Barbera Management

I currently stay at their Monrovia location and it has been such a great experience. The manager Vanessa always is nice and easy to talk to. Anytime I need a repair or question she always helps me. The parking is convenient and my unit is really nice. New carpet new tile fresh paint. Rent is reasonable for the area.

I live at the evergreen property on Longden. I have lived here for more than a few years now. I can’t say much about the exit from here because I have yet to move out and I hope it’s not true that they don’t return the deposits. I can say that I’ve never had an issue getting things fixed and they were also very accommodating when I transferred from a one bedroom to a 2 bedroom. I will say this we got a new manager a year ago and since her arrival things here have gotten so much better. She gets things done the place looks so much better than it did before she addressed many issues that were a little bothersome in the past… I feel much safer and comfortable since her arrival… any maintenance issues are now handled in a more professional manner and very quickly they made a nice area for the kids to play basketball and a nice little area if you wanted to entertain outside… she lit the place up outside in the parking and inside the complex as well as it was very dark before at night… our previous manager was a very nice lady she just wasn’t on top of things the way the current manager Michelle is. I love living here now more than ever before… I would recommend anybody to live here if you want a quiet, clean, safe complex to live in:

only few words: KEEP AWAY of these ROBBERS!
Such a bad experience in my life.
We lived in Barbera property 9 month and than broke a lease, yes we were ready to pay $ 500 early termination fee, BUT!!! as I know now we also were responsible to pay for all time till it’s get rented!!! So our $ 1770 security deposit become less than $ 500.
Nothing I can say, but disgusting!!!

My boyfriend and I found an Apartment that suited us quite well. However, after discovering that it was managed by Barbera Management, we were quite apprehensive about applying for this new apartment, considering the terrible treatment we received from them before. We decided to give it a shot anyway. My boyfriend called the site manager and left a voicemail about wishing to apply for this property. When we have not received a call back from her, we figured she was just busy. It turns out, she was just plain IGNORING our phone calls and had not wanted anything to do with us (please note, we have dealt with an entirely different site manager and property before). We left four voice messages on her phone, still no answer. This is just plain unprofessional and rude. Are we trying to lease apartments here, or just sitting around watching TV/​whatever else these people do?
If you’re considering renting an apartment from these people, PLEASE, I’m begging you to read the other reviews on this page, as I am obviously not the crazy one and other people agree with my strong opinion that these people are crooks. There is no other way to describe them.
Good luck.

UPDATE: It seems like Barbera is trying to make it harder to find them. Do not allow yourself to be robbed. Get back the money from your security deposit that is rightfully yours. Take them to small claims court. Serve the court paperwork to their main office at the following address:
Barbera Management
610 E Foothill Blvd, Monrovia, CA 91 016
(626) 359‑4995
PS — The apartment itself was generally fine to live in, we had no maintenance issues, and the on-​site manager was always helpful. If they had not tried to take more than $ 700 from me, I would have had no problem with the property.

Stay away from this property management company! I rented a unit from them around 2008 – 2009 and just thinking back to the experience brings back such bad memories. The unit was spotless when I left it and they still charged me all these bogus fees. This was the first time in my years of renting that I was charged more than $ 50 upon move out. At the time, I was too busy to try and get back the $ 700 they took from me when I moved out. And looking back, I do regret not pursuing it further. I’m totally rooting for those of you who are going after them!
They’re ridiculously hard to get ahold of. Back then, I got their number by emailing them, but was told to put it in writing (via email). After doing so, I received a 3 sentence response in the mail saying that I agreed to all these charges in the rental agreement. They also sent invoices/​receipts to try and validate the charges (some of which looked pretty sketchy). Interestingly, they use a LLC to collect fees from themselves for the inspections (the invoice had the same address listed for both sides). And for the cleaning bill/​invoice, you can see that someone used white-​out and then wrote $ 80 — not very smart when you’re using colored paper. From others’ experiences, it sounds like you would definitely have a case in small claims court.
Don’t be lured in by the landscaping. They spend more time making the outside look nice than actually taking care of the unit. And they will definitely rip you off when it’s time for you to move out. Avoid renting from Barbera Management!!!

Barbera Properties: Slumlords and Thieves:
I rented from these people for a long time. I am in the process of going after them. Once I’m done I will post a more comprehensive review with details names etc.
But to anyone out there thinking of renting with them, DON T. They will steal your money (literally and lie about it) and treat the outside of your rental better than you. Also if you don t like mold, raw sewage or gas leaks, with no on site management or emergency contact don t rent from them. Any reviews that give them good marks, –mostly likely someone they handpicked to write it. Also, Barbera Properties goes under another name called Bera Properties. These are the same people. Don’t rent from them. They are indeed slumlords and thieves. Very shady people who should be put of out of business.

