The Bora

My experience living at The Bora has been great.
The location is very convenient in Koreatown, the amenities within the building are nice and clean, the building itself is brand new and cleaned daily by the cleaning staff. Additionally, the building has security 24/7 and the guards are very nice and friendly to all residents. Most importantly, in my personal experience living in various apartments, there has never been a leasing office as great as this one. The manager is the best and always does everything in her power to help out the residents and the staff is always friendly and helpful as well. The appliances are brand new from good brands such as LG and Samsung, my neighbors are nice and quiet, my hot water turns on almost instantly, and the place overall is very well maintained in my opinion. 5/5 Stars!

The building is really nice including the large gym, pool, and common spaces. I had a very good experience with management being on top of everything and they were very nice to me. Location is wonderful and close to all Ktown's best restaurants.

The leasing office team is professional, kind and helpful, especially Cindy.

Beautiful building inside and out. I really like the location and the staff of the building.

NEW REVIEW: After 6 months of living here, things have gone downhill a bit. The common lounge near the pool used to be free and open to all, the grill on the rooftop should to be first come first serve, but now both areas require a reservation and absurd usage prices $150-$300. Management says this is because residents were not cleaning up after themselves hence the fee, but that's a bit unfair to the rest of us who take proper care of amenities. Some units were caught smoking and acquired several offenses and are still breaching the policy. I got a text earlier this month saying they think I was smoking up marijuana in my unit which caught me off-guard and I didn't like that. There are signs stating fees for things like dogs peeing in elevators for $300, emails about dogs barking for more than 5 minutes will get you evicted (as if dogs will stop on demand). The Bora has a strict eviction policy but are actually very lenient towards its offenders - in all, they are all bark and no bite. I will however say that I do enjoy living in my unit, perhaps it's because my neighbors are respectful of their noise level, but I have no issue with volume. Washer and dryers do tend to shake violently but that's the least of my concerns. The package system in the lobby is still my favorite feature but it's gotten out of hand at times when deliverers do not honor the lockers so packages are just on the floor. You will sometimes get notifications whether a package has arrived, but this is not the case most of the time, so you will need to check frequently if you're expecting mail. Your own parking spot for $100/month is pretty average, and it's in the heart of K-Town, the Galleria is just a few steps away and as of January 2024, there is a new vendor moving in downstairs - Sushi Marketplace, so this building will get busier. Security guards on duty are always around, very nice people. I haven't been in contact with the property manager since I've moved in but yes, she was very friendly and helpful. When new residents move in, they tend to lock the back elevator facing Serrano. I wish they would give us a notice before I walk to the back elevator only for it to never come up to me, making me way all the way around to the main elevators.

Would I stay here again? Yes! I would look around for another complex that better suits my needs but as someone who currently lives alone I do enjoy the location. I love my space, I keep to myself, and when I do use amenities such as the pool and the gym, I don't run into any issues. I enjoy K-town, and I enjoy that I'm a few minute walk from a ton of restaurants and bakeries, groceries and plazas. Knowing K-Town is one of the hardest places to find parking, I definitely enjoy the advantage of being so close to so many things.

OLD REVIEW: Leasing agent Tiffany was great from start to finish, I was ready to move in and sign a lease ASAP and she prepared the document ASAP and got me in, answered all my questions and was very responsive via email and phone calls. On-site manager Cindy did an amazing job moving me in with quick key pickup and was so helpful getting me adjusted to the building!

Bait and switch tactics to sell new amenities to new residents. During our tour, the staff made sure to point out all the new fancy common space amenities and emphasized that it was first come first serve and open to use for any resident. The signs even indicate that. After a few months of living here, they've already gone back on that. The rooftop grill and common space require reservations now and reservations cost $150 each time.
When asked about why this fee was a thing now, the manager said that "this is because all the other apartments are doing it". I toured most of the apartments in the area and can easily count on one hand how many actually required a reservation fee for the amenities. If I knew this was going to be a thing, I would've signed a lease with a different apartment.
What's next? We're going to have to pay a fee to use the golf simulator that they love to show off during the tours?
Trust is lost with management and my lease will definitely not be renewed come next year.

The building build quality is also below average. The walls are thin, the washer and dryer shake the entire room pretty violently, and you can easily hear when your neighbors washer and dryer is on. Poor insulation is normal for older buildings but this building is in its first year. That's absurd.

The WORST APARTMENT EVER !!! PLEASE READ THIS !!!
First of all, this is my first 1star(0star) review in my whole life. This is my 4th apartment in Koreatown and it is the worst place I have ever lived. There are so many problems here.

1: washing machine shakes & can hear neighbors noise (cheap built)
3: gap on the balcony door (been 8mos and still holding on to it) 4: utility - When I was on tour, they told me that total utilities would cost about $100-120 per month, but it was much more, and they didn't even mention the service charge, but they charge $30 per month.
5: Restriction - I'm not doing anything wrong, but every time we get emails, they tell residents not to do this or that, but they don't do anything that is their responsibility.
6: Cancellation fee - The cancellation fee here is the full amount for the remaining months until the end of the lease. Under California law, it is 2 months, but here you have to pay it in full.
Owner and management know about this, so they are negligent in taking responsibility.
7: Problem solving - They are trying to avoid any losses and are solving the problem by taking time and just giving notice. No matter what happens, it cannot be resolved, especially if it is a money issue, so the residents have to bear the burden of everything.

I won't say anything anymore, I'm going to force myself to live here until the lease is up and i will definitely move out, and I'm posting this review because I don't want other people to experience this.

