Surface kindness is not enough. We were desperate to find a spot for our son as the Fall semester started. Located a few steps from campus, this seemed extremely pricey, but since the owners divide multi-bedroom units into separate rooms and we didn't have to find roommates, it was attractive. The place was filthy when we looked at it, but Lana, a kindly landlady, assured us that when he moved in, it would be sparkling clean. She seemed very maternal and we felt comfortable signing the 50ish-page lease. We moved him in a couple of weeks later, and it wasn't clean at all. His room had hair collected into tumbleweeds in the corners. Doors and jambs were covered in grime, and the bathroom and kitchen were filthy. We went to put stuff into drawers in the kitchen to find out they were glued shut! Disappointed, we cleaned it up to be habitable and left him, knowing at least he could just walk to campus, hoping he'd have a good year. Lana was kind to him, but the front door of the unit remained patched and sanded, looking like it was mid-repair just as it did when we first viewed the place for the entire time my son lived there (as shown in countless Amazon delivery confirmations). The dishwasher was a total catfish - never worked. For some ungodly reason, the US Postal service refused to deliver a package to his address, stating that the address on his lease, "does not exist". I spoke to SD post office reps directly when my package was returned undeliverable and they argued that there is no such address, google maps be damned. Thankfully, Amazon had no issue finding that grotty door. He came back home a little early for summer, and when we went down to clean the unit and do a walkthrough, they had finally painted the front door. Though 2 roommates still hadn't moved out, 3 of us put in hours of hard labor to ensure the place was left clean without discarding the roommates' grocery items. His room and a shared bathroom were left pristine with zero damage, and the shared living room and kitchen, decent (roommates would be living there after he left). Lana and Bill walked through, kind and happily chatting, and remarked how our son was awesome and they really wished he would stay. Though the lease stated the deposit would be returned within 21 days "after the premises have been vacated," when I texted 21 days later, Lana stated she wouldn't return the deposit until 21 days after lease termination -ugh, whatever - 6 days later we got a packet in the mail. I expected we'd likely have a cleaning fee due, thanks to the shared spaces that the other roommates continued to occupy after he moved out. The deposit came back shorted $272 for cleaning, including $62 for his share of the communal kitchen and living room (which included bathroom cleaning), $40 for his room and the bathroom (double dipped?), $30 to clean his wood desk and plastic seated metal chair (which he didn't use - we brought in our own, actual desk chair) $80 to sanitize the box spring (picture shows we didn't even use her box spring - he used her always-protected mattress directly on a full support frame we brought in), and a $60 charge to paint the room door. Their explanations of charges are just photocopies of the fronts of checks they wrote and sketchy boilerplate room cleaning lists they filled out for "Fresh Start Cleaning Service". An included DVD had 50 pics of 2 cleaning ladies working separately in the kitchen, living room, and his bedroom, and random things that needed cleaning (24 pics of dust on a ceiling fan, extreme close ups of floor dirt, and - insult to injury - nine pics of the inside of the dishwasher that literally NEVER WORKED!) No pics of the door that needed $60 of paint or the boxspring that required sanitization. When I asked about why we were being charged for the door and cleaning of furniture that were notated for a different room, she stated that the other room part was a typo and the door "had already been fixed". (So basically, F off, it is what it is). It occurs to me now they charged us $60 to paint the @#$%$ door that was ruined before we ever saw the apartment. And she ended her text with a kind thank you and have a good day. If you are desperate, this is a convenient, furnished, close-to-campus place to stay. If you're lucky, you'll get paired with decent roommates, but there's no guarantee - my kid's roomies included 2 filthy weed-loving kids. If your kid is well-behaved, Lana will treat them with kindness. But there are far more affordable places that are better kept up that won't r*pe you on your deposit. Had I known how horribly they'd treat our deposit I would not have spent a minute cleaning. read more

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As a veteran who has fallen on hard times, I am thankful to have this place to stay thanks to an organization who helps with housing assistance. Granted it wasn't my ideal setting because it's in the middle of college life been there done that, but it is definitely growing on me. It's close to everything for me: transportation, stores, and restaurants. I have stayed in far worse being in the Navy that's for sure. I had some minor issues, such as leaking bathroom window when it rains very hard, but that is few and far between and the loud college kids and cars parking next to my bedroom window which is a tow away zone. Lana has been very friendly with me. So far, no complaints in that department. read more

