Sofi Laguna Hills

DON’T MOVE HERE UNLESS YOU LOVE COCKROACHES AND HORRIBLE MANAGEMENT!!!
Sent 4 maintenance requests in about COCKROACHES in our apartment and their solution is to place a 3x4inch sticky trap ON OUR KITCHEN COUNTER.
It has about 15 roaches inside and no one has come in over a month to replace it or even add more.
Front Office: «You can add more if you’d like.»
I have. I’ve added two more.
Thanks for all of your help Sofi.

After Donna from FPI management got in contact with me all of my prior concerns were addressed. They helped with the tire issue as well as they have recently repainted the spikes at the front gate, maybe indicating a service? Maintenance came out and addressed any of my maintenance concerns I had, they performed their work quickly and with a smile as always. I hope that this positive direction is maintained!

Rachel t. the leasing consultant @ sofi Laguna hills, Has been a such great help to me in the moving in process and so friendly also.
After moving in I had a few small maintenance request and she was right on top of it and saw to them getting completed in a very fast and professional timely matter.
The apartments have been great and are very dog friendly. I Haven’t been to the pool or gym yet. but, they look to be very nice also.

Awesome community with nice gym and pool. Great yoga class on Tuesdays at 6pm that meets outside on the lawn by the pool. No better way to end a long day than with a relaxing hour of yoga outside under the clouds.

Sofi does a great job at doing food nights like tacos, pizza, gourmet food trucks and has recently started free yoga every Tuesday evening. The yoga instructor Lauren is great!

I cannot stress enough how unprofessional and poorly ran this complex is! From day one we had red flags pop up and when we brought these issues up during the walk through when we got out keys we were told, «we will get maintenance on it.» (never came for the issues when we reminded and called) whenever we call for maintenance our work order has seemed to have been lost now 3 times. Ive walked in and spoke with Sam and she also said she didnt have a work order placed. When we finally did have someone come we had an incident of $ 800 being stolen from underneath our master bathroom sink. Investigation was brought and no results and no proof even though we had no one home and even our roommate was out of town that week. Do not get me started on parking! It is the worse possible system. They accidently gave my roommate the wrong numbered spot and ger car got towed. When we called the office they only offered half to be reimbursed on next months rent! Ridiculous! Also no guest parking so my elderly mother has to park at the park and ride down the street and i have to drive to get her. Friends also have to park their and walk over. They say u can park on los alisos but since they have multiple families living illegally here there has never been street parking at night. Theres NEVER any parking on the street when i get home from work. Our assigned spot is literally on the complete opposite side of my apt and there has been countless suspicious men who have tried to talk to me and have cat called me. I DO NOT feel safe at all being in this complex past sun down. So when ive brought this up, the lovely Sam, said well across the street theres parking in the houses. Well i parked there and received a ticket for not having a permit to park in the residential houses. Thanks sofi! Ive also had my license plate stolen off my car parked in the complex and when i brought this up to their attention their so called «security» at night is just hired to come once at night to lock up the pools and gym. Thanks for reassuring ur horribly secured. Sofi Notices have been put on my door that watch out for packages because theft is high. Oh really? U think u would have cameras or an actual security company since they know of theft. Noise is another thing big here! We had just moved in and less than a month later they start building a new apt complex right behind us. LOUD construction noise from 7:30am mon-​fri and a couple times on sunday. Lets not forget the other residents yelling and fighting at 1am and cops being called once every week and a half. Ive lived in worse areas and low income apts and they are honestly resorts compared to here. I dont want management to try to contact me in regards to all this because honestly all i get is «sorry for the inconvenience» well u can apologize once or twice but they are constantly a disappointment.

I am a resident and have had nothing but a good experience here. I had a maintenance issue today and Harry was so professional and efficient I have every bit of faith in his service. Thank you Sofi for having such professional staff!

Very generous with the EV charging station, which are out front of the office. Most places charge more than it cost for gas. Thank you!
Went to charge my car again today and another car was parked in both spaces and not charging or even able to charge. Asked manager to help me and she immediately contacted the driver and had them move there car so I could charge mine. Very nice and responsive people work there. Thank you!

The place is good but I don’ t like there are no parking for guest. Is big problem here
I must say the maintenance guys are really kind and respectful especially Esteban and Harry The service is always fast and efficient!

