Provence at Valencia

We lived at Provence for almost 4 years. Initially we loved everything about the property. Management was awesome, Sarah, Amanda, Joanna, and I can't remember the nice blonde/brunette who worked in the front 4 years ago, she moved on to a better job she stated during a run in at Walmart. The only one remaining of this group is Joanna. We started in a 3 bedroom 2 bath for only 1900 a month. Over the year, management started upgrading all units and thus prices rose exponentially. Our rent jumped to $2200, so we moved to a 2 bedroom. As time went on, there was a big shift in personnel in the office, and things went down hill. I saw more new faces in the office every month than strippers at a strip club. A couple of the new ladies in the front have attitudes as though they didn't like their jobs; find a new minimum wage job if you hate customer service.



At the end of our lease on our two bedroom, they rose the rent to $1915. We went to their website to take a look at the prices for new tenants and were shocked at the prices they are getting away with just because of the area and a few upgrades to the apartment. We saw 3 bedrooms going for $2400, and 2 bedrooms going for $2200. Unfreakinbelievable! The upgrades do not warrant the price increase, as we've had neighbors with upgraded units who thought the quality was only, OK. We can afford these prices but expect much more for the money.



The area in which these apartments are is nice, however, the service from management and terrible amenities negates the prices they charge. The gym always has broken equipment. The one pool is overly crowed in the summer. The business office use to be nice, but juveniles kept breaking the printers and I believe they are no longer available (I stopped going in after countless unusable computers and printers).However, the maintenance guys are awesome and do a good job with the upkeep of the complex.



Here's my biggest problem with the service coming out of the office. I am in the Air Force, now 15 years. Our lease expired on June 11, 2015. On our move out day I called the front office to ask if we could just turn our keys in a few hours late, maybe a drop box, or the next morning. I even asked to speak to Joanna, the assistant manager, the response was that she was to busy to take a call. Anyhow, I was moving everything myself, and fell behind because of our 3 month old son, and the need to tend to him every hour or so in the heat. All I asked was for an additional 4 hours. Guess what my response was: "You would have to be put on a month to month lease if keys are turned in after office hours that day". Are you kidding me? 4 hours? For a military member with two young kids? A upstanding tenant for almost 4 years? You have got to be kidding me!



In summary, Provence is located in a nice neighborhood. Maintenance is good, and upkeep of the property is decent. Amenities are not up to par with newer properties in the area and the buildings look dated. However, office staff and management has a lot of room for improvement. The tune changes once you are already a tenant and become just another number, at least with the new people in the office. I have lived all across the United States and overseas, and have never had a property, or landlord treat me the way Provence treated me in the last month. I can not recommend this complex to anyone. Prices are beyond outrageous for what you get, and management is not were it needs to be. If you are moving to this area and can afford the prices, I would recommend Vista at West Hills, located up the street on Copper Hill. This is a new property and the apartments warrant the price. If I had not received a last minute transfer to Luke Air Force Base, we would be living at Vista. Good luck to all future residences, especially those who may have special circumstances or in the military.

We had a terrible experience when trying to end our tenancy. They lost the 30-day agreement and claimed our son lied about giving notice. It wasn't the 1st time they lost "convenient" paperwork that lead to them claiming we owed additional charges. It's a shame to watch this place take money from parents who are trying to provide a roof and schooling for their children. They called our son a liar, excepted the keys back after 30-days even though they claimed we never gave notice and then proceeded to seek charges for an apartment we did not even live in. Um... Better Business Practices... Find staff that actually do their job and file paperwork properly. Totally disgraceful and we were warned from others that this is their normal practice. Squeeze all they can get out of you. You will never see your deposit. Hope others heed our warning.