READ THIS BEFORE SIGNING THE LEASE! (Parents and Students should read this) Living at 5811 Lindo Paseo turned out as a scam. Lana and Bill are pretending to be nice and professional landlords. Trust me as an ex-tannent it will turn out differently than you thought after signing the lease, I wish I had read the honest reviews of real people who lived in this place on Reddit before. The apartment means overcharged rooms compared to other housing options nearby, sleepless nights because of staying awake by the parties of the frat house right next to the house and the incredible noisy trash services at 5:30 am, sketchy tenants from what I feel like, and getting upset by Lana via ignored text message or in person. Lana's presence during the day in the building is mentally exhausting! If you as a parent think it's good that Lana is there, it is not, she will stress your child out every single week! Not to forget to mention about are the cockroaches that occur every single year (from what I have heard). Oh if you think you get solar energy for free. She promised it to me before signing the lease and then never got it. Be careful with reviews on google and her "OWN" website that have more than 2 stars. I can`t prove it, but I truly believe that these reviews are faked (you can guess who did it). Funny is that you are not even able to post comments on her website and instead only the website owner can publish reviews. Think about that and thank me later! The 2 stars are for the location. read more

Lana and bill are the textbook definition of slumlords I lived there from may 2020 until June 2021 during that time my rent increased $400 with no new features they will pretend to be kind people at first then once you are locked into a lease their entire moods change if you tell them you have a problem with your apartment like for example the unit I was in all of my roommates had their own private bathroom but I was forced to share a bathroom because they flat out refused to fix my toilet which used to cause horrible smelling water to come out of the shower head. DO NOT MOVE HERE YOURE BETTER OFF ON THE STREET https://www.reddit.com/r/sandiego/comments/w2rdis/sdsu_student_confronts_landlords_on_unpermitted/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf read more

Seeing as my review continues to get taken down, I will continue to post: If I could give them 0 stars I would. I lived at the Montezuma residence in the college area for 7 months and at the very beginning it was okay but then things started going downhill. They not only increased my rent by $400 when they found out that a friend was sleeping on my couch for a little bit but they also made him sign onto the lease and pay a deposit. When he was able to move into another place, they then refused to let him off the lease or give him his deposit back till the initial lease was over even though I was still living there. Things stayed broken, even when I let them know over and over about things, they never got fixed. It was always excuse after excuse. My oven didn't work 5 out of the 7 months I lived there, only 2 of the stove top burners worked, the washer and dryer barely worked, the heater in the living room leaked a gasoline smell that was constant the entire time I lived there, and then the last 2 months I had no hot water in my kitchen plus only one side of the faucet would work. I let them know about all of these things and nothing was ever done. I also agreed at the beginning of my lease (in writing as well) that I would move to another apartment comparable to what I was already in and paying for, come July so that they would have the apartment open for incoming college students. I did not mind potentially having to move but the options they gave me were not comparable: moving into a condo/townhome that wasn't even finished being remodeled and the rent was $600 more than I was already paying, or moving into a bedroom that was for rent with other roommates (my wife was moving out in August and that's just not something we were comfortable with personally). Not to mention in addition to me having to pay $600 more in rent than what was agreed upon in my lease they wanted me to sign a completely brand new lease. Being military that wasn't going to work because I was going to moving soon anyways, I offered to buy out of the lease after being told that I had to move no matter what and that they had someone moving in Aug 1st, giving me less than 2 weeks to figure out what I was doing. Lana and Bill were refusing to work with me, Bill was incredibly rude and disrespectful to my wife and they lied about having "partners" to discuss things with before they could make decisions and then the next day they could make their own decisions. After waiting for them to give an answer as to whether or not I could buy out of my lease or not, I wanted a copy of my lease so I had to go into the office in which they finally agreed to let me buy out of the 3 months I had left. Their rent is ridiculously high for what they're accommodating people with, they lie and get rude when something doesn't go their way and will try to weasal all the money they can from you before they let you leave. It was a hellacious experience from practically the beginning to the end read more

