The Yellow Brick Abode Modern | Comfort | 2 Bdr

“This first floor unit looks down a beautiful historic street, walkable to grocery stores, coffee shops, and delicious restaurants.” Ad portrays the area as something it’s not. Ck in day I received the apt address and “you are in Apt #2 on the second floor there’s street parking, and also a back parking lot accessible by a back ally”. Within 100’ of the apt-boarded up houses, dumpsters, bldgs and fences tagged with gang graffiti. Intense smell of marijuana on the whole street. Broken sidewalks and a flat tire lying in front of apt. Two guys at the street corner conducting a hand-to-hand narcotics transaction. The back alley has more graffiti, trash piles and stolen shopping carts. “walkable to grocery stores, coffee shops, and delicious restaurants” Grocery=Cash Saver Food Outlet w/ vagrants sleeping by the bldg.. Restaurant=Grumpy’s Hot Wings and Viet Chinese Vegetarian restaurant beside of the temp day worker business. “Beautiful historic”= Disrepair and high crime area. Online crime map of .5 mile radius of the apt lists multiple assaults and shootings, robberies, 3 rapes and 1 homicide. 155 crimes reported in past 30 days. “Walkable” leads one to believe it is safe to walk in the area with your family. Facts say otherwise. Continued driving and rented a hotel room instead. Explained all to host, she told me to cancel on ck in day, VRBO says not an option. Host now waiting on VRBO to contact her about this before refunding any $. 10 days have passed with no updates.

If you have children or are a woman traveling alone, do not stay here. Roughest house on block, bars on lower windows. Condom wrapper under rug. Beer cans is front yard. We were in an upstairs apt. We shared a balcony/back steps with the other upper apt. My bedroom included the glass patio doors leading to the balcony/back steps with a falling apart lock. For four days, adults were coming in and out of that apartment at a steady rate (renter seemed to be letting his friends stay there). Frequent activity on the back balcony…smoking, talking, arguing, knocking to get in at all hours. I got dressed twice in my bedroom and both times, males walked or stood by my door. I was scared. By this time, I had already reached out to VRBO twice and owner several times), starting on first day I arrived and noticing broken items/ one missing item. Apt was cold at night, despite what the thermostat said. The last straw came on our last night. At 11PM, a man knocked twice on the bedroom door. I ran into the hallway and just prayed that I could get through the night safely as I was leaving the next morning. At 12:47AM, two men were talking on that balcony. Bianca, the owner will have an excuse for all my concerns, she will describe the rental as a cross between the Walton’s and the Cosby’s homes. You don’t have to trust this review but I am trying to save someone else from the fear and hours I spent calling/emailing VRBO and owner during what was supposed to be a safe, carefree vacation.