Sofi Irvine

I’ve lived in two different units at this apartment complex for a total of 3.5 years. 1 was a studio unit on the first floor, the one I’m living in currently is a 1BR unit on the third floor.
Pros:
1. Very quiet on the third floor unit I’m currently in. I don’t hear any of my neighbors. (see Cons)
2. The leasing office staff are friendly and professional. They’ll answer your questions and try to help you the best they can. This place used to be owned by a different company but when the owner changed they kept the management staff. That was a good call, as this place would probably fall apart in a couple months if it weren’t for the management staff.
3. Maintenance: I think the rental agreement says they have to respond to your requests for repair within 48 hours, but usually they show up the next day. The maintenance staff is friendly and does a good job.
4. Location: I’m going to miss living so close to the 405 and Diamond Jamboree.
5. Gym/​Pool: the equipment is really nice. Two pools, I think only 1 is always heated.
6. Business office: best place to get work done. There’s usually no one there + there is free coffee. Bring a big jacket during summer time because the AC is freezing.
7. Activities: they work with local businesses to offer free classes: yoga, strength/​conditioning, etc.
8. Living behind gates means the door-​to-​door solicitors are kept to a minimum.
Cons:
1. Noise: Living on the first floor, there’s a lot of noise from outside during the daytime. If you’re not home during the day this is probably ok, it dies down at the end of the work day. Tip: living on a higher level really cuts down on the noise all throughout the day, if a third floor unit is available, definitely spring for it, I think they’re more expensive but worth it.
2. I have seen police show up for a stolen bicycle in the garage. Don’t park an expensive bike in the underground parking. Other than that, I felt very safe living here.

very nice and helpful staff, love the neighbors, cery peaceful and quiet, been here more than 5 years. single woman and I feel very safe and respected, the apartments are not brandnew but in great shape.

My boyfriend and I’ve been living here since May 2015, and everything has been great so far. I’m actually very surprised at how many bad reviews I see here. Well, first of all, it’s Unilocal and people tend to write bad reviews more often than good ones, so what it’s stated in the reviews may be true, but I’m sure that’s not what every resident thinks about this place.
I also noticed some people complaining about maintenance team working on some repairs on water pipes, parking lot, and roof… I wonder if they know that’s actually a good thing that the apartment is taking care of the building, and they do notify us before they start working on it. It can be a little annoying because of the dust and noise, but it only lasts for a couple weeks the longest (usually a day or two) for each repair, and they do it only once in awhile. People need to understand that these repairs and maintenance will prevent issues from worn and tear. They have been working on the apartment a lot because of the change of ownership (in January 2015 per leasing office), and they have a lot to fix because previous owner did not do a decent job. So I’m thankful for them actually doing their jobs.
Location is very convenient for sure! It’s close by grocery stores, walking distance to Diamond Jamboree (only if you’re into Asian malls), and 3 minute driving distance from Tustin District (Target, Whole Foods, Movie Theater, etc). It has a great access to both 405 and 5 freeways, so it’s a great location for commuting. Also, you can take Jamboree down to the beach. It’s probably one of the best locations you can find in Irvine.
I believe they offer a great price for the apartment. It comes with W/​D in unit, fridge, microwave, and dish washer. Their closet inside the unit and storage in the balcony are spacious enough, I think. They also have small but very clean and updated gym, 2 pools with Jacuzzi, and tennis court. They are also pet friendly. My boyfriend and I got an apartment located in a section where they allow you to have dogs because we are planning on getting one in near future. I’ve seen so many cute dogs in the park inside the apartment. Dogs here are mostly well trained so I never really heard them barking in middle of the night, and most of the owners are responsible so you don’t really see any mess in the park. I’m so looking forward to welcoming a new member to my family and joining the community since they seem to be hanging out together a lot!
You get 1 assigned in gated underground parking lot for 1 bedroom. Parking outside of the gate can be a little challenging, but I personally never had issues with it before. I have a very random work schedule so I come home as early as 5pm or as late as midnight, but I still manage to find a parking around the apartment. I have had a few experiences that I had to wait for a parking spot to open but still the longest I waited was like 15 minutes. I’m sure people are a little exaggerating about the parking situation.
I love Kelly and Melissa here. They’re leasing office staffs and super friendly! :)
One time, I had some issues with other tenant, but they helped me out so well! Kelly walked me back to my apartment from the leasing office after reporting the issue, and Melissa even followed up with me next day. I cannot thank them more. Regardless of occasions, they’re always outgoing and great to me whenever I visit. I think they’re very dedicated to build a great relationship with tenants here.
I got nothing to complain about this place :)

