Walnut Heights Apartments

«Mid-​day or evening, summer or winter, Walnut Heights always has a quiet atmosphere.»
This is a lie. Period.
My family has stayed here for about ~4 years now because it has been relatively affordable. But our next door neighbors have remained as noisy, drunk, inconsiderate college students the entire time. I don’t know if they’re Cal Poly or Mt. SAC students (other reviews have pointed out that there are a large number of Mt. SAC students living in the area, so I’ll guess that they’re Mt. SAC students), but they’ve stuck around for a while. These students smoke cigarette and weed right outside other people’s windows (the smoke literally travels into your apartment unless you shut your windows), party to 2~3 am on WEEKDAYS like it’s a dorm (I don’t think they care that there are families with children living here), and trash the complex like it’s their living room. One time I heard a guy scream «I’m going to bash this in» from the parking lot. I looked out of my window and saw a college-​aged guy holding up a broken «One-​Way» sign RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY FAMILY’S CAR. I made eye contact with him and he ran away. What was going to happen if I hadn’t caught that person in the act? What would’ve happened if I didn’t look out and catch him in time? I don’t think the management would’ve taken responsibility, and I don’t think it would’ve been easy to catch the culprit. Some of the Mt. SAC students make this environment hostile, unsafe, and noisy. PERIOD.
The students not only host parties in their rooms (with the bass turned up full blast) but also host parties outside in the alley behind the apartment. They will do this randomly at any time, any day of the week regardless of whether it’s a weekday or not. Have a test tomorrow? Too bad. Have a child/​baby that won’t go to sleep? Too bad! They don’t give a single f*ck. They’ve had the called the cops on them multiple times but they *still* blast their music, get drunk, and disrupt the entire neighborhood. However, calling on the cops does subdue the partying somewhat. So I do recommend CALLING THE COPS ON THEM AS OFTEN AS YOU CAN. I think it also helps to instill the idea that OTHER PEOPLE LIVE IN THIS APARTMENT, and that THIS APARTMENT IS NOT THEIR DORM. On a side note, the courtesy number for noise complaints have been discontinued for a while now (about 3 years?). The only option is to talk to a group of drunk college students at midnight in person to quiet down (and trust me, they won’t listen to you; one time around midnight, they came up to my door, knocked on it, and started swearing at me) or to call the police. I recommend the latter option.
We found a mouse in the kitchen once, and the AC is pretty bad and so is the heater; they only heat/​cool the immediate vicinity and don’t do anything to modulate temperatures in the rooms/​kitchen at all.
The parking lot is very small. My family owns just one (small) car, however, so it hasn’t been much of a problem.
There are a few positive points to mention. As another reviewer pointed out, the proximity to Stater Bros, 7/​11, and a variety of other shops/​restaurants is very convenient. It makes your life a lot easier if you groceries are just a minute’s walk away. The layout/​design of the complex as a whole is pretty and neat.
The apartment itself has its flaws but it’s a very nice complex overall. HOWEVER, some of the Mt. SAC students who live here have disrupted everyone’s everyday lives so much that it’s been a stressful, tiring, and frustrating experience (not all Mt. SAC students are unruly and noisy, but most of the noise and trouble has been coming from Mt. SAC students). If Walnut Heights Apartments truly gave weight to their word, they would do more to listen to noise complaints, re-​institute the courtesy number for noise complaints, and kick people out if they’ve offended one too many times. It’ll be beneficial for both the managers/​company and the residents if trouble-​making, unruly, disruptive inhabitants are removed; it’ll improve quality of life, encourage less people to move out, and will make the apartment more attractive to potential buyers/​residents. I’d give negative stars if I could, but I guess one star will have to do for now.
Edit: I also forgot to mention that some of the college students will get drunk at daylight and start pissing over people’s parking spots. My parking spot smelled like piss for the longest time thanks to those asshats.

