Rent Gone Insane! (Pasadena, Vista, Santa Monica: wood floors, apartments, rentals)

[FelyaSoCal]

So my wife and I (and dog) live in Studio City and both commute to Santa Monica for work.
We have a very large one bedroom apt that we rent for $1750, but would like to move close to SM
Anything between SM and WeHo would be better than the dreaded 405 parking lot

I've spent the last month looking for apartments in Sherman Oaks and on the West Side . So far I am losing my mind slowly, but surely. In SM (Westwood and other areas on the WestSide) they want $2000 for a crappy, tiny 1 bedroom. For a decent 2 bedroom they want $3000 or more. I know its a hot market, but I think that's just insane compared to only a few years ago. In Sherman Oaks, they want $2200+ for a decent 2 bedroom. I also think that's a bit high considering that just last year we almost rented a huge 2 bedroom with the "works" for $1900. I just use CL. Haven't signed up for WSR. Will probably do that in the fall

Here is my question(s):

Will rent go down just a bit towards Fall and Winter and I should wait right now or do I keep searching now and hope for some good luck? May be not all rent is this insane and I am just looking at the wrong properties? I am not looking for anything special. Just decent area. Secured building and no wall views from the apartment or first floors.
Seriously not sure what to do with these insane prices. I make good money, but buying is out of the question now and renting is insane as well. I paid $2K for a townhouse in Encino just 2 years ago, but unfortunately it was sold. And now for $2K all I get is a shack.

Should I may be wait longer? Winter? Next year?

Your input would be greatly appreciated. Otherwise I am going to lose my mind here


Thanks!

[BRinSM]

considering the tech sector on the westside is booming right now, i wouldn't expect rents to decrease anytime soon.

[timtemtym]

I wouldn't expect a large decrease, but winter is usually the cheapest time to rent as it's not a big time for college kids to move and people want to be somewhere for the holidays. Have you thought about maybe Culver City? Palms? I'm surprised Studio City is cheaper than Sherman Oaks. I always thought that was the priciest of the City of LA Valley areas.

Use hot pads or padmapper or radpads dot com. I wouldn't pay for WSR

[FelyaSoCal]

Its a mix. Some parts are cheaper in SO and some parts are a lot more expensive. Depends on the area.

So is Palms, Mar Visa, Cheviot Hills, Culver City all decent areas? I don't know much about the area besides SM, Westwood, Brentwood, but Mar Vista, Palms, etc, would all work as well since my office is by SM airport. To be honest with you, I just don't know where to specifically look. Some parts look decent and then some parts look really old and ghetto. And the only reason I need a "safe" area and security in the building is because my wife walks the dog at night and she is kind of scared =)

[disgruntled la native]

santa monica is outrageously expensive right now. and you're right, rent in general in LA county has gotten out of control. it's sickening and i'm fed up with it. people are getting priced out of the westside and are starting to move into mid-city where you can get a one bedroom for 1200 still...

you can afford pricier tha mid-city but not santa monica, so you can do culver city, mar vista, west la. one bedrooms are still 1500 or so there.

[timtemtym]

Oh yes, Palms is good and so is Mar Vista. We have a condo in MV and it's a nice area. We walk to lots of restaurants and happy hours and our yogurt place and grocery stores. The nice thing is having the windows open all the time. Even when the news in LA says heat wave, we have windows open and it's fine. In the winter months, it gets downright cold from the ocean breeze. There are very few days when we put on the AC and that's more for sleep time comfort than for necessity.

Plus those ocean breezes push the pollution back towards LA and the valleys so the air is better over here. Palms has a lot of rental places but they're nice and getting nicer. There are little pockets of hood, but it's maybe 1-4 buildings rather than 1-4 blocks. Stay away from Mar Vista gardens, that's a housing project.

If you're working by the airport, you will LOVE your commute, bike there if you want. There are some rentals near the Mar Vista rec center. It's a nice big park and maybe a mile or so east of the airport. Trader Joe's is right there too on Palms and Sepulveda.

[blu4u]

Originally Posted by timtemtym

Oh yes, Palms is good and so is Mar Vista. We have a condo in MV and it's a nice area. We walk to lots of restaurants and happy hours and our yogurt place and grocery stores. The nice thing is having the windows open all the time. Even when the news in LA says heat wave, we have windows open and it's fine. In the winter months, it gets downright cold from the ocean breeze. There are very few days when we put on the AC and that's more for sleep time comfort than for necessity.

Plus those ocean breezes push the pollution back towards LA and the valleys so the air is better over here. Palms has a lot of rental places but they're nice and getting nicer. There are little pockets of hood, but it's maybe 1-4 buildings rather than 1-4 blocks. Stay away from Mar Vista gardens, that's a housing project.

If you're working by the airport, you will LOVE your commute, bike there if you want. There are some rentals near the Mar Vista rec center. It's a nice big park and maybe a mile or so east of the airport. Trader Joe's is right there too on Palms and Sepulveda.

agree nice area.
if you don't have older kids in school:
Mar Vista, Palms, westchesterr

Santa monica, Palisades, Venice === INSANE!!!

[thelopez2]

Originally Posted by FelyaSoCal

Will rent go down just a bit towards Fall and Winter and I should wait right now or do I keep searching now and hope for some good luck? May be not all rent is this insane and I am just looking at the wrong properties? I am not looking for anything special. Just decent area. Secured building and no wall views from the apartment or first floors.

Seriously not sure what to do with these insane prices. I make good money, but buying is out of the question now and renting is insane as well. I paid $2K for a townhouse in Encino just 2 years ago, but unfortunately it was sold. And now for $2K all I get is a shack.

Should I maybe wait longer? Winter? Next year?

Your input would be greatly appreciated. Otherwise I am going to lose my mind here


Thanks!

After seeing the traffic into the Westside on the 405N, don't hold your breath, competition will be stiff, typically there is a low in the fall winter, I don't expect that this year. Last year was a brutal winter for many parts of the country, some of those people will move before winter. Then you have 100,000 people come in for the Rose Bowl and experience the sunny winter. Western Mar Vista homes are $1M tear down, those homes are effectively off the rental market. It doesn't take a lot of people to effect the market. All you can hope for is an earthquake.

I have a 2 bedroom 2bath condo in a 150 unit gated complex between DTLA and Pasadena and they accept dogs. My mortgage is a less than rent. Units have either a hill, courtyard, or city view. People use to call it hood and ghetto, now they call it gentrifying, I call it my giving tree. That is how you save for a down payment. Saving a couple hundred a month is nothing, that is what you burn in gas, you each need to save at least $1000 a month towards a downpayment.

You may think you make decent money but unless you hedge against inflation, a leveraged inflated asset will outpace your income.

To make you feel even worse my friend has been renting in brentwood for $1300 a month for over 10 years.

[Miss Pip]

"$1450 / 1br - Granite Counters! Updated Apartment! Walk to New Ralphs! Wood Floors! (Sherman Oaks)"

Granite Counters! Updated Apartment! Walk to New Ralphs! Wood Floors!

[bpeeps]

Originally Posted by Miss Pip

"$1450 / 1br - Granite Counters! Updated Apartment! Walk to New Ralphs! Wood Floors! (Sherman Oaks)"

Granite Counters! Updated Apartment! Walk to New Ralphs! Wood Floors!

Crappy standard LA layout, small square footage.