Bella Terra

"I've been living here at Bella Terra since March 2020. For the most part I am very happy living here, as I enjoy my apartment unit and the amenities are pretty good with some exceptions. The neighborhood is relatively safe, clean and quiet and is ideal for families. My biggest complaint is that since the complex was bought out by Greystar, everything has become hectic and unorganized. Not to mention prices have skyrocketed and it seems like there are more and more fees being tacked on to my monthly utility bill for unecessary things without informing the residents. It's also frustrating that we have to pay for water, sewage, and trash services, as many other places do not charge for these things. It is difficult to get ahold of the leasing office and when you do get ahold of them they are not very friendly and there is no sense of urgency. Whenever I submit service orders to get something fixed in the apartment it takes forever and sometimes they don't even come at all, but will mark the task as "completed" on my resident portal. Making monthly rent payments on the portal is frustrating, as the way the itemized fees are listed is confusing and there is no "pay in full" option, making you enter the total amount manually. If you accidently make a typo for the wrong amount, you will be charged a late fee for not paying the full amount. They renovated the gym which is nice, but it is only open from 830am-430pm when the hours used to be from 8am-10pm. This is frustrating as these hours are not practical for residents that work during the day, yet we pay additonal fees for these amenities. They say the reason is because there is no lock on the door for residents to access and don't know when or if this issue will be resolved. Also the hot tubs never seem to work and when they do they aren't hot, and the pools are not heated. They also don't clean the pools very frequently and there is a lot of gunk floating in the water. They also renovated the laundry rooms which is an improvement to how they were before, but the washing machines get moldy frequently. They do have people come in to clean the laundry rooms more frequently though, which is nice. The parking rules are extremely strict and a tow truck will often patrol the parking lot preying on unauthorized vehicles - especially during holiday weekends when they know the tow office will be closed, therefore giving you no choice but to pay for an extra day or two in their lot until they open again. I had an expired parking pass and even though I was parked in my designated spot, my car got towed without warning and I had to pay nearly $900 to get it out of the tow lot. Even though the rules are stated in the fine print on the lease agreement, it feels like they are looking to gouge people for money any chance they get which in my opinion is unethical. Not to mention street parking is horrendous and if you want to find a parking spot anytime after 3pm you will have to hike all the way up the hill to find one - which can be worrisome, particularly for women and children at night time. Overall I have mixed feelings about this place as there are both pros and cons to living here. Mostly I wanted to post this review to help potential residents be informed on all aspects before deciding to move here, as I know how hard it is to find a good and affordable place to live in San Diego. Hopefully this helps someone, and I wish you the best of luck!"

"Good apartments for the price. Personally, I've always had a nice experience with management when talking to them, however, they are really bad at picking up the phone when called. It takes a couple of times to get them to actually reach out, and I've tried over multiple hours some days in case they were busy at a certain time. The wood floors and bathroom are nice and spacious. The closet doors don't close all the way. They installed doors that were too small in the apartment, but it's whatever. The paint used in the new apartments is definitely cheap, I will say that. I think it may be water based, which is terrible because is bubbles and peels in some places and it can't be helped. A lot of dishes and decor have been getting stuck to the shelves in the cabinets from the paint as well due to just being placed there and not moved for a couple days. I wish a little more care was placed into the smaller details is all. Laundry rooms: I think they're a bit expensive for $3.75-4 a load depending on temp. And, they are always left open, which feels unsafe. I never had an issue with homeless people around, but I have heard others complain. The apartments are advertised as "luxury" on the website, but it feels like we should be allowed in unit machines to feel safer given where we are located and to avoid running into problems in the community room. Lastly, I just wish the place was gated. It would definitely feel much safer that way since the place is so big."

"Worst place ever ! Currently living here do not recommend these apartments at all ! May be cheap but it’s horrible!!!! Waiting for the one year contract to be over ! Paint is literally peeling off everywhere in my complex mold in the bathroom cabinets doors will come off easily"

"The place is full of roaches, flies and mice. I lived here for two years and had them spray my house 5 times and it never got rid of them. Nothing worked well. The pantries never stayed on, we had some repairs done and it broken within a week of being fixed. All the lights on the property outside were broken and didn't light up. We got towed once and it was mistake if the office. Our parking pass was valid and we still got towed in a spot we were allowed to be parked in."

"TLDR… Run while you can! Located between the Vista jail release area and CA-78 tent city. Lease renewals carry the maximum legal rate increase. Cheap tactics/material to fake luxury. Office staff, particularly Patty, is always extremely unpleasant to work with. Bugs! Location… Nestled between the Vista jail release area and CA-78 tent city. Be ready for some interesting conversations and interactions with the nonresidents, especially in the laundry room. Nonresidents are always using the sink to wash clothes while charging electronic devices from the electrical outlets intended for the washing machines. Can't lock the door, they just kick it open. The apartments are located on a hill, with no guest parking. If you’re not on one of perimeter units, don’t plan on having guests. Lastly check your parking spot before signing. The first unit I was offered was a ground level unit, but because of the hill, my parking spot was three flights of stairs on the downhill side of the unit. Cost… The office offers a decreased rate to get people in, then the rate increases are the legal maximum(10%). This a recent change, I have been here 6(ish?) years and increases use to be mild. This will quickly offset for the discounted intital price. Google when the best rental rates are offered. The price offered during summer is different than winter. Lastly, there are places with a significantly higher quality of life(better parking, close to shops, in unit laundry) nearby for similar rates. Quality of life… Keep in mind this is advertised and priced as a luxury community. The parking is ungated and assigned/offered based of the number of rooms in the unit. If you have a partner and a single room unit, you will only get one parking spot/pass. One of you will have to park on the street, and that can be a rather long walk/hike as it’s on a hill. In my unit, the doors original oil based paint was painted over with water based paint. This causes the top layer of paint to bubble/flake off. The little flakes stick to the flooring have to be removed from by hand. Hopefully it’s not lead. You can see light around the door seals, so bugs are an issue, and your heating and cooling will not be very efficient. There has recently been a recurring bunch of ants on my kitchen counter. They are coming out of all the cracks in the building. Ants have always been an issue, the kitchen counter is just the most recent intrusion. The cabinet doors are not flush or straight. My worst door sticks out ¾ of an inch at the hinge. Looks like they had stevie wonder do the install. I’ll have some pictures, but the alignment and operation are just awful. The cabinets around the dish washer are water damaged. When moving in the countertop was patched and expected to be replaced. Some 6 years later it still hasn't been replaced. The air conditioner began to leak water and damaged the ceiling. While the air conditioner was replaced, there seems to be black mold on the drywall, and the popcorn ceiling is still damaged. It’s been a year and no word from the management office. I noticed the apartment next to mine is being prepped for move-in, the carpet was replaced with wood pattern linoleum. That’s about the same as painting over oil-based paint with water-based paint. It looks good for a little bit but is very cheap and not very durable. Don’t be distracted by the flash. Neighbors recycle, the patio is always full of recyclables and rats. Staff… Unnecessarily unpleasant and unwarranted disdain, barbs, and lies for the tenants. It’s a very uncomfortable rental office these days, particularly Patty. She has repeatedly aggressively lied to cover her actions. I have had to go to the parent company to get her to be responsive and correct her actions. Unfounded fees specifically. So shady. Conclusion… If this complex was advertised as “you could do worse” and priced accordingly, I wouldn’t have been so critical. With the self-assigned “luxury” designation and price, I would have to recommend passing on this complex."