Villa De Flores

Home sweet San Diego home for all 3 years we’ve been out here! Never would have though to look in this area (thanks to the girl we met at Greenflash!)… Guess the lesson is, drink local and chat up happy hours!
Our studio is very small but it gets the job done. We opted for the in-​unit washer/​dryer (now I’ll NEVER be able to go back to communal laundry!) and granite countertops.
Other pros = sliding curtain partition that can separate the bedroom area from the living room area, tall sink faucet and deep double sink (ALMOST makes up for no dishwasher), A/​C/​heating unit, nice patio area, pet friendly, nice grilling area, private parking lot, QUIET! (minus screaming kids at the pool), relatively dependable maintenance team, and all the amenities (pool (up to 7.5 ft deep), hot tub, sauna (very rickety and small… But still a sauna), gym (small and extremely basic… But a/​c, tv, and hey, it’s a gym (room)), and a club room with pool table and tv that can be reserved for special events.
Cons = low shower head (we installed a personal store bought one so the boyfriend can shower standing up…), private parking lot gets abused every now and then, filling up before all the tenants (I) get a spot some nights…, increased rates every renewal (typical, I know, but still sucks!), 10 minute drive on average to get to any highway, nothing great within walking distance other than a 7-​Eleven, The Library (dive bar), Jack In The Box, and Mission Trails.
Basically, it’ll be hard to find a cheaper place on par with Villa de Flores.

I moved in at Villa de Flores in 2009 when Carmen was still working the front office. She was the sweetest, most attentive property manager and would often sit and talk with tenants during her lunch hour about how she could make their home a better place. Everyone knew and loved her. She sold me on living there and I loved it until the day she quit and moved off the property.
After Carmen departed, everything went downhill. There was a new property manager in and out of the office every one to two months and not one of them cared about the tenants. One of the worst was Emile, who was having an affair with my neighbour during work hours. It got so bad when his girlfriend showed up and got in a screaming fight with my neighbour that she broke her lease and moved out the next day. Then their were the two girls who sat in the front office and painted their nails and gossiped all day. They never answered the phone and would never register rent payments so many of us got consistent default notices.
As for my «upgraded villa»…I guess we could call it design on a dime. Everything was SO cheaply done. they literally ripped the the old eighties light fixtures off the wall and painted over the chipped and falling off drywall. My kitchen cabinets were plywood nailed together with some prefab doors that started to melt when they came in contact with heat from the stove or even a candle. The carpet was terrible quality. It started to get wear marks and degrade after only a month and I am someone who always wears socks in the house (and never shoes… not even sandals). The washer and dryer were so cheap that I sometimes didn’t like risking my clothes by washing them. The washer would often stop running halfway through the cycle and lock all of my clothes inside in 15 gallons of water only to be fixed when the maintenance «had time» (they usually were walking around the property smoking). The dryer NEVER worked and sounded like a helicopter was landing in my dining room. I guess they stopped using this model (lucky for new tenants) because it broke down so often. Furthermore, when your dryer finally died, maintenance simply took one of the other dryers from an unoccupied unit and gave it to you.
Finally, there are many «undesirable» tenants on the property that are not dealt with by management. For some reason about three years ago they started to rent to anyone with a checkbook, seemingly regardless of background. This resulted in multiple broken beer bottles around the property, drug users, and frequent visits by the police.
Overall, you can find better and cheaper, even with a dog or cat.

Dog friendly, The rental staff is friendly and really helpful. I have lived here 6 years and I have no complaints. It is really quiet and peaceful. Since I moved in there have been several changes in office workers but they are always nice and attentive. My only complaint and this has nothing to do with the complex is that you have to turn around all the way down at Jackson drive to come back into Mission Valley. Aside from that this place is clean and the rent is not as high as other spots in this area.

I have been living here for about 7 months now and personally it’s okay but cheapest I can find that allows pets. I have a 2 bed 1 bath apt. Very quite area place, like the pool and the sauna, has its own very small gym, pool table.
Cons: when I do to pick up my mail it smell weird not sure because of the type of plants are outside or the people that don’t look after their pets remains. The shower goes hot to cold at times. You can hear EVERYTHING from your neighbors. I’m okay with most but the downstairs neighbor plays music around 9pm to 5am and I can’t sleep! (Tried to take care of it) the kitchen floor starts to peel, the fridge hums loudly. Do not like the fact that ppl smoke on the balcony when you agree not to. They don’t enforce it. (I do not smoke, proly why it bothers me) you see cigs all over the walk way and the trees they have leave crap everywhere and they don’t clean the walk ways. The handles walking down the stairs are broken and wobbly as well as the stairs not being completely stable.
It’s a okay place for the price but pay in time or they will fee you 45 dollars.

I lived here for several years. It was pretty noisey generally and there were various insect infestations, but generally ok. I had to move because a new company bought the property and brought in new lady to manage the place. She was coming into my place without my permission to do various sorts of «inspections.» I videotaped (and still have the video) these entries and they involved staring at things in my apartment. I finally had to hire a lawyer who confirmed her entries were illegal and sent her written notice informing her of of this and telling her to stay out. I just ended up leaving because it’s not worth the hassle or risk of paying top dollar for an old place and having someone violating the sanctity of your home. They also raise the rent all the time… whether or not you resign a lease.

I’ve heard a lot of negative reviews about this place from other websites but after moving in 3 months ago I would have to say this is a great place so far overall.
The apartment manager is very friendly and easy to go to when you have concerns or questions.
The pool and hot tub are awesome to have as well as the mini gym with sauna. No need for a gym membership. Especially when Mission Trails is right down the road as well.
The apartment was all redone when we moved in. Huge master bedroom with bath and walk in closet. Awesome little patio with full wall glass sliding door leading out. Great for those hot days and you want to save electricity you can have a nice breeze throughout the apartment. Also there are a lot of trees for shade and to keep it a bit cooler with the sun not beating down.
Has all the amenities. Washer/​Dryer, Dishwasher, AC/​Heat, Large hallway closet for extra storage and recently became pet friendly!
I really like this place overall but there are some things that could be improved. They could really use a second maintenance guy. The guy now is awesome but has two locations to keep maintained. Making him overworked and hard to be available right away when something is broken.
We have had a leaky kitchen sink since we moved in. He has come several times to fix it but for some reason still leaks. Not that much and not a big nuisance so not too worried but would prefer it not to leak. Also our shower goes hot to cold at times. Like Katy Perry, ha. Which can be irritating.
But overall a great place. A smaller complex to get to know your neighbors an make it feel like home as well as a quiet place so after a crazy night out you can come home and just relax.
A side note: Sometimes when you go outside in the middle of the night there will be 6 – 8 rabbits just hopping around in the grass. Kinda cool!