The Park at Portofino Apartment Homes, Brandon FL

Staff is very kind and well informed on all processes. Ask for Yanellis as she is very helpful in the process!

Employees are nice but I had to call once I finished part of my application to have my application completed. I called Friday morning they said it be done that day and would contact me once finished. It wasn't until Monday afternoon after I called again that it be pushed through and I never received an email or phone call notifying me and only found out because I called Tuesday afternoon. Once I got ahold they said we were waiting for my cosigner to sign a form which they actually sent a notification for my cosigner to sign while I was on the phone with them. She also said she would send me the rest of what they needed to complete my application and if I could send it all by end of day we could finish the process. I didn't receive that email until 8 pm that same day and decided to go rent at a different apartment complex.

Akayla was so sweet and on it, she gave me great service and her co workers were supper sweet and helpful as well. 10/10!

Another year has passed and I just signed my 5th lease. I love living here and it is so quiet and safe. Once again Kelly (leasing agent) helped me through the process with ease. Please consider stopping by and see Kelly in the office and she will sort you out with her nice big smile.

DO NOT EVEN BOTHER. Went through the whole application process just to have the apartment that I had applied for and that I had already paid the application fee for, just to have the apartment ripped out from underneath me with no warning. Terrible communication between the office staff and higher ups. Still need to move, would never try to move here again. Definitely dodged a bullet on this one.

Update: January 21,2023:
Nearly two months now following the "response from owner, " I have still not been contacted to resolve any of these issues.

Original Review:
I have lived at the Park at Portofino Apartments since May 2022. The complex has changed management and begun overhauling the complex it has become a nightmare to live here.

Earlier in Summer of this year they began massive renovations to all buildings on the property, which sounds like a great quality of life improvement for those of us living here, but you would be wrong. At first it was just painting the exteriors of the buildings to give them a more modern appearance and we all had to bring in our patio/balcony furniture for several days as there was no hard date on when that painting would be done. After returning all furniture and plants, fast forward a handful of weeks and all residents get another notification that painters will now be coming into our apartments to paint our balconies and we must remove all patio furniture again. No big deal.

In August, just before Hurricane Idalia passed by Tampa, we had a strong summer thunderstorm in which I noticed that the window in my living room was leaking and it was so bad that it was actually leaking over the fireplace through the wall as well. I reported this to both maintenance and the front office and it took over two weeks for them to get a contractor out to even look at the window and wall (photos of this issue are provided in the review). Every time it rains now, water comes into my living through both the window and wall bubbling the paint and further cracking the seal around the window allowing for larger amounts of water to intrude in subsequent rain storms.

I have called and been to the office multiple times since this occurrence and my reporting of it for updates but am constantly brushed off with no updates and a continued soggy living room in which I am sure mold is beginning to grow. I have left voicemails to both the front office and management, none of which are ever returned. It is now October 2023, and with every rain storm we have gotten in the last 2 months since I made the office aware of this issue, my apartment and walls have just gotten soggier.

To make matters even more inconvenient for those of us living here, management has decided to do full scale renovations of all the apartments while the residents are still living in them. At the end of September we were required to remove all items from the cabinets in the kitchen and bathroom. Since I am still living in the apartment I had no where for all these items to go but in my living room, dining room, and bedroom. They began this work on a Friday, but didn't finish meaning that throughout the weekend I had to live in my apartment with all of my belongings in boxes all over and I was unable to utilize my living room and dining room.

After the cabinet doors were "renovated" and all of my belongings were replaced, not more than two weeks later do we get another letter telling us we have to remove all of the items from our cabinets yet again so they can come in and replace the counter tops. We were given less than 24 hours notice this time, so after coming home from work, I had to again empty my cabinets and countertops. Work began at 9am the following morning, but after my 12 hour work shift, I came home at 6pm to workers still in my apartment working, dust from where they had sawed the old kitchen island all over the floor, my couch, and on items on my dining table that I had removed from the cabinets. On top of all of this drawers were removed and the worker still in my apartment at 6pm told me "I don't do cabinets" when I asked about them being replaced before he left. I shouldn't have to come home after working long shifts and then be forced to do a deep clean of my counters and floors just so I can make dinner that evening and function in my home that I am still being expected to pay FULL rent for while not being able to live in uninterrupted. (Photos of this are also attached to the review)

DO NOT RENT HERE.

This place initially caught my attention, but upon arrival, promises to fix various issues like the balcony, fridge, and kitchen were never fulfilled. Despite repeated attempts, I never received access to the promised free gym, and communication with Manager Kathy Magee proved unhelpful, with discriminatory behavior. The apartment is infested with cockroaches, and despite numerous complaints, the pest control provided has been ineffective. Overall, I would not recommend living here, especially under the current management.

