Selby Ranch

Let me explain why this place deserves 1 star out of 5.
First of all my horrendous nightmare tale with this apartment complex began and ended right when we moved in. September 2014, my little brother and I found this place, it seemed like a good fit. Spacious areas, gorgeous trees, and nice location. Now I had taken a look at the model home, and read the Unilocal reviews, and even had my brother run through a thorough inspection and question about pests, rental hidden fees, etc. I am a UCD alumni, and at the time I was finishing up some college work as was my brother.
We moved in mid-​late september with our BASIC furniture on the second floor. I have a HUGE intolerance and fear of roaches and any other pests. I asked the apartment complex to spray the entire place before we enter as a safety measure, and taken up the second floor, above the model unit.
Now my brother and I moved in for just three days, meaning our furniture. Our third day, of having the keys, is the day we actually decided to sleep at the apartment, and that is the night i WILL NEVER FORGET. As young college students, the last thing we need is house issues, and we purposely look for places that are expensive and take pride in the upkeep of their property.
On that night, I saw SEVERAL large oreintal flying cockraoches, and the amount I saw over th next few days only increased. They were coming out of the sinks in the kitchen, bathroom. These roaches DO NOT run at the sight of humans, they lingered and stuck around!
My brother and I ran out that night to a hotel room, and i slept at a hotel for a few nights after that. I was furiated that i talked to Josh (he was the worker at the time), sent him emails documenting what happened, showing pictures. He ensured another spray would be done and i can come by at 4pm.
So the next day I came back after 4pm to retreive my stuff, and THERE WERE MORE COCKROACHES. I was BEYOND LIVID, I started knocking on all my nieghbors doors asking about their living conditions, and they were mortified and the neighbor next to me said she hear mice in the wall that we share, and roaches are a completely normal occurance at this ranch.
I was beyond fustrated and angry, because under CALIFORNIA LAW: WARRANTY OF HABITABILITY, my LANLORD IS VIOLATING THE LAW! The property is NOT Habitable, and is NOT sanitary.
I was ready to start a petition, to call the health inspectors, to tear this apartment complex apart for the hell it put my brother and I through.
Thankfully, they decided after reading my emails, to nullify my lease and refund me a deposit, although they DID charge me a two week stay and I NEVER sent them a my hotel bills.
Luckily within a few days, we found an apartment complex, Monticello at Southport in West sacramento, WONDERFUL CLEAN PLACE! No pest of any kinds and they are on the river as well!
DO NOT LIVE HERE! IF you are paying top dollar, MAKE SURE YOU ARE GETTING WHAT YOU PAID FOR AND DO NOT SETTLE FOR BUGS!
P.S the reason I am writing this review years later is because a friend of mine just found beg bugs in her apartment after moving into a complex near this place! She told me its a disservice to withold information like this as a previous tenant. Sorry Selby Ranch, but you guys need to get your complex together!
Lastly I would like everyone to know, DO NOT be fooled by a pretty new countertop and renovations. You should always find out what they do to combat pest infestations. You cant just spray one apartment and assume the problem will go away, that is not how pest control works. if your place has roaches, then surrounding apartments in your unit will have it to, so unless your whole unit and the ground perimeter is being sprayed consistently, YOU WILL GET THEM BACK.
DO NOT BE FOOLED!

I lived here for 6 months (2br upstairs) and had an OK experience. This place charges an insanely high amount for their complex but I moved here as a last resort. I didn’t have some of the common problems I see below like roaches or cold water.
Pros:
–Large Apartment with nice Balcony.
–Large rooms.
–Quiet, well-​maintained complex with nice pools, tennis court, and small gym.
–Friendly Staff.
–Parking is always available.
–Close to river trail/​Sac State
Cons:
–Very pricey for what you get.
–Old appliances.
–Old bath/​kitchen/​lighting.
–They charge you a fee to bill you & no online payment.
–Shared charges on Water (you pay a portion of everyone’s bill). I paid more here for utilities than any other complex I’ve ever been at.
Hope this helps!

