Avoid Design Place Apartments - Serious Issues! Don't be fooled by the pictures. Design Place Apartments in Buena Vista, Miami has major ongoing issues that many renters only discover after it's too late. Here's what you need to know: * Rats, roaches, and mold are common -- multiple tenants report pest infestations and dangerous conditions. * Maintenance is unresponsive. Repairs take weeks or never happen at all. * Security is poor. Packages constantly go missing, the front gate is often broken, and break-ins have been reported. * Deposits are mishandled. Several people claim they left a deposit but never signed a lease -- and still couldn't get a refund. * Management ignores calls. Communication stops once they get your money. A staff member named Damaris is repeatedly mentioned in negative reviews for not following up or providing answers. * Shocking conditions on-site. Some residents were reportedly without appliances like fridges -- even for people with health issues. This property is also tied to SPV Realty, a company with a long history of tenant complaints and media coverage related to poor living conditions and legal disputes. Do your research. Google "Design Place SPV Realty Miami" and check the BBB, and ApartmentRatings reviews. The pattern is real. You deserve better. Protect yourself -- don't rent here. read more

Management don't care about tenants, trash all over the place amenities don't work but they charge extra

It was my first apartment 6 years ago in Miami. I lived there for 2 years. In the first year there were 2 deadly shootings next to my place (I lived on the side of 54th street). Cars were broken into. Over time it got better with crime. The laundry area was half working. People would take up all the working machines. Pool was closed down half of time as a kid took a dump in it. Tiny gym with hardly anything in it. Roads not maintained well. Security a total joke. Underpaid and the staff is different every day. They can't keep staff obviously as they are underpaid and for that don't care. Apartments stuffed with unregistered people; Related to that, the next problem: Roaches ROACHES a nightmare. And illegal activities going on... just saying. Other type of roaches. Oh and if you live around one of the dumpsters, you're in for a nice scent around the clock especially in summer time! Cherry on the cake was when I left. I had to take them to court because they didn't want to return my deposit because they "had to change all carpet" because 1 little stain. Florida law says there's such thing as living use which applies for living min 2 years in a place. But 1 small stain for replacing a complete home L O L. As nobody else living in this complex can afford taking them to court, they expected me to let it go just like every other person being screwed by them. That bit them in the ass big time. STAY AWAY!! YOU ARE WARNED! read more

They had me leave a deposit to "hold a place in line" after being told that the availability date would be pushed back further and further, when I went to pull out, they miraculously remembered that I existed. They never showed me an apartment however, told me to move in on a weekend with no warning or walk through. They refuse to give me my deposit ($500) back after they told me I would get it back. They've now forgotten I existed (conveniently). Refuse to answer my calls or emails. They are thieves. No different than a masked criminal on the street. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THEM THEY WILL ROB YOU. read more

First of all, I'm only giving 1 star because I'm forced to give one. The talk about is 0 stars. The management is horrible and rude. The apartments are ancient, overpriced and the floorboards creak! There's no assigned parking, and they WILL tow your car even if you live there! Last, but certainly not least, the units have tons of MICE! read more

The place became really clean, the management are working hard to keep the place up to par and make everybody happy. Especially for my business as a handyman, everything was really convenient for me with the parking. The place was nice and spacious and loved how we could build our own garden in the back as well as a BBQ area. If I came back to Miami, I would stay here again. read more

I don't usually give bad reviews because my momma taught me right......BUT this place really deserves one! For starters, I would say a 1 star is VERY kind when describing this deteriorating place, the despicable management/owners (SPV Realty LC.) who runs it and the service (or lack thereof) that they provide. To begin with every apartment is falling apart and perse is not entirely their fault; however, how they respond to the maintenance issues, to their tenants concerns, and their mediocre (at best) attempts when finally obligated to help, does fault them for adding to the deterioration as well as the terrible reputation I now have come to know that they have. *Wish I knew that before. So, I moved here about 10 months ago and from the moment we entered the apartment there was issues...LOTS of them! The apartment pretty much has every problem in the book; when it's time to contact management for help (which is almost every week) their inability and lack of experience shines really bright! I will add that the unprofessionalism is possibly something you have never seen before, and let's not mention the complete disregard for basic customer service and courtesy. Now, if that is not enough to make you run for your life then surely the roach INFESTATION, termites, feral cats all over, rats, and mice infestation should do the work. However, JUST in case it doesn't then consider this--every apt. is filled with mold, terrible air quality and circulation (mixed with cat pee smell from outside), rusted appliances, tiles are all broken, plumbing is constantly an issue with black water, bathroom ceiling about to cave in, and let's not forget the disgustingly maintained common areas. THE ONLY POSITIVE would be the maintenance staff who are all (without exception) talented, extremely politely, and always willing to do a good job--this does not include the maintenance supervisor because he is just as much of an ignorant douche. DO NOT RENT HERE!!!! It is the worst place I have ever lived in my entire life! The pictures are the mouse I caught inside my unit-being OCD with cleaning, everything always kept in clean ziplock or container, trust me, there is no peace here. read more

