Villa Viento

Apparently this company Arnel and this apartment Villa Viento steals residents security deposits. Check out this recent LA TIMES article that was on the front page of the business section this past Sunday. I wouldn’t move here, I know personally, they took half my security deposit. Google «Arnel class action lawsuit.»
Title of the article on 6÷19÷16: «O.C. landlord once again battling allegations it unfairly kept security deposits»
See for yourself:

Move here if you want to live with cockroaches the size of your thumb that trot across your family room floor, or drop onto your face as you sleep. Talk to the manager and she will tell you that they dont lay egss. seriously that was her answer. Also enjoy the rats that come out of the tile roofs and are on the balconies from trash being left by tenants front door, and stored on the balconies. People using hibachi size BBQS in the carport, a total fire hazard and not allowed and she ignores it when it is brought to her attention. People smkoing cigarettes and pot on their balconies all day and all night. Come to party Viento where 10 pm — 3 am is the loudest time frame as neighbors hop over their wooden balconies intsead of using a key. And the mangager tell them its ok.
The only time the manager will smile at you is when you sign the lease. She will be rude thereafter. They also remove any negative posts. AND THIS IS YOUR LUXURY APARTMENT!

I normally don’t write reviews for anything, but this place is extremely awful and I don’t want other people to experience what i have experienced. I’m actually quite shock to see this place still has 3 stars! I wish i can give them –100 stars.
–First of all, the LUXURY apartment is a total joke. This place was build in 1960s, and all the apartments are really old. Don’t be fooled by the nice flowers and trees they have out there, they are the home of the bugs, not yours.
— The PARKING is a big headache. During normally work days, if you come home after 7pm, you are out of luck. Even on Saturdays and Sundays, you won’t find any open space after 6pm. So watch out for that!
–The ridiculous OVERPRICE! Villa Viento really charges luxury prices for their crappy apartments. You also have to pay renter’s insurance, garbage fee, water and all the utilities. They DO NOT cover anything. In all the apartments that I had lived before, garbage fee is always covered. You can literally get a much better apartment with that price in the surrounding area.
–The leasing management is full of lies. They will promise you one thing, and the reality is the total opposite. I was also really mad at them for putting the spare keys of all the apartments in a closet that has no lock! Basically anyone can access them when the leasing manager is not in the office.
–I see some of the comments say this place is quite. yes, it is away from main streets and freeway. BUT, it is near to the AIRPORT! You will experience 20 – 50 times airplanes flew over your head EVERYDAY, and trust me, no traffic noise can compare to that.
–I’m really trying hard to think of a good thing about this place, and if I have to say, it is the maintenance team. Oscar is doing a good job to keep the community clean, and that is the only positive thing about this complex.
AVOID VILLA VIENTO AT ALL COST!!! I can’t wait for my lease to be over, so I can move away from this dreadful place.

My mother in law just recently moved in and she loves it there. I visit quite often and haven’t really had a problem with parking with what little guest parking they have. It’s very quiet and nice. Don’t hear the upstairs neighbors or anything. Nice patio area big enough to have decent patio furniture and a table for my kids to play with. Grounds r well kept and laundry is 24 hrs. If they had 3 bedrooms I would move in here.

