Sarah's house was our first Airbnb experience ever, so we can't compare to a baseline yet.
We did not meet her in person during our stay. Our communication was done via the Airbnb messaging system and most of the time she responded swiftly.
About the house:
The neighborhood was nicer than expected.
The negative reviews about the state of the house of former visitors are exaggerated in my opinion. Sure, the house is not brand new and shows signs of wear and tear , but everything is still functional. (We were not able to use one of the 3 showers, but apparently it needed some kind of dexterity we lacked)
The interior is spacey and sober, but elegant.
The beds were comfortable, the fridge and the air conditioner did their job.
The garden was well maintained.
The swimming pool was an absolute asset. Big and deep and oh so refreshing in the heat of L.A. Maybe a tip is to provide some kind of visual sign where the water is shallow enough for non-experienced swimmers; the bottom goes down very steeply, very quickly.
I also would recommend to either clean up the garage or have it locked completely for the visitors, as it now is kind of a useless and messy place which is a pity for the image of the house.
Overall, it was a very nice first experience and our party agreed that it was a cool place to stay.