I just want to start off by saying that Lana and her husband are some of the nicest people I ever met. They offered me a place to stay when I was in a bad situation and without their kindness and hospitality I don't know where I would be. Pros: Close to Campus, utilities were included, and the price was more than fair. Came with a parking spot which is nice especially in the campus area. Landlord actively responds and takes cares of any problems that you may have. Laundry on site/attached to unit. Cons: None read more

Horrible landlords and didn't care to maintain the rental unit. Didn't care for tenants as it took them weeks to fix the sewage backup and they never cleaned it. One of the roommates cleaned the mess. If you want to pay a high rent and live in this conditions you can rent from them. Otherwise, be aware. Lana and Bill are horrible landlords. read more

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DO NOT rent from these people. There are so many things I want to say, but I only have so many characters on Yelp. I'm sure by now you have seen the video of the unfortunate student who rented a unit from Bill and Lana for 5 months, not knowing it was UNPERMITTED and unsafe for dwelling. A city inspector confirmed this; I have a link to the news video here: https://www.reddit.com/r/sandiego/comments/w2rdis/sdsu_student_confronts_landlords_on_unpermitted/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf Until this video surfaced, I had been afraid to come forward as I had witnessed firsthand what they had messaged my roommate, who had left a bad review (threatening to withhold security deposits, etc.) It's been almost 3 years since I moved out of 5811 Lindo Paseo. I rented a unit from 2018-2020. Here's what I experienced: 1. The place is NOT professionally cleaned. She hires teenagers. 2. ROACHES: Our apartment was infested with cockroaches. We noticed some big boys the first year, but only now and then during the evening. My roommates and I thought, "this is OK; it's San Diego. San Diego has cockroaches." But then it got BAD. We no longer saw the big boys; we only saw small ones - ranging from the size of a couple of grains of salt to a grain of rice. I brought this up to Bill and Lana, to which they told me that it was MY fault because we "partied" too much. I lived with two students getting their Master's in electrical engineering and a third who was a straight A student. Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed our roommate parties, but it was nothing crazy. After all, it was only us 4, and we didn't enjoy partying a lot. None of us were in a frat either, to clear the picture. To add, we were all surfers and enjoyed having our unit consistently clean so that we could get to our gear more quickly; plus, it's simply more aesthetic having a clean space. That's how we found the roaches quickly - because the place was always clean. We had one drinking night with some friends, and our apartment was pretty trashed - Lana took it upon herself to take photos of the unit and use them as "proof" that we were unclean and thus the reason for the roach infestation. Until the bottom unit also exclaimed they had roaches. And my roommate across the balcony had roaches. Oh, and the unit in the front had roaches. I told Lana she needed to hire a professional exterminator, to which she told me she would take care of it herself. She poured that white toxic "roach killer" powder all over the countertops, floorboards, cracks, etc. I told her that "over-the-counter" products would not work for an infestation as large as this one (there were hundreds of roaches, no exaggeration), and she continued to refuse to hire a professional. Finally, I had enough and started speaking with attornies regarding the habitability of the house. Upon learning this, Lana quickly hired a professional. As a side note, this was during COVID (May 2020) as things were getting really bad. Understandably, the exterminator who performed the service (he had to come back 3 times. It was so bad) asked Lana to please stay away from him, as she was not wearing a mask. Almost out of a comedy movie, Lana continued to approach the man and get closer to him as he talked. He must have reminded her a dozen times before getting very firm and obviously annoyed, stating she needed to stay away from him or he would leave. Every time I tried to interject about the severity of the issue, Lana would talk over me and try to downplay the situation. Luckily, the gentlemen knew to trust me for accurate information and not the landlord. 3. WETSUITS As I stated in my previous book, my roommates and I were all surfers. However, Lana and Bill do not like surfers. In particular, they didn't like me because I would call them out every time something egregious happened (I'm in Real Estate, but I'm not a lawyer, so I put up with a lot, not knowing my rights as a tenant). When we were all moving out of the apartment, my roommate (who I won't name) left his old wetsuit in the apartment accidentally after vacating. He had a couple, so no biggie for him. However! Lana tried to send ME a $45 "disposal fee" for getting rid of the wetsuit. She snuck it in as a line item on the bill. Didn't ask if it was mine, didn't ask my roommates. I have 2 wetsuits, one for Fall/Spring and one for winter. Both are over $300 and in great condition. I would NOT leave my suits there; the audacity to assume it was me because she doesn't like me is baffling. 4. GUESTS A) My brother/dad visited me for 3 days. Lana sent me a bill for $300 because they stayed "too" long. It was THREE days. B) My hometown friend visited me to surf in SD. Yep. Another $300 bill. AND, upon exiting his Uber, Lana held him hostage in her office. NO JOKE. My roommate thankfully heard the commotion and came downstairs and stated it was his friend as I was in class. 5. S/Os GFs aren't allowed to visit. Same for BFs. I'm not kidding. read more

