Are you ready to apply for a rental? Whether you are applying for a rental through The Rental Girl or any other agency or landlord in Los Angeles, watch our tutorial on how to get put together a complete application package and make it stand out above the rest!
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Rental Advice
Post by The Rental GirlPost by LindseyTOP 10 TIPS: Find A Rental
The Rental Girl’s “Top 10 Tips” are a series of blog posts we have written to address common questions we receive from renters throughout our work week.
1. First and foremost, when to start looking: Start inquiring on rentals about a month and a half before you need to move
Don’t over do it. Many renters feel like they need months to find a rental. In L.A., the average vacancy is filled in less than a month. Tenants only need to give 30 days notice (per the average contract) to move out. If you are looking months in advance, there is no magic 8 ball that can look into the future and possibly know all the vacancies that will be available by the time you are ready to move. Furthermore, millions of people move each year. L.A. is a busy rental market. Vacancy rate is less than 5%. Rentals move quickly. If it’s taken you over a month to locate a property, you may need to broaden your criteria: area, price range and/or amenities. We have written more about when to start looking for a rental here.
2. Second of all, narrow down your search. Pick an area, a neighborhood. And while you’re at it, narrow down your budget and amenity must haves
This is especially true if you are moving here from out of town (and if that is the case, make sure you read our post specifically for out-of-towners). You also need to know what your budget is and what amenities you absolutely have to have and which ones you can live without. Read our post about Choosing a Rental here for more info.
Post by The Rental GirlTop 10 Tips: Securing a Rental
The Rental Girl’s “Top 10 Tips” are a series of blog posts we have written to address common questions we receive from renters throughout our work week.
Secure your dream place before someone else does! L.A. is a busy rental market with a low vacancy rate. Competition can be fierce. Follow our Top 10 Tips to securing that perfect rental.
1. First of all, make sure you’re not getting scammed
Does the rent look way too good to be true? Is the owner asking you to go to the vacancy on your own then mail him the deposit? Probably a scam. Any ad that asks for money up front, aside from an application fee, is most likely a scam.
2. Get your act together
Gather all the information you need to apply in advance: present and previous rental history, landlord names and numbers, addresses, references, job history. Take a look at a standard application form online to have an idea what info you need. You can download ours here. There is only so much information a landlord can request from an applicant on an application so all California applications request similar information. Most landlords throughout L.A. require the same thing: complete application, copy of ID, verification of income. There is not much a landlord can ask for, so it’s normally the same info every time. It’s not that difficult to prepare for this process and being prepared can be the one thing between you getting or loosing your next dream home. Gather all your information in advance. You’ll be thankful you did when you’re filling out an application on the spot for a highly sought rental.
Post by The Rental GirlTOP 10 TIPS: Choosing A Rental
The Rental Girl’s “Top 10 Tips” are a series of blog posts we have written to address common questions we receive from renters throughout our work week.
1. Figure out where in LA you want to live
Not sure what neighborhood you want to live in? Don’t ask a stranger, don’t ask us. Ask someone you know, someone who knows you. Asking a stranger what area to live in is like asking them what style clothes you should wear. If you ask us, you might be leaving your house in the morning with stilettos, a colorful sun dress and a bright pink hat. May not exactly fit your steez. You need to live somewhere that suits you and your needs. Consider proximity to friends and proximity to work. Don’t live next to the ocean if you work in Downtown LA. Just drive to the beach on the weekends. That will be a lot easier than commuting everyday. Don’t live far away from your friends. You’ll never see them. If you live on the Westside, your friends on the Eastside may as well be on another planet. That’s all the advice we can give you. But you do need to figure our location on your own ASAP. This is a critical 1st step.
2. Figure out your price range
Most renters can afford 1/3 of their income. Some may want to spend less, some more. Don’t forget to calculate in utilities, cost of moving and security deposit.
Post by The Rental Girl“Rents soar as foreclosure victims, young workers seek housing” LA TIMES
Our own Ellie Balderrama (Los Feliz / Silver Lake / Atwater Village Rental Girl) was interviewed and quoted in this story in the LA Times today:
Rents soar as foreclosure victims, young workers seek housing
Few new units and tight standards for home loans add to the pressure. The average monthly U.S. rent is at an all-time high, and a 10% jump in Los Angeles County over the next two years is forecast.May 05, 2012|By Alejandro Lazo, Los Angeles Times
A nation still struggling to clear up one housing debacle has run smack into another — soaring rents.
The foreclosure mess has pushed millions of former homeowners with tarnished credit into a competitive apartment market across the U.S. Add fresh demand from young workers, few new units and tight standards for home loans, and the result is rental sticker shock not seen in years.
Read the rest of this entry »
Post by The Rental GirlLet’s Talk About Mold
Mold.
______ It’s dirty.
__________ It’s stinky.
_______________ It’s toxic.
It’s everywhere. 
AGH! It’s scary! ARG! It’s annoying!
Sometimes it’s obvious. Sometimes you smell it. And sometimes you just have an intuition that it’s there.
So what do you do?
Well, I sat down this week with Mold Inspector, Bret Pfeifer from Golden State Mold Inspections and got the low-down for all our renters out there.