Never would I wish living here to anyone! Yes, it looks nice from the outside, but do not be fooled! It is horrible and unlivable. I have not had any hot water since I moved in and I have found that literally, no one cares. The maintenance department and system they have going is a complete joke/​scam. Do not be fooled that the nice outside appearance does not mean this place has any integrity or honest business practices.

I’m so surprised to read the low ratings. We have been here for 15 years and love this place. The trees, ponds, ducks, turkeys, peacocks, and birds are wonderful. I have never seen a cockroach! I miss the old staff but the new people are polite and helpful. We have been in several units and yes there were occasional problems, but they were always met with a solution in a timely manner. We are now in a bungalow and looking forward to upgrades in the kitchen and bathrooms. We just got a beautiful new fence. I hope more people who are as happy as we are will leave a review. I do agree that the paper bill sent each month is a waste of resources. Most of us pay on line and to get a paper bill in 2016 is ridiculous. Love all the pets here, also.

Lived here for 1 year
–Can always count on the hot water not working at least 3 days out of the month and takes 10 min of running water to get hot
–Takes maintenance at 2 – 3 days to respond to problems in units and had to constantly call to remind them to come out
–Have to pay extra $ 50 for parking port after already paying high premium for rent
–Old units with outdated appliances
Save your money and look for a complex with better management and maintenance crew.

I lived at SR this past summer. The location is great, and the grounds were very well kept; the place is like a park. The unit was large, and had a gas fireplace. I enjoyed seeing the geese and ducks and turkeys every day. I had no idea that turkeys liked to sit on pool fences! The staff was great, and most people were friendly. The one thing that I disliked was the old kitchen, with a basically useless dishwasher. Also, getting hot water to the sinks can be a problem, but I didn’t have to wait long for the shower. If you move here, ask for an updated unit. Overall, I would live there again, in a unit with a better kitchen.

Don’t trust CORPORATE for Selby Ranch. One of the «benefits» of living here was a unit residents can rent when family comes to town. We put in our reservation 6 months ago for my sister’s family to visit for Thanksgiving week. When I called Wednesday to see when we could pick up the keys, they said how «sorry» they were. There was a problem with people who were supposed to move in and their unit wasn’t ready so they were in the guest unit and weren’t out yet. So my sister and I had to do a panics search to find someplace (3 different) to stay. The manager said it was «out of their hands» it was a «corporate» decision to ruin my family holiday with no explanation of why they couldn’t have told us sooner. LIARS!!!

The singular WORST experience at an apartment complex I’ve ever had. The only reason anyone would think this is a good place to stay is because of the trees and the general grounds. First of all their billing practices are extremely dishonest. When I left my apartment it was SPOTLESS and yet I was charged for carpet cleaning and general cleaning. They also charged me for utilities for periods I never used. In addition, they charge $ 5 to send you a reminder to pay the rent. Ridiculous.
Things constantly break in the apartments, I’ve unfortunately had the extreme displeasure of staying at two of them. For the amount of space you get, Selby Ranch is EXTREMELY overpriced. I’m talking 30−40% higher than similar places in the area. You might think this is because they provide some measure of security. They DO NOT. My fiancée’s car was stolen from right outside our front door and there are constantly homeless people walking through the property. In addition, each of the two apartments I stayed in over the 2 year period had major ROACH problems.
The staff is incredibly rude at times and they will absolutely not budge on anything whatsoever. They are to the book and would charge you a 5 cent fee if their policies required it. Congrats to management for finding complete and utter numb skulls to implement your unkind and unfair policies.