The experience I had while living at Lana and Bill's property was fantastic.  The property was well maintained and as landlords, they were very attentive. I remember having a small issue with our shower that was quickly resolved as they had a plumber come swiftly to check it out. A high satisfaction with this property, I enjoyed the property as well as building a friendly relationship with Lana and Bill. I would rent from them in the future if the situation arises. Thank you Lana and Bill for a great house and experience my senior year at SDSU. read more

The house was pretty nice. Also it's really close to the campus so if you're a student and/or research scholar it is even better option. Everything you need is close, like supermarkets, pizzeria, Starbucks, you name it. I spent there 3 months. read more

Lana is a slum lord and a dishonest person. She manipulates students into thinking they are renting a place with other "students", claims "all in one" packages and pressures young people to sign a lease that is about 50 pages of legal verbiage protecting her from the shit hole conditions that they cannot understand, with no credit, no back ground checks, no co-signers. The rent price is astronomical which the kids think includes everything based on the "all in one package" bs and actually they must pay the extremely high power bills on top of the stupid high rent for the place because if they don't run ac and dehumidifiers she will hold them liable for mold growth because the ventilation is so poor. The renters are not all students as she verbally claims. read more

I used to rent with Lana a couple years ago. She was always courteous and professional. We had some issues with one of our roomies and Lana always had our back when finding a replacement. They were on top of all repairs as fast as they could and overall we had a good relationship with them. I would definitely rent again. read more

The times I needed a place to rent without breaking the bank, Lana and Bill were there for me. They are great people and offered their best they can. They enjoy taking care of their tenants and are always on call. I cannot express how thankful I am for them and their services. Whether someone is looking to live around SDSU or looking for a quiet area, Lana can help you find a place. Give her a call and see what she can do for you. read more

Bill and Lana told me and my roommates that we'll receive our deposit back 21 after move out. It's been 45 days and neither of us can get them on the phone. read more

Hi everyone, My name is Billy, a law student and one of the landlord's longtime tenants since August 2016. I lived here for that long because of my genuine and friendly relationship with Lana, our landlord. Not only did Lana serve her role as a landlord, but she also went out of her way to help me in very urgent circumstances. Lana willingly and without a problem prioritized my needs over hers at times because she always saw the importance of tending to the needs of her tenants and friends. Because of her willingness to help me in crucial times, I can honestly say that I'm entirely grateful for meeting a person as Lana. She has become an important person in my life. Not only is she is a great landlord, but she is also a great friend and a strong motherly figure. Although I have been away from home for more than 3 years, I have felt care for and supported by Lana in difficult phases of my life. Many times, when I was on my way to school or back from school, I would see Lana in her office and she would always ask about my well-being, school, work, and family. After realizing that she cared about me as a tenant and person, I felt as if she were my mother who cared very much about her children and wanted them to succeed in life. As time went on, my relationship with Lana has grown stronger and bigger that now whenever we see each other, we are very happy to see each other and cherish our friendly and productive conversations. We have created a positive energy towards each other and I want to keep it that way. Although I will soon return to Los Angeles to practice law as an attorney, I will forever be grateful for all her wisdom, her emotional support, our laughters, and most importantly, her willingness to always listen to my problems. If others spend a little more time getting to know people such as Lana, they will realize that she is the kind of person that would sacrifice her own needs to try to solve your problems because she is very considerate, sympathetic, and is determined to tend to the problems of others. I cannot thank her enough for all her emotional and moral support. I am forever grateful for her kindness and loving personality. She has been a great friend and I will cherish our memories. I definitely plan to return for a reunion with Lana and her family. By that time, I would be a practicing attorney at law and would return to thank her once more for her ongoing support as a friend and motherly figure. Sincerely and Respectfully, Billy Guzman read more

