Before renting in L.A., please read this. (Needles: apartments, renter)

[SandyCo]

I live in a rent-controlled apartment, and have for over nine years. Yesterday evening I was taking a nap when there was a knock on my door. It was the maintenance guy who had to look under my sink, because the lady downstairs was complaining about a leak. It's never fixable from my apartment, but they always bother me first. The guy didn't find anything, but he told me not to use my sink, and that he would be back at 10:00 this morning. He never showed up all day.

At 10:30, I tried to call the management company's office. I pressed the appropriate number for maintenance - and promptly got a voice mail box. Ah, but that's not all! The voice mail box was full. I pressed zero. I got the operator's mail box. Yes, that was full, too. Wonderful. God forbid if I ever had a real maintenance emergency! (Actually, if I did, I would call a REAL plumber instead of these yahoos that our lovely landlord pays $9/hour to most likely under the table).

The manager of our building doesn't speak English very well, and his wife doesn't speak English at all. No help there!

If I were a new renter here, I would be paying $1350 a month for my 2-bedroom apartment! Please, do your research carefully before moving to any apartment, and make sure to talk to some of the tenants! This, too, could be your life.

This building was not this way when I moved in. Believe me, if I could afford to move, I'd be gone already.

[UB50]

Our last apartment had paper thin walls. I don't think they had any insulation in them. I didn't really notice it the first few days though the neighbors did bang on my walls for me to be quiet (I was playing the radio).

Then one night I was laying in bed. I heard a man clear his throat. I thought for sure someone must be outside my window so I jumped out of bed and looked out. There was no one there. I laid back in bed. I heard a man clear his throat again. I jumped up and looked out again. No one there. I laid back down and heard it again. This time I really listened and I finally understood that he was laying in a bed on the other side of the wall and I was actually hearing someone clear their throat thru the wall.

To make matters worse, I started hearing other things -- like the computer in his room saying "You've got mail!" and the times he had his girlfriend over and conversations. And then I realized, when they had parties in their living room, if I didn't shut my closet door all the way, the sound would come into my bedroom.

There was no insulation in the walls!

On the other hand, someone who thought everyone should own a lot of guns (something I don't believe) once asked me what I would do if I were attacked in my bedroom. I said "I would tap on the wall and whisper 'I need help' and I know the neighbor would be there in less than a minute."

[marilyn220]

Originally Posted by UB50

On the other hand, someone who thought everyone should own a lot of guns (something I don't believe) once asked me what I would do if I were attacked in my bedroom. I said "I would tap on the wall and whisper 'I need help' and I know the neighbor would be there in less than a minute."

BWAHAAHAHAHAHAH!! You made me spit out my lunch! Too funny!!

I live in a two story walk up with about 8 apartments. The place could be mistaken for a Mausoleum. I swear we have a coupla neighborhoods that go ape **** over any type of noise you would normally hear in an apartment.

[Need_affordable_home]

wow you have hearing almost like a dog! But yea you get what you pay for when renting/buying. Now I see why some apartments are so cheap in LA

[UB50]

Ha! These were luxury apartments but the building was built in 1989 when the last housing boom was going on. There was adequate insulation in the ceiling and floors, just not in the walls -- or maybe they just skipped the wall between our bedrooms.

[SandyCo]

I forgot to mention that the lady below me only speaks Russian! She can say "leak" and that's about it. She had me talk to her son yesterday, so he could interpret.

I also forgot to mention the noise factor. The building is old (which is why it's under rent control!). One side of me has the manager and his family who scream at each other day and night in Spanish. The other side of me has this crazy old lady who bangs on the wall if my son makes any noise in his room after 8:00 p.m.!

There is no insulation in the walls. We can hear everything our neighbors do or say. My kids and I all sleep with fans on as "white noise" to drown out the courtyard noise, as our apartment is in the middle. Oh, and did I mention that my kids have the bedrooms, and I sleep in my living room?! If this place wasn't rent control, we'd be living in a one-bedroom. Yes, I love L.A. (how soon before I can get out of here?!!).

[Des_Demona]

Yeah I have a story like that too! I found a really "great deal" in Hollywood that I was going to move into and on the surface it seemed really great. It was roomy, upstairs unit in a "okay" part of Hollywood for only $850 a month! I was thinking, what a deal right? Wrong. I should have really looked more closely. My first day moving in I noticed that the kitchen sink was so rusted it didn't work and there was buildup in the sink so that it didn't drain. I decided I would clean it out and install a new sink. Oh.My.GOD. what a disaster. I took off the sink and what poured out? TONS of dead bugs! Cockroaches, termites you name it! I mean, they poured out. And then I took a panel of wood off a countertop to fix it and there were dead cockroaches under it... at least 20 of them. I almost threw up. Then I saw some BIG alive cockroaches later crawling on the carpet. Then the landlord finally told me that my front door didn't actually lock and that he'd come back to fix it. As we were moving in our entire neighborhood of apartment neighbors came out to stare and leer at us (two white girls) - they were all hispanic men. Then our neighbors to the right of us had about 20 kids in the house all screaming at each other. The neighbors behind us had a kid who played the electric guitar (badly) plugged in to a loud amplifier and it just about drove me out of my MIND! The window was broken, so we couldn't shut it. The front windows had these glass panels that fell out and there was no screen so anyone could just slide a panel out and climb right through our front window. Two of the doorknobs didn't work and everything was still filthy. He said he was still working on it when he showed us the unit and would have it all cleaned up... he didn't. He didn't even flush the toilet that was full of cr*p when we first saw it... it was exactly the same 2 weeks later when we went to move in. There were still tools all over the floor. Needless to say, we didn't last even a day there but go NO refund of our money. He kept our money and we ended up having to live with our parents for a few months to save up to move again. Long story... well long, you definitely get what you pay for... except in LA... in which case even if you pay a lot it really really SUCKS!

Ugh... just retelling that story makes me want to move even sooner. Thank goodness I get to go on vacation in just a few days to another state!! I sure do need it.

[Need_affordable_home]

Thats a good wake up call. I will be sure to inspect every house before I buy one. Ive been talking how cheap Oil city is, but then its no LA where even expensive isnt always good!

[SandyCo]

Wow, Des Demona! You're lucky that you had the option of going home to your parents!

Your story reminds me of a long time ago when I was looking for an apartment, and I was searching for something as cheap as possible. I went to an apartment in Panorama City (!), and was shown one apartment. It looked nice... Then the manager took me next door to a bigger apartment - and there were hundreds of dead roaches all over the counters!!! I couldn't believe that she would show me an apartment in that condition! It was a real eye-opener for me, as you might imagine.

[UB50]

When I lived in Florida, roaches were part of the household. Everyone had them -- and they were huge! And they could fly! Tourists enjoyed photographing the dead bugs versus pennies and dimes!

LA roaches are tame by comparison.