Is this a good deal near USC? (best neighborhood, sublets)

[ronaldwright]

My fiancee is going to be a visiting grad student at USC for about six months. She applied for campus housing and was assigned a room to share in a 2-bedroom apartment for $920/month at 2605 SEVERANCE ST. She is not familiar with LA at all... is this a good deal, and is it a safe area? It doesn't seem all that close to campus (17 minute walk to Tommy Trojan).

Housing Options - Buildings - Hillview

Any other suggestions for finding a place for a 6-month lease/sublet? Are there any privately-operated dorms?

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by ronaldwright

It doesn't seem all that close to campus

In the case of USC, not being close to campus is a good thing. The 'hoods around the place suck.

Lots of frat houses in the area of Severance and W.Adams. I'm not saying it's the best neighborhood, but it's better than what surrounds the campus.

[streetscenes]

That's just south of Adams in an area with lots of student housing, should be relatively safe. Lots of students walking and riding bikes in the area. Most of the fraternities and sororities are along 28th street 2 blocks south and it's around 6 blocks to the north side of the campus. For $920 does she get her own bedroom? If so that's not a bad deal for temporary student housing, especially if she does not pay utilities.

[ronaldwright]

Thank you for the feedback. She has another 24 hours to decide whether to accept this place. We're a bit confused since there are so many room shares advertised for much lower rates, all claiming to be clean, safe, close to campus and only $550-800. Is this too good to be true? Another offer is a shared 2 bedroom on 36th Place, two blocks from campus for $850.

If she passes on the 2605 Severance apartment, can we realistically find a decent place within a few days when we arrive in mid-December? Or are all the decent sublets taken by then?

[f_m]

Originally Posted by ronaldwright

If she passes on the 2605 Severance apartment, can we realistically find a decent place within a few days when we arrive in mid-December? Or are all the decent sublets taken by then?

I do not believe you can find a good place at a good price in a few days. California generally still has a high rental occupancy rate, so any good places go fast. If you find one, it would be luck.

Many of the surrounding areas look kind of run down, so being near campus doesn't mean it's a great place.