Corte Bella Apartments

We previously lived in another apartment community for 14 years and were excited but nervous about moving to a new community. We spent time checking Unilocal reviews as well as several other sites and asked the managers very specific questions as we researched new places to live. Ahmee, the manager here, was very personable and answered all our questions honestly. The entire move in process was very easy, from the online application to the move-​in walk through. Francis was very helpful and detailed when going through the signing of the lease and initial move-​in walk through. Vanessa was very prompt in returning my call when I asked for an earlier move in date. Ahmee and her team’s customer service made a big difference in our decision to move here — we felt they genuinely paid attention to their residents and community. I even drove through the community several times after work and spoke with random residents to make sure they liked the community before we decided to commit to moving here. I also have a friend on Fountain Valley PD and we checked with him about safety in the community before deciding to move here.
There are seven or eight pools through out the entire community, small BBQ areas and a very nice large BBQ courtyard area too. Units are very spacious with lots of windows to let in light and tons of storage space. Balconies are huge! Private garages are included and parking is easy to find. The entire community is very clean and pristine. Rent is reasonable, we researched a lot of communities in the Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley areas and Corte Bella isn’t any higher than the other nice communities. We definitely recommend Corte Bella to others!

We’ve been here 3 years next month and enough is enough. They raise the rent on you every year without any improvements on the apartment whatsoever. If you have pets they will raise the rent on top of your pet rent then add the pet rent again on the newly raised amount. You can expect a minimum of a $ 100.00 increase per lease term. I got my car towed yesterday because my wife had double parked behind cars and somehow forgot to move it. Certainly our mistake. However, all they did to avoid us from getting towed is called and left a message saying that we’d be towed within 15 – 20 if we didn’t move it. A considerate person that cared about it’s tenants would maybe go knock on the persons door to see if they could move it before towing and save the $ 335.00 cost? Especially when we live in the courtyard right in front of the leasing office. Not gonna happen here! There’s so many other cons to mention in regards to management, but I’ll keep it at that. Definitely not worth the money in regards to amenities. Parking is bad. Double standards in regards to staff that live here. Finally, I have a feeling they’ll try to be «Sheady» about giving us back our full deposit. Potential Renters be warned.

I would rate this place 0 stars if possible. Been a resident here for a few years now and have noticed an uptick in vandalism and car break ins. I’ve personally seen 5 cars with Windows shattered and the owners have stated that their belongings where stolen. Went outside this morning and my own car was broken into. Parked in a private parking space, not on the street, Locked, in a well lit area and it was broken into and entire car was cleaned out, emptied glove box, trunk, cargo space between front seats. Go pro, cell chargers, car papers, Cologne, backpack for gym with gym clothes. All gone! Went into office to notify them and was given the phone number for security who supposedly patrols. Let me tel you they don’t. I walk my dogs Every night and have never seen them come patrol around more than one quick 2min drive around and then they leave and that’s a random drive by once a month maybe. Haven’t seen security drive around since mid March. It’s May!!! Called security and they have a voicemail set up but nobody answered. DONT MOVE IN HERE. TERRIBLE SECURITY! Your belongings are not safe. Move elsewhere.

I would actually give Corte Bella a 3.5, but I rated it higher because of the awesome neighbors. I have lived here over a year and find that these are the PROS/​CONS (not much different than other comments):
PROS:
Neighbors
Private Garage
Close to Freeway Access
Floorplan layout
Accepts Large Breed Dogs
Bark Park
CONS:
Single Pain Windows
No Central A/​C
Rent Increase Every Year — High Turn Over Rate of Residents
Tree Sap
Washing Machines are Small

I have lived here for the past year. It has been a great experience that both myself, wife and kids have enjoyed. The community looks amazing and is very well kept, something we can appreciate.
We have made great use of the dog park and heated pools. The service team is always responsive and friendly. You also get your own garage which is rare in this area.
Thank so much to the office staff and maintenance staff… Ahmee, Jose, Marshall, and Erick. You guys rock!
If you are looking for a place to call home, this is it!

