call back, EVER!
Once they randomly decided to take an additional $ 400 out for rent when I asked why they would decide to just take that money after I had been paying the same amount of rent for over a year and that I needed that money back so my account didn’t get overdrawn that month I was told that «unfortunately accounting deals with that and there was nothing she could do, they could credit my account for next month and not take as much or put in a request to issue me a check but that would take 6 – 8 weeks» when you don’t actually have to work for your paycheck it must be pretty easy to be so cavalier with other people’s money. So if you do move here I do not suggest setting up auto pay.
The second «dog park» that’s open 24 hours a day is nothing more than a dirt lot with sticks and wires sticking out of it surrounded by chain link fence, garbage, they shouldn’t be allowed to call this a park. Several times I would be at the grassy dog park at 8 am when the sign said it opened at 7:30 and it was locked.
They also have more random apartment «inspections» than anywhere else I’ve ever lived, then a week later they’ll have a «fire alarm check» why not take care of several things at once if you have to enter my home? Why do you have to enter repeatedly, I understand it’s an apartment but I pay a ridiculous amount of rent every month to call that space mine so quit interrupting my life.
They have an amazing location and beautiful property but don’t let that blind you to the issues because when you start looking around la Mesa you can find plenty of other places that cost less and are managed better.

I’ve had too many issues to write down since moving in two years ago. But honestly the last straw was going to do my laundry tonight and throwing clothes into a machine with water that smells like sewage sitting in the bottom. No note or sign or anything saying its out of service. Water that smelled like that has to have been there for awhile, or it actually is somehow sewage.
I also rented out the clubhouse for $ 75 and then there was a power outage. So obviously we didn’t get to use the clubhouse and they won’t refund me or give me the clubhouse for a different day. Sounds fair right?
Whoever mentioned before that the rent is always different is right. It’s honestly never the same and I have no idea why. Not to mention every time you re sign a lease it increases $ 100-​$ 200 a month. If you’re thinking of moving here I would read some of the old bad reviews and the «not recommended» reviews because they’re all true.

Soooo sick and tired of having to call the office 15 – 25 times in a row for someone to answer!
Seriously nobody ever answers the phone in that office!

I liked living here at first cause it is beautiful and it’s ok to have animals and I enjoyed living by the pool. The longer I loved her the more issues we had. Been here for 2 years.

I will try to point out some positive points as well as the negatives about living at Alvista on Baltimore because I believe in a fair review. Unfortunately the negatives at this point are outweighing the positives. This is my first Unilocal review. The recent break-​ins of apartments and cars and the indifferent attitude towards these issues by management/​building owners has prompted me to write this review.
We have lived here over a year and should have moved when we had the chance! I chose this community because it seemed quiet, safe, and the people in the office seemed to be organized and helpful. I have been renting in San Diego for almost twenty years and know that no place will ever be a perfect experience.
Positives: most of the tenants are friendly, it’s nice to have a pool despite the fact that we were told it was heated (not told it was only at night!), the complex is pretty quiet which is good because we have a young child, it is close to Aztec Park, rec room (however with our building’s rec room, we were never told we could not use it unless it is reserved and we do not have access to it!), within walking distance to the grocery store, we have an elevator in our building. The patio overlooks the mountains and we get a nice afternoon breeze. Lots of pretty landscaping, we love the trees and there is a tennis court, which is nice for small kids to run and throw a ball around.
Negatives: The building is pretty old, not a lot of cabinet or storage space, and my fridge freezes my food at least once or twice a week which forces me to throw out food. I’ve had some issues with management messing up our account balance which resulted in many unnecessary phone calls, emails, and trips to the office to figure out what the heck was going on. We got past that, I was told it was an «accounting issue». Silver fish coming up the drain of the bathtub. Tons of termites, wood rotting in many places of the building. The mailboxes are cheap and old and are not very secure. We had some issues with maintenance not showing up for scheduled appointments, not returning maintenance requests, etc. I think they have hired more staff for this department so maybe that helped the problem. We tried to change our renter’s insurance to AAA– they refused to insure us because they said there were two theft claims from our apartment the year prior to us moving in… WHAT!!! And this weekend our car was broken into, personal items stolen, window smashed, $ 500 deductible, we had to throw out our baby’s car seat and some clothes due to the glass being everywhere. And we PAY $ 35 a month for the convenience of parking in this spot. We now park in the regular lot which can be almost impossible because there are so many tenants and not enough spaces!
When I saw the police here again today, I found out more cars were broken into. After talking to more Alvista residents I have learned that theft of apartments and cars is NOT a new problem. I was told by the office that it is up to the building owner to add actual «Security Patrol» (not just «Courtesy Patrol») and other crime-​deterrents. We received a note on our door about apartment thefts about a month ago. They want us to leave lights and the TV on to deter burglars (at my own expense to SDGE for the extra electricity?!). I told the office around the time of the theft notice on our door that our lock got sticky/​jammed overnight and was told «it happens». Really? I found out two days later about the prior break ins at our particular apartment and was very frustrated and upset.
The main reason I am writing this review is to spread the word to potential tenants as well as the management/​building owners who read this that Alvista needs added protection to ensure the safety and happiness of their tenants. I have taken many steps including a police report, incident report at the office, claim with State Farm, and telling others to BEWARE. I do not feel safe here anymore and when I get the opportunity to move (even if it means paying off my lease and still moving), I will.
I can put up with many things, but my personal safety being compromised is not one of them!

Since I’ve moved in we’ve had many problems.
1. Indian head moths
2. Termites
3. Parking
4. The office hardly returns calls
We would love to continue to live here because of the area and the spacious apartment, but tired of seeing flying termites all over our apartment. Also the Indian head moths have gone through a lot of our food already. I think it’s time Alvista on Baltimore really takes care of the pest problem.

The apartment is spacious and the walls are thick. They allow dogs without charging you an unheard of deposit, which was a blessing. The location is great, right next to the freeways and plenty of shopping centers. Safe neighborhood and makes late night walks with the dogs comfortable. The apartment complex has an abundance of amenities. The bedroom has a plenty of storage and a wall closest that is one huge mirror which is great for a couple.
the spacious floor plan could be better used, the kitchen feels like its meant for a bachelor pad, half the outlets are covered by the stove and fridge. There is very little counter space which seems to be only meant for a microwave. Having a wall window at the corner of the room in the bedroom is a bit awkward as well.
That aside the apartments pros outweigh the cons tremendously especially if your looking for a quality apartment that allows dogs.

My husband and I moved in recently and so far we like it very much. Our first impression came from Tara and it was already a good start. She answered all our questions and was very friendly! We really like that its a pet friendly community and that they have dog parks and dog bag dispensers around grass areas to help you clean up after your pet. Another thing is the area is safe, doesn’t feel like crime is something to worry about and they even have security over night. We love the location too because we are close to everything! The freeways, grossmont center, a park, and other stores are only minutes away. Its very cool. We also like that there is a no smoking policy since it stinks and we are non smokers.
Some of the things we didnt like too much is we can only park one of our cars over night unless we pay another fee to have both our cars and one in a designated parking spot, and that the pool is too cold. We understood it was heated but maybe we misunderstood.

Beautiful location, apartments and friendly service. Prices are reasonable as well. Community is quiet and plenty a perks as well.