I lived in Turtle Ridge for two years, before moving out to a private rental some time in 2005-6. On the surface, the complex looked pretty good when I was there. But my impression was that it would not wear well because of cheap construction. I was the first tenant in a newly-constructed unit; one of the 2BR townhomes in the northwest corner of the property. They are near the Irvine Ranch Water District pumping facility, which can be heard early in the morning, if you have your windows open. Not a big deal, though. I think noise would be a much bigger issue if you selected a unit that backed onto the 73 toll road. In the townhome I had, I shared one common wall with a neighbor, but never heard any noise through the walls. I don't know for sure if my good fortune was because of the quality of construction of that wall, or neighbors that didn't make noise. I think it was the latter, because I was disappointed in the quality of materials and construction in general. The stainless steel kitchen sink was so thin that the entire arrangement of sink, faucets, and garbage disposal vibrated like crazy when the disposal was running. The kitchen tile cracked soon after I moved in, and the paint was the least durable chemical mixture that could still be called paint. It was clear that they intended to repaint after each tenant, and probably replace the carpet, too. When I moved in, some of the doors didn't have all of the screws in the hinges, and one of the shower faucets was improperly installed (hot where cold should be). So I think their construction inspector was asleep on the job. (Assuming the HAD a construction inspector.)
Energy costs were high, due to poor insulation and three story configuration.
The amenities and staff were OK. No complaints. I didn't use the pool, club room, gym, etc. I only had one car and I had an attached garage, so no parking issues for me. I do understand that it was an issue for others, however. Of course, they probably had three cars, in violation of their lease!
There were two reasons I decided to leave. One was that I got tired of the constant feeling that IAC was looking over my shoulder. Garage inspections, fire detector battery replacement, patio inspection, memos reminding tenants to pay their rent on time (I wasn't late), pick up after their dogs (I didn't have one), don't park in guest parking, clean the community BBQ if you used it (I didn't), etc, etc. A 57 page rental agreement! I understand why they felt the need to do these things, but dammit, I wasn't the type to be cooking meth in my bathtub. Nor did I create a third bedroom in the garage so I could house extra roommates. And I treated my neighbors the way I wanted them to treat me.
The second reason I left was that I didn't like their negotiation tactics when it came time for renewal. They tried to come across with the attitude that they were going to do me a favor by letting me stay. From other threads, I understand their tone on this matter may have changed. But, anyway, since I didn't make use of the community facilities, the price was not competitive with private rentals. I had no problem at all in recovering my damage deposit, less a reasonable cleaning fee.