I should have written this review two years ago after I moved out of Selby Ranch as my civic duty to warn people about the issues I faced living there. I apologize now to anyone who moved in and is experiencing hot water issues. I hope to make up for it now by confirming some other reviews about the problem.
I was not able to get hot water in my kitchen sink except for at certain, lucky, random times of day… usually during the middle of the day when I was otherwise, usually at work. The water in the bathtub/​shower took quite a while to heat up, but would eventually get just hot enough to shower. I lived in a beautiful little studio at the rear of the complex on a hill. I loved the surroundings and the location, but the water issue was unacceptable. I don’t know if all of the apartments have this problem or just certain ones, but it maddens me to read that Selby Ranch is still renting these apartments to people and not disclosing the hot water (or lack thereof) issue. THIS SHOULD BE ILLEGAL!!! They would send a maintenance guy out who barely spoke english. He would run the dishwasher and in broken english explain to me that as long as they could get the water to a certain temperature in the dishwasher, it was «habitable».
As if that wasn’t enough, one day I was standing on my second story deck when the boards collapsed under my feet. Thank God I fell sideways and landed on the deck… otherwise I would have fallen through to the neighbor’s deck below. They came out and installed a new deck pretty quickly. I imagine due to the looming liability issues.
At that time, another management company was in charge. I tried to work with them to be compensated for the problems I had experienced. They would not offer one bit of consolation and, in fact, planned to increase my rent at lease renewal. I didn’t renew. I hope you read this and do your due diligence before moving into Selby Ranch.

Do not rent here. Poorly run place old and stinky units. Way overpriced. We rented here during a remodel cant wait to get out. Ducks are everywhere duck poop everywhere, if your neighbor decides to take a shower at midnight you will wake up from the squeaky pipes. Location is great but that’s the only good thing about this place

I ended up staying over a year, leaving April 2016 because of a change in job, and was enchanted with all the trees and park like setting. It provided a strong connection with nature, along with amenities like a relaxing swimming pool and hot tub, and a pond with colorful, happy ducks.
The apartment was comfortable, with new carpet and wood flooring in the entrance and kitchen that made it feel refreshed and wonderful. I enjoyed the outside deck, handy for extending living space and the outdoors.
Maintenance was outstanding in fixing things and always with a pleasant attitude, especially Arnie. The office staff were great, too, quick to respond with a smile and effort to help wherever they could. Josh Kirk was especially helpful, and consistent with clarity of information. Carey was helpful as well, along with Taylor and Akeem.
My only angst was having cold water most of the time, being further away from the main boilers that heat it. Drought precluded running water long to finally get warm, so I bathed with a bucket and washcloth, like camping, and heated water to do dishes.
Also a few dogs that intruded upon quiet with regular barking e.g., a big german shepard that regularly announced when UPS and Fed Ex deliveries happened and any other loud sounds. Nothing was successfully done to deal with some of these dog issues effectively.
Being directly across the street from the American River and bike path was fabulous. It’s like a nature sanctuary, with lots of birds, rabbits, deer and turkeys, along with ducks and geese, on the river. I biked and walked there a lot.

We needed a place to stay for three to six months while we sold our house and bought a new one. Two different times, they had us sign a contract for an apartment for a move-​in date and both times they canceled it. I understand that they can’t control residents if they decide not to move out, but the problem I have is they refused to return part of my deposit. THEY are the ones who broke the contract we signed to move in on a certain day, yet after I have asked several times and explained to them that I should get my full deposit back because we did nothing wrong, they refuse. The assistant manager tells me it’s their policy. Really? Your policy is to steal $ 50 from people? Not impressed.

I’ve lived here for a year and am not renewing due to the raise in rent. I’m sad because I really love my unit. It’s perfect for me and I fought pretty hard to secure it. :(
There are some cons to this place.
There are roaches, but if you’re pretty diligent with sprays/​traps/​dusts you can avoid an infestation. They get in under the door from what I understand because there is shoddy insulation under there. We have both the German cockroaches and the oriental flying variety, and I have run into both. I also have a cat and she’s a pretty good pest control agent. There are also spiders everywhere, so be careful.
The construction has been going on a few months and for a while it started around 7am. Now it starts around 8. Not much of an improvement but it’s better than 7.
A few of the dryers were broken in one of the laundry rooms for a few months and that was irritating. It can get very cold in these units in the winter. And very hot in the summer.
Everyone in the office has always been nice to me. Even after the switch from BRE to RCMI. Honestly, I haven’t really noticed a change. In the beginning, things were a bit choppy because everyone was getting their bearings, but everyone seems pretty alright now. I’ve never had an issue with anyone’s attitude in there.
Maintenance has always been incredibly speedy. My requests are usually met withing 24 – 28 hours depending on what the issue is. I’ve had problems with my AC because I run it very cold, which has caused problems in my apartments in the past. My maintenance guy fixed my AC unit so it was able to run cooler for me, and cleaned it out as well so it wouldn’t get all gross in the summer. Most apartment AC’s can go a while without a good cleaning, so I was pretty thankful for that.
Other than that, I don’t really have many issues. I’ll write an update when I move out to confirm or deny any allegations of the cleaning bills people have had. My carpets are pretty bad seeing as I have a cat and my ex had a dog, so we shall see.

