The Hallmark Apartments

I’ve lived at Hallmark Apartment for the past 8 months and it has been a fantastic experience. Moving to LA can be intimidating and finding a safe, newly renovated, clean, and affortable apartment was becoming a tiring task. After coming to Hallmark and seeing the property, I knew I had found my home. The spacious courtyard is great for grilling and relaxing and the underground gated parking is a great perk and peace of mind. Dave (The property manager) works on site and is always very kind and helpful. If you looking for a place in the valley look no further than Hallmark Apartments.

I have lived here for just under a year and so far so good! The apartments are nice and spacious, it is always quiet, and everyone is friendly. Dave is always around to answer questions and is making sure the building is in great shape. I can’t complain about the location either; great bars, restaurants, and Ralph’s are all within a few minutes walking distance. It is a great place to call home!

Living here is wonderful! It is clean, quiet and great location. The manager on site, Dave, is always around and helpful, friendly and constantly upgrading the building. This has been a really nice 3 years at Hallmark! Looking forward to a long stay here!

I lived here for a year and could not have felt more at home. The manager Dave takes such great care of the property by not only having routine cleaning, but is very fast on responding to repair issues and even has the occasional tenant brunch! He is the friendliest of fellas. You will feel safe and well taken care of living here!

I’ve lived here for over a year and it’s by far the best apartment experience I’ve had. The building is quiet and all the neighbors are respectful. Maintenance is quick to get anything fixed. The manager Dave is always available and does so much for the building. Once I dropped my keys down the elevator shaft and he stopped what he was doing and helped me retrieve them.
Not only is the building and management great but there are dozens of places within walking distance including the new Ralph’s and a bunch of great restaurants.

I moved into my apartment in November, 2014. I had not lived in an apartment in decades and was initially appalled at what was being presented — or misrepresented — UNTIl I came upon Dave’s (the manager) Hallmark building. Dave and the building were a breath of fresh air.
Things that were important to me were met here: (1) Clean, well-​maintained, non-​smoking building. This place is soooo well kept! It was the first thing that I noticed. It felt as though «these folks cared.» When I came, they were enhancing the courtyard with brick build-​outs and plants. Very nice. (2) Smaller community, rather than a huge facility. (3) Manager on site. And that is a HUGE BONUS when you have Dave as a manager. He really cares about the building and the tenants. He is personable, responsive and helpful. Dave makes sure that the building and grounds are well maintained and that «his» tenants are taken care of – and that was a big selling point for me. (4) Nice neighbors! Truly! So far, every person that I have met here has been very nice. Dave does a great job of choosing good folks. (5) Location. We are on Stern in Sherman Oaks and it is an ideal location. (6) Feel or energy of the apartment. I had looked at quite a few places, and nothing «felt» right — until I walked into «my» apartment. It was not what I thought I would rent (thought I had to have a balcony, pool, garden, in-​apartment laundry) but my heart felt right in this apartment and this was where I wanted to be. (7) Safety. This is a good area and our building is small enough so that I feel very safe here. (8) Low Noise. Our building is quiet. I have never been disturbed by noise. (8) Apartment layout. Love the layout of my apartment. It is a two bedroom, two bath, with fireplace in living room and in master bedroom with new carpet and new flooring. It has a great flow and plenty of windows.
PLUS, I really like living where the «heads» of the company care. When Valeen, a company «head,» came for an inspection and saw my glass shower doors, she immediately had them replaced. Obviously, the company culture is one of quality customer service — and I appreciate and respect this business ethic.
So even though I would be ecstatic to have a washer and dryer in my apartment, or at least more state-​of-​the-​art laundry equipment, I just love living here. I feel that I lucked out when I found this place! I have a wonderful home, lovely neighbors, and a responsive landlord.
My thanks to the other tenants, and Dave and Valeen, and the helpful maintenance crew who make living here a joy. :)

