Sycamore Valley Apartments

they had to change the name to the Havens to try and get a better Unilocal rating — FAIL!

After much coaxing, my elderly mother finally told me why she has been so down. During extensive construction management had the audacity to increase her rent. The construction rendered both her patios (for which she pays a premium), both her storage closets, and car port off limits for what seems like an eternity. Her windows/​door were literally boarded up and porch and surrounding lighting were disconnected. Being locked inside has caused her to be depressed. It’s a miracle she has not hurt herself in the dark. She makes excuses for the management while telling us she has not complained for fear of reprisal. Thankfully, the maintenance guys have been very kind to her. She won’t be here much longer if my family and I have anything to say about it. Unbelievable!

I only lived at sycamore valley, or «the havens» for 6 months. The reviews scared me half to death but I really didn’t have an issue, I only left cause of a bad roommate situation. Mary in the leasing office was helpful from day one. She was really excited to help us into our first apartment and gave us a great deal on our lease. Dealing with the renovations was tiring. Being woken up at 8am everyday by crazy construction drove me nuts but the out come was beautiful. Didn’t have that bad of a time with parking cause our apartment was right off ward. So if you can help it find a until close to the street.

There no good parking. Keep in mind that a 2 bedroom apartment only comes with 1 assigned carport. And the rest is first come first serve and it is very limited. So you will be sh*t out of luck of if you get home late. They will try to sell you on street parking but that gets filled quickly. The laundry room is very limited. They have 5 washer & 5 dryer for each building and that’s it. Currently both building that is the closes to me. 1 washer & 2 dryer is not working. Told management and they say a third party is responsible for it. They can’t do anything about it. Rent was great until we renew. We had to pay additional $ 200 a month for what reason? I don’t know. There is nothing convenient about this place. Oh… one more thing about carport. Make sure to find out your assigned carport. Because your assigned carport may not be behind your building you might have to walk to a different building. Also there is only one handicap parking per building and its open to the public. It’s not setup for tenants only. That’s it for now, if I can think of anything else I will post. Because currently I am living in this sh*t hole for anthoher 8 months.

I lived here 5 years ago and I see things haven’t changed much. This is by far the worst place I ever lived. I always paid my rent on time. Once by their mistake the management cut my lock and broke into the storage over my car removing everything. I asked them for my belongs back and they told me I’d have to wait until after the weekend. Then there was another excuse and I never got my stuff back. Finally I sued them in small claims and the day before court they reinbursed me.
I lived alone and had to pay an unbelievable amount for trash and water. After my lease was up they charged me more rent, by quite a bit, than what brand new tenants were paying. Once to termite the building they tented it and made me move out for 4 days. For that they gave me $ 30 a day and I had to throw my food out and wash towels, dishes, etc. Then when I moved back all my plants were dead and I got really sick for 5 weeks (I never get sick and suddenly I had to go the emergency room 3 times and buy antibiotics!). They don’t care about you at all after you move in.
Once you’ve been in there a little while they’ll really stick it to you on the rent, too, and you’ll be shocked how they nickle and dime you to death. For instance, I was getting ready to buy a place and I wanted to go month to month. That was an extra $ 250 a month plus $ for my dog, $ for water, $ for trash, and I can’t remember what else but it came to a LOT! Did I mention it was noisy in there, too. The kids would scream their heads off every afternoon!
I will say that they did refund my cleaning deposit. I also liked being by the library and the freeway. But when I lived there everyone I knew in there completely hated Sycamore Valley. I drive by once in a while to remind myself how lucky I am to be out of that place!!!