The Rental Girl: Hey Bret! Thanks for chatting with us today. Mold has become and increasingly bigger and bigger issue for renters in Los Angeles. We get a lot of renters asking us what they can do if they suspect mold. Can you explain briefly exactly what you do?
Bret: As a mold inspector our job is to inspect a property for mold contamination, identify the type of mold and its toxins, determine the source of the mold growth and a scope of work for proper remediation. On top of this, in our inspection we report areas that could be susceptible to future mold contamination and give recommendations on how to fix and prevent mold from growing.
Post by The Rental GirlPost by KatiePost by LindseySecurity Deposits 101
Congrats! You’ve just been accepted for that cute little studio apartment! Upon acceptance, the landlord or property management company has requested one month’s rent & the security deposit up front before you sign a lease & move in.
What exactly is a security deposit? I am glad you asked!
The security deposit is NOT your last month’s rent. It is the landlord’s way of protecting their property from damages. Typically, he or she will ask for the security deposit to be equal to the first month’s rent. Sometimes, they will ask for more, but they CANNOT ask for more than TWO times the amount of rent for unfurnished rentals. For furnished rentals, the security deposit can equal up to THREE times the amount of rent, in Los Angeles, CA.
Before moving in to your new place, make sure the property management company, agent or landlord performs a walk through inspection with you to note any property damage that currently exists. Snapping some photos of the interior and exterior is a great idea in order to compare how the unit looked when you move in to when you move out.
Say your new apartment is a little “blah”. Your personal style is very important to you, so you would really like to liven up your new home with a splash of color, hang some pictures, new curtains, possibly mount your flat screen on the wall in the living room. ASK FIRST! Landlord says okay? Get it in writing! You need hard proof that the landlord is allowing you to alter his or her property. Sometimes they will ask that you just return the unit to the way it looked when you first moved in.
Okay, so it’s been about two years, and you’re ready to upgrade to a bigger place. You’ve sent your 30 day notice to the landlord and even followed up with a phone call to make sure he received the letter that you will be vacating the unit in 30 days.
Time flies by and it’s now TWO WEEKS before the big move, and you really need to get your security deposit back to use towards that upcoming trip to Costa Rica! Here’s a bright idea: give your landlord a call again and ask him to inspect your unit to see if anything needs to be cleaned or repaired before you move out, in order to receive your full security deposit back. Ask him for an itemized list of repairs. Schedule another inspection appointment with him or her for the day you will have everything cleared out of the unit.
Day 30 rolls around and you’ve just finished packing the trucks to move to your bigger, better place. The unit is completely vacant now. Ask your landlord for another itemized list of what he will be deducting, if anything, from your security deposit and have him sign it. Before you leave, take pictures again for your records. It will help your case if any disputes arise.
From the day you move out, the landlord has 21 days to refund your entire security deposit as long as you didn’t leave the place in shambles, ie. windows broken, holes in the walls and doors, broken light fixtures, carpet torn or majorly stained, a lingering odor that stinks to the high heavens… you get the idea!
However, the landlord may or may not deduct a small amount for cleaning. There should be no surprises for you when you receive your check in the mail, if you follow these steps. Repeat these steps for every new rental you move to.
If 21 days have passed and you haven’t gotten your security deposit back yet, call up your landlord and find out what the delay is. If he is dodging your calls and not giving you a straight answer, you can file a claim in Small Claims Court against your landlord to recover your money. Here is a link for more information about filing a small claim: http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/small_claims/index.shtml
Cited from http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/sec-deposit.shtml
Post by JenLandlord 101
When leaving a message for a landlord or The Rental Girl try to leave as much information as possible while being brief at the same time. Keep in mind a landlord may have several properties for lease, so please start with your name, the property address you are calling about, when you are looking to move, when you are available to see the home and last repeat your call back number twice. Remember the message you are leaving is the first impression the landlord is going to have about you. You want to be positive and point out the positives about you in your message. The landlord could be bombarded with messages, for the property, and may only be returning the calls from people who have described themselves like the ideal tenants in their message. If you have great credit, looking to move right away and anything else you think may standout about you be sure to include it in the message.
Knocking On The Tenants Door/Landlords Door- A Big No No!
If the landlord has not returned your call within a couple of hours of leaving a message please do not go knocking on his door or the tenants door to get your foot in the door for a viewing of the property-Especially if there is a sign on the property that says DO NOT DISTURB TENANT! There is a fine line between follow-up and pestering. Please do not leave several messages in one day for the landlord. Be positive and know your message will be returned once it’s heard. If it has been more than 24 hours and you would like to follow up with the message you left, remember to be polite and try not to sound irritated because your call has not been returned. Start your second message by saying how excited you are about the property and if the property has been rented you would appreciate a call back so you can take it off your list of prospects. Before you make that second call to the landlord you should do your own investigating. Do a drive by of the neighborhood during the day then do back in the evening. If you rely on public transportation you will want to make sure it’s location is walkable to stops.
When the landlord does return your call please be respectful, even if it takes him 24 hours to get back to you. Be ready with your list of questions to ask so you can decide if you are still interested in making an appointment to see the property. Be sure to read the landlords ad carefully so you are not asking questions that were clearly posted.