Horrible place, run away, very rude management ms. Kathy Magee very nasty and unprofessional. They don't fix anything they just want to collect rent for overpriced apartments that first floor floods every time it rains, infested with roaches and mode. Very old unsaved fire hazard appliances in the kitchen. Don't care about the safety of the tenant but they do have a company that drives around every night to make sure that tenents don't violate parking rules and take your car to make money. The apartment complex seems to have an agreement with a private company to profit from taking care for mannot violation. Don't even think that when you report something that needs to be fixed it will be fixed they never do. Main gate has been opened for years. Can't wait to move out of here

The worst of the worst, the administration, the people who live there, the police come by three times a day, because there are only dangerous people smoking weed all day.do not rent here, be careful!

I love my new place did have problems at first and boy I know I got on the office nerves, the manager Kathy is amazing she does everything she can and def is an amazing person. I also appreciate the other manger she was amazing as well very nice and goes out her way both of them. Shout out to Damon I hope I spelt his name right an amazing maintenance man very attentive and get things done the right way! Property is beautiful neighbors are friendly also the two ladies assist me and all the other residents new and oncoming are amazing as well! I had to learn they only can do so much it’s not there fault that things happen they try to resolve as fast as they can and delivers!

They’re quick to evict you after a month of no rent but take months just to fix issues like mold, A/C, ROACH INFESTATION, etc. My family told me about their experience and I witnessed it myself

I recently had the unfortunate experience of renting an apartment that can only be described as a complete disaster. Worst apartment complex ever. Maintenance services will not be done unless you call in countlessly and beg for it to be resolved. It is disappointing to find that the management office, which should be a source of support and assistance for tenants, has been extremely unresponsive and unhelpful in my time of need.

I moved on July 1,2023. I have been here for 2 and a half months and I would like to leave, only because of the contract that I have for one year. It is a pity that the place is so beautiful and the administration and maintenance service does not work the first week I handed in a document stating that the apartment has a lot of damage and nothing has been done about it, only 1 maintenance person comes and passes the Bacum Kleaner to the air and nothing else, I have several complaints such as the balcony gets wet the person on the 2nd floor throws water every day dirtying my furniture, carpet and everything on the balcony the balcony door of the Stories has broken frames and broken hinges, the air emits water from time to time on the floor reaching the bathroom and the carpet in the room and I have to place a fan to dry from time to time and so there are many things that do not solve anything.the entrance of the building is completely dark with no light bulbs at night. The rent is a problem in the app to pay. They are charging me $10 for home insurance when I am paying separately and they keep adding it to the application. It really is a shame that one pays so much money and they don't agree with what they have to fix. I am very sorry that I moved here.

Updating as of October 17,2023
they put 1 light in the hallway, they uncovered the air conditioning but it has not been changed yet the panel is completely rotten but the air is working so far they also painted the parking lines, beautifying the surroundings a little It seems that maintenance and the office staff are working to make Portafino the pleasant and beautiful place it was before, thank you for giving us a level of better quality for everyone who wants to live here.

Moved in march of this year and this is the WORST place to rent. Not planning on renewing at all. They won’t let you look at the actual unit you’re willing to rent so the model they do show you is very deceiving. I have white paint splattered all over my hardwood floors, broken hinges on cabinets, disgusting AC unit closet and stains on the walls. Whenever I clean something here I can never feel like it’s actually clean. I make sure to let people know not to buy here and you can get SO much better elsewhere for the money. Do not rent here!

This is the absolute worst apartment I have ever lived in. Any maintenance requests will not be fixed unless you call and complain to the office to the point they get annoyed and finally send someone. We had maintenance requests that were never fixed, such as a broken window in our daughter’s room that was an extreme safety hazard. Our entire apartment building was roach infested no matter how clean you kept your own apartment. The paint they used to touch up where the previous tenant had left holes did not remotely match the color of the walls. We had dips in the flooring. Our oven didn’t work for over a month. Our shower leaked for over a month. Our toilet was broken for over a month. Our dishwasher never worked and our garbage disposal constantly leaked into our dishwasher. They came to “fix” this issue multiple times but it was never actually fixed. I finally got tired of it and just decided to never even try to use my dishwasher. The stairs were never cleaned. All of the updates they are making are really only bandaids for the true issues. Half of the equipment in the “gym” didn’t work and it was only open when the office was open because they wouldn’t put cameras in.and half the time they would forget to unlock it anyways for anyone to use. Office staff are extremely rude, unprofessional, and do not know what they are doing. Once they know your phone number, good luck getting them to even pick up the phone. Trust me, for the amount of money you are having to spend here, you can get something a lot nicer that will cause a lot less headache. Hamlin at Lake Brandon right next door is a beautiful complex, reasonably priced, fixes issues quickly, and has friendly office staff! Check them out! Take this as a warning to not rent at Park at Portofino. Only giving them a 1 star because 0 stars isn’t an option.

Nice enough place but it is a bit dated as in the air conditioning units are from the late 80’s which in turn increases usage as their not too efficient raising the electric bill quite a lot. They’ve been updated on the outside but not in the actual apartments. Leave much to be desired. Saving grace is it’s location nice area and convenient.