We found this apartment in a pinch when we could not find another place to live in time. The landlords were there and let us sign, tour the apartment and sit down with us the same day we found it! This was very helpful and convenient. It is close to campus and food, having Trader Joe's near by is awesome for grocery shopping as a student (it's about a block away). We also lived next to our friends across the alleyway, overall great location! The landlords are quick to respond to inquiries and needs and very kind, they even dropped of treats for us! We did have some issues in the apartment, as most rented places on campus will, such as a small leak in the bathroom and the dishwasher broke. Again, they were quick to come check it out and replace / fix them! The bedrooms and space in general is a good size. They cover WiFi and water which makes the extreme price of living on campus easier financially. In total this place is exactly what you would expect based off of the images and or touring. Location is great and they gave us back our entire security deposit! Although this might be an overlooked place at first, Lana the landlord makes it worth your while and continues to help out. The respectful community of the apartment complex was also an added benefit, we made great friends with our upstairs neighbor. You can rent out a single bedroom (if you're flying solo) or the entire place (depending on availability) which is also a perk! In total, there's a lot of great benefits to living in this apartment complex! read more

The best landlord I've ever had, very attentive and understanding. Very quick to respond to any requests that you may have or if you need anything fixed. I've been a tenant for 2 years now and plan on renewing my lease every time. Lana is incredible at what she does and goes above and beyond her duties to make sure you are well taken care of while at the property. Bill is courteous and makes sure everything about your comfortable living experience is taken care of in a timely manner. They have my business for life! read more

WORST PLACE YOU WILL EVER ENCOUNTER! I wish I could give ZERO stars or even negative stars. I lived here for a year and highly advise you to look else where. The landlord is insane and has her husband basically run "her" business. They will lie to you the moment you arrive to the moment you leave. She centers in on foreigners because of the lack of English they know. It makes it easier for her to trick them and lie. Here are a few examples of what happened while living at 5811 Lindo Paseo: 1. The shower handle broke causing the water to continuously run. We called the landlord Lana and her husband refused to turn off the water and told me to let it run until the plumber came the next day. This occurred around 8 pm and the plumber did not arrive until afternoon the next day. Can you imagine how much water was wasted?! Even the plumber was furious. 2. Lana advertises that the laundry machine and dryer are free of charge. Nope not the case. One of the apartments had an insane utility bill and found out the washer was linked to their apartment. 3. I am a female college student and during the last months of my lease I noticed random people always staying for a few days and then leaving. I assumed it was new roommates who were unsatisfied. I later found out Lana was running an air bed and breakfast when a woman asked me why there were college students living in "Lana's" home. I explained that she rented rooms to college students and that this was an apartment not her family house. This woman then showed me the Air BnB site which was pictures from all the apartments making it look like one cohesive home. Both myself and this woman were shocked and she was gone by morning. Now I understand this is Lana's property and she can rent as she pleases but a quick heads up about her new rental system was something a good landlord would've done. There were nights I was alone at home in my underwear and random men would just walk in with keys saying they were staying the weekend. No one should deal with such discomfort in the place they are living. I had no idea what these people looked liked or their names or even the simple fact that they were coming!!!!! 4. There were two oil leaks from cars on the driveway from September which were caused by my roommates' shared rental car. They moved out and almost a year later in June while I was still there that same parking spot was given to someone else and Lana was blaming that new person for the old stains. There are so many more events like these. Do yourself a favor and go to a better place than this one step up from homelessness. read more

I've had a great experience with 5811 Lindo Paseo. Lana and Bill are very easy to deal with, reliable, and trustworthy. They go above and beyond to help and full filll needs. I would highly recommend this apartment complex to anyone who wants to live so close to SDSU with a great group of people. read more

