The only positive thing I can say about Camden Bel Air is that they allow large dogs, which is perfect for me and my dogs. But if you don't have a dog, do yourself a favor and stay away.
The amenities listed on their website are a joke. Don't believe them. The second pool was closed for half of the summer. When it was open, it was open to the public, gates are never secured so people would literally drive into the complex and go straight to the pool. The south gym has broken equipment and had no A/C for at least two months (June and July). Complaints to management fall on deaf ears. And don't try to call their office after you move in--you always get transferred to their "central" office which is somewhere in Texas. I have NEVER called the office and gotten through.
They don't bother to paint the apartment when tenants move out, so my apartment still reeks of cigarette smoke.
The "security" is a joke. The security guy is there maybe twice a week, sits in his car playing on his iPhone. When they did have on-site security, there was a fight about 50 ft. from their office. I called the office to report it and they told me to call the police. I asked why they couldn't have the security guard walk outside his office and the guy on the phone said it wasn't really security, it was a "courtesy patrol." There is very little security lighting and of the 13 lights that surround the south pool and provide the security lighting for that area, only three lights work.
Water main breaks on average every month (used to be monthly) shutting water down for an entire day. Seriously, how many times does it take to fix it?
Their maintenance team is a joke. They've had to fix my bathtub 4 times and still can't get it right. The patio door wouldn't open and they kept oiling the track; after 4 work orders, they finally replaced the wheels, but now the door doesn't lock.My heater broke and they jury rigged it with a screw so they can avoid replacing $5 switch! I called in at least two work orders for them to fix my dryer because some part of it was catching my clothes--every time I dried my clothes, some piece of clothing came out with holes. To fix it, they would oil the bearings. That damn dryer ruined 5 shirts, 3 pants, 2 scarves. And forget about getting anything done in a timely manner. It takes a week for anything to get done, they won't call ahead if you ask them to and they have (on two occasions) marked off work orders as "complete" when they never even started the work!
Upon renewing my lease, they jacked up my rent $40 and claimed that the increase is due to "Market Value." Ha! My carpeting is falling apart, my laminate floors have holes, the apartment smells like smoke, they won't fix my RIGHT, there's water damage in the window sills, the back door has a draft so large that I can actually feel a BREEZE from it. If you could put a "market value" on my apartment, I'd be paying AT LEAST $75 less! I have NEVER heard of an apartment complex charging "market value" upon lease renewal. And don't think for one second that it will never go up again. I've talked to three tenants who all say the same thing. Their rent goes up every time they renew until they moved out. They felt forced out. Their website gives a price for the apartments but when I went in, conveniently, the apartments on their website were not available at the "special" price.
Oh. And what they don't tell you...you are responsible for a "portion" of the community water/sewer/trash. The bill is based on your apartment's square footage and I have the smallest one bedroom apartment in the complex--the bill for December was over $50, bringing my rent to almost $800. Broken sprinklers and busted underground sprinkler water lines and maintenance doesn't fix it. Why should they care, since it's a community water bill, right? I'm only here for my dogs and hoping to get out when I have to renew my lease in November.