Westside people, please help... $3-6K to spend on rent. (Los Angeles: apartment, foreclosures)

[brian_28]

Hello, I'm relocating to Los Angeles and my job requires me to be relatively close to Santa Monica/Venice. I've lived by Venice Beach before and didn't like it. Too many freaks and too many shabby looking areas/buildings + way too high rent for what you get. I need a small house (2br) somewhat secluded but with a pretty short ride to Santa Monica. It must be contemporary (none of those old traditional run-down sheds which seem abundant) with as little noise/traffic around as possible. It also has to have a pool and a garage. No more than $6K/month. Is this doable? I can't find anything on craigslist/westsiderentals but maybe I'm looking in the wrong place. I don't really know what area I should be looking at. Most of the decent looking houses I've found that have pools are $10K++ / month. That's out of my budget and usually huge 5+bd houses. Is the harsh reality that you cannot get a decent house with a pool in the outskirts of Santa Monica for $5K/month? What area should I check out to find something like this? I appreciate any help I can get from you guys. Thanks!

[motoman]

I'm just curious, but why would you rent a $1,000,000 house? Because for $6k a month, that's what you're doing.

[brian_28]

Several reasons: 1) I don't know if I'll be living in L.A that long. 2) I don't feel comfortable buying a house in this market (things are still getting worse with unemployment and housing prices). 3) I like the freedom of not having to commit to a house for more than a year.

In the end I just want a nice home in a decent area that isn't too busy. Condo/townhouse not an option because I like my privacy.

[BRinSM]

if a pool is a must, you're going to have a very difficult time finding a house. homes on the westside are generally on smallish lots. homes on larger lots are in the uber expensive neighborhoods and therefore probably out of your price range. however, if you are willing to give up the pool requirement, there should be plenty of options out there for you. fyi, LA has its fair share of public pools which are well kept and very nice.

[greggd]

Originally Posted by brian_28

Hello, I'm relocating to Los Angeles and my job requires me to be relatively close to Santa Monica/Venice. I've lived by Venice Beach before and didn't like it. Too many freaks and too many shabby looking areas/buildings + way too high rent for what you get. I need a small house (2br) somewhat secluded but with a pretty short ride to Santa Monica. It must be contemporary (none of those old traditional run-down sheds which seem abundant) with as little noise/traffic around as possible. It also has to have a pool and a garage. No more than $6K/month. Is this doable? I can't find anything on craigslist/westsiderentals but maybe I'm looking in the wrong place. I don't really know what area I should be looking at. Most of the decent looking houses I've found that have pools are $10K++ / month. That's out of my budget and usually huge 5+bd houses. Is the harsh reality that you cannot get a decent house with a pool in the outskirts of Santa Monica for $5K/month? What area should I check out to find something like this? I appreciate any help I can get from you guys. Thanks!

You need a realtor. They have listings not advertised online.

If you re-check craigslist you will find some pretty nice homes in Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, and Malibu that are offering everything except the pool for well under your 6k limit. With that, it is just a matter of finding the house that happens to have a pool. There are a lot of homes in these areas with swimming pools. You'll have to keep an eye out and contact a realtor who will have leads that are not listed by the owner on websites.

Luckily you are looking in areas that have a very high pool %.

Have you also considered malibu/walking distance to the ocean?

[UB50]

You might be able to find something built in the '50s or '60s in the San Fernando Valley. It might have a pool too. If you are lucky, you might find a rental under $6K a month.

I'd try the San Fernando Valley for what you are looking for: Sherman Oaks, Encino, Van Nuys, Reseda, Tarzana, North Hollywood, etc.

[brian_28]

Thanks guys! So I should be looking in Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Brentwood. That's good to know. Also, thanks for the realtor tip. Definitely an interesting suggestion. Does anyone know a good and honest one? It seems the lack of a pool is generally a side effect of houses crammed together on tiny lots, right? Hollywood Hills seems to have a few options that would work but how far would the drive be?

[LizzyNola]

Why would you rent and pay $6000 a month when you can buy your own property, especially now with this economy?

Make no sense at all. If you are a first time buyer you will get some breaks and there are thousands of foreclosures, and other deals out here.

Buy something and use owner financing. Think investment/future.

[brian_28]

Hey Lizzy, the housing bust is far from finished. There's a new wave of rate resets coming in 2010 and 2011, especially on the westside. The subprime bust is nearing an end, but the higher end areas are coming next. Many people are under water. I'm not buying in this market. Like I said I'm not very interested in commiting to one property right off the bat. I'd like to keep my options open. This is not a good time to get into a lot of debt on a house that 1) will lose value over the next years 2) will be hard to sell if I want to relocate.

[vegaspilgrim]

I think a lot of us here are just jealous... and couldn't even dream of spending that much money on rent. A lot of people have to struggle through significant financial hardship just to live in a crappy one bedroom apartment for $1200 a month, let alone spending five times that amount. Some people can't even afford a one bedroom apartment by themselves, and have to live two or more roommates per room, bunk bed style, just to make ends meet. But I always think people should be able to make financial decisions for themselves, rather than take a lecture from someone on the internet on how to spend their money. To you $6000/mo, or $72,000 a year (which means probably somewhere in the ballpark of well over $110,000 of your pre-tax income) on rent is probably just pocket change.