I’ve lived here for a year and let’s just say I couldn’t wait to move out after a couple months of living here.
I’d like to apologize for the long review but I want to open your guys’ eyes to what it’s really like here and how much I would not recommend anyone living here.
Let’s discuss the pros cause those are actually not bad. The location is right next to Mt Sac and less than a mile away from Cal Poly so it’s great for students. In terms of food there’s Stater brothers grocery store and dollar tree within walking distance and there’s plenty of restaurants you can easily walk to.
Now let’s cover the Cons because they far out way the pros.
So at the beginning they give us a key for the laundry room which I later found out doesn’t do anything. Laundry room closes and opens at a certain time and the key is useless.
Parking as everyone keeps says really is bad. Each apartment is given 2 spots. This makes no sense because many of the residents here are students. Students living together means roommates and each roommate is going to have their own car. In an apartment with 3 people 2 will have a spot and the 3^rd person will be left to stake out a visitor’s spot which is rarely available. I notice that the Walnut Heights representative keeps saying there are two spots in the city of walnut where parking is available but I don’t understand why that information wasn’t given when we came to check out the apartment. We were told we could rent a 3^rd space for $ 25 a month and then pay extra for another gate control. They’re just trying to make money and yet the giant empty field next to the apartment hasn’t been bought and made into another visitors lot. To not worry about parking far or wherever that ambiguous parking lot they keep mentioning is I wouldn’t mind paying a little extra a month to rent a space in that lot. They could easily make a couple hundred a month renting parking spots in the field if they made it into another parking lot. This parking issue isn’t just for residents. The staff don’t even have a space to park their cars when they come for work. Maintenance and office staff end up parking illegally behind resident’s cars or in the fire emergency lane. How is that safe? I’ve been late to work a few times cause I have to go find who in the staff was responsible for parking behind my car in the garage and then wait for them to come move their car. Unacceptable. Due to the limited space there’s been many times where I’ve come home to find someone in my spot with a piece of paper telling me to contact them to move their cars so they don’t get towed.
When I first moved in I had been told I could get put on a waitlist to rent a 3^rd parking spot if there were any open. I waited a whole year to get contacted and didn’t hear a peep from the office.
Now I mentioned the location is good for students right? Well maybe it’s too good cause there are definitely a lot of them. Many occasions I come home from school or work and I can smell weed as I walk through the apartments. Can I also stress that families live here with their kids. I’ve seen a few kids wander around the parking lot stoned or high sitting on the trunks of people’s cars. I know it’s not theirs cause they’re always in different parts of the parking lot and we have assigned parking spaces. Another thing I noticed is that there are always shopping carts lined by the parking garages. I don’t know if they’re student residents putting them there or families but they’re always strewn about with trash in them. Having student residents also means I can hear some guy always arguing with his girl on the phone outside my apartment. Dude if you’re always so angry break up already. I’ve heard guys arguing with each other about eating each other’s food and playing loud music in the evenings like a parking lot party where they leave all their trash in the shopping carts. (I’m pretty sure there’s an apartment with a whole football team in there)
This place also does not have anywhere to throw away recyclables in case you’re trying to save the planet.
Noise is also something you’re gonna have to get use to in order to live here. If I understood Chinese I’d know what my downstairs neighbors were always arguing about. I can hear the husband snoring at night and the baby’s cries and wife’s yelling always come together, not a pleasant combination. I’ve called the courtesy number for noise complaints and nothing was changed.
I was given my itemized bill from the apartment a couple days ago stating the costs to prepare the apartment for the next residents and it was a large amount. I noticed one of the items on the list of possible charges was for a paint job. There’s so many layers of paint on the cabinets and drawers that they stick together and when they peel due to use you can see the previous layers of paint!
If you can find a better place I wouldn’t recommend living here EVER

My pick for a living community in Walnut! Deanna & Yaritsa are wonderful apartment manager & assistant manager. Always friendly and helpful! They take care of resident needs and are available to answer questions & concerns =) The property is clean and updated… Great area to have tranquility and also close to all shopping needs. Make Walnut heights your living choice! Two thumbs up

Just don’t live here if you have a better choice, really. I’ve lived there for couple years. I moved out last year, and I just wanna do this late review to help people make their choice. The apartment is just too old. It’s crazy hot in summer, especially on the second floor. the AC is really sucks, old and doing nothing but making a lot of noise. Trust me, this single problem will drive you crazy in the summer. And this is not the only problem. Parking is terrible, there is not enough place for parking, and there’s always visitor park on the side and block you in or out. You can spend 30 mins just for getting into your own signing parking lot. And yes, the mice problem is true. You will definitely having fun with mice, fly, and cockroach here.
And finally, the people. There are a lot of college kids here and make sure you’re ready for this.
I can hear my neighbor having sex, talk on the phone, fight with his girlfriend, shout to his dog, and listen his rap music in midnight. I saw people sit on the stair and enjoy their weed in evening. I’ve seen college kids getting drunk and fight in the parking lot.
Honestly, staff here are nice. At least make sure who is your neighbor before moving in. Or, you might have to hear your neighbor having sex at least few times a week and listen your neighbor’s party music in the midnight frequently.
Good luck.