Sofi Irvine is the best place I have ever lived in Irvine. My experiences have been extremely positive. The manager is awesome and extremely helpful. Maintenance work is done in an expedite way. The curb appeal, landscaping the pool area are phenomenal. This place makes you very proud to bring your friends over and enjoy the view and the service. Staff and services are so well organized. I enjoyed the ability to access all the information online with high tech access such as filling out the application, credit, approval process including submitting repair maintenance orders.
Management and staff are very friendly and they go the extra mile to help their tenants.
I am very grateful to the manager, her assistance and the rest of the staff team members.
Finally, I am very proud to call Sofi Irvine «my home». I strongly recommended.

I want to start off by saying that I NEVER leave Unilocal reviews. And just to clarify, this one star isn’t about the property itself, it’s about a person working in the leasing office. I went in this morning to drop off two packages that needed sending out. There was a girl standing there with long blonde hair that I don’t even care knowing the name of who immediately looks like I’m pissing her off just by being there. No smile. No greeting. Nothing. She takes my packages after making me feel like it was such an inconvenience for her. I also told her that I have a work order to put in and asked if it would be easier to put it in online or right now and she goes, «well you can put it online but since you are just standing here you can now». With the most attitude. I told her what was wrong and before walking out i remember I didn’t tell her my apartment number. And like a smartass she replies with a, «ha ha I know what apartment number your in… It’s on your package…» So sarcastically. Making her other colleague laugh and making me feel stupid… I hope she reads this and realizes that she can’t treat people like this. I also work in a leasing office of a much bigger property and NEVER would I make someone feel the way she did today. And this isn’t even the first time. I just thought after the second time that something needed to be said.

Well you get what you pay for and that means little to no parking options if you have more than one car in your household. It is so terrible that my bf and I considered shuttling our guests from Diamond Jamboree. While it is great that Sofi complex is close to the freeways and the DJ Plaza, it does not compensate for the negative characteristics that this complex embodies. My apartment only has the patio door for allowing sunlight in, BUT the entire apartment faces away from the sun! It’s such a depressing environment to feel like you’re constantly walking into the darkness. In fact, there was an instance where the entire complex had no electricity and there was no prior notification for this… I had to walk through 4 sections of blacked out hall ways with closed fire doors and each time I thought wow this is what it feels like to be on The Walking Dead. Also, I would absolutely hate to be living in the apartments that are actually not located in the hallways as I’ve seen doors that had to be sandbagged and protected from rain water flowing inside the apartment. Lastly, be warned of all the gnats come summer time… We accepted them living amongst us and made peace with this fact.
*Update: The leasing office has an utmost rude woman with blonde hair that makes it even more horrible to live here. Stay away from the plague this place is !

My boyfriend and I have lived here for 6 months and we had no complaints. On the week of Christmas, we put out decorations at our front door because we saw that our neighbors had put out decorations as well. On Christmas night, one of the decorations was stolen. Two days after, a plant that we had put at our front door was also stolen. Weirdly, some of the decorations that our neighbors left out were untouched and we seemed to be the only ones that were stolen from.
We are so disappointed that people would steal holiday decorations. This rating is to warn future residents to be careful with your belongings as there are thieves that live here.

I have a hard time understanding the negative reviews, Sofi Irvine has been a very good experience for me. Having moved up from the San Diego area for a new job three years ago, I’ve found myself apartment-​hopping quite a bit since residing in Irvine these few years as I have not yet been able to find an apartment community to my liking. Four months ago I moved into Sofi Irvine and it’s been wonderful. The complex itself is a bit on the older side compared to some of the other newly built apartments in the area, but where Sofi Irvine really stands out is the customer service of the staff. Other aspects of the community which I really enjoy are the beautiful pool areas and the assigned underground parking.