Design Place Apartments - Humanely captured and released this little guy who came into my apartment during the cold days. The joys of living at Design Place! - Apartments Near Me - Miami, Florida

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I love to live in this place. It is a good administration and all the workers are always helpful for whatever we request. I am very happy with Mr. freddy the carpenter he always ready to do and help in everything to feel more comfortable with our home. Tú haces el hogar con la limpieza y a mi me han tratado muy bien en la gerencia El sr. carpintero Freddy Gonzalez ya remodelado casi todas las cocinas y han quedado hermosas. Lo que hay es que cuidar y mantener el lugar donde vives, si tú tienes mugre en tu casa atraes animales así estés en el sitio más limpio del mundo. Si eres limpio en tu casa. No tendrás. Ratones ni cucarachas. Todo depende de ti y tu limpieza. No tengo nada que quejarme. Tratan muy bien a la gente read more

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DO NOT MOVE HERE!!!! NO SE MUDEN AQUÍ!!!! HABITE PAS ICI !!!! Don't make the same mistake my wife and I did by ignoring the reviews and "hoping for the best". Everything negative on here is true and then some. Management does the absolute bare minimum if anything to fix even the smallest of issues. Even if the price is "good" it is not worth living in a complete dump and more importantly it is NOT HEALTHY. There is mold in almost every unit, the only solution they will offer is "spraying bleach on it ". It took me over 6 months to have them do more than that and even still the mold is there. There are rats, raccoons, roaches, termites, flies and I assume more surrounding the area, inside the walls, and inside some the units. It is impossible to reach any sort of upper management. Frank is never available and never even answers our emails. My first interaction with Abid was a bad one as he spoke to me with disrespect and questioned whether or not I knew what a termite was (I am a carpenter), and the attitude is carried down to everyone else in the management office. As I write this there is swarms of termites flying into every surface. We are currently sleeping in the living room because they seem to be hatching in our bedroom. Trust me, we ignored the reviews. We believed the lies ( everything will be fixed, trash is not an issue, termites are not an issue, etc ) the leasing office/ Spencer told us. We hoped for the best and now on our 10th month into our lease we are counting the days to be out of the worst apartment we have ever rented. IT IS A WONDER THET THIS PLACE ISNT SHUT DOWN YET FOR HAVE THIS MANY HEALTH HAZARDS. !!!!!DO NOT MOVE HERE!!!! read more