Excellent living experience! The staff is very friendly and inviting and the location is impeccable.

I would not recommend this place to my worst enemy… maybe I would. I
The gate closed on my wives car when she was pulling through one evening and it damaged the rear panel of her vehicle. Sofi would not pay for it. The gates are pointless anyways, if someone wants to get in who isn’t supposed to, they’ll just wait for me to open it. Happened all the time.
The apartment next to me had about 7 adults and 3 kids living in it including a guy who lives in the garage.
I had experienced 2 floods during my time. The apartment was never the same after. The windows would fill with condensation and create mold. I had to clean it every other day.
Parking is horrible unless you get a garage that way you’ll have 2 spots. But garages are hard to come by. My friend came to visit and he parked on the street and got a ticket so be aware to no overnight park on the street.
You get what you pay for. I suggest paying slightly more for a more modern apartment. Less problems and headaches.

I have read quite a few of the Unilocal reviews for Sofi Laguna Hills and while I empathize with some of the complaints, personally my overall experience with Sofi has been wonderful. From the get-​go, Rachel was an incredible pleasure to deal with. She was very responsive and always happy to help. Anytime I have had an issue with something (which hasn’t been very often), maintenance came to my apartment within 24 hours and was always super nice. Every person I have interacted with at the Leasing Office has been a pleasure. They are all very polite and are happy to help you with anything you need.
The apartments themselves are very spacious and stacked with all new (or at least new looking and performing) amenities. There is crown molding, a washer and dryer in unit, microwave, garbage disposal, dishwasher, oven, ceiling fans, balcony, walk in closet, full bathroom (bath and shower), etc. I live in a one bedroom apartment on the 2^nd floor and I love how there is no one else on my floor as the 2^nd floor apartments are solitary– you don’t share the floor with anyone (which is awesome!). The privacy in general that I am allotted in my apartment is wonderful!
The washer and dryer are kind of small but they still get the job done and having the W&D in unit is SOOOOOOOOOOO clutch. The last place I lived at had no washer and dryer in the complex so I would have to go to the laundromat every Sunday and, TRUST ME, that gets old real quick. I love being able to do my laundry at home and be able to do other things while my clothes are being washed, like clean, cook, work. etc.
I agree with the below comments regarding the parking situation– it is a annoying, especially when you want to have guests over. I have a carport space and I know I can give up my own parking spot for my guest but I would still need to find a parking spot for myself which isn’t always easy. This example is based on if I only have 1 guest come over. if more than one is coming over, than parking is twice as hard, Regardless, trying to find parking on the street on weekend nights and/​or after 6/​7pm during the week is frustrating and can easily get on your nerves.
Every fellow resident that I have met since moving in have all been really nice and sweet. There are children here but, for the most part, I haven’t experienced any trouble sleeping or doing anything due to loud kids. I love the pool, spa, fitness center and business center. The community is really pretty and serene and I love the vintage looking light posts that are throughout the complex.
Are there things that could be improved here? Sure but in general, the pros TOTALLY outweigh the cons. I absolutely love it here.

My assistant is moving to CA from Ohio and we looked at several places in the area. While other communities offered more luxurious apartments and «bells and whistles,» she kept wanting to go back to Sofi because of the staff and the way she was treated when we visited. We were looking for a place a few months out and they where the only ones who followed up and showed genuine interest. Each time we visited (3), we were greeted with the same hospitality and customer service. We hope that the living experience is just as good!

I’ve been at the property for almost a year now and will definitely stay after my lease it up. Everyone in the office from the community manager to the leasing consultants have gone out of their way to be helpful. I always feel «heard» if there is something I need to address in the office. Rachel is possibly one of my favorite leasing agents I’ve ever met. I can tell how much she really cares about all of us at the community. Maintenance requests are completed promptly and efficiently. Bj and his team really take pride in their work and it shows. I’ve recommended Sofi to friends and I will continue to do so.

Sofi Laguna Hills is very very nice. Apartment living is not my thing, but I had to move here temporarily and I can say I feel safe, comfortable, and peaceful here. The staff is really friendly and remembers ALL of our names… ALWAYS!!! WOW! That’s impressive! You can tell they love their jobs. They hold community events like, every week, «Taco Wednesday» and every once in awhile «Wine Tasting», and more! Also the maintenance, although busy, really gets things done very quickly! For an apartment, it’s a great place to live!

