Yvonne - Landlord of 25624 Oak St Abusive treatment from hostile property owner. Lomita CA

WARNING!  DO.  NOT.  RENT.  FROM.  THIS.  PROPERTY!  Found this listing on Hotpads but it's up on other sites too.  The cheap low rent of 850 should've been my first clue and it was 2 months of absolute hell from the lived in owner named YVONNE.  She's an old Chinese dragon lady with an extreme case of OCD and about as hostile as Asian stereotypes get.  My god it was a complete nightmare and hope this reaches you in time to avoid the same mistake I made.  
 
I detected she might've been covertly hostile upon initial meeting because she had this nervous look on her face as if she's hiding something.  Throughout any conversation, she had this fake chuckle that was forced and very pretentious.  I normally follow my instincts to detach immediately and look elsewhere but I was in need of a room asap for work nearby.
 
Everything seemed fine and normal until the 1st incident regarding her screen door in kitchen.  She had these doors opened so I can walk in and out freely from kitchen to garage to do laundry.  As I went to gather my remaining clothes in the dryer, she by force of habit closed the screen door without even telling me.
 
All I see was the sliding glass doors are still opened and could even hear the birds outside with the wind blowing in.  I had NO CLUE she had the screen door closed because it wasn't visible until I slammed into it and almost fell through!  Naturally the metal frame was damaged and entire screen door had to be replaced.  She quickly admitted she made the same exact mistake not too long ago and the door had already been replaced once before from this same incident!
 
Luckily, I found a replacement at Home Depot for a 100 usd and we both split the fees.  Very dangerous if I was carrying hot coffee instead of laundry for crying outs.  I wasn't there for even a few days when this happened and already out of 50 bucks.  A bad sign of the hell that awaits.
 
A few days later, she uttered some words to me that still haunts me now.  "I treat everyone here as if they're my own.  So, I need you to start by cleaning my garage."  I was wondering if I misheard or if she's truly that delusional.  I was tempted to ask "Who's paying who 850 a month here?  Am I paying you that for rent or are you paying me to be your maid?"  I pretended I didn't hear her and ignored that ridiculous request.  Guess she got the clue and never brought that up again.  
 
After I paid the 2nd month, I immediately regretted it.  Yvonne has pet peeves and one of them is you closing your door.  You expect some privacy?  NOPE.  She complains why is my door always closed.  All I hear daily is her shouting at me from across the hall to OPEN YOUR DOOR!  OPEN IT!  DON'T KEEP IT CLOSED!  She wants air and circulation throughout the house and it enrages her when my door is constantly closed.  There's no AC or heater in the house so she's zoned in on having your door open at all times.  I have to yell back that I'm getting dressed or sleeping for her to shut up!  
 
She gets just as upset if you're in your private bathroom for longer periods of time.  I do everything from getting ready to work, shower, hair, etc but apparently, I'm being timed!  She goes, "Why you always in there for so long?  You spend a third of the day in there!"  Says I have issues and continues to mumble as she walks away.  Things just got more hostile by the weeks on.  
 
Got sick for 2 days and ate a late meal around midnight.  Even that was unacceptable and enough fuel for her to lecture me about how unhealthy eating can be at the wrong times.  Goes into a 5-minute rant about when the proper time to eat is.  "Breakfast time is breakfast time.  Lunch is lunch.  And dinner is dinner.  There's no such thing at eating a meal at midnight.  Very poor habit and it's not good so you need to change!"  I just ignored her at this ridiculous point and I knew it was time to leave.  No way was I going to pay her for a third month.  
 
Shortly after, she tells me I need to leave because her son is moving back into the room.  Gave me 2 weeks and didn't need to tell me twice.  I found another place with a new job and she suddenly changed her mind.  Now she's saying I can stay if I want after I already found a new apartment elsewhere.  Notified her I was leaving regardless and she got upset.  Complained DAILY that she wouldn't have even rented to me had she known I was only going to stay for just two months!  This old hag is unbelievable!  
 
I told her my friend is coming soon to load my items.  She asked what kind of person is my friend.  I replied it's a guy friend.  She then clarified, "No.  I meant what race is he?  White, black or what?"  I revealed he's black.  She instantly says, "I don't want him in the house.  Have him wait outside only."  Not too shocking that she's also a racist at this point.  Yvonne got more hostile as the days proceeded up to me moving out.  Even denied me to use laundry and complained my clothes are "oily."
 