I have been a resident of Sycamore Valley for 4 years and in that 4 years my sister and I had no problems. Until just 2 months ago they gave the whole Sycamore Valley resident a notice taht they were doing a whole redo construction work to better the look and the community. As a resident who has never lived in an apartment while Sycamore Valley did there construction work I had no clue what I was going to be living in for the next 2 months. Let me start with the first few weeks of the non-​stop banging on the outside wall from 8am-​5pm. It was stated that the work will be going on from 8am-​5pm mon-​fri. Sadly for me I do not have the «normal work hours» like everyone else, so I would have to «try» to sleep through the constaint banging on the wall. Which of course you can’t when the banging is around all 4 corners of your bedroom as well as your whole apartment complex. After a few weeks past the banging got worse. I notice cracks in my walls and also due to the rain there was brown stops on my ceiling. The construction workers redid the whole roof and when it was the weekend they would cover it it a big blue sheet. Which of course did not cover the rain. The crack walls and the brown stop was a concern so I called the front desk and was transferred to Darrel who stated to me at the time was the only manger on duty. I explained my fustration with the construction going on. He said he would come in a take pictures of the crack walls and the brown stop, and also he stated that there was nothing he or Sycamore Valley could do about the construction because «normal people» has «normal work hours» so if I could just be patient after 2 months of the construction I would love the place so much that the construction would not bother me anymore. He never did a follow up with me nor come in and take any pictures. A week after that conversation I get a call from my sister stating that she fell asleep at 530pm (which is after construction hours) and was quickly scared when she found a man (one of the construction guy) come out of her room around 630pm (after work hours). There was no notification about any one coming in/​out of my place. We once again contact Darrel and he said there was no one in our place at that time (HOW SCARY IS THAT!). This issue continues with the balcony. The construction workers painted our balcony and the smell leaked through our place. Darrel said it is just lite oder, but the oder was not lite at all because I found out that while they were painting our balcony they broke our AC and the smell leaked through. To make matters worse anytime they needed to do any work we did not get a 24hr notice it was more like a 15hr notice. Which they would place a notice at 530pm and assume we should be prepared and out of our place by 8am. My sister and I was fed up with being mistreated as a resident so we decided to do our research on our rental rights. We found out that Darrel is not a manger and just a customer service rep. We finally got in contact with the manager and told her everything that happen. We fought for our 2 months rent back plus our deposit because with all the trouble we went through we were never coming home to a home. We came home to a jungle madness. All we got is a $ 350 gift card and our deposit for all the crap we went through. This was such a big smack in the face that we finally moved out of this place and will never look back. We hope that anyone who lives here and has gone through what we went through to fight back and speak up. You do not deserve to live in a hostel enviroment and you as a human being have rights. Do not let these people tell you otherwise.

Welcome to H*ll on Earth! SO UNTHINKABLY BAD THAT I HAD TO SEEK LEGAL ACTION! I have lived here for 4 years, and I just can’t take their mistreatment anymore. This is the most dishonest management team I have ever encountered.
I have had 4 outbreaks of mold due to a damaged exterior wall.
Despite multiple notifications, they refused to fix it properly, resulting in over $ 2,500 dollars damage to my personal belongings. When I went to the leasing office with my insurance adjuster, the manager,(Julie Workman) FLATLY REFUSED to even come look at the damage, depite the fact that they had done a negligent job remediating the problem 4 TIMES IN A ROW OVER A 2 YEAR PERIOD! Each time they worked on the closet in the past, I was forced to sleep on my sofa while did construction work in my bedroom.
Upon my fourth (and worst) outbreak of mold, Julie flatly refused to reimburse me for the damage they caused to my personal property until I contacted an attorney. THEN they were all ears!
If you rent here, trust me, you will be unhappy. There are so many other residents here that hate it here, but don’t post online reviews. What you are reading in these reviews is such a small piece of the puzzle!
Yes, there are COCKROACHES coming in the walls from other buildings. The managers try to blame it on the tenants! Each person that I know of that has a cockroach problem is an immaculate housekeeper.
For every complaint that comes in, the management has a lie to cover up their complete disregard for customer service. There is one honest leasing agent named Mary in the front office. She is very helpful and kind, but her manager Julie, and Julie’s boss Kevin, treat the residents like welfare recipients.
Take your money elsewhere. Seriously.

Pros:
1. 11 month lease so ill be leaving soon
Cons:
1. Daily landscaping starts at 7:30 am complete with Mariachi music
2. In just the last month construction/​renovation trucks have double parked blocking my exit several times.
3. That is when i actually get a spot.
4. The assigned parking spot given is 2 blocks from my apartment. That’s after a request for a closer spot lol
5. 3 requests… maintenance still hasn’t fixed garbage disposal.
6. I could go on but if your still considering this place i feel sorry for you