So far my experience has been a positive one overall. We have had several issues maintenance wise, but they have been addressed in a timely and fair fashion for the most part. The pool nearest our apartment is very nice. I love the landscaping and the homely feel. The employees are very kind. I like our apartment, and I am happy to call this my first «home» in CA thus far.
As far as the room for improvement:
1) The parking is absolutely horrendous. If you have guests, they have to park in a neighborhood or store nearby, and walk or you’ll have to go pick them up. I even offered to pay for an additional spot the week that my family from out of state was visiting, but was told «no». We were told upon signing the lease that we’d have one spot near our apartment and one «slightly» father away, which turns out is actually is quite a LONG walk. I asked about the potential of a closer spot or a carport spot, but was told the parking was just remapped and that we are out of luck, without any consideration. This is a big deal breaker on resigning a new lease, as my car is a big investment to me, and it seems like I am just another number to this complex with regards to addressing this big issue. Frequently, I even cross paths with people who live in apartments near my vehicle, but yet have their vehicles parked near my apartment, which does not make sense! There are also several residents who have two spots side by side and/​or two carport spots.
2) The carpet/​linoleum should have been replaced or cleaned when we moved in, as there are literally paint spots throughout (as if no drop cloth was used whatsoever). Sure, we marked it on our move-​in list, but now we’re stuck with it for the Lease term.
3) When the maintenance did «renovations» in our apartment, there was dust EVERYwhere — on the TV, TV stand, carpet, foyer, windows, etc. As we had just moved in, we did not have a vacuum here yet. I called the office and was told we would have to wait until Monday because it was almost time for maintenance to go home. It was unacceptable to suggest for us to have to live in a dusty environment for 2 days. We ended up cleaning up the mess for the most part ourselves, though I’m sure some dust remains…
4) The «full-​size» washers and dryers in the apartments fit literally THREE towels in them. Three. (And they are not larger towels either.)

Most Orange county apts tend to be super expensive, impressive on the outside, and really average /​low quality on the inside. This place used to be the opposite, and and affordable. Unfortunately they are currently jacking the price since the new expensive apartments are going in next door. These apartments are not worth what they’re charging now.
The staff isn’t even paid enough to live in this old complex anymore. The owner visits in his Bentley and scowls at anyone who tries to look at him.
No thanks. Well go somewhere that actually cares about community, diversity, and building good will long term with their employees and tenants.

I have been here about 2 months now and this is the second apartment community I’ve lived in. My first experience was lovely, everyone in the office was friendly and helpful, listening to what I was looking for and did their best to find a unit for me that met my requirements. My actual apartment is fantastic. I love the layout, everything works fine and the only issue I’ve had so far was that two of my blinds broke off. I put in a request for maintenance and about two days later, I had Steven at my door to replace them. He was super friendly and helpful, he was in and out in less than 5 minutes and even left me an extra two blinds in case it happened again. He showed me how they are installed and that was that. However, parking is an absolute joke. The only place for your guests or yourself to park if you have more than one vehicle is on the street and if you can’t find parking there you have to park across the street in a residential community (which I’m sure they just love) and its a huge pain. My car was towed the day I moved in due to a «misunderstanding» and that was a huge hassle. I finally gave in to the 95 dollar monthly fee for a garage just to not deal with parking which feels like they do that on purpose to get more money. There are tons of unsupervised children that run around constantly, they are loud and scream and I’ve seen no one to tell them to stop. I understand that in a community there is going to be noise but the screaming is ridiculous. Also, people blast their music coming home at 12 at night and I’m on a first floor by the parking area. So it’s hard to get a peaceful nights sleep. The garbage truck comes what feels like every other day at around 6 – 8 am which always wakes me up. I was given a notice to remove my hanging plant from my patio because apparently you cannot hang things from the wood. I didn’t even put any nails in my patio, I used what was already there and they told me to take it down because they didn’t want me to give any other residents the idea that it was okay. So I can’t have a decorated patio. And lastly there is construction going on which makes it hard to get in to the side gate and people will literally honk at me for trying to get home. The leasing office also has a no tolerance policy for packages arriving to them so I’ve had things not delivered to me, so I now have all my things delivered to my job to avoid that which is another hassle.
So, three stars it is for the cons of this place but five stars as of now for my experience with the maintenance.
If I had to do this all over again, I think I would choose another community.

