0 star
I strongly do not recommend renting from Charles Lee at 1299 W 37th Dr.
I moved into this property last August as a transfer student at USC. Charles originally reached out to me on Facebook and encouraged me to rent from him partly because we are both from Hong Kong. At first, I thought that shared background meant I could trust him more. Unfortunately, my experience turned out to be very disappointing and stressful.
In my experience, Charles did not keep his promises. When something became inconvenient, he would avoid responding, make excuses, or act like he did not remember what had been agreed on.
The house had a serious hygiene and insect problem. The kitchen and common areas had flies and mosquitoes, and I brought this up many times. He repeatedly said he would take care of it, but nothing meaningful was done. Instead, he questioned whether I simply had "high hygiene standards." The problem affected the food I kept in the kitchen, and I became sick multiple times while living there.
After my lease ended, communication was also very difficult. My roommates and I contacted him multiple times about the security deposit, but he often did not respond. When he did respond, he acted annoyed or gave excuses, including saying he was "on a cruise." After we reminded him multiple times that California landlords have 21 days after move-out to return a security deposit or provide an itemized deduction statement, he returned the deposit only one day before the 21-day deadline.
The most upsetting incident happened around March. Before I moved in, Charles verbally told me that the bathroom arrangement would be with another male tenant. Later, he asked me to move to a different bathroom because he wanted to move in a woman who did not want to share a bathroom with a guy. I refused because that was not what I had been promised. After that, his attitude toward me became noticeably more hostile.
Soon after, he told me to move my belongings from the living room into my bedroom. These were normal personal items like a bike helmet, basic maintenance tools, and football cleats. I was only using a small part of the living room, and my roommates did not have any issue with it. I told him I would move everything, but that week I had a midterm and then went home for Lunar New Year, so I could not do it immediately.
When I came back on Monday, I found my personal belongings placed outside at the front of the house. Charles had told the housekeepers to throw away my things. If I had arrived just a few minutes later, my belongings could have ended up in the dumpster. The housekeepers apologized to me and told me Charles had said those items were trash. When I confronted Charles, he acknowledged that he knew they were my belongings.
I have photos, messages, and documentation of what happened. I am writing this review so other USC students, transfer students, and students looking for housing near campus can be careful.
Based on my experience, I would not rent from Charles Lee again and would not recommend this property to anyone. read more
