Feedback on these OC apt complexes? (short term lease, 2BR+, <$2500/month) (Santa Ana: apartment complexes)

[jason_k_ca]

We are moving to OC early next year and are looking for a short term apartment (probably 3-6 month lease) while we look for a house. My wife and I are in our early 30s and have a 4 month old daughter, I work from home and my wife is a SAHM so location is not too important. We will be looking for houses near Brea/Fullerton/Anaheim Hills and the Mission Viejo area.

We've done some research and narrowed down our search to 7 apartment complexes -- the criteria were at least 2BR, cats allowed (we have 2), W/D in-unit, short term leases available, and up to $2500/month.

Any feedback on these complexes and their neighborhoods would be very helpful. Our favorite so far is Versailles, I'm not sure about South Coast Metro (is that part of Santa Ana?) as a neighborhood though. We live in northern CA so we haven't visited the area yet.

Pinnacle - Fullerton
BRE Properties | Fullerton Apartment Homes for Rent - Pinnacle at Fullerton

Cascades - Anaheim Hills
The Cascades - Introduction - SRG Living

Windsor - Orange
Orange, CA Apartments - Windsor at Main Place - Windsor Communities

Gateway - Orange
Gateway Apartment Homes Apartments For Rent in Orange, California - Apartment Rental and Community Details - ForRent.com

Pinnacle - South Coast Metro
BRE Properties | Santa Ana, CA, Apartment Homes for Rent - Pinnacle at MacArthur Place

Versailles - South Coast Metro
South Coast Metro California Apartments - Home - Versailles On The Lake

Enclave - Costa Mesa
The Enclave at South Coast

[Vinsanity]

The only one I can really give firsthand experience on is Pinnacle in Santa Ana (SC Metro is like a dozen blocks straddling the border of Costa Mesa and Santa Ana). The apartment is in a convenient location near the 55/405 freeways, and they have some large 2br floorplans. Biggest gripes: the elevators take forever, and the building is not very well laid out. If you have guests stay past 10pm, you have to escort them out so you can open the garage gate for them. Driving out of the building can be annoying because you either have to wait a long time for a traffic signal to turn, or you have to drive around the back of the building. Also, you can hear people walking on your ceiling, but AFAIK, that can be a problem with any apartment unit not on the top floor. It's a nice enough place, though, if you don't mind the "real" Santa Ana being in your backyard; it basically looks like the cliche Irvine Co. apartment, but at a 15% discount.

Speaking of Irvine Co., the Enclave, as you know, is just down the street in a noticeably quieter location. the apartments are smaller and more expensive, but at least you don't have to deal with the hassle of a elevator that moves like molasses.

Also, I had a friend live at Versailles, and AFAIK, she didn't have anything major to complain about.

[kristinichka]

When we were looking for a short term rental, the complex I liked best was in Lake Forest and is called Bellecour Way apts. Here's a link: Bellecour
They are large townhome style apts. with 2 car attached garages and they are newer. They are in a very nice part of Lake Forest. Their website says no short term rentals, but if you talk to them, they are definitely willing to do them. (o: I don't know if this recommendation will help or not, but I am not familiar with any of the other complexes. Good luck in your move!
BTW, we just moved down from the Bay area in December.

[DinsdalePirahna]

If I were to spend that amount of money on rent, I would seriously recommend the Bluffs in Newport Beach. Make Sure you rent one of the Townhomes ont he Rivoli Side (the Campanille Side is full of 40K Millionaires.
Newport Bluffs

[Vinsanity]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that BRE Pinnacle (the South Coast one, at least) only does 12-month leases in the first place. The leasing office said that they need upper management approval to do anything other than 12 months, so I dunno if you want to try anyways.

[jason_k_ca]

Thanks for the additional recommendations. Bellecour looks nice but we're trying to avoid multi-level floor plans since the little one will be crawling soon. We will take a look at Newport Bluffs next time we're in the area.

So far our favorite is still Versailles in SC Metro, the 3BR 1300sf units are $2100/month there.

[jason_k_ca]

I just came across Anacapa in Irvine, it also looks like another great candidate.

Anacapa