The cockroaches are ridiculous especially in the summer. They get in through the patio doors, that are not air tight, and under the front doors where the weather seals are bad. I live on the top floor and my neighbors below have it just as bad. They have a beautiful place but again they get in no matter what. Spraying only does so much.
New team is not as pleasant as the past group but the manager has been responsive. If you need anything, ask for the manager, not the leasing agents. The new owners are remodeling all over the place. Right now it is all about the club house and pool area. I have lived here many years and they are putting in an outdoor kitchen by the pool. My opinion is that is a bad idea. Years back they had grills in the area and the parties were so bad that they had to drain the pool due to the broken glass. I hope they are able to control the partying.
As a walker, I meet many people in the complex and try to talk to all those moving out. There are complaints of extreme cleaning bills even when management is going in and doing complete remodels. I have heard the walk throughs before you move out are extremely more thourough than the walk throughs when you tour your apartment and move in. Make sure you check everything when moving in and don’t let the leasing team dictate the time.
Rent has increased a little since new ownership came in. If you contract for a longer rent rate, they will work with you on lower rental cost. I have to say that reports of $ 2300 a month for rent is rediculous. Even with remodeled apartments, it is not worth the cost. I would hope to think what DO. said is false but I truly don’t know and wont judge. Also look at the rental agreement very carefully. It used to cost $ 1500 to get out of your lease. It is now $ 2500 to get out of your lease early and on top of that you are charged any cleaning or repair charges over your deposit. Just an FYI.
I am only one opinion amongst the hundreds of residents in this area. I have heard great responses and negative responses. Do your homework and walk around and talk to the residents. Listen to what they have to say and make the desicion yourself if you want to move here or not. Overall the apartments are safe, clean and friendly. Even though we are gated, we still have «can pickers» that go dumpster diving. After living here so long, I have rarely seen security here for noise or parting complaints and only on one occassion did I ever see the police here.

There is a homeless camp connected to the back of this property. They say Selby Ranch is gated but the back of the property is not and that is where it adjoins the homeless camp. No wonder there are break-​ins. The new owners have already raised rents for the old units that have not been remodeled. If you move here expect construction while they remodel to raise rents even higher. The construction is very noisy and there are piles of construction materials and debris along with trailers and trucks all over the place. Be aware also that you will get a bill each month for trash, sewer, «hot» water (the water is «heated» in a central plant so you have to run the water a long time to get warm water and you pay for the waste) and you have no control over that bill. Hope the new owners do something about the dumpsters in the duck ponds. They are supposed to be waterfalls but they look like dumpsters because they did not bother to landscape them.

I have lived here 3 weeks and want out! There are dead cockroaches in my storage unit, bugs all over the yard. Patio areas not kept up. Insulation horrible. Upstairs is an oven. AC doesn’t cool the upstairs. Worst of all, I have NO HOT WATER! AGAIN! Just requested a second maintenance visit to fix this problem. Why does everyone love this place? Overpriced and old. Upgraded apartments are even more expensive than what is already outrageously priced.