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Thank you for reading my review. I have lived here at Design Place Apartments for 6 going on 7 years. I am afraid that means in itself that this place has earned its 5 stars. If anyone has given it less than 5 stars, that means they have lived here either the length of their lease or less than that time. During this time I have seen people come and go, and I have seen this place deteriorate, and improve. Its only improving now, and its improving rapidly. It is on the up and coming and its coming. I live in what is called a "Miami Loft". The apartment has high ceilings. I love my apartment. I do not have any cockroaches. Why? because I am a clean person. I never leave dirty dishes in the sink and I clean my apartment regularly. I don't have any bugs or any other weird things. I do however get a week of Termites when its termite season. So does everyone else in Miami. Design Place has a very unique history. I don't have any proof of this but this is what I have heard. Back in the 70's it was a military base which explains the different units and their sizes. The military sold it to the city who turned it into Section 8 housing and was called "Sable Palms" and the location became well known for the "Sable Palm Gang", who terrorized the area in the 80's. A massive clean up ensued through the whole area, and eventually the location was sold to its current owner; SPV Realtor, the home-base is located in New York. Since the late 90's the local area has made a crawling improvement, however since the early 2000's there has been some great leaps in cleaning up and clearing out riff-raff. I am proud to say that I live here. I enjoy living here. This community has the following amenities; 1. Club house 2. Gym 3. Large Pool 4. Jacuzzi 5. Snack Shop right at the pool 6. A nude sun bathing area only for women 7. A beach Volley ball area 8. BBQ area 9. Dog Friendly (Super Dog Friendly) 10. Security at both gates requiring identification before entering, and security calls the residents notifying them of visitors. 11. On site Maintenance Crew to assist with urgent issues 12. Online Payment system to make paying rent easier 13. Online Maintenance requests for busy Professionals 14. There are no designated Parking spots, so parking is easy for guests and residents, and its safe parking. 15. There is a Supermarket with awesome priced fruit and vegetables right next door. 16. There is an excellent Pizza Restaurant 500 yards away and they deliver. 17. The Miami Jewish Nursing Home is right across the street. 18. The Cafe Creme and Vista is exactly one block away. 19. The Design District starts 3 blocks South from the Community Complex. 20. There is Bus Transportation located Right outside the Community Complex. 21. There is the Famous Jeans Car Wash one block away North. 22. The Dodgy Churchills Bar is located 3 blocks away North. 23. There are 3 Liquor stores in a 1/2 mile radius from the complex. 24. The local Publix is less than a 1/2 mile away. 25. Fiorito is 3 blocks away. The crime in this area has decreased dramatically over the past 3 years, however it has been pushed further west and further North towards 62nd. So for those of you who are looking for bang for your buck, I urge you to come and check out my area of the woods and see for yourself why I rave about my home.... Come check it out for yourself. read more

i've lived here dor 11 years and i've always liked living here,this place is getting very excite and better now. i see a lot of good things happening here. we now have where our puppies can play and training more juice, good food sandwichs and etc...and now... good junk system that works spetacular for me and my family. this community where i live and i enjoy very much. thanks very much to the time of hardworking and kind employees who are always is there for my needs. thanks for the maneger who have been doing so good visible work. a woman of gold. read more

Por favor amigos, no alquilen aquí , este lugar es el infierno. read more

Design Place Apartments - La basura no es recogida con la.frecuencia requerida; este es solo un problema de los muchos que este conjunto tiene.......... - Apartments Near Me - Miami, Florida

UPDATE UPDATE!! Bugs. Bugs. And lots more bugs. I have seen every species of roach in my apartment in the short period of time I have been living here. They spray but it apparently does not eliminate the problem. The floors are paper thin so you can here your neighbor fart or something n my case her loud children and her awful music 24/7. This is the worst place I have lived in so far. Bugs bugs and lots of bugs! So they corrected some of the issues but the bugs never went away. Management was as helpful as they could be. read more

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I have had small issues along the way, but nothing that i would ever consider writing a review for. The office staff is often unhelpful and hard to get ahold of. There's an alarm that was beeping for nearly a week in my hallway that i called about so often that they stopped taking my calls. Last night i arrived home from work and could hear the smoke detector in my apartment going off all the way from my car. I got inside and the ceiling was leaking from the apartment above. I was already in the process of moving out, but my boxes got wet, the rug in the bathroom, and the floors were covered in dirty water from above. Now, i will say, the security guard was very helpful, since the office was closed. I tried to leave a message with the office but the mailbox was full. I sent and email asking to be called in the morning, as i was hopeful that i would get some assistance or at least information. I did not receive a call, and when i called, i was told the manager was too busy and he would call me back. Two hours later, he called me back to say there was nothing they can do. BUT, they did offer to re install my smoke detector that the guard took down to stop it from beeping. read more

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Nice place to live. New Management has turned this place around into a clean family-friendly community and all the staff members are amiable. read more

Sanity is very important my Mom got very sick because of them and she surgery the Apartment were we staying had Roaches and we decided to move out . I Believe the Mgrs is upset because he refuse to sign another 1 years lease which I see why I didn't get my deposit money back in the top on that go beyond further more to put a collection Payment on my credit reports totally wrong. Well I can only said this what coming around go around when u take a tenant deposit ( give your Apartment clean ) read more

