Difficulties in locating a decent apartment in North/Central OC (Santa Ana: apartment complex, rentals)

[Chatteress]

I am looking to relocate from LA county to northern or central OC to ease my commute to work. The issue I'm having is that just about every single apartment complex that appeals to me, there are lots of negative reviews. After reading all of these reviews, I'm beginning to feel that there isn't any decent apartments in Orange County, even though I'm sure they exist. I'm looking for apartments within the following cities:

Costa Mesa/South Coast Metro
Orange
Anaheim
Garden Grove

My parameters:
800sq or more
1000-1350 per month.
Safe for single female
Walkable: I need grocery stores and food places within walking distance
Mass Transit accessible

I will need to visit these places but trying to narrow down my options. Any feedback/suggestions are welcome.

[bhcompy]

Many(many many) of the apartments in the older parts of OC are not listed on the internet review sites people use. They are privately owned or administered by small, local property management companies. Honestly, the best way to find an apartment is to pick the neighborhood and drive around looking for signs.

[ysr_racer]

Not sure there's much Mass Transit in any of Orange County.

There are a few complexes on Jamboree in Irvine that fit most of what you're looking for.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by ysr_racer

Not sure there's much Mass Transit in any of Orange County.

There are a few complexes on Jamboree in Irvine that fit most of what you're looking for.

I doubt she'll get anywhere close to $1350/mo for 800sf+ anywhere around that though.

[SunnyTXsmile]

Good advice above re: driving around, mass transit, etc. Also, keep in mind that anyone can write a review. I take reviews with a grain of salt because you have no way of knowing whether a competitor wrote the review, the same unhappy tenant wrote more than one review out of spite, etc. To me, the best is word of mouth.

[Coldjensens]

You get more for your money looking for private rentals than at the big complexes. You give up the swimming pool, weight room and simlar ameneties. IN Orange, Santa Ana, Anaheim and probably other communities it is farily common to have "Granny flats" (apartments build abouve detached garages) that are fairly affordable.

OCTA has a bus system that i am told is pretty good. My kids rode it occaisionally long ago and they liked it ok. You end up doing quite a bit of walking, but that is good for you.

When we rented, we always found our places in one of two ways. In Balboa we had a realtor who eally liked us She specialized in rentals. Whenver she got a real awesome bargain listing, she would call us before listing it to see if we wanted it. We ultimately got a neat little 2 Br. house for a song. It was owned by a really sweet older couple who thought modern rent prices were ridiculous. After we got to know them really well, they lowered the rent because they liked us and we were good tenants.

After we left balboa, we drove around and looked for signs. The good places, were usually only available for a day. We learned the hard way, you need to be rady to walk in and drop a deposit the day the sign goes up. Otherwise, you are not going to get the best bargains. We also discovred that good tenants are hard to find. We made sure we were execellent tenants. After a few years, we toold the landlord we wanted to move, and they reduced the rent to keep us there. They also occaisionally let us skip paying rent in December as a Christmas present. It helps to be execellent tenants. Pay on time always, don't complain about anything. Fix things yourself. Stay put.

Anyway I strongly second the drive around and look for signs, but keep you check book in your pocket.

[SunnyTXsmile]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

You get more for your money looking for private rentals than at the big complexes. You give up the swimming pool, weight room and simlar ameneties. IN Orange, Santa Ana, Anaheim and probably other communities it is farily common to have "Granny flats" (apartments build abouve detached garages) that are fairly affordable.

OCTA has a bus system that i am told is pretty good. My kids rode it occaisionally long ago and they liked it ok. You end up doing quite a bit of walking, but that is good for you.

When we rented, we always found our places in one of two ways. In Balboa we had a realtor who eally liked us She specialized in rentals. Whenver she got a real awesome bargain listing, she would call us before listing it to see if we wanted it. We ultimately got a neat little 2 Br. house for a song. It was owned by a really sweet older couple who thought modern rent prices were ridiculous. After we got to know them really well, they lowered the rent because they liked us and we were good tenants.

After we left balboa, we drove around and looked for signs. The good places, were usually only available for a day. We learned the hard way, you need to be rady to walk in and drop a deposit the day the sign goes up. Otherwise, you are not going to get the best bargains. We also discovred that good tenants are hard to find. We made sure we were execellent tenants. After a few years, we toold the landlord we wanted to move, and they reduced the rent to keep us there. They also occaisionally let us skip paying rent in December as a Christmas present. It helps to be execellent tenants. Pay on time always, don't complain about anything. Fix things yourself. Stay put.

Anyway I strongly second the drive around and look for signs, but keep you check book in your pocket.

"Granny flats"? lol Now I've heard it all (and that explains why you don't see many ads for FROGS, detached bachelors, etc in CA).

Great advice, by the way.

[luv4glass]

I lived for 17 years in a pretty little apartment complex (100 apts. - 1,2,3 bedrooms) in La Habra called Stoneridge. They don't advertise, but are incredibly handy to a many grocery stores and big box stores. Since they are just off the corner of Beach Blvd and Imperial Highway, there are both OCTA and Metro buses and, I think, the Norwalk bus as well. There are a couple of other complexes there as well, but not well kept. I read here that La Habra is boring...well, it is...and it isn't very freeway-friendly, but hubby worked in Orange and I worked in Westminster and it obviously worked for us for nearly two decades!

You might also want to grab the very bus/buses you were thinking about using and getting off at various spots to check out the complexes that are near that bus route. Contrary to what some folks think, other bus riders are not all low-income, homeless, dirty, crazy, etc. Many are just commuters that have figured out that busing can be convenient. So, if you choose to ride the bus to see what complexes are available to you on that particular route, ask some of the riders...they can be very helpful to their fellow travelers.

[Chatteress]

Thank you everyone ... I appreciate the advice