Sierra Oaks

My wife and I lived here for a little over a year. They were very accommodating to our service animal. There were a few snags when we first moved in, but Jessica and the management team made it right.
The unit itself was very spacious. We always felt very safe while living here. Loved that the gym was open ²⁴⁄₇. Not a ton of equipment, but you could absolutely get a workout in. The pool was always clean and I do not recall it ever being too busy. Management was always very helpful when neighbors were not courteous about their noise.
The grounds are well kept. Maintenance was always helpful too. Loved the car washing station. Our security deposit was returned very quickly, which was refreshing from the standard hold it to the last possible moment that less well managed places do.
I could list a few negatives, but they were trivial or have been mentioned in other reviews.

Year 1:
— I emptied a 5 gallon home defense spray outside of my apartment and in my garage due to having too many roaches outside. My guests had to, literally, jump inside as quickly as they could, so bugs wouldn’t get inside. I never used the pool area because, even in daytime, there were too many roaches outside. There is reason why the pest control professional visits were officially increased from once per month to twice per month. LARGE, GOLDEN BROWN ROACHES, NOT CRICKETS.
— During the first year, there was a lady upstairs who had rented the apartment during the time when the company offered college housing for a very low price. For a full year, I dealt with very loud, extremely disturbing noises of obnoxious music, drunken people, screams and etc. starting around 1 a.m. until 5:30 a.m., at least, 3 – 4 times per week. The parties would get quite aggressive, and I was terrified of the noises. The female occupant came to my apartment twice, almost breaking-​down my front door. I opened the door once, but I was faced with a completely delusional person, who appeared to have used substances. The management team was very helpful and attentive in listening to my verbal concerns, but nothing could be done.
— Final charges: when I moved out of the apartment, I returned the apartment spotless. I had professionally washed the carpet that had never seen shoe marks during my time; I had purchased the correct wall color and had caulked and painted (twice) every hole used for my paintings; I had personally scrubbed and cleaned every single item in that apartment, and the place was much cleaner than when I moved in. However, I was charged for a complete session of cleaning, carpet cleaning and 2 hours of painting. When I received the apartment, there was food stains beneath the fridge, hair and food stains around the cabinets, oven, and washer and dryer. I had to deep clean the next apartment I moved into in my 2^nd year as well.
Year 2:
— Since I moved into another ground level apartment, there have been large, oriental garden roaches all over the apartment. I have a sterile lifestyle; no one is allowed in my home with shoes on, and I sanitize the home daily. I even mop the carpet with a gentle solution, so cleanliness is not an issue. Oriental garden roaches are attracted to water. I, personally, paid for caulking supplies and caulked every gap and hole I could see. I further invested in professional foggers and silicone foam and spent a full day foaming more gaps and holes, even the entire garage. The maintenance team was quite helpful in putting plastic/​foam sealing pads around the garage and the front door to prevent the bugs from entering the apartment; however, they were not sealed enough and would come-​off. They tried their very best. My solution was so tape the entire door that opens into the garage completely shut, treating it as a «detached garage». This inconvenienced me even more as I could not even enter the garage from the home. It was a needed step to not see roaches inside the home.
— The management was very helpful in asking the pest control agent to come and professionally treat my apartment twice in one month. However, the roaches kept finding a way to enter the apartment. I kept caulking every little thing I saw underneath every cabinet or etc. Finally, I did not sleep for two days and sat in the bathroom waiting. The roaches were climbing out of the toilet bowl and the sink drain. I have had it. I have not slept a single night with the lights off, and I keep the 5 gallon home defense spray next to my bed. Is this comfort? Is this peace of mind? I’m putting-​in my notice on Monday. I wish I could add a JPG photo to this review because I took a picture of the roaches.
— Washer Issue: The washer in my apartment was no longer working. Since I informed the management, it took 6 days for the maintenance personnel to schedule a visit. After the visit, I was informed that it would be more cost-​friendly if the transmission were to be replaced. After 7 days, the maintenance crew spent over 4 hours replacing the transmission; they are hardworking, diligent individuals, and I appreciate their help and attentiveness. However, the washer did not work. 5 days later, the maintenance crew brought another washer from the model apartment that had not worked for years. Even that washer did not operate. After 3 days, the maintenance crew brought a very old washer. I appreciate the fact that it finally worked, but it was so filthy that I spent a good hour cleaning and taking chunks of hair and black filth out of it. I should also fairly note that the management/​office crew offered me the key to another apartment during the weeks I did not have a washer, so I could use the washer in a different unit. I chose not to do so because of the inconvenience it caused me, carrying my clothes up and down in another building.
I truly appreciate the management’s assistance.
— Doreen