I been living here for 3 long years and after everything i had deal with i think its time for an honest review. Price: Not terrible considering what others are charging in the area BUT they raise it every single year by $100 to $200 bucks (NOT WORTH IT AT ALL) Quality of service: Worst i seen. There's a bunch of liars, nasty attitude & unhelpful staff. The manager is the only soft spoken but that doesn't even mean you can trust what he says. The security guards themselves will tell you they can't help you with a nasty attitude even if you just want to ask a question about something that's going on in the community. Maintenance: TERRIBLE. The whole time i been here they refuse to give me a better AC every though mine doesn't cool the place down. They come and "fix things" and it breaks 2 weeks later so they decide not to come again. Deposit: DO NOT FALL FOR THE TRAP (that's all i have to say about that) Managers: Don't return phone calls, lie about being on brake, that kind of scenario. Long story short, look somewhere else. The community might seem nice and clean when you first come to check it out but that's how they get everyone. There's enough places out there that will give you better quality for some more money with great staff and maintenance to actually take care of you. Hope this helps. read more

Don't let the outside fool you! Yes there are palm trees and cut grass and security outside but the apartments here are all falling apart. They will not give you back your deposit. The air conditioning is broken and they haven't come to fix. The stove was deemed a fire hazard and regardless the apartment never even came with gas for the stove!!! There is a massive termite issue in the whole building. Huge Cockroaches and bugs I've never even seen before. Management is awful sometimes seemingly non existent. They will show you a nice new renovated apartment and you will end up with the complete opposite. Can't wait to move out read more

DO NOT MOVE HERE!!! THEY WILL STEAL FROM YOU. I tolerated a lot from this place and yet they keep screwing me. I paid all year for "renewed appliances" and fought all year for them to replace my non functioning stove (which they never did.) I finally moved out on august first and although it's been 45 days since move out, they have not given me a notice about my deposit or returned the deposit- which is against the law. My emails and calls are being ignored and it seems the only option now is to contact a lawyer. If I could give this place zero stars, I would. Their rent isn't even below market value, it's above for the area! Move anywhere but here. Trust me. read more

So I'll list the facts I've collected over the year and a half of living here. You can decide weather each fact is a plus or minus. My new husband and I needed a place that was not super expensive. The DPlace was cheap for how big the apartment is. $1095 for a 2/1 with a cute dining area and pretty open floor plan. I believe the Square feet is over 1000ft. The only apt they had available was near the garbage dump - which brought an awful smell when the windows were open - and near the guard gate where i heard the 20 somethings recounting their previous nights exploits. They said a vertical move was possible and after 2 months of bugging the manager we were able to transfer further in, away from the dump and gate. I believe it was because of my persistent, annoying nature that they finally wanted to appease me and have me move so I'd stop bothering them. While we've been here... seen rats running around and hear them in the walls and ceiling. Termite season is *disgusting* there are so many that in the bathroom the wings got stuck on the wall and would not come off with scrubbing. Multiple times I'd go in and the tub was filled with the things. At least I could easily wash them down the drain. Millipedes are also a problem - they come in from everywhere, die, and then you accidentally step on them and CRUNCH! Yuck. The bathroom wall fell in, inside the tub. About a week passed before maintenance came to put up a piece of dry wall then covered over with tiles. The upstairs AC started leaking and we came home to a semi flooded living room. Thankfully it didn't get to the couch, but it did soak the rug. After mix-ups, maintenance finally showed up to fix it *4* days later. They thought it wasn't that bad of a leak... I called at least 3 times for them to come out. There has been 4 shootings near here. Two at the wal-greens across the street, and then a drive-by down the road where they had to *hose off* the corner cause it was so messy. Inside it does feel safe - we can walk around at night to get our mail and do laundry. The winter is nice cause you don't have to run the very loud AC unit. Only unit is located in the living area. In the summer it get stifling hot and we had them install a unit in the bedroom that we bought. We couldn't get through the summer without that little unit. You have to pay $25 for an additional parking spot - which bumps up the rent to $1120. No assigned parking so it's first come first serve. Our little backyard area is nice - I've planted parsley and basil and it's a nice place to sit on cool evenings. During a heavy rainstorm our back window started leaking - a lot. Because of them we have cracks running through the ceiling. The pool is really nice - when it's open. There's a hot tub and a cute little snack shack. I don't get buying food there cause you can walk home and not spend anything for lunch/dinner. That's just me. It's down the road from Midtown, and I really love BVD deli and Angelina's cafe. There has been an employee car parked in the same spot for 5 months now - right in front of the door, taking up a spot for residents. There are multiple staff cars that take up spots in our little area. Stray cats abound here. We have three cats and are having problems trying to get them to get along. The strays like to jump up on our window sill and antagonize our cats - who in turn attack each other. The gym is a good size... 3 treadmills, one that doesn't work, pull up bars and weights. Two bikes and two elliptical. All of my neighbors are really sweet and nice - I got very lucky with that. Every month we see Uhauls moving people in and out. Very high turn over rate here. Lots of animals here, which means lots of dogs being walked and a lot of people not picking up after their dogs. Our trip to the mail box usually involves dodging "bombs" along the way. I can just say after all of this I'm glad our lease is up soon. read more

