I've been a resident of Turtle Ridge for the last 3 years. I live in the 600 section of the property, which isn't the prettiest, but has some of the nicest people in this corner of the property. I have a beautiful view of the cell phone towers, the Water Districts Pump Station, and the dirt hillside across Bonita Canyon where new homes are being built (construction has been going on for the last 2 years). I just spent the last hour or so reading through the latest reviews and am pleased to see that I am not the only one experiencing some of the CONS with Turtle Ridge.

Common CONS(the bad news) you'll hear about the property are:
1. Management doesn't care
2. Parking is not enforced
3. Rent gets jacked up every year
4. Ants take over your apartment during the summer
5. Security

Let me give you some details on the above as per my experience.
Management - In the time that i've been here, i've seen 5 managers come and go. Each one that I have dealt with has been very unresponsive to my concerns or situations. Sure, they give you the smiley face and sweet sounding voice over the phone or in person, but have yet had one handle a problem or situation. For instance, during my first year residence I had an on going problem with the cell phone tower. Maintenance workers would show up at ungodly hours and work heavy machinery and lighting right out in front of my window as my fiancee and I were trying to sleep. Management said they would handle, and they never did. I had to get the police and city involved numerous times to finally have it taken care of. In addition, the Water Districts pump station is not so quiet through out the day or night. Their is a loud rush of air that is released randomly through out the day. Again, I complained to the Management and nothing was done. I had to make an appointment with the Water District Manager and show him the problem myself. Problem solved. For the most part, the maintenance people are very kind and I find are the only ones that care. I've never had a problem with one of them. Always kind and cortious.

Parking - Parking is unpredictable on a daily basis. The majority of residents do not use their garage as a means of parking a vehicle. Others have more than two cars per household (that's supposed to be the limit of vehicles allowed per apartment in the lease agreement). Try to get an apartment with a garage and a driveway. This will guarantee you have at least 2 parking spaces. You'll just need to think ahead as to who gets home first, or fits better in the garage. What ever you do, don't park in the handicap spaces. I made the mistake one night of doing this due to parking availability, and the next morning found a hefty fine of $500.00 on my windshield. Compliments of the Irvine Police Department. So yes, they are ticketing as of June, 2008.

Rent - be prepared. You're rent will get jacked up. But then again, that's pretty common.

Bugs - Ants at least, are pretty much guaranteed to show up every summer. So be prepared. The pest control company is pretty much useless as they are an Irvine Owned entity. They will just come into your apartment and stain your clean walls and cabinets with bug spray that will not come off. So be prepared.

Security - Don't be fooled by those big gates. They are a false sense of security. Anybody at anytime can drive through them. Even during the night. I've heard of cars and rims being stolen from the property. There are no night watchmen, security, etc. Also, Irvine PD is a little slow on their response at night time.

I've seen mention of drunk people and rowdy college kids. This was a problem in my corner for about a period of a year and a half, but seems to have been handled. Now and then you'll hear someone making a racket, but can easily handle yourself by saying something to them. The only real problem in my corner is with smokers. They smoke near my side of the building and i'm no fan of second hand smoke. They also tend to leave their butts on the ground which is pretty disgusting.

Now, onto some of the PROS:
1. Property is kept somewhat clean (8 out of 10)
2. The Pool and Hot Tub (always clean and very available)
3. Garages (even though some don't use them)
4. Neighbors are great!
5. Fridge, washer/dryer included with Apartment (Major plus! Keeps me from having to move them at the end of the lease)

And that's pretty much the nitty gritty from a real resident kids! I hope this helps some of you decide whether or not to move here.

User Responses
From: Anonymous	Date: 06/30/2008
Thanks for the detailed review. I live in the 900 section. Lots of bugs, including ants, spiders, and silverfish. Parking is absolutely awful in my section. People park in the red zones, and I have never seen any tickets or towing. I have seen a small amount of garages filled with stuff, but the majority of people in my section put a car in their garage. But with visitors or a multi-car apartment, lots of cars take up all the spaces, and people are too lazy to walk to the leasing office parking lot. I agree with the rest of your review. Turtle Ridge needs to improve security, enforce the parking, and do a much better job of pest control on the outside, which might keep bugs from getting inside.
From: cyclefund25	Date: 08/27/2008
I also completely agree with the review. I'm a current resident that has lived in the property for only 4 months, but have really been hit hard by the ant situation this Summer. I am aware of someone getting their car stripped of rims recently, but I don't see how the gate situation is to be made safer. The only option would be a guard monitoring every car and I'm not aware of any IAC property with this. The excessive smokers, kids, and dogs is not something the property can discriminate against unfortunately. One other complaint I haven't seen anyone make on here is the mass born-agains that file into the church on Sundays. Doesn't seem like a big deal, but the stupid police and the lemmings cause a crazy traffic jam at the entrance when you're trying to get in or out for what seems like the entire day.

Your thoughts? Post a response to this review. Display my response: with my username anonymously Responses appear below reviews and one response per user is permitted.

Disclaimer: No attempt has been made to verify or assure the accuracy of the claims made by the author of this opinion or responses. You must judge the truthfulness of any review and accept responsibility for your use of this information.

   Free estimates on moving trucks      Find apartment share/roommates