Timbers Apartments — Local services in Lake Forest

I highly recommend the Timbers in Lake Forest. I have lived here a year and just renewed my lease. I am renting a one bedroom apartment that I share with my teenage daughter. We moved from a single-family home on the East Coast.

The Timbers has many positives:

The apartment is HUGE. The living room area is approximately 22' X 12'. There is also a dining room area, which I actually use as a bedroom for myself. I gave my daughter the real bedroom, which is very large - probably about 15' X 15'.

Most of the other apartment complexes that I called did not have a bathroom separate from the bedroom. I did not want people to have to enter the bedroom every time they needed to use the bathroom. The layout here is ideal. There is a room with a toilet and bathtub/shower. The sink area is actually separate and very big with a lot of cabinet space.

There is a very large walk-in closet, which I use as storage. It actually fits everything that I decided to take from my three bedroom house that I sold in Maryland.

The complex has two-story buildings. Some of the apartments have one bedroom and others have two bedrooms. The upstairs apartments have a typical balcony. The ground level apartments have the luxury of having a small yard. Mine is approximately 22' x 11'. Half of it has a cement patio, which fits an outdoor table and chairs. My little yard is surrounded by a 6' fence, so it is completely private.

The complex has two pools, one of which is heated. There are some outdoor grills and attractive fountains also. When I look out my window, I feel like I'm at a resort.

The grounds are meticulously maintained. I see gardeners and landscapers almost everyday. The bushes are neatly trimmed, as is the grass. I never see any trash on the ground. The public area has some nice comfortable sofas and chairs that people can sit in. There are plenty of lounge chairs in the pool areas. The common areas tend to be quiet, however, with not many people around.

I know some people complain that the management team is strict, but I think that's a huge plus. They are careful whom they select to live here. They do not put up with people breaking the rules. I think that overall the rules at the Timbers are typical of most well-run and reputable apartment complexes. They are necessary for safety, cleanliness and efficiency, and their main purpose is to protect the residents. The people who live here tend to be very hard-working law-abiding citizens. I like the fact that the residents are not homogeneous (all one race or ethnicity). There is a nice mix of people living here harmoniously.

The management is VERY responsive to the residents' needs. If something needs to be repaired, one of the maintenance people is sent over very quickly.

There is plenty of parking. Here at the Timbers, residents are assigned a specific spot under a protective carport. If you have a second car, there are many extra spaces.

Last, but certainly not least, this was thE most affordable apartment complex I could find in Orange County. And one of the few that allows pets (2 pets max). It is close to Rte 5, so it is very easy to get places.

There are very few downsides to living here. The apartments do not have their own washer and dryer, but the communal ones are very nice.

I am very fortunate to have found the Timbers. It feels like home and is a clean, affordable, and safe...

My family has been here for three years. It started out wonderful! Wonderful staff who always had a smile and a kind word and the manager Diane worked with us on the application personally and was wonderful with our toddler.

We have gone through three rate increases. This new increase is not just for rent its pet rent also now for our cats 25 bucks a month its 60 bucks. They want to make up the money they lost when they stopped charging you for extra spots other than the one you where assigned and a host of other problems. Such as our water being turned of and not being able to get a hold of any one to fine out why because they have stopped answering the phones, and then they pass out a letter at the end of the day to say there was a pipe leak. That also seems to be a new constant problem about once a month there is a new pipe problem. The manager and staff have lost their smiles and kind words when you pass them. It almost seems like Diane the manager is losing her marbles and with every new one she loses another problem comes up. Its no use to go down to the office because you can never find Diane because she is in hiding and no one in the office can do anything without her permission.

This place is going down hill fast and I don't care who I have to beg barrow plead money from but I'm getting out of here as fast...

I lived here in 2002 & 2003. That's a long time ago, but I felt that it was worth writing a review over as the Apartments themselves were absolutely the best Apartments I've ever lived in - a lot of fond memories here in a short space of time. The Maintenance Staff back then was headed by a man named Abel and he was the best! I miss him. The only drawback whatsoever was the main manager back then at the time was a woman by the name of Dotti who we thought could be rather cruel - especially to some of her staff. I highly doubt that she's even alive anymore, let alone employed there, but it goes without saying that as well as they were being maintained when I left they are still probably one of the best apartments to live in that side of...