This apartment complex has been the worst part of my move to Miami, Florida. I have found this apartment to be overpriced, rat-infested and plagued with indifferent management, more interested in minimizing complaints and negative perceptions while ensuring that the rent continues to flow than in providing a quality resident experience. I returned from a lengthy business trip to find that rats had chewed their way through the 'insulation' (I later found out it was just a strip of styrofoam!!!) placed by the apartment around the air conditioning units (large, antiquated floor units) and had urinated and defecated all over my bedclothes. They did this despite the fact that the apartment was inhabited in its second room by a very clean and neat, young, professional woman without children or pets inhabiting the apartment. When I contacted management on the night I discovered this (Sunday evening), I had to wait until the next morning to get a cleaning crew over to throw out the ruined furniture, tear out the floor unit and brick in the wall. On day 2 the same staff returned to find that there was still a rat hiding out in the master bedroom, which they trapped and killed while I watched. I was informed by management that they would not pay for any of my damaged furniture, even though the hole that the rats entered through was made through their use of shoddy materials!!! Believe me, my wife, child and I are leaving within the next 30 days and will NOT BE RECOMMENDING the Design Place Apartments to anyone. Read more: http://www.apartmentratings.com/rate/FL-Miami-Design-Place-660216.html#ixzz1l6Al78Md read more

here is really nice I live here for 3 or 2 years but I am waiting for the pool to open it has been 3 months but I am going to wait

First i repeat DO NOT MOVE HERE ..Looks are deceiving the building structure is very very old and they cover it up by putting paint over it ..i have checked and there is no inspection on this building .this building is very much roach and rats infested then when you go to the office to let them know the office manager demaris is very rude and disrespectful & need to be fired i have personally witness her been racist to one couple (african American decent) dismissed them like there problem was nothing walked off mumbling then go to another couple ( cuban decent) saying we cubans have to stick together remind u i'm mixed so when she seen me looking she started speaking in Spanish long story short she needs to be fired but back to the building they have u pay for security when they don't even check people in they just let everyone comes through hints why someone house had got rob at gun point plus there are no cameras around the complex and security doesn't check which means no suspects have been caught . another thing is u pay for trash and the bin always over full for days now people are just putting it on the ground but they will fine you 100 dollars each time they catch you putting trash around the bin they supposed to keep empty and i can keep going on and on long story short DO NOT MOVE HERE you will regret it especially with the infestation of rats,roaches and ants which i never lived with my entire life the most disgusting part was to wake up to my cat eating a mice he just have killed omg i will stop there @7news investigate this place because i know they will fail the inspection i even broke my lease and moved cuz i couldn't read more

do not move in design place bad experience for the expensive rent. please save your money and go to a better suitable living place. move here and you will regret moving here. property managers are rude and maintenance never come fix any issues read more

