Apartment Review for Casa Del Sol Apartments - Huntington Beach, CA

I have lived here for 4 years now. During that 4 years I have seen alot of changes. Most have been from Very Very Good to very very bad and slowly back to a semblence of good - and improvements are continuing.

The very first night that my wife and I moved in 4 years ago - our boxes were not even unpacked - the master bedroom bathtub and toilet overflowed out into the bedroom and onto the brand new carpet. That was the start of 3 years of absolute hell. At least 3 times per month we would have floods. I have all of them documented. Most (not all) of the time that the floods happened it would take the maintenance people 45 minutes to 1 hour to come out - after we called the EMERGENCY line.

HOWEVER - I am very glad to report that that has all changed! Last year the management finally did a very extreme repair job to the plumbing - even digging it up outside the apartment! Since then we have not had any major floods! We have had the minor expected backups - but they have been very few. And whenever we have called the maintenance people - most of the time it has only taken them 20-30 minutes to arrive. THEY HAVE VASTLY IMPROVED.

The parking situation has dramatically gotten worse over the past 4 years, but right now there are some improvements that the management seems to be working on. I have to give them credit - they do seem to be trying to help fix it right now. Yes, there are alot of cars that are left in the "48 Hour" parking for months on end. Yes, I have had to park across the street many many times over the past 4 years. Yes, I have had people illegally park in my one assigned and paid for parking space causing me to park outside the complex. And yes, the management did refuse (ONLY AT FIRST) to tow the car once. HOWEVER - the management seems to be on an upswing and are at least trying to fix the parking situation now. They have been ticketing stored vehicles and vehicles that are in the "48 Hour" parking spaces that have been there for long periods of time. They have repainted the Fire Lanes and seem to be working with HBPD to ticket people who are parked blocking the driveway (have seen HBPD giving tickets alot). And as far as when cars are illegally parked in my paid for and assigned spot, I found out from HBPD that the management does not have to tow the vehicle and that I can have it towed myself.

As far as crime, when I first moved in it was pretty much non-existent. Then it got so bad that HBPD was regularly patrolling inside the complex. And yes, I did have a homeless lady try to come into the club house last Sunday and try to steal my friends purse that was on the pool table. BUT she was not successful because the SECURITY GUARD came around the corner and helped me to chase her off. Yes - the management HAS EVEN HIRED A SECURITY GUARD. In talking with him, he told me about having to constantly chase the homeless out of the elevators and laundry rooms, but it does seem as if he is making a huge positive difference. I have not seen near as many vagrants in the past 6 weeks or so.

As far as upkeep of the grounds and stuff - When I first moved in this place was immaculate. Beautiful grounds, well kept pools, laundry room neat and trash picked up. Then it got bad, really really bad. Trash all over, pallets and boxes out in the road, cars on blocks, etc. However that was about a year and a half ago. Now the management has REALLY REALLY IMPROVED. Almost back to how good it was when I first moved in. They have really started to clean this place up!

The kind of neighbors has also gone from Good to Bad and seems to be going back to Good again. At one time (once again about 1 year ago) I had neighbors throwing trash, cigerette butts, beer bottles and cans down on my backyard on a nightly basis. The neighbors next door would be hammering and playing their drums at 2 a.m.. And there were 5-6 cats that would regularly use my backyard as a litter box, in addition to the guy with the german shephard that would crap out in the common area grass. Since you are not allowed to have large dogs here, I confronted the owner and I was told that the management had made an exception for him. Sure enough, when I asked managment about it, they agreed. But that was a little over a year ago and now the management SEEMS TO HAVE IMPROVED and I have not seen any dogs here at all crapping on the grass.

Right now, with all the improvements going on, I really have only one ding - this place is expensive. Very expensive - and they will raise your rent every time your lease is up. Do your own research before moving in and you will most certainly find at least 4 other places this close to the beach or closer that are cheaper.

Overall I would have to say that while I have been very dissatisfied with Casa Del Sol in the past, they do seem to be trying to make some much needed improvements right now. So at this current time they are OK in my book.