Update about this apartment complex. Hot water was finally gained at this complex after many, many months of incompetent maintenance staff supposed fixes. However, I now get to deal with random pipes busting and cutting water off for my building!
This is an old complex, so if you’re planning on moving here, please prep yourself for these occurrences.
Another update on parking: it still sucks. No amount of apologies will help when you have to have friends park in the neighborhoods far from the complex (0 guest parking).
I personally decided this complex was not worth staying in and for anyone that’s curious… you have to give 60 days notice and pay 1 months rent to get out of your lease (that’s 3 months of rent).
Do not live here unless you are cash strapped.

I wish I could rate lower than 1 star. DO NOT FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR LIFE, MONEY, QUALITY OF LIFE, ETC MOVE HERE.
This being the first apartment I have lived in without roommates in California I was hoping for a nice experience. When first moving in right after the Sofi take over from TGM, everything was nice. The parking was great, the front office workers were wonderful and got things done. The amenities were a bit run down but that was TGM’s problem. I got lucky and got an apartment in the only building with central A/​C which is what sold me on the unit! Oh man was I excited.
I should have moved out at my first run in with the maintenance workers. We had them out to fix our A/​C at 6AM in the freaking morning and I left them in the apartment when I went to work. When I came home there was drywall everywhere and insulation all over the carpet. Oh great I though. So I turned on the A/​C to cool down the place while I cleaned. After cleaning up the mess I noticed that the AC was still not working. Screw it I said and lived with fans for the rest of the summer. When winter came we turned on the heater, and believe it or not it didn’t work. I had the maintenance people out again and they «Fixed» it. As in did nothing but turn the fan on and checked that the fan blew the warm air from the middle of the afternoon. That night I turned it on again and the heater would not warm up.
Other random issues that I have dealt with while living here include but are not limited to. Many, many plumbing issues (Hot water randomly changes temperature from hot to cold to scalding to ice, toilet stops up daily, sink backs up weekly), The walk way out side of my front door on the 2^nd floor is sinking on it’s foundation. My door no longer locks without me putting all of my weight on it to get the deadbolt to line up. The agitator in my washer comes off randomly, and the dishwasher leaks. We have random soft spots in the floor on both the carpet and fake wood. I’ve had the maintenance workers look at all of the issues and their response/​resolution to the problems is this «Well you shouldn’t complain you have one of the best apartments in the complex»
Then there is the parking. When I first moved in there was unassigned parking and assigned parking. The unassigned parking was free game. The assigned parking was fairly close to my apartment and either me or my wife would take it. Then we would hunt for a free un-​reserved spot for our other car. If we had guests over during the weekend when no one was here then they would have places to park in the unassigned parking. But recently they hired professionals to re-​arrange the parking in the complex. Now every spot except for 2 are assigned, yet 25% of them are always empty. We have voiced our concerns to the office multiple times and they basically said «You are s*** out of luck». They try to help but are unbelievably rude in their «Fixes».
We recently moved our garage for the 3^rd time since we have lived here, and in the last move they manager of the property had the nerves to shut the garage on me as I was getting my items out because she «Had to leave».
I love the area and I see they are building new apartments next door to s**ty laguna hills, and I can’t wait to look at them.
Sofi will not last the management team is running it into the ground.
Pros:
It was cheap when I moved in (My renewal is 30% more than I’m currently paying)
The internet is fast
Cons:
I have had multiple package stolen (~10 in under a year)
There are roving gangs of children who ride around un-​attended on bikes and scooters
There is no parking
Some single unit apartments have 10+ people living in them
You are not allowed to put anything on your porch
The apartments are run down and need to be torn down
You can’t store stuff in your TINY garage that costs over $ 100 a month
Pools are nasty, and often have nasty people in them
«Fitness center» is ~100sqft with 12 pieces of equipment in it and smells like piss and sweat all the time
The grills works sometimes
There is no counter space in the kitchen
The carpet is crap
The rules make no sense and there is seemingly no way to get out of your lease
I’m pretty sure all of the positive reviews on Unilocal are fake.
The gates constantly break