Definitely a great place to call home! When looking for apartments about a year ago; I had about 20 – 25 places in the area to check out ranging from San Juan Capistrano to Huntington Beach. Irvine was on average the more expensive areas to live in but we decided to give «The Charter Apartments» — now called «Sofi Irvine» a look. I scheduled a tour with Melissa (who was AWESOME with helping us find the right apartment on premises to fit our needs) and we were in shock with comparing the reviews to the actual apartment itself. I’m not aware of the other «issues» that seem to have happened with other customers but I have had by far an amazing experience here at Sofi.
Some pros to the Sofi Irvine: rent lower than neighboring complexes, good size floor plan, in-​unit washer/​dryer, somewhat new kitchen, big patio and nice amenities. The best part of the apartment layouts is that this was the only apartment complex that we could find that had a 1 bedroom apartment with the bathroom NOT connected to the bedroom! (The most convenient thing ever not having to have everyone go through your bedroom to use the restroom) AND drumroolllll… EVERY apartment has an amazing balcony!!! What more could you ask for!
It’s been a year and here I am ready to sign my next year’s lease! Throughout the year, EVERYONE at Sofi Management has been very helpful. Christian you’re the man! He’s always has the answers I’m looking for and thanks to him we now have the Taco Truck every tuesday! (How friggen convenient!!) Melissa has also been a gem in always helping me with my packages that were dropped off in the front and also always following up with me after a call or a request.
The maintenance team is AWESOME!!! Anthony, the maintenance manager is a very nice guy! Very well spoken, and is always there on time ready to get the repairs out of the way! Not to mention, Nick has always been a very polite mechanic who was sure to make sure that everything was fixed for us!
Now I will admit, yes these apartments aren’t your top notch new contemporary style apartments. But for the value that you’re paying I STRONGLY believe this is THE best deal in the area. 7 miles from the ocean, right smack dab in the middle of the Downtown Irvine, and a block away from Diamond Jamboree! What more could you ask for!
Not to mention, as of Nov 3^rd — They’re offering fitness classes (yoga/​conditioning) weekly!
And not to mention the AWESOME Taco Tuesday guys! (best taco’s made right at home! :))

Just hit the one year mark at Sofi, so here’s my two cents. Living here wasn’t our best experience, but it certainly wasn’t the worst either. One of the older complexes on Jamboree, but management does a decent job trying to keep it up to date. We were sold on the value when we moved in — rent lower than neighboring complexes, good size floor plan, in-​unit washer/​dryer, somewhat new kitchen, big patio and nice amenities. We would have renewed our lease for another year, but the rent increased by over $ 100/​month and it essentially lost the value that made it a good fit. Also, the parking situation got progressively worse during our time here. Trying to find a spot outside after 8pm is almost impossible. Even harder on the weekends. You can rent an extra garage space, but it’s $ 75/​month. Frustrating when there are so many open spaces in the garage. Traffic on Jamboree can be a pain too.
Overall, it was an okay experience living at Sofi. We never had any serious issues. The office staff were cool. The maintenance and landscaping crews did a great job. It does lack a real community feel however — never had the chance to meet any of our neighbors and people walk right past you without even looking at you in the hallways and courtyards. There seems to be a lot of different cultures and language barriers, so that could be why.
If you can get in at a good price, then I’d say it’s probably worth it. If the rates are about the same as the newer neighboring complexes, then there’s really no reason to come here because you can do better for the price.

This APT is very worst i ever seeing before. I cancled my parking lot three months ago, but they still force me to pay for the parking fee. They just want money. Also the people who working in 了adding office are also very unmannered. If you want to live in a good aptment please never choose sofi irvine. There are lets of good aptment in irvine. Stay away from SOFI irvine, keep yourself safety.