Do Not Rent from Barbera Management! Mold!
These apartments may just make you sick or Kill you. The Sycamore View Apartments located on Holliston made me sick. I lived in Unit 147 C. Thank God I finally found out what was making me ill and got out of that place.
I recently found out my unit was an incubator for Mold. I moved in 2009 and approximately 1 year after moving in I began having unexplained illnesses ranging from sudden menpoause onset at 36, miscarriage, debilitating joint pain, headaches, elevated prolatin levels in my pituitary gland, swollen lymph nodes, hives, respiratory, nose bleeds that would not stop, constant exhaustion. All symptoms I now know are mold related. Research for yourseld The property management company refused to remediate or assist while I lived in a hotel for two months. My Doctor told me to move out because my blood levels tested positve for indoor mold. My furniture and clothing have been destroyed.
These people are slum lords. Protect yourself and family and don’t move in.

I rented from Barbera for nearly four years. The onsite manager was absolute great — just as nice as could be and very invested in trying to keep the building nice. Repairs were always handled promptly.
However, they continued to raise our rent once a year even when the economy crashed, and they were renting identical apts. for 200 dollars less to get them occupied.
They charged a «inspection fee» when we left, which isn’t at all legal under CA law. They are obligated to do the final inspection and list all repairs they will be charging for up to two weeks before your notice runs out, as long as you request it. They’re not allowed to charge for this, by law.
But they figure that you won’t go to court for a lousy 50 bucks, even if you know the charge is illegal, which most people don’t.
Management companies need to be penalized for these kind of flagrant legal violations. «You can spend a full day off work to just get back the charge» isn’t enough penalty.
While that kind of abuse really angers me, they did maintain a nice building which was clean and quiet.

Again, another bad review. They have upped my rent multiple times within a year and all they said was «because we can». They won’t offer you a new lease to sign after your year is up so that they can rip you off and squeeze you dry. The company is managed by very lax, unresponsive people. They could’nt care less, really. Now with all these complaints about deposit refunds, I’m beginning to worry about all the money I put down on my place. I would suggest NEVER renting from Barbera, and if you insist on this booby trap, make sure to read the fines lines on your rental agreement and NEGOTIATE. They will take you for all you have and claim no liability.
*NOTE they are now going by the name BARBERA PROPERTIES — probably due to all their bad Unilocal reviews

I am a current residence at Willow Apts in Sierra Madre and this management has been nothing but unprofessional. Beatriz who handles the bookkeeping lacks any intelligence. If you try to call and email them they won’t respond. They only respond to rudeness and vulgarity.
As of this year they violated fair housing laws and were reprimanded for it. We have lots of parents with kids here and were told that they are only allowed to be in the courtyard with supervision.
But one thing is for sure they love to shovel money into the common areas. In fact, they have made landscaping changes on several occasions but when you ask for an extra air conditioning unit because your apartment is too hot in the bedroom. Good luck with that.

It is interesting that we have the same experience with this landlord. It seems this is their business tactic. We will never rent from this company again or recommend their properties to anyone!

BE AWARE…
Do not rent here.
They lure in you in with cosmetics but when you leave, you will not see your deposit, maybe 25% of it. They charge you all sorts of ridiculous stuff and at least $ 500 for paint for a 1 yr lease.
DO NOT RENT from Barbera Properties.
I lived at the Maple Apartments in Sierra Madre.
They took at least $ 960 form my deposit and charged me for leaving 3 days early when the manager told me to leave early because she needed the apt empty.
I am in process of suing them, I will update once I get results.
This is the info I was able to gather from the CA site
Entity Name: BARBERA CALIFORNIA PROPERTIES, LLC Entity Number:200 417 510 004 Date Filed:06/03/2004 Status: ACTIVE Jurisdiction: NEVADA Entity Address:3308 ARIBA ST Entity City, State, Zip: LAS VEGAS NV 89 219 Agent for Service of Process: FRANK ANTHONY BARBERA Agent Address:76 554 HAWAII CIRCLE Agent City, State, Zip: PALM DESERT CA 92 211

I recently moved out an apartment managed by Barbera. I lived in the apartment for almost 2 years and I am not a happy camper with their expensive charges and not-​so-​efficient services.
I paid a total security deposit $ 1,800 when I first rented the apartment, by the time I received my deposit refund, the amount returned to me was just $ 1,150. When I moved out, the on-​site manager and I had an apartment walk through inspection, the manager said the condition is good and the apartment will be ready to rent out again after a light painting and carpet cleaning job. (Not replacing carpet.)
However, I have been deducted $ 530 (!!) for the paint job and $ 50 for apartment inspection fees and $ 70 for cleaning fees.
I called and emailed Barbera but didn’t get any answers or explanations from them. This is the first time (and the only time) in my 10+ years apartment rental experience that I’ve been ripped off so badly.
Renters be careful on this one.

This management group ripped me off with my deposit. They deducted a $ 50 «apartment inspection fee», $ 14.50 «city occupation fee», $ 200 for paint (when I stayed there over 2 years) and $ 70 for a «cleaning fee». When I tried to call the office to talk to the person responsible for handling these issues, I could never speak to anyone. I left 7 messages over 2 months and not one person called me back. This management company only cares about bilking as much $ out of tenants as possible.