Before renting in L.A., please read this.

[saimamom]

When my husband first came to LA, a year and a half ago to find an apartment, he had alot of trouble. He looked in Santa Monica first. The places were either way overpriced, old, ugly or tiny. Then he moved on to Brentwood. Again way overpriced and small. He finally went to West LA and found our current apt. Though it's not cheap and it's not pretty, it's a 2bd/1ba, carpeted with a big kitchen, courtyard and balcony. So we consider ourselves lucky. Pretty soon after we moved in the managers quit. We were left with nobody to contact but the management company who were no help. Many tenants had problems that were ignored and many of us were angry. After calling and writing letters to the company,finally I called the LA Housing Dept. Immediately every single issue was corrected for everyone. I mean like overnight-done. So I'm sure the management co is going to keep our deposit and tack on some other charges for us when we move out in retaliation. Rental life sucks. We have 13 units and only one washer and one dryer. Time and time again both of them break down. We've gone 2 weeks without the use of the machines. And we're told to just go to the laundromat. Not so easy for those of us with kids. When we had heatwave last summer, the kids would sit in a little inflatable pool in the courtyard. Well, wouldn't you know...management took away our hose after that. Maybe we used too much water for their liking. We don't even have an A/C. Then we received a letter stating that the children should be kept quiet. We used to take them out in the courtyard from 5pm-6pm...not late hours. So living here is basically like being in Communist Russia. If we lived in the Mid West we'd be upper middle class. But here it's like you're stuck in a hole, trying to scrape by. Sorry I'm just venting.

[Need_affordable_home]

Wow you should really relocate if you havent done already! If you have to pay a "fine" for breaking the lease then be it. Your happiness comes first! I would be depressed!

[saimamom]

Well the irony of our situation right now is that in 6 months, God Willing, we'll be living in our own home. My husband will be done with his training and start his practice. We'll never have to rent again! So we're enduring this period knowing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It's just amazing to see the greed of landlords and companies who don't care a bit about their tenants. Average families can't buy anything here and rentals are like revolving doors. There was a young couple that moved into one of the apts and they decided to move a couple months after moving in. So they had a family take over their lease. Well the company that owns the building decided not only to trash that original lease and write a new one but also to increase the rent on them. Talk about taking advantage of people!

[Need_affordable_home]

This is why I refuse to rent! Well I would rent but only for a year and only a place owned by a single person landlord, not a company! Something like a duplex should be allright. But its best not to rent. If houses are too expensive, choose a different location. I know its all abou location but that doesnt mean you have to pay those ridiculous prices unless you are so rich it doesnt matter and you can enjoy life in that expensive location.