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I lived there 3 years. And it was more time than I should've been there. I moved here from the South Beach, when properties prices just begun to slowly rise. The apartments were all renovated. But because these are very old buildings, there's always breaking or that needs fixing. Usually they are very good at fixing anything. Making an appointment to get it fixed, gets a little hard, even if i was at home all day everyday. Imagine if you have work or school. Then good luck to you! I heard a lot of stories about cars being broken into. And apartments being broken into. Specially the ones that are close to the gates. As long as you stay as close as possible to the center of the complex you'll be fine. But of course those apartments are more expensive. I was living there when wilma hit. And i spent a whole month without electric. That was fun.... Since I had a rottwailler when i was living there. I never had to worry about security. Security there is a joke. They have some guys. But they barely pay any attention. My stay there it would have been a four star if it wasn't for Frank the Property Manager . Every time I had to re new the lease. My rent would rise 100 dollars or more. I started paying 975 for a two bedroom close to the gate on 2second avenue. And by the time I had it I was paying 1,325 for the same apartment. But even if you are nice to me and property prices were rising( not so much) i would agree with anyone. The property manager (Frank), who still working there. Was the most rude, insulting unproffesional manager I've ever met. His attitude was always if you don't like it leave, We'll will keep your last month. So if you have any problems, you will never win. His is the last word. He runs the place like a dictatorship. My first year there they had a different manager. And things were just flowing. I was very happy there. When he arrived it was almost as he wanted to dismantled all the previous manager had done. Including tenants. Im not going to get into all the things this manager did and said to me and neighbors. He was just hated all around the complex. At one point one tenant was collecting signatures to get him fired. And all of the sudden Frank got him evicted. It was almost as if you were dealing with the mafia. Very very sour experience. When they get rid of that guy. I would recommend this place to anybody. read more

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This place is a zoo. Rent here and meet all kind of animals. Esto es un zoológico desde termitas q se alimentand de insecticida hasta cucarachas q se meten esteroides. Un dia trate de aplastar una cucaracha y se me doblo un tobillo. Ahhhhh como olvidar los ratones q persiguen a los gatos y fuman cigarrillo. Q pena tener q mudarme. Me encariñe demaciado con las termitas y las cucarachas :'( las extrañare read more

Design Place Apartments - Apartments Near Me - Miami, Florida

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I love this place. I live here 5 Years ago. It is a nice place. Im happy because they renovated the counter in the kitchen thanks to Mr Freddy. I see that they are getting better. . read more

I just moved out relocated to NY, Design Place was my home for 4 years, It was nice, the restaurant by the pool was very convenient, Friendly staff. great environment. read more

I lived here for 4 years can wait to get out hopefully soon! Since all of the apartments in miami are going up it's been a struggle,but I'm to the point that I don't care anymore .. Let's begin by the roaches, rats all around the building. Trash throw everywhere . The building is falling apart and they don't fix the doors they put the same door up !! They won spend a dime on fixing the apartments, once you get here to Rent they paint you a great picture show you the best areas and the back of the other apartments they don't show, I call them the forgotten ones, that's the area I live in the one close to 54 st !! Trust me don't rent here they will try to show you they nicest model but the real ones are gross! read more

Discussing place is full of cockroaches / termites and ever other kind of insect ! Lack of management of property ! They don't treat issues ! read more

We had a great experience with the staff, particularly with Amelia. While looking for a place for my parents, she made us feel welcome and provided us with the necessary information. Amelia guided us through the application process and readily addressed every concern we had. She was very kind, considerate and made sure we got an apartment we were happy with at a reasonable price. The gated community is near everything-restaurants, grocery stores, the bank, it's just perfect. We are very satisfied! read more

SCAM ! These people get you in to sign a lease and when you do your apt isn't even ready ! They just stick you in a corner near the garbage dump until they find something nicer(only if you keep bugging them). You can hear the people above you having sex because the floors are paper thin. Theres roaches and rats ! termites eat up everything ! Not to mention its over priced for a place that is VERY cheaply remolded and has no new appliances. Theres always something wrong with the apts month to month. There is never parking spaces anywhere near your own apt unless you get there early enough. OVERALL HELL HOLE !! read more