Hey all read the truth i will spill. I am moving out after only a year of being here. Move out is 6÷27÷11. i heard the bad and good reviews, so let me give you the latest and honest truth from a normal guy. The apartment is nice and pleanty of room, there are no bugs as i have read here on the reviews. I think if you clean your place like a normal person you won’t have bugs in your food ha. Parking is a real bitch and that is no lie, the noise is constant and everyday. seems the apartment is always doing something to make noise. Management is nice and linda was the girl that helped us when we moved in, so we went to her for ongoing issues. once you move in, dont expect follow up from management. They always tell you they wil get back to you and ha, good luck, if you dont call them back you wont hear from them. Maintance is great, you can submit an order online and things get fixed the next day so no problemsn there at all. Not the BIG one. The price you move inot is fair right? Well we had a $ 200 a month increase for our rent with only a 6 or 10 month new term in which im sure they would increase it again. And yes we paid our rent on time each month, in fact always early. We are quite and not home much being myself and my fiancé are both nurses. So if you dont mind noise, terrible parking for you or any friends or guest, rent increase that to me are unheard of for only a one year increase or management that will not follow through then go for it. Then funny thing is when i 1^st came here i brought up the reviews and of course linda denied all i brought up saying «No it’s great here, just a few trouble people that are no longer here just trying to make it out to be bad.» Well no bugs are true i have found but again go back to what i say is bad. So we are off to a better place that is $ 25 bucks less and has better stuff and lay out then even their new remolded apartments. Oh and that is why the rent is increasing too, so you can pay for the apartments they are putting new stuff in. Ha. Just bad business. So if you move in don’t say you were not warned.

Used to live here a while back. Place was a disaster — Overrun with noise, domestic violence, and DRUGS. Lots and lots of drugs. The incident I’ll never forget is the scary hispanic man asking me to sell him «Black». I didnt know what it was, turned out to be street-​slang for Heroin. I’ve never had that happen since, they dont even do that here in Anaheim. Anaheim is kinda greasy, but you probably won’t be stopped by anyone and asked for narcotics.
Back then the grounds were really disgusting from all the dog s**t, and by reading on Apartment Ratings, this hasn’t improved.
More important is the Area and YOUR SAFETY: The police are corrupt in FV, don’t expect any good to come from them! Officer Laguison (I believe his first name is Joel) gave me a full search across the street from a hospital nearby for doing nothing but riding a bike on the wrong side of the road. Complaining to the police dept did nothing, so make sure you exercise your miranda rights if they ever stop you.
EDIT: Actually, he violated my 4^th and 5^th Amendment rights against search and seizure without probable cause, and due process — Covered by the 5^th.
Then there’s this: Under Terry v. Ohio 392 U.S. 1 (1968), To conduct a frisk, officers must be able to point to specific and articulatory facts which, taken together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant their actions. A vague hunch will not do.
That was not the first time the police harassed me without probable cause. Across the street from SICK-​A-​MORE valley apartments is a mini-​mart plaza. I was walking home and 2 cars accosted me, accused me of being a –Child Molester– because there happened to be a school within spitting distance.
One more? Sure, I was walking nearby the apartment to catch a bus, a cop stops me and plays 20 questions. I wasn’t biting so I kept walking — by that time I had enough of their games and knew better. He deliberately followed me all the way to the bus stop in his car then trolled on the corner for a good 10 minutes. He was a young guy, not particularly bright and probably got fired for something by now.
I’ve lived a lot of places in OC, but Fountain Valley was the worst of them. They call it a «Bedroom Community» but those people are worse then paranoid parrot. NEVER do business here if you can help it, it was a nightmare!

These apartments are Sect 8 approved and very shitty indeed. Police is always there.

I’ve lived here for over 5 yrs. now. I would have to agree with earlier ratings of this place. When I moved in at first, the management was all nice and helpful. But once I signed and had settled in, they really didn’t care about any issues. Just wanted to have you pay rent on time as they sat around the office doing nothing. Now, things have improved.
First of all, the maintenance crew has always been 5 stars. Gets the job done and is very friendly and helpful.
Crime, is around. I’ve had my car vandalized once while Fountain Valley PD is across the street. I had a neighbor had his car stolen as well.
Parking is still an on going issue. As well as security. But then again, the complex is huge and they have only one kid patrolling the place. Even though I see him a lot sitting in his car texting and laughing!
The office crew has changed and I must say is a huge improvement compared to before. If you ask Linda for something, it gets done. Period.
Noise is an issue, but I have lived in many apartments and they are all made with thin walls. (My neighbor has a weird snore)
The place will not win any beauty contests. That’s for sure. But it is a very dog friendly place. Poop bags are provided for free with special trash cans to throw away the bags in. Green grassy area. Some pool areas they moved the fencing to provide more grass for the pooches a couple of years ago.
The only reason I can’t give the place a higher rating is how there is no control on kids running around the place. Racing around on bicycles and skateboards narrowly missing pedestrians. Senior citizens don’t move too fast! So, as one comment had said, yes, there are a lot of white trash here. Folks that shouldn’t have been parents to begin with. I think strays have better manners!