This smallish (100ish units) complex is tucked back of 1^st St in downtown Tustin. Its location is extremely walkable, which is a huge plus. It is set so far back from the street that street noise is almost nil. There is significant intermittent noise from planes, as the complex lies directly under SNA’s approach path. However, the airplane noise is much less audible inside the units.
The apartments appear to have been built in the late 1960s or early 1970s. They are reasonably well built (and moderately soundproof inside) and are fairly well-​kept, if cheaply. As other commenters have stated, it seems a little implausible to call them «luxury» apartments. They are well kept but not luxurious. Heat is by gas register in the living room and a separate electric heater in the master bedroom wall. A/​C is by a wall unit in the living room. The unit was absolutely, perfectly clean at move-​in. Interiors are coated in multiple coats of white gloss paint, which causes drawers to jam and cabinet doors not to close properly. Pasted-​on faux granite countertops and wood-​veneered floors are also available. Our carpet was not new at move-​in, not by a country mile, but the floor veneer and faux granite did seem to be, and the apartment had been given its seventeenth or so coat of paint. The stove is evidently the cheapest gas model obtainable and is elderly to boot; the dishwasher similarly so at move-​in, though it was replaced with a newer model when it finally broke down. Maintenance staff are friendly and helpful and responsive. Oscar, the present maintenance lead, is a great guy and very easy to work with. Klarisa, the present manager, is a gem. She is immensely kind and personable and a huge improvement over the previous two managers. Managers have not typically had long tenancies here, I understand. It would be best if she stayed as long as possible.
The grounds are well-​kept, with a variety of trees, shrubs, and flowering plants. There is not much lawn — only small patches here and there. The walkways and driveways are clean and frequently swept. The grounds are rather dimly lit at night, but they are lit. The pool area is kept very clean. The pool is heated and the jacuzzi is really quite hot, which is unusual in an apartment complex, in my experience. The pool nominally opens at 8:00 and closes at 10:00. I have never seen anyone in the pool before 8:00. I have often seen (and been bothered by) people in the pool after 10:00. Enforcement is sporadic.
The laundry facility is large enough for most purposes and is kept very clean. Machines are generally in good repair. Laundry payment is by card, and the card must be refilled by cash. I have seen card machines that take ATM and credit cards and would much rather have that, but this system is doable. The washing machines function well and extract almost all water from even heavy loads. The dryers will dry even quite large loads very thoroughly. It is not necessary to use the hottest setting to get a dry load, which is nice.
The deep setback of the complex, combined with the single point of entry, enhances safety and security, but does make it a bit of a hassle if you live farther back in the complex. Residents are assigned one space and may get a permit for a second, unassigned space. Unassigned parking fills up in the evenings and cars may have to park outside of the complex, on A or B Streets, which is frustrating. Parking enforcement is very strict. Parking enforcement is farmed out to a separate company and towed cars are taken to a tow lot in Santa Ana.
The larger management company (Arnel) has a rather poor reputation. Several reviews on Unilocal make me wonder whether I will be able to get my deposit back when I leave.
Currently a large number of families with small children live in the complex. Residents are generally friendly and pleasant. There is an air of community. People appear to watch out for each other’s children. I have seen a few (two or three) residents and/​or guests who appear to be present or former gang members, going by their tattoos, There have been a few instances of police showing up, and on one instance I lost some small objects from an unlocked car. I am not aware of any problems other than that.

Klarisa, the property manager, always responded to any request of mine immediately and efficiently. Upon move-​in the whole apartment had been professionally cleaned and throughout the 12 months we stayed she rendered excellent professional and courteous service.

The best thing about this place is Klarissa, Oscar and that group. These are very old apartments, so calling them luxury is completely rediculous to me. They are way over priced for what you get… If it wasn’t for Klarissa and Oscar, I would have moved long ago. Oscar and his team does a great job maintaining the grounds… It is clean and manicured… Arnel is lucky to have Klarissa, Oscar and the team here… They need to upgrade these apartments if they want to charge luxury, prices… These are far from luxury, maybe for the bugs… But not for humans.

I had a very bad experience trying to get an apartment here… First the manager Klarissa very friendly show me the Model… and I thought all the apartments will be like that. my first mistake. then my second mistake was to trust Klarissa because she ask me for $ 200.00 dollars like a deposit for my commitment to get and specific apartment… this apartment offered by writing never was available… to justify this situation. Klarissa show me an other one., and this one was nothing to say about LUXURIOUS APARTMENTS like they pretend to sell… then when I ask Klarissa for my money back .she say in bad way I lost it because she already lost 1800.00 for my Fault… take care with this place… Don’t give them money until they got you the apartment they promise.