I looked at Hallmark Apartments while trying to settle a lawsuit with my previous landlord. I needed to move fast, and I had specific requirements to avoid the situation I had been in. I’ve lived here for about a month now.
First impressions:
Small community. This was important to me. The previous place had 800 units, and I believe Hallmark has 40. Everyone seems friendlier and takes greater care of the grounds. I don’t see trash littering hallways, everyone is respectful, and noise is minimal.
Very quiet! I had an issue with neighbors being loud at every waking hour at the previous place. I needed a quiet place to catch up on sleep and maintain my sanity. Hallmark has been excellent in this respect. There have been a couple birthday parties that quieted down before 10, neighbors aren’t being excessively loud at any hour, and I can finally sleep without being woken up at 3 in the morning because my apartment is vibrating. Neighbors across the way in other buildings are also respectful regarding sound, and I have no complaints about it.
The building is even far enough from the freeway and Ventura Blvd. that I’m not constantly disturbed by vehicle noise!
The previous building had a major drug problem. It smelled like marijuana all day, every day, and they even found a methlab in one unit. I’ve had no issues with this at Hallmark. I haven’t even seen a resident smoking a cigarette, surprisingly. The commons area, hallways, and stairwells are well ventilated. No smells (burnt dinner, garbage, etc) linger, and I don’t feel like I’m sacrificing my health just by living in a place. Actually, I’m just now noticing this, but in the month I’ve been at Hallmark, my sinuses have been clearer lately. Woohoo, breathing!
I know this won’t appeal to everyone, but I love that the building is older. It feels very warm and comfortable, even personable. The place does not feel too contemporary, modern, or sterile. It feels like a place someone can comfortably live.
On the downside, some modernizations are missing. We don’t have automatic garage door openers to get in, and the doors use keys rather than fobs.
Carlo Inc., the property management company and owner of Hallmark seems to do enough to keep the grounds in order and not falling apart. They just repainted, and are currently re-​surfacing all hallways. So, while we might not have the latest in technological living, it feels put together and well-​managed.
Dave, the resident office manager, is friendly and available if you need anything. Personally, it means a lot to me that the manager lives in the same building. When asking how he feels about living there, you know he’s being authentic, and you know he stands by his work by literally living in it. His description of the grounds is not exaggerated — he has shared his honest opinion, both the negative and positive (and honestly, the negatives aren’t even worth mentioning, to me).
Honestly, I don’t think I could have found a more peaceful apartment in LA. It’s precisely what I was looking for to recover from my horrible experience at the other place.
Oh, and before I forget, the policy on alcohol in the common area is lax, and there’s a grill, benches, and a table/​umbrella thing. You can relax with a bottle of wine and a book if you’re into that.
The policy on car work is also lax. If you want to change your oil in the garage, you can. Just don’t be messy about it.
So, with all that said, here are some things I don’t like, for what they’re worth.
You need to buy or rent your own refrigerator.
Washer/​dryer are on premises, but not in-​unit. I feel the cost is also a little high at $ 1.50 for washing, and $ 1.25 for drying.
Not all units have central AC. Mine does, though, so I’m happy.
Tandem parking. At least I have two spots, but it’s not the greatest parking situation in the world.
I highly recommend living here.

This is just an extension of the previous review! Even though we were not able to get an apartment here, we were really satisfied with the manager, Dave, and his customer service. He was very helpful and professional! We have been dealing with a lot of managers the last month and Dave was by far the most polite. WIsh it could have worked out! Maybe next year!

This is a bittersweet review!
I came with my girlfriend to check out the building a few weeks ago, and we fell in love with the place.
We looked at a one bedroom with a balcony and brand new carpet. All of the appliances were new and everything looked clean and ready to move in. In fact, the whole building was surprisingly clean and well maintained — something I noticed because most buildings tend to leave the halls in disarray.
Anyway, we loved the place and we eagerly turned in an application. Dave, the building manager, was SO NICE. He seemed to really care about helping us to find a place that fit our needs. He was helpful and sweet and though he informed us that another applicant had turned in their forms shortly before us, he assured us that if they failed to meet the requirements or backed out we were next in line.
Suffice it to say, the other applicants got the place :(Which is why the review is bittersweet! We had such a positive experience and I just wish someone would move out soon so we can snatch up their unit!

Apartment hunting is difficult because the things that you really want to know about a place… what is the management like, how quickly does the building help remedy problems you might encounter while living there… are questions difficult to answer until you have lived in a place. I have never lived in a building I loved as much as 4333 Stern. The property is well maintained and the management and staff is so wonderful. Dave is the property manager. He is easy to find and quick to respond when contacted. Everyone is friendly and says hello. I also felt very safe in this building. A lot of families live here and keep an eye out for each other. The paperwork process is very organized. They seem to care about the residents and listen to requests that might be made. Any time I needed maintenance, a sink that was clogged or a light bulb that went out, they responded within 24 hours and were there to fix the problem. The space in these apartments is wonderful also! I lived in a 2 bedroom first floor unit. We hardly ever had to run our AC unit bc it maintained a cool temperature year round.
I can’t say enough about the unit. I was very sad to have to leave due to roommate changes, but hope anyone living there would enjoy it as much as I did!

When my boyfriend and I made the decision to move from West LA to the Valley we were so lucky to have found the Hallmark Apartments early on in our search. We instantly fell in love with the location. The apartment building sits on a quiet street just a few feet from Ventura Boulevard and is an easy walking distance to neighborhood favorites like the Local Peasant and Café Bizou. Our apartment is very spacious, clean and we love the newly re-​tiled bathroom, fireplace and balcony outside our bedroom. The apartment manager Dave is very organized. He got back to us quickly when we had questions and was willing to make some accommodations for us when it came to our move in date.

Let me start by saying that I HATE moving. It is great once I am in the apartment, but the process of it simply is not fun! Having said that, it was refreshing to find a great apartment with a management company that actually cares about their residents. Dave is the property manager at Hallmark Apartments and he has been extremely sincere and organized throughout this whole process. He is straight to the point, quick to respond, keeps his word, and I am extremely happy living here. The complex is up to date, clean, and everyone has been very helpful. On top of that, the location of The Hallmark is great. It is walking distance from multiple bars, such as the the local peasant and in the heart of the good parts of Sherman Oaks. If you are looking for a place in the valley, I highly recommend taking a look.