My family and I have lived here since 2012.
We are very Happy!!! Even more now.
We are very appreciative of our quiet community and beautiful apartment!
Management/​Office Staff–
They are amazing! With any rental there are issues that arise. They are compassionate, quick, and do more than what we would expect. They are so professional and handle concerns with top priority.
My experience through changes here has been nothing short of respect for these staff members. Note: Manager — Ahmee Hidalgo leads by example and her staff are impacted by her compassionate heart. It shows. We certainly are. She gets things done and this place has changed for the better because of her and her team.
We have been deeply impacted by Ahmee and Jordan! Jordan is a hard working dedicated staff member. What would we do without him. He is very busy and still makes time for you. Jose– great man indeed and gets the job done but so kind and never resting and still has that great positive energy. Others are so amazing too and their humor and hard work has paid off. They are kind and professional.
With any apartment you hope that staff will remain the same when you are happy. Too many changes in management in previous was not working. That is what we would like to see happen, keep a good thing, keep them here as there has been great change. Neighbors that partied are gone, noise– gone. This crew probably works too hard to make things good.
We hope that the economy will keep our rent stable as we enjoy our neighbors now but the experience here has given us great memories, our view and more, we love the work out room and office family. Necessary for us and we hope to never move! Thanks for good times here. Holidays never forgotten.
In reading other reviews — it saddens me they have had a rough road here. The only concerns I have had or experienced are with humidity and mold/​condensation. Other issues before this latest management too. As with beach communities I guess this happens it is an older apartment. Maintenance have always serviced/​inspected our apartment every year but in recent the lease includes us to be the responsible party. I just know that a healthy living environment is necessary and a part of a requirement, but communicating to staff here is necessary (when needed) as they will help where we can’t reach areas (cathedral ceiling windows and other). That has been my experience so far. There are cold winters here but we have learned to use electric blankets. Hot summers too but we have accepted some things and run the air allot. There probably isn’t a prefect apartment. We enjoy being here.

Best place to make a new home at!!! Great Management Team.
I got a great deal in a one bedroom, and it came with a garage! walking distance to a lot of places I like.
Can’t wait to move my stuff in…

I stayed down here for the summer with my sister to spend some time with her and her family. She worked a lot so I stayed at her place dog-​sitting and just hanging out around the area. Every single interaction I’ve had with management and the other people who work here have been great! I really don’t understand some of the reviews on here, the area is beautiful and I haven’t noticed any problems with anything. The pool is pretty, the gym is clean, and the overall environment is very home-​y. Would recommend!

Very comfortable. Management is very attentive to your needs, and response time to service requests is excellent. Signed up for my second year. Also the gym is nice and always clean.

I will preface by saying this: my girlfriend and I did not move into Corta Bella, but it was a very close second. Adrian at the leasing office was incredibly helpful and sincere; I recommend speaking to him if you’re interested in living here.
Next, will tell you why we almost chose Corta Bella: we were looking at an upstairs apartment and let me tell you, it was just beautiful. The vaulted ceilings and skylights took my breath away. The natural light was wonderful. Second is the storage space. The place we chose has even less storage space than Corta Bella because, for the size, we haven’t seen anything better. Let’s see… there were four closets total and an immense about of cupboard space. Third, you get a garage! For free! That would have been awesome.
Anyhow, that’s what I liked about the place. But I’ll tell you why we didn’t end up here… price, first of all. Our place is cheaper. We also have a gas stove and hard floors (I hate carpet). We also have double-​paned windows for less noise. However, we did not get any of the above. So, decide for yourself! And good luck!

Single Pane Windows that RATTLE. Termites. They trim trees and do not have open limbs covered so that sap doesn’t blanket your car. I had to get a buff and cut and detail just to get rid of the sap. I have more important things to do than chase a few hundred dollars. THEN THEY HAD MY CAR TOWED.
Just an FYI for future residents:
Did you know that you have to move your car every 72 hours even if it is parked in a designated area with a parking placard? I just found that out when I came back in town and to my WONDERFUL SURPRISE that it was towed April 1^st! On top of that Corte Bella DOES NOT HAVE TO NOTIFY YOU. So 11 days later and $ 842 I get my car back.
No Notices On My Car (I saw the tow pics and car had nothing on it)
No Phone Calls
No Texts
No Emails
No Messages On Message Board or My Door
So your Sunday driver is very much so at risk at this complex.
UPDATE:
Tow N Mow stepped up to the plate and offered $ 250 refund initially and Corte Bella was willing to match that after I said that wasn’t right/​fair since it was Corte Bella not Tow N Mow that started this mess. I asked the difference be credited towards my last months rent and that was denied. So yes Corte Bella offered $ 250 but I find that sad that the Tow company took more responsibility than Corte Bella. My car was PARKED IN A DESIGNATED AREA WITH A PLACARD and is LISTED ON MY LEASE AGREEMENT. It was then towed and I was never notified. So yeah 72 Hours (3 Day Weekend) and your car can be towed. I am not unreasonable and only want to break even on a situation that shouldn’t have happened. I am not billing damages, TIME (TOOK FORVER) or anything wild. I even proposed a credit towards last months rent. Instead I get the cold corporate shoulder. Nice.

