SoCam 290 Apartments — Local services in New Brunswick

DO NOT LIVE HERE. This is a 0 star review. All of the 5 star reviews are people that have been bribed with gift cards after taking one tour.

They will respond to my review saying they’re sorry I had this experience and thank you for the feedback, but their 1 star reviews go back almost 10 years and NOTHING CHANGES.

My roommate and I lived here for 2 years. We had so many issues from the first year but I will try to list them out.

We moved in August 2023, and by October that same year, they were already asking if you wanted to renew for another year. They hiked up our rent by almost $200 for the second year. Since we had barely moved in and didn’t want to go through the process of apartment hunting and moving all our stuff out, we agreed to renew. BIGGEST MISTAKE EVER!

The rates are so expensive considering that fact that you still have to share a small room. You can easily find an off campus house and get your own single for less! While they hike up your rent after renewing, they charge new students less than your first year rate!

The first month we were there, the trash room on our floor OVERFLOWED, clearly because maintenance did not maintain it for at least a month. I’m talking so much trash you couldn’t open the door because the trash was blocking it and the door couldn’t close properly because trash was sticking out. The smell was HORRIBLE and right next to the elevators so you had to pass by it when leaving or going to your apt.

The WiFi is spotty at best, sometimes having to use my own data in order to get work done, and it only lets you register two devices for your guests.

Maintenance is useless and you need to submit several complaints before they address the issues in your apt. When we first moved in our AC unit was extremely dirty and grimy and needed to be vacuumed, which they did eventually.

One time a pipe in our bathroom randomly flooded our apt, the water went through our closets; our room, and the kitchen and living room. The cheap floor was super warped after that, and they told us to take any damages up with our insurance. The guy came to see it, said he’d go next door to see if they had the same issue, and never came back!

Your packages will go missing at least once, and there’s nothing they will do about it. The security overnight is a joke. It’s a hit or miss if they’ll be there when you need them. Super concerning considering there’s many homeless people outside and are known to sometimes get inside.

They will squeeze as much money from you as possible, from random fees, including if you get locked out ($100+), if you want to sub-let for the summer, and so much more. AND WHY IS THE WATER BILL SO HIGH?? The water bill at my family’s house is not this proportionally high for ONE PERSON. Basically, whatever rate they give you on your lease, add at least $120 in random fees EACH MONTH!

AND the only parking available is metered parking, which will def cost you hundreds because NB is so focused on giving people tickets. The only other option is paying almost $300 a month for the garage parking, which I’ve heard is where homeless people stay and make it scary at night.

Worst 2 years living here, don’t make the...

I've started living here in the Fall of 2020, and my experience of SoCam290 is really positive! The leasing office has always been pretty great with answering my questions, and the times I needed any maintenance they got back to me pretty quick. Like some other commenters have said, there were some issues (package stealing, etc) but the office was quick to institute a leasing-office hold for packages and checks ID for them as well, which was appreciated. Anyway, see below for pros and cons.

Pros (for me at least): Safety is huge. The building has two swipe access points where you need a key fob to get in. Your doors automatically lock (separate key from key fob) and the bedrooms/bathrooms have locks too. In addition, it is (in my opinion) at one of the safer parts of New Brunswick, and the Rutgers buses stop right at the front of the building so you spend like ~30 seconds outside. I have always felt pretty safe here. There are also security cameras in the gym, elevators, and main hallways. Fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors came in good condition. Amenities: Having a gym right downstairs is REALLY nice, and my friends and I will study in the conference rooms since they come equipped with white boards. Also, the secure package system has been a huge plus. Peaceful and quiet: I'm not going to name any places in particular, but a lot of student housing around Rutgers is not super great about managing student noise (parties) and things like that. I have heard my neighbors exactly zero times. Yeah you hear hallway noise sometimes, but it's ok. No hidden costs: At other places I checked out, you had to pay for base rent + water + utility + internet + sewage + electric + trash + whatever. Here, it was just base rent + sewage and a one time charge for a package system (a whopping $5) -Clean: I've lived in apartment complexes that can get pretty gross, but SoCam is generally kept very clean. The janitors do an excellent job and are very nice when you run into them. Location, everything but food: UrgentCare, pharmacy, post office, etc, are a 1-3 minute walk from here. Lifesaver if you don't have a car on campus.

Cons: -Cost: It can be kind of pricier than renting a room in a house somewhere off campus (although tbh the safety aspect pays for itself in spades) -Laundry: You have to do laundry in shared units on the second floor unless you get a unit. Not the end of the world, but inconvenient at times -Location, food: New Brunswick is a food desert/swamp, which means the only grocery store in walking distance is across the street and more expensive than a lot of places. Sure there's amazing restaurants everywhere on this street, but you're not eating out for every meal. I get my groceries from Amazon prime because of the student discount because it tends to be cheaper, but getting a quick convenient item can be annoying. -Buses: Ok so there is a bus that stops here, but this bus system does not run directly to Livingston/Busch campuses unless it's the weekend. Just give yourself time to get there.

Anyway, overall pretty great....

I lived here for two years, the first year was when it was Rockoff and midway during my second year, they changed to SoCam. Similarly to previous reviews, my experience with this transition has left much to be desired. To summarize, they are unprofessional, they do not communicate, they send threatening emails, they don't provide proper information, and SoCam is not safe. Rockoff was not perfect but the staff was well-mannered and did their jobs well. Now, as SoCam, there are too many people in the office and none of them seem to be very competent. Before they made Rockoff SoCam, they were trying to get investors and thus, they decided to randomly do an inspection of all apartments to make sure they were "clean." They threatened all of us with letters under our doors after their office was closed so we couldn't inquire for more information because they were gone. They threatened to send housekeepers in our apartments at our expense if our apartments were not sufficiently clean, yet they had hoards of people coming in and out of our apartments for MONTHS because they were trying to get investors. This random cleaning inspection with a threat of sending in housekeepers was NOT part of the lease thus, I believe they were trying to take advantage of the tenants, many of whom are international students and may not argue with the staff. I argued with them though because it was preposterous and completely unprofessional. Another flaw with this new SoCam is that they used to have student security guards through Rutgers and when SoCam began the upgrade, they hired "professional" security guards. The "professional" guards though do not do their jobs, which I brought up to the SoCam staff. There was an issue for awhile that a homeless person would sleep between the two front doors of SoCam and sometimes the guards are sleeping at their desks. They don't check to make sure everyone has a pod to get into the building, unlike the student guards which actually did this. This is unfortunate since they are being paid to be security which is critical because the location of SoCam is not entirely safe. The 7 Eleven and New Brunswick bus stop attracts panhandlers, homeless people, people that do drug deals outside. Plus, the Rutgers bus that is conveniently outside is often a bus utilized by the homeless in New Brunswick. (That is more of a Rutgers problem but it's important to note). New Brunswick isn't the safest city so it is disappointing that SoCam has downgraded with the security they use. Overall, I would not recommend SoCam to anyone unless they do not mind being harassed by incompetent staff that have inconvenient working hours (they don't open earlier than 10am). Aside from all of these things, the location is decent in the sense that you are in the middle of everything such as bars, restaurants, grocery stores, and the train station. The convenient location, the convenience of not having to bring my own furniture, and a lease that includes utilities etc is why I'm giving this place two stars. Hopefully there will be a lot of change with...