<p>We know about Craigslist for housing ads in Westwood. What are some other resources for legitimate apartment ads? We are actually beginning to acquire a set of typical scams to avoid. I would love to share help/support with other parents aiding their students in the off-campus housing search. As lease co-signers, it is our search as well.</p>
<p>Haven't shopped for an apartment in many years, but some of our former apartments were found through the For Rent Magazine. It is still around and is on the web:
Apartments</a> for Rent and Resources for Finding Apartment Rentals Nationwide - ForRent.com
I personally stay away from Craigslist because a few of my friends had bad experiences with it.</p>
<p>It was a very long time ago but my undergraduate university (Berkeley) had a housing office with listings of rentals because there is such a shortage of on-campus housing. It looks like UCLA (Westwood?) does the same thing. I just googled ucla housing to find a link Private</a> Housing in the Surrounding Community</p>
<p>in general (ie, not specific to any school or location), i think the two best sources are probably (1) if there is a campus office that handles off campus housing, and (2) word of mouth -- if your student knows people who live off campus that can be the best way to find an apartment -- in my experience, often good apartments get referred from friend to friend with the landlord never even having to post its availability.</p>
<p>My daughter's best suggestion: Try to get an apartment you know already. A place where you know someone who is moving out, you know what the maintenance and neighbor issues are, and what the landlord is like.</p>
<p>(Of course, that can't be done at a distance by parents. But I don't think parents can do much at a distance, besides read the lease and help a kid think things through.)</p>
<p>EDIT: Consistent with bizymom.</p>
<p>I'd stick with CraigsList because my D had a very good experience with it. Word of mouth is best of course.</p>
<p>It probably wouldn't happen in Westwood but in other areas of CA that are more economically depressed there have been some scams going where people are listing properties that have actually been foreclosed on craig's list. They "rent" the property to an unsuspecting person when in fact the bank owns the property. Takes months before the bank catches on.
I like JHS' suggestion....ask around, talk to everyone you know and let them know you are looking. Westwood is transitional with people moving in and out quite a bit....</p>
<p>I agree that one form of invaluable assistance is reading the lease for hidden goodies.</p>
<p>Also, many apartment complex's and rental agencies can be vetted through the Better Business Bureau.</p>
<p>Don't know about Westwood but do know a little about west los angeles just the other side of the 405 and Santa Monica. Most property management companies have gone the Craigslist route. There are also companies that sell apartment listings. These companies do not charge the landlord to list their properties. The company I am familar with does its own listing on Craigslist but also lists with several listing companies. Right off hand I don't know the names but might be able to find out.
You can try UCLA and see if they have listings. I don't know about UCLA but I do know that another UC charges landlords to list their properties for students to view. It is also a complicated process that in the long run isn't worth the hassle.
As much as you need to wade through Craigslist I do think it is the best way to find an apartment in West Los Angeles. You might try to look for ads that look like they are put up by management companies.
It used to be almost impossible to find an apartment in Santa Monica. Now it has gotten somewhat easier since changes have been made in the rent control laws. The closer he gets to the ocean the cooler it gets. It is also fairly easy to take a bus down any of the major roads running from the coast to Westwood. You could also bike from West LA to Westwood but would have to deal with traffic. The further away he gets from the school the less expensive the apartment will be.
One thing to watch out for. If he is not looking for his own apartment but to move into an existing apartment he needs to make sure he talks with the management company. Many do not let tenants sublease. In our case if one roommate wants to move out and move someone else in they need to go through a credit check and application and a new lease is made up in the new tenants name. Also that if he is looking with friends in most cases all the roommates must go through the application process and in the case of students they usually each need a co-signer. So in many cases each student plus a parent needs to have decent credit. This will be the case in almost any decent building.</p>
<p>The Craigslist has apartment listings as well.</p>