Do not rent an apartment here, they have a huge termite problem. Instead of handling the issue well, they injected twice and the termites came back worse. they force us to keep the AC on and instead of rent reduction or compensation, leasing offered $ 25 on a laundry card. Such a slap in our face.

Overall my Fiancé & I enjoy living here.
We have just signed our lease for a 2^nd year. The current staff is nice, some in the past have failed to handle issues. So I guess I should say Kirby & Jessica have been helpful.
The neighbors are friendly, most very respectful of the shared areas. You get 1 garage per unit and unlimited street parking which usually isn’t an issue.
The grounds are kept VERY clean as well as the pool areas, laundry room, gym.
I think the only complaints I have are the OLD, thin, leaky windows. AND the summer renters that were just asked to leave. Other than that, I like to call Corte Bella my home.

Corte Bella Apartments needs to go to The Enclave Apartments in Costa Mesa for a lesson on how to run an apartment complex. Inside the apartment you get what you pay for. Outside the place is ok. Nothing great. Parking is horrible after 5pm if your lucky you will find one on the street… across the street. If you have some sort of complaint about anything don’t even bother walking over to the leasing office. We have asked a number of times to do something about the noise that comes from the neighbors upstairs and they have yet to do something. Music is on all day and almost all night! What makes it worse is that its not even decent music. The latest situation we have encountered has been a creeper was seen looking in into one of our windows. Luckily another resident was walking by and had scared off the creeper, otherwise who knows how long he might have stayed there. Once we notified the leasing office we were told that there had been another incident not to long ago. When an apartment complex has to be told what actions to take it makes you wonder why the hell did you sign a lease with them. I wonder what steps the leasing office will take before we hear about it on the news. Bottom line this place is not worth it. Go and spend a couple dollars more and live comfortable knowing your hard earned money is going towards rent is actually worth it.

This is a great place to live. They keep the whole complex very clean, and it is nice and quiet. And with their multiple pools, its never crowded if you would like to just sit and relax there. The Staff is very friendly and very responsive. Never had an issue!

The first thing you notice is how quiet and clean the place is kept. Its against the freeway but the sound wall works for me. THis place has a garage with each apartment. Park carefully and theres room for alot of boxes. Both office and maintence staff are friendly and helpful. Each time I’ve requested something fixed its done in 24hours. There are no other apartments in the area to compete for open parking. That said it is tight, but its not LA or Frisco.
Warm in winter, cool in summer, thats life near the water!
Things wear out, things break. I’ve seen the maintenace guys fix things before its even reported. Cant beat that.
All the stores, grocers, food places you could ever want just around the corner. School and church across the street makes for a nice hood’.
Even though its the new millenium, I looked at another complex and got that ‘look’ from the rental manager. I knew I was wasting my time filling out the paperwork based on old prejudices. You wont find that here-​at all.

I’ve lived here since 2010 and this place has adequate amenities. The rent is somewhat affordable (based on OC living) but has recently been raising the rent significantly every lease renewal. The parking is limited as many visitors have to park across the street in the subdivision. I do like the garage parking setup however the parking enforcement is weak.
My biggest problem here are the windows which are older than dirt. They rattle and needed to be replaced 10 years ago. It would be nice if they has an annual tenant appreciation casino night. The movie nights are for kids.

My wife and I are moving out after a year of living here. The neighbors were nice. Termites, black mold, and moisture are real problems here. For example my old neighbor across the way cant live with his family in the apartment because the mold really messes him up, he is forced to leave his family in the apartment while he lives in a hotel up the street. Sad! And the front office has done nothing to help there situation. Windows leak, heater is horrible, water bill is around $ 65 a month, and dog poo everywhere. Winter time the apartments are freezing, summer time insanely hot. Parking is horribld after 5PM. Even during the day at some courtyards can be full due to students from Valley Vista High School parking there cars there too. They say no dogs in certain areas, but most dont listen so you might have a neighbor with a barking dog. This place is very money hungry, resort prices for such a dump, and customer service at the front office is a joke. Those two ladies will tell you one thing when you move in and then another when you move out. This basically means you Will Not get back your deposit. Also there lease agreement says you will not be charged normal wear and tear. Lol there is no such thing as normal wear and tear at this place. Some holes in wall from hanging a few pictures gets you a $ 212 dollar bill for painting the whole inside. What a joke, so glad that I moved and we never wont be back. Can list 5 neighbors planning to move once there lease is up. So, you have been warned!