Bel Mark Apartments 1675 Hays Street, San Leandro, CA 94577

"I lived there for seven years, the first five years were OK the last two were an absolute horrible experience. Poor management dry rot in walls, water damage from a major fire two years before I moved out all of this was never fixed."

"PROS: - convenient location (close to BART and stores), - greenery in front of the building, - communal area in the back, - spacious apartments. CONS: - berserk prices (they just keep on rising), - unreliable washing and drying machines (constant problems), - parking problems, - a lot of times we didn't have water during the day cause of repairs, - upstairs neighbour was bathing and the water spilled and came through the ceiling during the night (that was a pleasure), it took them a month to fix it, - management constantly changes (in my 3 years there Farzana was the best compared to all the other managers), - mould (their way of resolving that issue is to just put a coat of paint over it), - pretty basic ovens, fridges and stoves (you have to pay extra for stainless steel), - owning a cat will cost you extra, dogs are not allowed."

"Where do I being with this place? There was little to no natural light in the apartment I lived in and the washing machines and dryers always had problems. My car window was busted out in front of the building when we decided to park there for convenience and after that we noticed many other cars out front being vandalized the same way. Since the building is in the downtown area there were often police chases and dramatic perpetrator confrontations in front of the building that included guns being drawn and police dogs confronting criminals. The worst part was how the building management failed the tenants during the time a fire occurred upstairs on the top floor. Not only did they keep us in a wet and smokey apartment, but they never properly repaired the walls so there was mold growing from within the carpet and walls. We asked them on several occasions to fix the hot water in the main restroom, but they neglected to do it because it was too costly so for years we had to deal with hot water slowly trickling out of the faucet. It was terrible. Then when we moved they ripped us off by charging us 120 dollars saying they needed to clean without providing any detail of what needed cleaning. I really take issue with this because I cleaned the hell out of that place and not one thing could have been cleaner. Not one. They also had other bogus charges that I won't get into. My advice for anyone that wants a great place to live is do not rent here, you will regret it!!"

"Worst apartments I have rented at. Management is over zealous posting notices of tenant complaints or advisory. Thefts occur here apparently in the garage (cars). with the high cost of living and complaining tenants sounds like the place would be cleaner but its not. The complainy messy tenants were so out of control Bel Mark installed a camera to catch offenders who dump.there messes. Not for Bel Mark tenant safety. And of all places they place a camera near the garbage and nowhere else shows their greed. They just installed "double pane windows". Which they are so proud of, but tenants suffered many of years with faulty construction. They still haven't properly weather proofed the front doors. Managemant is poor. They got rid of the laid back managers to bring overzealous ones who lack real professionalism. not a place for students because of the grumpy older tenants or families cramping into the apartments. if you're single with a life this place is not for you. This building also lacks good natural light. Lights are always going out, doors are damaged even when they change door locks out. Everyone pays pretty much 1,000 to stay here and there are no amenties. They call having a public barbeque grill an amenity. They don't take complaints well, they become defensive instead of listening to the problem. i'm basically waiting to find a better home. This place could never be home. And management stays onsite so you can imagine how irritating that is. One night a manager knocked on every single door because of a "nicotine" smoke complaint. Pot is not allowed, but now it's nicotine when it's allowed. Personally I don't smoke. And I find it envasive that a manager asked if I smoke cigerrettes, and I don't. They look real idiotic knocking on peoples doors. Not even the police can do that. So over this place, you have been warned. They still act nice in the beginning. Once that lease is signed, you are no longer valued. I actually read many bad reviews but put it aside because i liked the neighborhood. Personally living in the areas people claimed are "ghetto" are more homey then this place. Supposedly they have another property near by. And i'm guessing bel mark is the section 8 of there property because the other property has a calander with community events. And supposedly she runs back and fourth managing both properties (bs). Well why not impliment the same programs at BOTH properties."