Westside Rentals - Worth The $60? (Santa Monica, Marina: apartment, credit check, neighborhoods)

[NYC2CA?]

I have from April 9th-14th to find a place to live in the Venice/Marina/Santa Monica area. I've been looking on Craigslist, but I'm debating caving in and paying the subscription fee for Westside Rentals. Is it worth the $60, or am I actually better off driving around the neighborhoods trying to find a place?

I'd appreciate any thoughts/experiences you've got! Thanks!

[Lumerian Feast]

Yes, it is worth the price. You find way more stuff than on Craigslist, and the search function really helps you focus on areas, price ranges and amenities. Driving around is good to do in conjunction with it, but many of the places you see signs for will just direct you to WSR for details. I think Craigslist is nearly useless.

[cmw2133]

I haven't used Westside Rentals, but Rent.com is a good resource as well.

[ZenMaster2008]

There were a bunch of places on their when I signed up that seemed too good to be true and were. They either were rented months ago or no one would return calls/emails. I'm not even sure if all the places even existed but who knows. I saw a lot of places that seemed to be well below market price.

I think Craigslist/walking around is the best option.

[nori_garsi]

I personally don't think it's worth it.

I found that if you drive around there are tons of places and they all have phone numbers to call, and none of them referred me to Westside Rentals. I would try driving around first because it's free. I would only use Westside Rentals as a last resort.

On a side note, when we were moving recently we found at least 20 places on Craigslist that fit our criteria (2b/2ba in the general West LA area with a budget of under 3000, but most were around 1800-2000)...unfortunately we needed a short-term lease and most of them required a 12-month lease. Sometimes the bigger apartment communities also post there and they offer really good specials...that's how we found this place. Places are getting desperate. I responsded to at least 25 places and most of them got back to me within 24 hours and there was only one crazy among the bunch. Craigslist isn't as bad as you may think. You just have to be smart and careful about it.

[uptown_urbanist]

I think it's worth it, although we ended up finding our most recent LA rental from Craigslist.

It's been a couple of years, so this might be either changed (or my memory is wrong), but I think the Westside fee might include the credit check - or at least the place that we applied for (and ended up not renting) didn't make us pay for a new credit check because they used the info from Westside.

[KnoxTown]

Westside Rentals is a ripoff. All of the places listed on there, you will find on craigslist or rent.com

[juju_462]

does any one have a westside rental login in and password I can use to look at an apartment

[motoman]

Originally Posted by juju_462

does any one have a westside rental login in and password I can use to look at an apartment

Sure, give me $30 and I'll let you have mine.

[LASam]

I think it's worth it. That's how I found my current apartment.