Okay, I lived here for 6 years, and I think my review is quite fair.
Let me start with the good: They allow dogs! Big dogs, small dogs, crazy dogs … It’s definitely a dog friendly place. If you don’t allow dogs, you shouldn’t move here. There’s dogs everywhere, which means there is dog poop and dogs barking. This place may have a dog weight restriction, but I’ve definitely seen a St. Bernard there. They also have pet rent, but I was able to negotiate it out when I renewed my contract each year.
I really liked their maintenance guys. Those guys have been there for a long time, and they always fix my requests quickly.
You can also negotiate your contract rates. Each year, I would get a letter saying that my renewal amount was x dollars a month. I called and asked for a lower rate. The representative would call corporate, and I would get a lower rate.
The management was good when I left it (although it was poorly ran between 2004 – 2006). There is this Asian lady there that is the assistant manager. She’s a little difficult to understand because of her accent, but she is super-​nice and will help you out a lot! Linda is good too! 5 stars to both of them!
The actual apartment was pretty sweet. It was big, with a balcony. I had an upstairs, 1-​bedroom, and I enjoyed my time there a lot.
Also, after I moved out, I removed everything out of the apartment and just had the management clean my place. They only deducted $ 95 from my deposit for cleaning my apartment!
Location is great too. Close to Miles Square Park and walking distance to Silky Sullivans.
Parking was pretty bad. You get one stall for each apartment, and there is no guest parking! My BF had to park on the street for a year, although he sometimes parked in the commercial parking lot.
Crime was bad. My car was broken into once, and it was also vandalized once too. Someone also stole a bike from my balcony once. (Yes, I said balcony!) But overall, it’s a safe neighborhood, and I would feel comfortable walking around late at night.
Yes, there’s cockroaches, but they spray it bugs whenever you ask. (It’s free too.) So utilize that service, and it will be fine.
You also have to pay for water and garbage. It’s about $ 60 a month.
Overall, I enjoyed my time here, and if needed, I would probably consider this place again.

Don’t move here unless you’d like cockroaches for roommates! This place sucks! I used to know several people who lived here and didnt have a problem but its obvious things have changed. The building is getting so run down and dilapidated. It’s great that you have to pay for the «parking monitor» that doesnt even monitor the cars or enforce the parking rules. Would never ever ever recommend living here. The management is lazy, rude and so unprofessional!

Do Not Move To This Shitty Place! Like the first reviewer here I’m very surprised there isn’t more reviews for this lame place. I used to live here and boy am I ashamed I ever called this place home. I only moved here because I lost my home and had to rent until I got back on my feet. I would never recommend this shithole to anybody, it sucks big time!
I lived here for 3 years and it was a miserable to stay at this place. Everything about Sycamore Valley is bad and wrong, it’s gross. Like the guy reviewing before me I too got towed 3 times and for no good reason, they have only 50% parking spaces for the actual tenants lving here which makes it ideal for towing profits. This complex looks great from the outside but once you sign the lease your in for a treat, don’t be fooled by the nice office people in the beginning they will turn on you once you sign your life away. If you are used to the living standards of east L.A. then this place is for you, lot’s of white trash, scary wannabe gangstas and trashy surroundings. Besides getting your car towed away on a regular basis, there’s minimal security, loud music and kids running around at all times of the day plus the management doesn’t give a shit about you and your problems once you become a resident. If you like rude management, non existent security, gangstas, loud music, cockroaches, high water bills, loud gardners then this place is for you

WOW… I can’t believe I’m the first to rate this place! It’s been YEARS since I’ve lived here but because I’ve seen some updated ratemyapartment ratings, I’m quite sure they’re the same shitty apartments that I once lived in.
My carpets had to be a code violation. They were dyed so many times instead of being just replaced… that the color was a charcoal grey– and you couldn’t wear socks around the apt because they’d dye your socks on the bottom. The cabinets were painted with an oil based paint so were sticky the whole time I lived there (three years!). Oil based paint doesn’t do well in moist weather…(2 miles from the beach, not bad).
You could literally hear your upstairs neighbor pee. Fart. Breathe. We had to ask them so many times to lower their tv… it wasn’t even loud– just the acoustics sent all of their noise right down to us.
Animals are allowed to live here, which is great… but people rarely pick up their own dog crap. It’s fairly disgusting. My car was broken into on several occasions… I had to deal with a tow truck towing our car twice. (you’re only allowed one car in the car port and an extra car in the lot at all WITH a sticker).
All in all… shitty apartment. Pros would be close to police station, library and freeway. Cons would be shitty management.