I deeply regret signing a lease with this complex. This is a new build apartment complex which is marketed as luxury living, however you can visibly tell that they cut a lot of corners. There is no sound insulation, so I can hear my neighbors have normal conversations through my walls. My unit also vibrates whenever my neighbors do their laundry.

Management is also rude. When I inquired about other payment forms to avoid the multiple fees that are charged for paying rent, the manger simply copy and pasted the definition of the fees and said to "google it" (which never really answered my question).

My HORRIBLE experience residing in this place is detailed below, similar to other 1 star reviews. Personally, the price of this place cannot be justified considering it's subpar quality.

CONS:
- The management company, Kim & Casey Property Management, is arguably the worst I have encountered, in comparison to the four condos I have lived in previously, each with its own management. I entered this place with the awareness that condo managements are generally subpar, but this surpasses any prior experience.
- There is a reason why they conceal this name; their reviews in the surrounding area are abysmally negative.
- Despite my pointing out building defects, the manager dismissively claims, "that's just the way it's built, no issues," suggesting that only "sensitive people" would notice. It's incredulous that a property manager would have the audacity to say that to its tenants when there are evident observable defects, such as curved doors.
- The manager rarely responds to emails and requests promptly, and more often than not, she doesn't respond at all. When she does reply, it's not her personally; she merely delegates the task of answering to her subordinate, who can only provide a generic response. It's astonishing that a property manager would resort to such practices, indicating a lack of knowledge on her part to respond independently.
- This place falls short of the "luxury living" they advertised. As mentioned in another review, they have cut numerous corners.
- Sound insulation appears to be nonexistent.
- The laundry vibrates the entire unit and disturbs neighbors.
- The lease agreement promises consequences for violating terms, but I witness daily violations from other tenants, and all the management does is send a generic email saying "don't do it" to everyone.
- Hot and cold water are very slow to come out at certain times.
- BAIT AND SWITCH tactics for amenities (rooftop grill and common space) advertised on the website are no longer free and now cost $150 for reservation (see another review for further details).

Pros:
- The security guards are nice people.

BEWARE OF THIS PLACE!! I AM TRYING TO BOYCOTT THIS PLACE WHILE I CAN. BECAUSE I AM STUCK HERE UNTIL THE END OF LEASE. I WILL KEEP MY REVIEW SHORT AND SIMPLE. PLEASE READ THE TRUE AND HONEST REVIEW. MY WIFE AND I MOVED IN JUNE OF 2023. LIKE THE OTHER 1 STAR REVIEWS, I 10,000% AGREE AND CAN'T AGREE MORE. CHARGING FOR ROOFTOP AMENITY, UNEXPECTED WATER UTILITY BILL OVER $120~$150 FOR 2 PEOPLE USE + $30 CHARGE PER MONTH AS A SERVICE CHARGE FEE(NEVER DISCUSSED OR MENTIONED BEFORE SIGNING A LEASE), NEVER FIXING DEFECTIVE BALCONY DOOR(ALMOST BEEN HERE A YEAR AND STILL NOT FIXED), AND THIN WALL AND GROUND SHAKING LAUNDRY. THE MANAGER ON SITE HAS NO AUTHORITY TO SATISFY OR COMPENSATE THE TENANT IN ANY WAY. I FEEL VERY SORRY FOR THE MANAGER BECAUSE THE COMPANY AND THE MANAGEMENT OFFICE TREAT CINDY(ON-SITE MANAGER) LIKE A PUPPET. SHE IS ALWAYS APOLOGIZING BECAUSE SHE HAS NO AUTHORITY OVER ANYTHING. I TRIED TO BREAK A LEASE THINKING IT WAS 2 MONTHS RENT FEE BUT NO! YOU ARE STUCK UNTIL THE END OF LEASE. BASICALLY STUCK HERE UNTIL NEXT YEAR. SO PLEASE BE AWARE. READ THE LEASE AGREEMENT ESPECIALLY LEASE BREAK! DON'T SIGN HERE. GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. THE OWNER DOESN'T CARE ABOUT THE TENANT.

I HOPE NO ONE GETS TO EXPERIENCE THIS. I AM 100% SURE MOST OF THE TENANTS HERE WANTS TO LEAVE THIS PLACE.

THIS IS MY SHORT REVIEW. (A LOT HAVEN'T BEEN SAID)

This is one of the worst place you can find. Whoever consider to contract with them please don't, you rather sleep inside the car. You can thank me later

Leasing agent Tiffany Hwang was very unprofessional and rude.
Probably she should learn to communicate with proper manner and grammar.

임대 계약이 많이 남아서 리뷰 안쓰려고 하다가 씁니다. 중개업자 티파니황 그분도 잘모르고 소개 시켜주신거 같은데 정확한 프로모션 얘기를 해주셔야죠. 살다보니까 억울해서 글쎄요. 하자부분도 많고 전자레인지 잔고장 너무 심해서 얘기해도 들어도 안주고 본사 측에서는 알아주는 척도 안하네요. 매니저가 알아서 하라는식이니 어이가 없네요 직접 오셔서 하루 자보시고 말씀하세요. 없는 하자 만들어서 얘기하는것도 아니고 공용시설 돈 받아가고 건물 관리 전체는 본사가 직접 돈쓰고 사람써서 관리하는겁니다. 주민들이 땅파서 렌트비 내는줄 아세요.
장사를 하실거면 경영에 더 신경써서 하십시요. 본인들이 벌어가는 돈이 당연하게 생각하시면 망하세요.