Was cleaning up the bathroom so I can get my FULL deposit back when she told me to start taking my bags/luggage downstairs.  I had the door closed and replied I'm almost done.  She goes, "I thought I told you to take all your stuff downstairs."  Couldn't even wait for me to finish and decides to rush me out.  All I recall was the scorn look of hatred on her face.  She was absolutely livid that I was moving out just after 2 months.  She expects all her guests to stay a minimum of a few years.  Yeah, good luck with that!
 
While taking all my belongings downstairs, she desperately tries to scam me out of my deposit by accusing all the existing problems of her old house on me.  Blames me for not vacuuming a single time and every existing stain that was present from day one must've been caused by me!  
 
Starts freaking out and goes, "THIS is dirty!  THAT is dirty!"  I almost lost it and wanted to call her out once and for all.  This crazy OCD hag goes into my room to open her windows and inspects the room DAILY.  You have absolutely no privacy here.  She has a key to my room and enters it whenever she pleases when I'm at work.  If there were truly any problems regarding cleanliness, she would've confronted me without hesitation from day one.  
 
Also blamed me for bathroom mold in crevices that cannot be removed in the shower.  And she knew exactly where to look as well.  Went right to the tub specifically where all the black stains were and accused me of causing it.  She had this all planned out and thought I was oblivious.  
 
Yvonne had many students who lived here for almost the past decade and one stayed for about 7 years.  Sooo they didn't leave all this mess behind but I did in just TWO MONTHS?!  We almost got into a heated screaming match due to her false accusations and hostile bombardment of lies.  She was in full blown SCAM mode and was determined to find excuses to collect my deposit in any way imaginable.  
 
Got really loud and started bossing me around like I was her son or housekeeper.  REMEMBER her line.  "I treat everyone like they're my own!"  She goes, "Take the sheets off the bed!  Put it in this bag!  Take the office chair matt downstairs!  Completely infuriated, she accidentally broke the window blinds as she tried to let some light in room.  Immediately told me to fix it!  Ignored her and she tries to hand it to me.  Tell me to fix it again and I about lost it at this moment.  I replied I didn't know how.  Yvonne goes, "YOU'RE USELESS."  I was ruthlessly bullied and felt if I didn't' cooperate, she wasn't going to return my deposit.  
 
Wasn't that big of a shock how she turned out though.  Again, I suspected she was covertly hostile from the beginning but never imagined she's actually far worse.  Mean, rude, deceptive, conniving, accusatory, plays victim, vengeful and a scam artist.  Always tries to boast how much money she has and how successful her son is.  SURE!  
 
I had to repeatedly ask for my deposit back and was about to call the cops because she was borderline going berserk.  Finally brought my deposit out and asked, "You don't think you should leave any money behind?"  I was utterly disgusted at this point and just wanted to leave asap.  She asked, "How about I just keep 50 bucks and you can keep the rest?"  I said fine considering she allowed me to stay a week longer after my 2 months was up.  I suspect that was her attempt to get me to stay longer for more rent.    
 
The very instant she collected the 50 bucks, she instantly calmed down as if nothing happened.  UTTERLY DESPICABLE what she was doing just for that petty amount of cash.  My friend soon arrived and I high tailed out of there like no tomorrow.  Remember that if you're black, don't apply.  She scans for someone who she can treat like her son or a housekeeper.  She's seeking out candidates who's innocent, gullible and naive.  Sneaky as well and might even change her name to something else to avoid being exposed.  Might even have one of her kids list property like it's theirs but trust me, Yvonne is the lived in owner.  
 
Was here for just a SINGLE MONTH and knew it was time to leave.  To recap in the most descriptive way possible, anyone seen the movie Misery (1990) starring James Caan and Kathy Bates?  Things seemed normal at first but suddenly takes a turn for the absolute worst is a great summarization here.  Avoid this property here like the plague.  If you choose to be foolish and up for this challenge, I highly recommend you take photos of all the stains and existing issues in this old condo.  If you don't, Yvonne will use them as excuses to scam your deposit like she attempted with me.  
 
This occurred from July/August of 2024 but seemed like an eternity.  Don't forget these words of hers.  "I TREAT EVERYONE HERE LIKE THEY'RE MY OWN."  I'm not your own and even if I was, there's no tolerance for mistreatment.  Not sure how long she's gotten away with this but just hoping this review will reach you in time to avoid!