I have lived at Selby Ranch for just over a year and overall it has been a very positive experience. The complex is beautiful with large trees that give the feel of a retreat. Neighbors are friendly and it has a professional /​family vibe as opposed to a college-​student /​party vibe.
Selby Ranch was recently sold and the new owners have been making changes. Word is that the units are being upgraded significantly. Time will tell how much the rents increase!
To respond to some of the other reviews I have read:
1. I have not seen a single roach in my apartment.
2. There is some theft. A neighbor had a bike stolen from her balcony and I know a few people who have had their cars broken into. I think you need to use common sense, secure your belongings and don’t leave valuables visible in your car. Don’t let the gates lull you into a false sense of security.
3. Sometimes I have to wait for hot water. It’s never been an issue when showering, but I have noticed it in the sinks.
4. There are people who use the road as an exercise track /​dog walking path. The posted speed limit is 10 mph but most exceed that. Between the walkers, the dogs, the turkeys and the ducks you need to drive slowly within the complex.

I moved into Selby in 2011. I selected the property because the grounds are well maintained and the complex has a safe, nice «community» vibe (although there was a murder/​break in a unit while we resided here).
Unfortunately, we were in a downstairs unit and there were cockroaches. Large ones! It was so vile and I wouldn’t have expected here. I had a newborn baby and am a neat freak, so I complained. All they did was send the pesticide guy in to spray and I would have to keep the baby out all day. Three times!!! But like the pesticide guy said, «unless we spray the entire building with the connecting units, they are climbing in the walls. Sick! When one crawled on my baby’s crib while I was standing there… enough was enough! My husband and I were going to break the lease at whatever cost, but management tried to remedy the situation by putting us in another building, upstairs for the same cost (would average $ 200 more a month) for the remainder of lease. They even painted the nursery. Our bug problem was gone.
Unfortunately, when the lease came up, they were going to raise our unit cost from about $ 1100 to $ 1400 (not counting utilities). Absurdly more than our neighbors we spoke to who lived in our SAME building. It was insulting since we had wanted to leave, allowed them to keep us with the trouble of moving, only to feel like it was an absurd increase in a few months. Grounds are pretty, but the cockroaches crawling on our walls and furniture is something I will NEVER get out of my mind. If you move here and live UPSTAIRS away from parking lots/​trash bins.

I visit my brother in law here. He has been staying here for past 2 years. And I stayed here with them for a month straight. It’s a nice area to live in. Quite. Best for those who have kids.

I have to be honest… When I first decided it was time for a move, I checked Unilocal.I was terrified to find that Selby had such awful reviews after I had already signed my lease! That being said, I did not experience ANY of the issues that were reported here. Alot of these reviews are old so I’m hoping that it was a matter of when they lived there, and usually when someone wants to complain they can’t wait to make it to Unilocal whereas positive reviews for apartments in general are far less common. So I’m here to buck the trend!
I lived at Selby for two years and the only reason I moved out of because I was able to purchase my own home! Had it not been for that I assure you I would still be living there! The apartments are light and airy. I lived upstairs and had an amazing vaulted ceiling with a patio overlooking a courtyard where many a turkey have been known to graze. If I had an issue with maintenance, it was taken care of within 24 hours. If I had a question, the ladies in the office were more than willing to help me out. Including when I had to extend my lease due to a delay in escrow! I mean the really went above and beyond! My car was never broken into, and my neighbors never complained that they had anything vandalized either. It’s located super close to the freeway but you don’t get alot of road noise, and the proximity to the bike trail is second to none! There are literally ZERO apartment complexes in this neighborhood. It’s in my favorite part of Sacramento with its beautiful trees overhanging every street.
There are some thing to be knowledgable about. It is on American River Drive which can get busy in the morning from the high school down the street, and also at 5 when everyone uses AR as a thoroughfare in lieu of Fair Oaks. It’s not awful, but sometimes it can be inconvenient. Also, there are speed bumps. I hate speed bumps! The older ladies who you can see using the internal street as their personal pet/​fitness track will sometimes glare at you when your music is loud or they think you’re driving too fast, but I think that’s in any neighborhood!
Overall I’m glad I got to call Selby my home for the last two years. It might be pricey, but think about the neighborhood you’re living in. I know I couldn’t afford to buy a house there, but I’m sure glad I could afford to rent an apartment at Selby!