I thought I would try to give a rundown based on what I know from living there in 2007. My experience was mostly positive.

ABOUT MANAGEMENT
I found the management to be helpful when I needed to get out of my lease and move to another city. I was able to "transfer" to another BRE Property and avoid the huge penalty for breaking your lease. That took some legwork to set up but it got done. I also did not have to pay any cleaning fees on move-out, etc., that weren't already a part of the lease. That said, if I had needed to break my lease outright, it would've cost me approx. two months' rent, which seems exorbitant.

ABOUT THE GROUNDS
I thought it was well-landscaped. Plenty of greenery and trees. It is a monumental annoyance, however, to drive to your assigned parking space if you live on the back edges of the property. I had to go over a total of seven speed bumps to get around to my apartment, and these aren't the kind of bumps you can go fast over, at least not if you have a car that's low to the ground. There is a ton of extra parking, which was exhibited by the cars that stayed parked in the same spaces for weeks or months at a time.

ABOUT THE APARTMENT LAYOUT
I lived in one of the two-story buildings, so my unit had a window on one end and a patio on the other. I liked the layout more than a lot of apartment buildings because there was a fair amount of space for a one-bedroom but it was very easy to get around. Of course, moving my refrigerator up and down the stone stairs was difficult. They do not provide refrigerators so be prepared to hit up Craigslist if you don't have one.

The floors are tan-colored fake-wood laminate which doesn't look like wood at all, and the cabinets are an older dark wood. The complex was built in 1986 I believe and I think all the cabinets, closet doors, etc., are original. We had new carpet so that was nice. The ceiling fan was a plus.

Laundry rooms generally were empty because you can have your own washer/dryer in your unit if you own one. Never used the pool but it looked okay; the workout room equipment wasn't great, the universal machine had some functions broken. Did not have any issues with the sink etc. in our apartment. We had a leaky dishwasher and it was fixed promptly.

Our utility bills were always pretty low. There's a sliding door with a screen and a window in the back, and the complex cools quickly off at night, so we did not have to use your A/C for most of the year. You don't really need the heat in the winter either, as the buildings seem to retain heat pretty well if you keep the windows closed.

ABOUT SAFETY
I didn't have any big complaints about safety. The area isn't perfect but I never worried about leaving my apartment at night, walking around the property, etc. We had no issues at all other than a couple of times when people we didn't know came and banged on the door; no idea if they were lost or what. No one ever damaged our cars. The people who lived near us were friendly and we never had any problems with noise or bad behavior with our neighbors. You do have to keep an eye for kids when you're driving in the complex as sometimes they play in the road.

ABOUT LOCATION
The property abuts the freeway on the N, the Colton Inn/Fiesta Village amusement park on the W, a street on the E that runs by a condo complex, and Washington on the S and has a fence. You can get on the 215 in 1-2 minutes and it's another 30 seconds to the 10 or 5-10 minutes to the 60/91, assuming there's no traffic. Traffic is a real issue at certain times of the day, especially near the 60/91/215 interchange. Fortunately are plenty of local streets you can take to get to all of the nearby cities without using the freeway. The property is within one mile of a Stater Brothers, a pharmacy (Rite Aid' I don't remember), Starbucks, Baker's, Arby's, donut shop, liquor store, gas station, Alberto's, and a bunch of other stores. The property is very close to the city limits of Loma Linda and Grand Terrace. Drive up on Grand Terrace on the Fourth of July and park overlooking the 215 if you want to see dozens of fireworks shows all at once.

RECOMMENDATION
I found this place to be a good value because it was located in Colton and it seemed like a lot of people took that as a negative, even though the property was pretty nice and in a safer part of the city. I knew a lot of people who lived in similar complexes in Canyon Crest, Corona, etc., for hundreds of dollars more per month. I guess a lot of people won't consider living here because it's in Colton, but I thought it was nicer than a lot of the complexes in Redlands. I would be happy living there again if I returned to the IE and was looking for an apartment.

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