Here’s what you need to know when considering this apartment. I’ll start with the cons first as they can be huge dealbreakers for many.
**CONS**
Parking
Parking is absolutely terrible. If you have more than 1 car in your household, I suggest you go elsewhere. You have 1 or 2 assigned spots, but keep in mind there will be no guest parking available, especially on weekends. I’ve had to turn away company multiple times due to the lack of parking. In addition they close the guest parking lot frequently (with towing) so don’t expect to be able to park reliably.
Unit Condition
This complex is older and it shows. A reviewer likened it to «staying at a cheap motel because you couldn’t afford the Hilton» and while that’s harsh, to some extent it’s true. Some of the paint peels, my shower peels, and appliances break. They do service quite efficiently so it’s not too bad if something happens. Just keep in mind: the living is not exactly luxury.
Noise
Walls are extremely thin, and in addition, many units face each other in the courtyard, so don’t come if you can’t handle hearing other people from time to time.
Social Responsibility
No EV charging that I know of.
There are trash chutes but there are no recycling chutes. There is a recycle bin in very specific areas of the complex that you need to walk to. Most people (and I shamefully admit I am one of them) don’t bother to go to the secret recycling locations and instead dump all their trash, recyclable or not, down the trash chute.
Bugs
Probably due to the great gardening, there are a ton of small gnats that enter my apartment constantly. I can’t seem to stop them, mostly because the screen door is a little bit bent so there’s gaps where they can enter. It’s really annoying. Don’t live on the first floor if this bothers you.
**NEUTRAL**
Amenities
They have good and bad things about the amenities. The gym is ²⁴⁄₇ — great. But the gym is also quite small and is in a poorly ventilated room that constantly smells like sweat.
They have two nice pools, but they change the water inconsistently, probably due to the current drought. Last time I went, it felt (and tasted) like they didn’t change the water in months and people’s sweat and pee just accumulated in there.
BBQ grills are huge and well-​maintained, but there’s only two of them servicing the entire complex, so there can be a line for their use. Also the grill area is poorly designed since there is no surface connected to the grill to hold your meat before you grill it.
Location
Great location next to the 405 and the Irvine Business Complex. However there is frequent roadwork on Jamboree so you may hit traffic jams trying to get into the complex from time to time.
**POSITIVE**
Price
Affordable compared to the nearby places. There are a ton of nearby places that are being built, so this competition is getting stiff. I noticed they did raise rent on me after being bought out several months ago, we shall see if this trend continues because that would eliminate the main draw of this place over the other competitors nearby. I hope Sofi realizes that they’re hanging on mainly due to their price advantage.
Office Staff
Office staff are very helpful, responsive, and friendly. I’ve never had an unpleasant conversation with them and they have never been rude. If you walk into the office there’s snacks, coffee, and smiles for you. Service is quick and efficient. Protip: you can auto-​pay your rent online, and even schedule service online.
Gardening
Whoever does the gardening deserves a raise. Good job, it looks great.
Community
The people here are usually respectful. I don’t see any thugs living here. It’s also gated if you’re into having a false sense of security.
**CONCLUSION**
If you are on a budget and don’t have a lot of guests or cars to park, this place is for you. If you need ample parking or are looking for luxury living, seek elsewhere.
P. S. I initially left one-​star review. If you’re wondering what changed — I left that review because they bungled a parking lot closure by not notifying residents how they can leave the parking lot after it has been closed, and caused many people to be late to work. Many people Ubered to work that day. Just another warning against people who need to park many cars. I’ve since gotten over my rage, and have adjusted my review to be more fair.

This is an impressive complex for the price in Irvine. While Irvine apartments tend to be more expensive than the surrounding areas, this tends to be less expensive than the ones next-​door or down the street.
The grounds are kept well, staff is very friendly and the pool and gym are surprisingly nice.

Oh broke down palace, I don’t miss you at all. You know when you go on vacation and cheap out on a hotel that’s just «good enough» to make it through your vacation? That’s exactly how this place feels, only it’s not cheap and you’re stuck there a year.
Positives
Spacious apartments, lots of storage, assigned parking, allows pets (for a fee), gym, two pools and two jacuzzis, elevators, nice landscaping, in unit washer and dryer, kitchen is furnished, central A/​C, close to freeways and shopping.
Negatives
Where do I begin?
This place has to be the filthiest, ghettoest place in all of Irvine and this is coming from someone raised in the high desert. The residents here throw their trash everywhere but the trash can. There are year old crusty VOMIT stains on the walls in the stairwells that several people have complained about, but management has failed to clean. People were parking shopping carts in the garage for a while (seriously? Irvine rent… Santana ghetto) There’s graffiti popping up all over. We had hundreds of dollars in damage from VANDALISM done to our vehicles while inside the gates parking structure. The staff said someone was mad and trying to ruin the property’s image. No compensation for damages, not even so much as a follow up or apology from the manager. The police even told us that this property isn’t as well taken care of as others in Irvine when we had to make the police report. The elevators are so dirty and never cleaned by staff that residents wipe it down when they invite people over because they’re embarrassed by how gross it is.
This place is old, rotting, and decaying. There’s 20 layers of paint on the walls that have entombed hair, dead bugs, and dirt left behind from past renters. In the year we were there our A/​C drain pan rotted and caused a huge waterfall in the closet when we turned it on, the screen door wheels cracked in half and caused the door to fall over and break stuff on the patio, our washing machine leaked into the apartment below every time it was used, the fridge broke and was swapped out 20 hours later (we had to fight management for spoiled food reimbursement because they claimed it was still safe for consumption 20 hours later) and they replaced the fridge with a door that opened the opposite direction… causing it to bang into the oven handle… the bathroom fan motor burned out, I’m pretty sure there’s ducting issues because my neighbors pot smoke would come in to my apartment every time I left the bathroom open with the fan off, the elevator was broken over a month and a half, treadmills break at least once a month and the parking gates break so much that calling this a gated community is a joke.
We had tons of unwanted soliciting and a neighbor asked to have our wifi password so they didn’t have to get their own. The walls are ridiculously thin. Every time your neighbor’s alarm clock goes off, they get a text message, or so much as take a leak in the middle of the night, you can hear it. If you live below someone, it sounds like elephants in a bowling alley above you. It sounds like the fast and the furious between the 3 apartment complex garages you’re surrounded by. If you face the backside of the property, you get to listen to property across the street and their trash compactor and recycling center all day everyday… all that glass breaking, gears grinding, dumpster wheels squeaking, and trash trucks beeping.
There’s no parking for you or guests outside after 6 PM, or anytime on a weekend/​holiday/​sporting event. There’s several older non-​op cars that are being stored in the parking lots and taking up space for so long that they have cobwebs on them. Traffic is terrible between 5 PM and 8 PM so it takes half an hour to 5 miles away.
The kitchen is small with half size cupboards and drawers that are useless. Electric oven takes 45 minutes to heat up. The bathrooms are the size of handicap stalls. Caulking in the shower is deteriorated and moldy.
The gym is half the size of other apartment gyms in the area and full or worn down junky equipment. People take up the entire floor to do yoga, park their baby strollers in there, let their children and toddlers scream and further damage equipment, or they just sit on the machines with their laptop watching stupid YouTube videos because of the free wifi.
This place is basically all aboard the Nope Train to Nopeville. I’m so much happier having moved away from all the «luxury» Sofi Irvine had to offer.