5811 Lindo Paseo was a great place to live. It's super close to campus and the south campus plaza shopping center. The landlords were very helpful whenever there was an issue in the complex. Great place to live if you want to live close to campus. read more

Lived here between 2012-2013 for my freshman year at SDSU. Really close to campus, which was a huge plus. Overall, very nice and accommodating landlords/living space. No real complaints from me other than parking, which is limited and at an extra cost. read more

5811 Lindo Paseo is an awful place to rent. The only redeeming quality of the place is that it is close to campus, that's literally it. The buildings look old and run down from the outside, and the "all inclusive" furnishing on the inside look just as bad, all outdated and old. The place doesn't have A/C and the rooms get very hot and stay hot, so good luck in the summer or any time the weather is anything above 80 degrees. For this reason, our unit was infested with cockroaches, especially in the kitchen which made it virtually unusable. Not to mention the landowners Bill and Lana were hardly responsive when us tenants would come to contact them about this issue. They didn't even attempt to fix the problem for many weeks. In fact, the only times Lana and Bill are quick to respond and come to contact you is about rent. If you're a student looking to rent near SDSU I couldn't stress it enough to NOT RENT HERE. You're better off renting literally anywhere else. read more

Lived here for my sophomore year of college (2016-2017). Have to say this was the worst experience of my life. The landlords were manipulative and shady. My room, though undamaged, never got the security deposit. Every call to them has been ignored and they have not returned any of my calls. Furthermore, the housing unit I lived in (#3) failed inspection at the beginning of the year. Moreover, Bill and Lana are the worst landlords I have ever encountered in my few years of renting. They break multiple codes (for example not giving a 24 hour notice). In addition to that, many times they requested that we help them fix the services that they promised to provide. An example of this would be when they had me call cox to fix our internet instead of doing it themselves. If you want to live in this dump go ahead. But expect less than exceptional care, shady and greedy landlords, as well as the worst housing experience of your life. Just a quick update as well, as I was in the drive through of the McDonald's behind the complex (2/5/18) , Lana, one of the landlords, came up to my car and threatened that her company would come after me if I did not delete this review. 8 months after moving out I thought I'd never have to deal with them and their practices again but I was wrong. I hope these and other negative reviews will deter anyone from going through this awful expierience. read more

I lived here in 2017 and it was horrible. The landlords were terrible. They were so rude, condescending, MANIPULATIVE, and mysogynistic. The surrounding area was loud. When things in the apartment broke they often didn't fix it. They would hound me for rent each month even though I always payed on time, and usually well in advance. When I tried to move out they gave an incredibly difficult time even though it was written in the contract that I was allowed to sublet. They even withheld my deposit even though there was nothing wrong with the room I had been living in and I definitely never broke anything. DO NOT LIVE HERE. read more

Worst place to live ever I'll post pictures if I figure out how. Super intrusive, way too expensive, literally was coming into the apartment at least once a week for some different reason. Didn't pass the first basic city inspection, literally everyone passes that inspection. Always monitoring everyone going in and out of the building, kinda creepy. Accused my of doing other people's laundry. There was mold in the apartment and we were never informed of it. They were always lying to us and accusing us of being bad residents even though I never paid rent late. They like to trap you in their office and tag team you and pressure you to sign weird letters and contracts saying they can come in whenever and stuff like that. Just a really horrible shady place. Living there made me want to live in the dorms my last year. read more

I lived at Bill's residence on Lindo Paseo for 1 year and I wish I had moved there earlier during my college career. It was an ideal living situation for me in College since the location was exceptional. The school, all the local restaurants, the gym, and basketball arena were all within a short walking distance. For a busy a college student, having the convenience of being so close to everything I needed was essential to my success as a student. Bill's maintenance staff handled any problems or issues that we had with our home in a timely manner. Bill himself was very easy to get along with and understood that after all, we are college students, and was very accepting and understanding to our lifestyle as a college student. Not only was Bill a great landlord but he also became a great friend. He is extremely friendly and willing to help in any way possible, definitely my most memorable landlord I have ever worked with. read more