Perspective From The Other Side

Westside rental sponsored a landlord seminar tonight. I been a renter for many years, so it was very interesting to hear about renting from the other side.

I now understand why collecting agencies are doing so well.

WTF!!!

Property value goes down, property tax goes up. That, my friends, makes no sense; but that's exactly what's happening (read more here).

Los Angeles Times announced that L.A. homeowners would get tax relief this year due to decrease in property value (read more here); alas, I am not one of the 128,000 homeowners.

Like all my neighbors, the value of my home been going steadily in the downward direction but my property tax bill for 2008 is 6.7% higher than that of 2007, WTF!!!

And of course, they have to make the appealing process more gruesome than it needs to be.

Shopping Time?

The good news out of this mess is all the stocks are at bargained prices. And since I am young, I can buy more stocks and wait for them to recover.

The bad news is this may not be the bottom yet, my retirement portfolio has dropped 25%, and I probably need a lot of liquor courage before pushing that "BUY" button.

What a Rip-Off!

The gas and electricity in my new apt are already on. But to transfer the accounts under my name, I have to pay a "Start Service Fee" to both companies; $19 to the Electric Company and $25 to the Gas Company. What a Rip-Off!

AT&T does not charge an activation fee for its dry-lube (no phone line) DSL service, but AT&T charge $79.99 for the DSL modem/router and $12.99 shipping fee. At least for AT&T, this is a one time charge. Supposedly, if I move in the future, I do not have to pay for the equipment again and can just re-use the modem/router.

First Meal at My New Home

Heated leftover pizza with a glass of Riesling! :)

How to Apartment Hunt?

Apartment hunting is a pain in the a**!!! My friends warned me it could take me weeks, if not months, to find a decent place within my small budget. Luckily, I had a lot of help; it took me one week to find my new home. :)

This post is intend for those that are looking for a new place and for my own future reference (when I forget what a pain it was to find a new place).

---------------------
Step 1: List your top priorities and must haves for the apartment (For me, it was safety, kitchen, and within 5 miles radius from work).

Step 2: Tell everyone you're looking and ask them to keep an eye out for you. I got many great advices that way.

Step 3: Drive around the areas you're considering. Watch out for "Vacancy" or "For Rent" sign. Don't be afraid to get lost because along the way, you may discover area that fits your needs. I ended up crossed out several recommended areas and my new apt is in area that was not part of the original consideration.

Step 4: Internet is your friend. I found my place via craigslist. And I found a cheaper alternative to westside rental: property management companies' websites.

Property management companies are better than paying services (like westside rental) since their job is to make sure their clients' rental properties stay full. Most of the companies have free rental list. You can also call them up and tell them you are looking for a place, they will point you to their own vacancies.

Below are lists of websites I used during my search.

For Safety:
http://lalife.com
(try find one that's high on both safety # and school #)
http://www.spotcrime.com/ca/los+angeles

For review of big complex:
http://www.apartmentratings.com/

For Search:
www.craigslist.com
http://www.ultimatela.com/apartmentrentals.htm
Classified section in all local newspapers

For L.A. neighborhood briefing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_neighborhoods

Things My Friends and I Do for Fun

The picture from previous entry was taken in Pasadena. Here's a video taken from there:


And here's a picture of wishing trees in the One Colorado Courtyard