Villa Viento and Arnel kept 100% of my security deposit! DONT LIVE HERE. My experience has been awful. Read my initial post for details. STAY AWAY from any Arnel properties including Villa Viento. Read this LA TIMES Article about residents being cheated out of their deposits as proof of what happens with Arnel properties:

This is a nice and friendly community. Klarisa is amazing. She really worked hard to work with my situation and get me an apartment. Everyone is really friendly, much more so than other places that I have lived. I had one small issue and it was taken care of within the hour, everyone is very responsive and they make the tenants feel at home. I would recommend this community to anyone looking for a nice and friendly place to live.

When I first moved here this place was fairly run-​of-​the-​mill for mid-​range luxury apartments. In the lsat few months it has become clear that the management is constantly trying to improve this place. I have to say I’m pretty happy! The pool and hot tub are always clean and nice. The grounds are kept well. I’ve only had one occasion to call for service this was when my house guest used ordinary dish soap in the dish washer. They arrived promptly and were very quick and pleasant explaining what happened. lol! Also the apartment manager Clarissa is a real sweetheart and helps anytime you need anything. I love this place and definitely will be renewing my lease.

Management is awful. Do yourself a favor a avoid the headache of having to live in stress.
Never missed a payment. Cleaned the apartment and made arrangements to move out a week before my lease was up. Someone planned to move in the day I moved out and management agreed they would let me leave early due to this. Awesome. But when my deposit came, they charged me thru the end of my lease — even with our written agreement and the fact someone occupied my apartment.
But how do you fight that? You can’t. They know this.
Oh and don’t forget the fact that they let uninsured people park their cars. One of them hit my car and sped off. Even knowing who it was, management wouldn’t help out.
Like I said, look elsewhere.

I don’t live here but I did inquire about their rentals and thought there was some shady things going on so I felt like I should share for future tenants.
I sent an email to this complex via
inquiring on a 1 bedroom 1 bath and listed on the site it was in my price range, also my email clearly asked what the unit was going for because it does state prices are subject to change.
I received a call back from Marilyn and from the beginning she seemed shady with her questions, she kept on asking if I can move in a month earlier than I wanted and then asked me how much I was willing to pay for a unit. Last time I checked renting an apartment wasn’t an auction and I shouldn’t have to propose an amount. When I told her what I saw online she said oh no we don’t rent that low and quoted me a price $ 200 over what was on the site and argued with me about what I saw. I’m actually kind of glad it turned out way over than what was on the site because I don’t know if I would be able to deal with someone like that if I lived in the complex.
If you’re looking into this place I would try to get as much information as you can because who knows what you’ll end up paying towards the actual rent.

I dont know about the previous reviewers but I moved to this property in August and my experience has been pleasurable. The property manager, Tara, is really proactive and all my requests have been addressed immediately. The location is great, the property well kept and the maintenance guys are really proactive and helpful. I will however admit that the property was a bit overpriced but the apartments are really spacious and well kept! I will highly recommend it

Only live here if held up at gunpoint. Idiots, plain and simple. If you live here, you too will be highly irritated. Incompetence abounds. Also, your stuff may get stolen from their highly «secure» storage that is offered (really it is a cabinet outside with a lock that can be cut off easily). Mine did. I hate this place with all that I have. I just moved to Orange County and this has not made my experience a good one. After the initial property manager moved on, every person I talked to makes me severely angry. This place could care less about tenants and clearly only cares about their money. Again, DO NOT LIVE HERE if you don’t have to. I will be moving just as soon as I can.

I wish I could write a great review, but I can’t. In the time I’ve been here, we’ve gone through at least 5 different property managers as this property seems to be considered a training ground. The pool area has been under reconstruction for at least 2 months, if not 3 — some during the summertime. It’s under the Orange County Airport flight arrivals and the planes are loud. The laundry room is by card, and has been quite a hassle. Many long term tenants have been moving out over the past 6 months. It has been difficult, if not impossible, to negotiate lease terms. And the property is overpriced in the area for what it offers. It does have a great location, excellent ground keepers and maintenance, and a good square footage in the apartments. Overall though, I cannot recommend it.