I wouldn't even give it 1 star but that can be for the pool. I've been renting for 20 years and this has by far been a nightmare of an experience from the customer service, or lack thereof from day 1 of moving in up until now, 2 months after moving out trying to get my deposit back. My issues the night I moved in which I drove 24 hours from Philly to encounters this: Filthy and old fridge A roach infestation so bad that there were roaches in fridge (which I've NEVER seen in my 20 years of renting or even EVER in life), Roaches in kitchen, on the ceiling, pretty much they were renting the place before me and the worst part is that they were roaches of all sizes. The large ones I hadn't seen since i lived in Venezuela in the 80's. The apt wasn't even cleaned when turned into me; not vacuumed, stove, counters, cabinets not cleaned, tub dirty and the doors didn't properly work (front or back). For the first 2 months I tried to get help, they exchanged the fridge for another old one, they exterminated only because I kept hounding them in email, text, call and showing up. Vanna is the absolute worst!! She is non-responsive to emails and lacks the personality to be in customer service. Since i moved from out of state I had no choice but to ride out my lease. I had every type of bug issue you can imagine. The termites were horrible coming from under the carpeting. Lizard, etc. The AC unit (one for the entire 2 bedroom 1 den apt) did not work. They came and replaced the filter which made no difference and my bills were $150-$200 and I was living alone and mostly traveled for work. Since it was the only unit in the entire apt I had to keep it running when i was home and that still did not help. I learned to do a lot naked or i would have probably passed out from heat exhaustion. Their solution when i complained a second time was to tell me to buy a unit myself and they would install it. The only great thing about this place was the pool and the bodega. I don't think it's worth the $1295 i paid and now they raised the rent for some folks I know who are still there. Their laundry facility was also worthless. Dirty, machines down or would take your money and if not that, someone would open your dryer while you have clothes in it and not start it back up so your clothes didn't finish drying and you had to add more money. They are also good at taking your clothes out of the drying machines (without your time being up) and putting theirs in. This happened to me twice. So now I'm dealing with them trying to $1200 of my deposit for "repairs" and they couldn't even tell me what repairs yet. I asked for more information. Please do not be desperate like i was coming from out of state and rent here because it's cheap. You will get what you are paying for. You will be miserable unless you just don't think the things I named are that horrible. I myself am so glad to be out of that place. Sorry for any grammar issues I just typed away because I don't want them to do what they did to me to someone else coming from out of state. BE WARNED!!! read more

STAY FAR AWAY!!!!! This place is a DUMP filled with LYING CHEATING THIEVES. 1) They will STEAL your deposit. I moved out 4 months ago and they stole over half my deposit for "damages" that were already there when I moved in. I've written to them and called and emailed and I am being completely ignored!!! 2) PESTS!!!! Roaches will become your roommates. No matter how many times they come to exterminate, no matter how many times they "bomb" out your apartment, they will ALWAYS be there. My neighbors (who lived on the first floor) told me they also had snakes coming in through the AC unit. Luckily that never happened to me as I lived on the second floor. 3) NOISE. These apartments are super old so if you live on the first floor, you will hear EVERY SINGLE STEP that your upstairs neighbor takes. From the second floor, I could hear my downstairs neighbor's TV (even if it wasn't loud) since there is absolutely no noise insulation between floors. You better pray that your neighbors are super quiet. 4) THEFT!!!! I had the following items stolen from the "shared area" downstairs: my bicycle (which was chained to a tree), my BBQ grill (which we found in a neighbor's yard), a table and 2 chairs (I had them for less than a week before they were stolen), the gas tank from my BBQ grill (after I recovered the grill from my neighbors). I had several police reports but of course, besides the BBQ grill, none of the items were ever found. 5) MOLD (see pictures). There was mold on the carpet and wall of the entry stairs. I called and had them "take care of it". All they did was paint over the moldy wall and change the damaged carpet without actually treating the mold. A few months later, the mold was back. I was constantly congested and sick while living there. 6) The parking area gets FLOODED every time it rains. 7) Dog shit everywhere!!!! Nobody picks up after their pets. 8) They are racists!!! Several lawsuits were filed against them. See Miami Herald link below. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/midtown/article10695713.html 9) Trash area is DISGUSTING, especially on weekends. It gets completely filled up and there are colonies of roaches running all around it. The only way to throw trash out would be to stay far and throw it in or drive by it and throw it in. There are so many roaches around it that you can't get close (at least I couldn't). 10) Way overpriced for basically living in a DUMP. 11) Make sure you ask to see the actual unit you will be living in before you sign anything. They show you a cute model unit and end up giving you a disgusting apartment that looks nothing like it. TRUST ME, IT'S NOT WORTH IT!!!! Stay as far away as possible. I wish I had never moved there. The day I moved out was one of the happiest ever. I hope I NEVER have to step foot in there every again (although I am still fighting for the rest of my deposit). read more

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I wish I could give this place 1/2 a star, DO NOT MOVE IN HERE!!!!! I REPEAT, DO NOT MOVE INTO DESIGN PLACE APARTMENTS!!!!!! They use led infused paint to paint their walls, there are only TWO garbage dumpsters for a complex that houses roughly 700+ people, and the management is absolutely terrible. We had CONSISTENT roach issues, and once we moved out (12/2014) we were charged over $800 for damages we did not make. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!!! Google "Design Place Discrimination" and you will find the result lawsuits this complex has received because of racial discrimination, over charging minorities to move into this apartments. Trust me, please look elsewhere. read more

RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! 1) moved all day then finally finished at around 10:30pm. As soon as we sat down, we looked up to see roaches crawling on all walls and ceilings. Our son was so terrified, he had to sleep with us..for weeks. The rest of the stay, we couldn't walk barefoot, had to check our sponges when taking showers because roaches would be tangled up in them. We would open the fridge and would find them dead in it. Couldn't open the kitchen cabinets without an astronaut suit on because it was a guarantee fight with them falling all over and finally, the 1st time I tried turning on the stove, 10 roaches came up so I couldn't cook for the 1st 3 weeks until they changed the infested stove. It got a little better after 3 months after perseverance and harassment from us for "management" to send an exterminator to place poison all over. 2) also infested with termites which they refuse to tent therefore they will stay forever #sigh 3) for the 1st month, every time we took a dump we had to call the office to send maintenance over to unclog. Niiiiiice. . They finally replaced the toilet which turns out there was a tampon that had gotten stuck inside. I had not menstruated yet but SOMEHOW was blamed for it. 4)the water heater (in the closet) burst and flooded the downstairs apartment. When I came back home later, I found my cat stuck head down behind it and had to pull him out by the tail. 5) worst management ever.. they won't do shit but actually talk shit. That's about it, and let's not get me started on the British/Indian bitch of a property manager. 6) they will keep your deposit claiming that you did this or that when in reality it was ALREADY THERE. 7) you need to buy your own A/C for the bedrooms. I'm sure I forgot more things but hey, you get the point. Oh and by the way, when you mention the infestation to them they will tell you "oh it's because the tenants were very dirty!". Yep, that's exactly what they told me prior to moving in! Ha! read more

Horrible place! Super unprofessional, can't believe why the still open ... they don't care about people who live there.. the poll always close, always in Holliday's days, like ALWAYS! managers should check the calendar and let the kids and resident enjoy this specific days, and let us take advantage of the only good thing that this place has! Not fair read more

Made an appointment with interest in renting because of the location and the wonderful pics online. Encountered a friendly staff and a very cool pool area, but that's about it. The insect situation is absolutely true, but at least the roaches and termites I saw were already dead. The units themselves are pretty rough and the AC wall units need some serious updating. The place looks like a fun place to live but way too ghetto and unkept for the price. I really don't know how they get away charging that much. read more

DO NOT RENT HERE! I rented in different areas of miami for about 10 years now and never have experienced anything like what I experienced at Design Place. During my 2 year stay I had an on going issue with Termites, roaches but what made me break my lease was a rat infestation. When I was moving in I found little black things in various places. I asked maintenance crew what they were and they explained it was something caused by the wood and that I should not worry. I naively believed them and moved in. A few months later I found the same things again in my closet only larger. I earned they were mouse droppings. Maintenance went to my apartment confirmed and in a matter of a week (which I did not stay there) they said the issue was resolved. I was not compensated for money spent away from home. I have a dog which must've kept the rodents away because A few months after that I stayed away from my apartment for some time due to work in another county. Once I returned to my uninhabited apartment I found my apartment overrun by RATS. I had droppings EVERYWHERE. I had several property damage due to the rats. They nested in my mattress boxspring, chewed bottom of TV unit etc. I personally met with maintenance, showed pictures of the damages and had maintenance worker Vana refuse to walk further into my apartment because she was so disgusted when she saw all the droppings on the floor. With all this not only did DPlace Managers Frank and Abid give me a difficult time to break my Lease even though I only had 2 more months to go, but they did not pay for my property damage, they kept my deposit and a month after I had left sent me a letter falsely accusing me of money owed to them! Stay away from Design Place. They tell you everything you want to hear and seem very sweet when trying to get you to move in. There are several complaints made against this place including the Rip Off Company complaint and they have several investigations against them. Research Design Place/ SPV Realty before considering moving in. read more

Leaving the apartament was a whole other deal. They lied about carpet replacement and took over half my deposit. I battled it with them for 4 months. And got nothing. Never again. Will explain more on a later review. read more