I’m really pleased living here everything I need and do is within distance most of residents are really cool it has a nice family atmosphere plus a little college vibe. The resident managers are very approachable and always willing to go that extra mile to help you. Myself and my family really enjoy it here in walnut.

I was reading the previous reviews and I completely agree with them. I did not experience the mice issue, maybe because we are on the 2^nd floor, but the parking here sucks! There is no where to park. The front office does not even have a place to park, they will park illegally behind people in visitors. Do not park on the street because the city does not allow any street parking and you will be towed or get a ticket. There are always other people parking in your assigned parking spot. They leave a note on their car apologizing for parking in your spot and give an apartment number if you need them to move their car. This is stupid!!! They shouldn’t have been parking there in the first place. People are on a schedule and do not need this type of stupidity.
Just the other day, a car was vandalized and was missing their side view mirror. The side view mirror was sitting a few feet away from the car. It completely looked like some drunk person wanted to see how tough they were by popping off that side view mirror. Stupid drunks! I’m sure they wouldn’t appreciate it if that happened to their car. I wonder how management will handle this situation??? (probably nothing and say that they are not responsible to anything that happens to their car)
The previous reviews were written a few years ago. There is a review written in 2011 complaining about the parking spots and there still hasn’t been any changes. Management needs to try something or think a little harder.
DON’T MOVE HERE, unless you have more than 3 years of patience about parking and you don’t mind anything happening to your car. (you don’t want to have sleepless nights worrying about your car)

don’t move here. parking is shittty.
DONT DO IT.
my car was towed 3 times. I lived here one year. they provide one parking spot for a 2 bedroom apartment. there is a church you can’t park at near by, you can’t park on the street and there is a stator brothers you can’t park at over night. this place would work for you if you have a one car family. they have visitor parking which is always taken.

Wow! Have you seen this place?! When you pull into the driveway and walk into the leasing office, you feel like you’ve walked into a luxurious place! They really take care of the first visual of the complex. The leasing office is remodled and up to date, they really put some money into it.
Don’t be fooled by the appearance of the leasing office though. The appartment complex is old. They slap some paint on the walls and in the tub/​shower. This latex paint in the showers collects mold and mildew easily, is hard to clean, and peels up easily. The sinks smell horrible. The building is poorly insulated, freezing during winter months, and hot as hell during the summer.
The parking is a nightmare. One assigned parking space behind a remote-​accessed gate, that is often broken and left open. Not very many guest parking spaces available if you have more than one vehicle or have a guest over. The city does not allow over-​night parking on the streets either.
There are several Mt. SAC students that live on the property. They are loud and rowdy. They throw parties with underage drinking and illegal drug use, and cops are always being called to the complex.
Now to the WORST part of this apartment complex. It is riddled with rodents. There is a large, unmaintained field right behind the complex. I’m sure the mice are coming from there. There are rodents all over the facility and IN the apartments as well. AT LEAST 10 apartments have had rodents in them. I’ve caught 6 different mice in my own apartment over the last 4 – 5 months. Essex Property Management is a joke. They set sticky traps and slapped up some drywall over a few holes (which the mice can chew right through). The sticky traps are inhumane (the mice die a slow death of dehydration). I’ve come home or woken up to loud squeeking. Makes it hard to sleep at night when you know these pests are roaming around your apartment, with various diseases, and getting into your things and food. I’ve never had to deal with such a disgusting and disturbing living situation. The management does not even have much sympathy for the situation. Why would they? Its not like the mice are in THEIR homes… ridiculous. This place is a health hazard and the city needs to shut them down.
In addition, they will raise your rent significantly when your lease is up. My rent went up $ 112/​month (10% increase). They almost raised it up to 15%, but I was able to convince them to not go so high. Do not move in here.

Very nice neighborhood. Great place to live if you go to Mt. Sac cuz it’s right across the street, and I can easily walk to Stater Bros for groceries or the nearby fast food places for a quick bite to eat, but the parking is TERRIBLE!
You only get one spot for your car so if you have two or more cars it is a constant battle to find parking. There is barely any visitor parking and if you park in the future resident parking, your car will get towed during business hrs. (Happened to my brother twice) you cannot park on the streets on weekdays until 10pm but then cannot park at all weekdays/​weekends on the street 2am-​4am or you’ll get a ticket. so that means if you can’t find parking in the little lot then you’re screwed.
It is a nice place to live, and the rooms are spacey but parking kills it. I can’t wait til my lease is up so I can move!