Beautiful apartments, HORRIBLE management! My fiancé and I moved to Turlock last March for a job transfer and loved how luxurious these apartments were. We did have a few minor problem after moving in, but it was not until 7 months later that our experience at Sierra Oaks became unbearable.
A broken toilet from the unit above ours overflowed for at least an hour, and water flooded the units on all three floors. We were on the middle floor, and our entire master bedroom (that we used as our kids’ room), bathroom, closet, and living room were covered in water. It literally looked like rain pouring down! And to make matters worse, my 4-​month old and two year old sons were in the room asleep while all of this started to happen. The water damage was so bad that the carpet padding had to be redone and all the walls/​ceiling in the master bedroom had to be gutted open to replace the insulation.
Since we were not from Turlock, we were forced to go out of town to stay with family for TWO weeks while our apartment was being fixed. At first, the apartment manager nor the property management company did not want to compensate us for the time we had to stay out of our home. Even with walls cut open, dust, ladders, fans, and work equipment everywhere throughout the apartment, and all of the carpet pulled up, the property management company felt that the «conditions were still habitable» for our two young kids. They ended up giving us half off our rent for one month, which we feel was not enough, but they felt they «had already went above and beyond» for us. (Exact quotes)
After we returned to our apartment, we quickly noticed that the work was poorly completed. There was paint on all the blinds, carpet, and toilet. The carpet padding was not properly put down, so there were bumps that we tripped over a few times, and some of the baseboards were already starting to come off. We also noticed the workers had broken one of our new dining room chairs, gotten paint on some of our hand towels (in the other bathroom they shouldn’t have even been in) and there was money missing from my two year old’s piggy bank!
After telling other tenants about our issues with the management, we heard a lot of stories about cockroaches in their units that the management was in denial of. Luckily, we never had a pest problem in our unit, but we did see nearly a hundred cockroaches near the dumpsters at one time.
The last two months of living at Sierra Oaks, we didn’t even have hot water. The maintenance guy knocked on our door and said that the women downstairs was complaining that her water was not hot enough so they needed to adjust our water heater. Didn’t make sense because each unit has their own water heater. And when we told them that our water was now cold and they even came to check it out for themselves, they never fixed it. On the hottest setting, the water was just warm enough to give our baby a bath, but showers were not hot enough for us.
Two weeks before our lease ended, we had a note on our day letting us know when the apartment manager would be entering for a «pre-​inspection». We asked why we needed to do that and we were told it was mandatory. (Note: California law states that a pre-​inspection may only be done of the TENANT requests to have one done)
Also, we moved out on February 27^th, and still have not received our deposit or a list of charges back. It has been 24 days. When I called Sierra Oaks to ask where it was, and after reiterating that under California law they have 21 CALENDAR days to get that to us, I was told by the girl in the office, Monica, that «unfortunately, we go by business days, and it’s only been 15» As you can see, even after moving out, hoping to escape the stress of living at Sierra Oaks, we are still dealing with the poor management and lack of responsibility that this apartment complex has.

I like living here. My studio is spacious and even has a half wall separating my living room from my bedroom, which you don’t often see in studio apartments. For the most part, it’s very quiet here. There are a few college students and sometimes you hear parties, but it’s not really that big of a deal. Most of the people who live here are young working professionals like myself or young families. I like that the complex is pet friendly and that they really do a good job of maintaining the grounds. Anytime I’ve had a maintenance issue, they come out either that day or the next day. Yes, these apartments are not cheap, but they are safe and well maintained. Overall, I am very happy with them :)

My daughter just moved here a month ago and she really likes it. It’s safe, clean, and quiet. It’s also close to everything.
Being a former police officer, I have to say that these really are the safest apartments in Turlock. Once in awhile, the gate won’t close, or there will be dumpster divers, but for the most part I feel good that she lives there. It’s a very nice complex and they do a good job maintaining the grounds. If you’re going to rent in Turlock, this would be the place to go to.

