Apartment Review for Deerfield - Irvine, CA

I moved into a renovated apt and thought it looked great. "Looked" is the key word, it had new carpet, paint, appliances, cabinetry and counter tops. Let me start with the cheap carpet that matted in about 6 months, you can see where I stand everyday at the bathroom vanity and it's just me that lives here. The flat wall paint in living, dining, bdrm scuffs like you wouldn't believe, who in there right mind uses flat paint anymore (probably so they can charge you more at move out time to repaint). The appliances and cabinetry have been fine, no problems so far. White tile counter tops with white grout in the kitchen are ridiculous, again probably so they can charge you at move out time to clean the grout. The overall layout/floorplan is good size and accomodated all my furn nicely. Like all apts, I can hear my neighbors next door and above me, thin walls are all too common in apts. Neighbors are friendly though, very much a dog friendly community.

I moved here because they accept dogs over 40lbs and have tiny yards with tall fences. The neighborhood is nice, clean and safe for walking my dogs, overall pretty quiet too.

I only renewed my lease for a second year (lived here from '05-'07) because they're dog friendly and it wouldn't have been worth the lost money at move out time, I've heard from past residence and employees that they charge for everything, even if you clean it yourself. Advice I've gotten from past employees: make note of every little detail when you move in, take before cleaning and post cleaning photos at move out time (don't tell them you took photos unless you need to use them), and fight for your rights (normal wear & tear). I can't wait to get out of here when my lease is up, but I'm not looking forward to having to fight for my rights and deposit.