My husband's family and I stayed at Jack’s rental house during a visit to the LA area for the July 4th holiday weekend. Based on our experience, our stay merits a 3 star review.
Let me start by saying that the views in the front and backyard are great! A couple of us enjoyed morning walks through the quiet neighborhood. The house was close enough to a grocery stores and restaurants. Jack and a lady were sitting in the living room when I opened the house on our check in time after 3pm. He greeted us and said to reach him via text message should we have questions. I did indeed send Jack a couple of messages via the app (and texts) regarding some issues. Jack was quick to answer the messages.
In the upstairs area, 2 of the AC wall units did not turn on with several attempts using the remote controls. Another AC wall unit’s remote was missing but found NOT in the wall mount sleeve. This was the first message to Jack; he answered promptly and stopped by the house to inspect the main electrify/circuits outside the house. He said the AC units tripped the circuit breaker. In the upstairs bedrooms and bathrooms, several electrical outlets/prongs were so loose that most devices like phones and chargers did not stay in place. We relied on downstairs outlets for charging devices. The lights in the two upstairs bathrooms did not work. We searched for an iron with no luck finding it until the last day. The iron was found in the small downstairs bedroom dresser. Fortunately, we found a steamer in the front living room closet. The main bedroom upstairs has a small outdoor patio. The screen door has been "patched" up in areas with holes. I wished that this quaint upstairs patio had seating and table sit and read a book or enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning (another nice view of the neighborhood). In the main living room area, the patio glass door had long white plastic blinds that did not stay in place. A couple of blinds would fall out of place when we’d open the glass door that led to backyard patio chairs and table area. We would hang them back in place. Both rooms in first level had a bed bug issue-3 family members had bites during our stay. Previous guests left a review stating they’d had a bed bug issue (January and May 2022). The front and backyards have solar powered black colored stakes in the ground that continuously "buzz" day and night at all hours. What are they? Are those rodent repellants? They were bothersome with their continuous “siren” sound going off every few minutes. Our family would sit for breakfast and/or a chilled time only to hear that sound go off frequently. The sink in the master bedroom did not flow well; when the faucet was open, water splattered everywhere near the sink area making a mess over the counter. Another guest’s review also mentioned this faucet issue with a slow flow (May 2022). We found too many rugs in the upstairs area – especially each stair. It was challenging to move suitcases upstairs. We had family members tripping on the rugs too so, we moved them out of the way during our stay to avoid any accidents.
As guests in previous rental homes/units, a welcoming book or binder would be helpful with important information about the home. The binder should include information such as the “buzzing” stakes (what's their purpose and how to turn them off), amenities (where to find an iron or an iron board), WIFI password, TV channel guide, guests’ rules during stay (no shoes upstairs) and guests' check out (what to do with trash, linens, bathroom towels, etc.). We did what other rental home hosts expect for check out regarding trash, towels, and kitchen area. Some of the house rules were posted by Jack on the walls in the living room, kitchen area, the glass doors to the backyard.
Our overall stay in Jack’s house was average. The house was roomy and located in a quiet neighborhood.