The apartments themselves are nice but I am not renewing my lease for a reason. I completely understand that when you live in an apartment you have to deal with your upstairs neighbor’s noise, I’ve lived in many apartments and I’m used to it, however the noise level here is by far the worst. You can hear every footstep, every drawer opening and closing, etc. Also, good luck if you live right above a garage, they are so loud they wake me up at night as the sound resonates throughout the apartment. Speaking of garages, don’t expect to get one with the high rent, or even a covered parking spot for that matter. The last few months of our lease we tried to get a garage to store some of our stuff. The first time we got the garage the key didn’t work so after about a week of excuses they finally gave us a working key only to find out the garage had stuff in it and they had no clue who it belonged to! How professional. Then we told them to figure it out and get back to us, which they never did. I also have a complaint about the pool, the lights in the pool don’t work. When I complained about the issue they said the pool was going to be cleaned and the lights would be turned on, surprise surprise that NEVER happened. My next complaint is random unannounced smoke alarm testing. I get that the smoke/​fire alarms need to be tested, I have no complaints about that I’m actually glad they do it. My complaint is that there is no warning as to when it will be, not a single one. So as I babysit my niece and the smoke alarm goes off I run around the apartment trying to figure out if there is a fire somewhere as my niece screams bloody murder. The management team is nice when they want to be but really it’s just a bunch of 20 somethings that have no clue what they are doing. Now I don’t want this to be completely negative so I will mention the things I liked. They have pretty good office hours compared to other apartment complexes we had considered. The fact that they are gated was probably the only reason we chose them. The apartments on the inside are nice but the kitchen has very little storage space. In-​unit laundry is always appreciated except when your upstairs neighbors decide to run them at 11pm then it’s not so nice. The pool is perfect for swimming laps when it’s not full of pigeon feathers. If you get off of work at 5 and make it home by 5:30 you’re pretty much guaranteed a parking spot, but if you get home at 6 or 7 good luck finding anything. The rent is way to high for the apartment lifestyle they offer, do yourself a favor and rent a house or another apartment.
I also should note, the stair ways don’t have lights over them so they are completely dark at night. I’ve tripped one too many times because it’s impossible to see if you’re carrying groceries or anything else.

Nice and mostly quiet. Great management and staff. Super friendly. Great pool and jacuzzi, workout room, and pet friendly area. Love the laundry washer and dryer inside of the apt.

I enjoyed living in the studio I rented for 6 months. However, when it came time t o move out my whole experience changed. I was only returned half of my deposit. We did the walk through and was told I should be getting most of my deposit back. I was later charged $ 35 for 1 hr of cleaning and $ 65 for 1 hr of painting. I had cleaned the studio, did not have but one picture hanging on the wall, I don’t smoke and didn’t even have couches in the livingroom. When I called to complain as these issued should of been addressed during the walk through the lady became upset and stated there should of been other items charged which were not. Lol. What is the purpose of the walk through??? How many people have actually received their deposit back??? I would NOT recommend this place to anyone.

Great Apartments! I love the staff, so kind, and it’s convenient for college students cause its just down the street. I love the fact that its gated.

I remember reading all these bad reviews when thinking of moving here and a uear and a half later i still don’t get why the reviews are so bad? I’ve NEVER seen bugs, management has never been a problem for us, I see the pool being cleaned regularly and the apartments are great and greatly sized!
Saturday mornings the complex always has a little complimentary breakfast with muffins and a great coffee maker and we still go to get the breakfast every Saturday because its such a nice idea.
The apartments themselves are great and have never had any problems on the inside of the place and if something did need to be addressed, maintenance did come in and fix it in a timely manner.
Each unit has its own washer and dryer which is literally the #1 reason to live here. Also the central air conditioning is absolutely a MUST for living in Turlock’s summers.
The pool is almost always being used by families but it had never been an annoyance and it’s a awesome place to hang out.
These college kids that are talked about in the reviews, I don’t here them in my building, but sometimes you’ll hear some teens at the pool at night talking loud but that’s about it.
I feel totally safe here, parking is a little sparce but not bad, so any bad reviews must have been when the place was under old management but I find it great to live here now.

Nice quiet apartment community.

LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING!!! This may be a beautiful property but the management team is miserable to deal with; they are rude and unresponsive. I plan to vacant the first day my lease is up. I would not rent from this place for any price.

They really deserve 0 stars.
The apartments look nice on the surface in reality they were cheaply built but because they were fairly new a year ago it was hard to tell that everything would soon be falling apart. They claim to be luxury, they definitely are not. These apartments are extremely under staffed so if you have a maintenance request (you WILL have a maintenance request) be prepared to wait a while for it to be resolved. Also, if for some reason you decide to ignore everyone’s advice to not live in these apartments, make sure you ask to see the one that you would be living in instead of the model apartment. Our apartment has a bug problem that has been going on for a year now and all the staff wants to do is keep having some pest company come spray even though it’s not working because the problem is coming from all the pigeons on the roof. So make sure they put you in a bldg that doesn’t have pigeon droppings all over the roof.
I am counting down the remaining 7 months. From now on I will only rent where there are ALL good reviews, I’ve learned my lesson, the hard way.

This is honestly one of the worst places I’ve ever rented and I’ve rented many times. It is not that the apartments aren’t nice, that’s not it at all. It’s purely a management issue and maintenance issue. They do not ever respond to phone calls or requests. My apartment caught on fire due to a faulty oven, and they did offer to allow me to stay in one of the executive suites, but what they failed to mention was that 2 men were staying there before me and they had not cleaned it yet. It was disgusting, there were used towels all over the apartment, toilets were nasty and showers were totally putrid! Also, the drain above the shower in the master bedroom leaks into the tub which created this nasty reddish stain in the tub. I was told I had the option to move into a first floor apartment, with same floor plan as mine, but I may need to pay the higher rate of the first floor apartments. I was not doing any such thing considering the circumstances. Communication between myself and management continued and continues to be poor no matter how many times I call. Between the noisy neighbors and terrible management I would never recommend any one live there.

RUDE, DIRTY, UNSAFE, BEAUTIFUL APARTMENTS RUINED BY MGMT.
Read that fine print before you sign any lease. This place is by far the most awful experience I’ve had renting. We unfortunately were fooled by the «posh» decore in the beautiful leasing office, the upscale seeming amenities, an a much higher price (not what you pay for — we thought more) .
they offer specials — with big strings attached
they admit to not monitoring the cleaning of the pool/​spa (no real dates by them) to cleaning about 9 months a yr, as its «not used much, just by students», allowing ducks to use it as a pon — why would they disclose this’ — gross
they say there are cameras for your safety — these are NOT in the unsafe areas (ie dark walkways/​parking) as they’ll elude to — only in the leasing office/​front area for their safety, All other cameras that used to be there arent used or have been removed — be sure and ask.
staff turn over is huge, constant. The corperate staff is a poor example and appauling — the guy, Cameron is known to be very rude to everybody, Alicia is manipulative and rude as well, and the decent staff all quit. I think there are 2 staff here now, highly understaffed for size.
current/​past staff loves to bad mouth other staff (saying they were fired), as well as poorly talk about tenents by name and or identifying description — shocking.
They love drama/​gossip here, not professional
noisy, dirty students. this IS student housing — ask, they wont disclose.
very unsafe — breakins, theft, drugs on property — I’m in fear with all the kids here. not much security, those security gates are for «looks» it seems, This is not run like a gated community AT ALL. Open all day, and at evening when the gates close, people «piggyback» in behind others (well known by staff as an issue), and the gate codes are rarely changed. the gates keep nobody out and make it simply appear higher class/​safe when its the opposite.
poor construction — our unit was falling apart, always needing repairs and had broken appliances.
we were warned by 2 tenents duing a tour, we figured they were either picky, or bad luck. I wish we’d listened.
I honestly would not recommend this place even if it were cheaper. Read everything thoroughly — the fine print will get you… they are hush hush on disclosing anything they should — so ask LOTS of questions before signing. I don’t expect the new manager to last when she is always on the defense — she admits not knowing anything when pressed for an answer… she yells at old people and children in front of others. but then again «corperate», Cameron, who fills in as they’re low staffed — now he’s an unhappy guy, attitude all the time for nothing.
So, if you need a JOB they are interviewing for all positions.
wow hell has gotta be better than this, and you only got a kind summary.