I just spent 25 minutes circling the parking lot and the street for spaces on a Wednesday night at 9:40pm. No parking was available. Worst part was that there were 8 – 9 other cars in the same boat as we were all competing for the next available spot. And it doesn’t help that one side of the street doesn’t allow street parking. No lie. I seriously circled the lot and street 5x and then waited at the lot for 10 minutes to see if anyone was leaving. No such luck.
So instead of being able to visit my bf, I ended up driving back to my place (a 40 minute drive home). Apparently parking has been getting worse since more people have been moving in. Makes sense… yet when I see the parking garage there are so many empty spots. I understand apartment lots are crappy but this seems to be the worst of any. I can’t imagine having to come home everyday struggling to find a spot in the lot. Plus if I lived there I would feel restricted from going out since parking spots are so limited in the first place. And please, it’s Irvine so you’ll definitely have to go out to have fun. You wouldn’t even be able to invite guests over because they would experience this same shitty experience. Something needs to change here. I hope management reads this and does something about it.

I moved from Texas to these apartments. At first I was disappointed until I stayed with a friend in one of those noise and weed smoking invested Irvine company apartments. Sofi is very quiet. Almost creepy quiet. The management team, expecially the manager and the maintenance team are extremely pleasant and helpful. The convenience of the place is great with trash shoots and elevators.

Just moved into this apartment complex. Building itself is not new but well maintained. Staff and maintenance are great. They have checked everything and fixed all non-​working equipment within 2 hours of request. Christian (leasing manager) was very friendly and made sure to answer all of our question and made this move-​in process very enjoyable. Neighbors seem very friendly. Amenities such as gym and tennis court are great. So far everything is top notch. Happy Tenant :))

People from leasing office and maintenance are nice.
However, this apartment is really old. Everything in the unit is out of date…
Wall and floor are paper thin. So it is very noisy.
My neighbors are bad and weird.
There was an old man like to jogging on the hall way between his front door and my door at mid-​night. People on the first floor like to play music really loud and then the guy on the second floor would start to slam the door and stamp the floor as hard as he can. And then it became «slam door» contest. Now the problem on first floor is fixed but the guy on the second floor developed this as hobby. Every time he in or out or for some reason, he will slam it really hard.
Besides noise, security is another problem. Many strangers came knock my door saying they try to sell something non-​sense.
And people smoke everywhere around the building is another problem. In parking area, and even in the elevator!

Been here for almost a year. Ive had TWO motorcycles stolen and my vehicle broken into. While new management is focusing on pool lighting, landscape, and interior design NOTHING is being done to improve the security of this property even with myself and other residents reporting thefts. Also people sneak into the property and break into the laundry machines and still nothing us done. My motorcycle was chaind, alarmed, covered and both were taken in broad daylight. The apartments are great but if you decide to move here i can almost guarantee theft and property loss.