Apartment Hunting in Westwood

Introduction

With shitty landlords and a heavily inflated housing market, apartment-hunting in Westwood can be pretty frustrating. After going through the process, I have some advice to make it a little easier. It's actually crazy how different living in the apartments is compared to the hill.

Main Housing Locations

Within the neighborhood locations that most undergraduate students live within, I can think of four distinct classifications that you could categorize where students generally live, excluding the hill. These areas are all relatively close to campus but vary in terms of which parts of campus are readily accessible.

North Westwood Village (apartment side)

The apartment side is where most of the undergraduate students off-campus usually move after their stay in the dorms. It is next to the hill and is pocketed between Gayley Ave. and Veteran Ave.

The perks of living in the apartment side are that you get a pretty vibrant atmosphere of students walking around at night, have most of your friends nearby, and have a short walk to campus. The downside to the apartment side is that depending on where you live, it can be pretty noisy, and no matter where you live, it is expensive! On the apartment side, you have close access to some late-night food places in the village, the frats, and super quick Duffl delivery.

Central Westwood Village

This is probably the smallest category out of all of the places to live in Westwood due to the lack of apartment complexes in this generally commercially zoned plot of land. The main complex that I can name here is The Glendon.

Living in this area comes with the perks of being close to the central campus and being in the heart of Westwood Village. Some of the downsides include the expensive cost of living and being kind of far from the majority living in the apartment side. It is very nice having Target, Ralphs, Trader Joe's, and fast food within a two-minute walk.

Hilgard (Sorority Side)

All the way on the Eastern side of campus is Hilgard, where all of the sorority houses are. This side of Westwood is definitely quieter than both central Westwood and the apartment side. The perks of living on Hilgard, are you are closer to North Campus, closer to the sororities, and have a quieter living arrangement. The cons include the high cost of living and being really far from parts of campus (the hill) and really far from the apartment side.

South of Wilshire

If you are looking for relatively affordable housing (not to any normal standard) and want to stay somewhat close to campus, this is the place for you. Although the apartments in the South of Wilshire are not nearly as lively as closer to Westwood and are pretty far from campus, they have their own unique set of perks that make it a worthwhile option. South of Wilshire, you can expect the rent prices to decrease moderately, find a good amount of street parking, be super close to delicious eating options, and have peace/quiet at night.

My Thoughts Having lived South of Wilshire, apartment side, and in Central Westwood, I would have to say apartment side was my favorite of the three. Being within walking distance of 99% of my friends was a dealbreaker. Whether I wanted to walk to campus, get a meal in Westwood, or get swiped in on The Hill, I never faced any major issues.

In the village, I always had to walk to the apartment side whenever I wanted to meet friends and paid such expensive rent. South of Wilshire was great, besides being far. At the end of the day, regardless of where you live, you will have a great time, so choose the one that works best with your budget.

Apartment Hunting Strategies

I think the best time to start looking is throughout spring quarter. Any earlier, you will be signing a lease with a larger established apartment leasing firm which usually have very unreasonable pricing standards.

The main ways my friends and I searched for apartments included, searching apartment listing websites, walking around the apartment side and taking pictures of the "call for availability" signs, and reaching out to graduating seniors who are looking for lease takeovers on their current apartment.

Of the three search methods, reaching out early to seniors with great apartments and asking if we could take over their lease proved to be the most effective. This method may also prevent rent-hikes from taking place, depending on if the landlord is generous.

Websites to Search

In general, for all of these websites, be sure to check often so that you can get a gauge of how the market is doing and what standard pricing looks like for the apartments you are looking at. The bigger complexes that charge more tend to always have units listed.

What to Look for in an Apartment

• Washer Dryer
  • Check whether the apartment has laundry in-unit or whether they provide them for the building. Although I have never had in-unit, I have heard that it is super clutch to have. If you have building laundry, make sure to check how much a load would cost and ask prior tenants if the machines work well.
• Maintenance Policy
  • If you are in a complex, check whether you have onsite maintenance. Shit happens sometimes, and it's super clutch to have that kind of stuff onsite. If you are leasing from an individual landlord, ask them about the policy on what would happen if something stops working in the apartment.
• Air Conditioning
  • Kind of self-explanatory. Check if there is AC or not, could be nice if you are planning to stay for the summer.
• Parking Situation
  • Depending on whether your group is planning to have some cars, this could be important
  • Most complexes provide one spot per bedroom. Often this is given in a tandem format, so check what type of parking it is.
  • Tandem can be kind of annoying since you have to move someone's car a lot of the time.
• Average Utility Cost
  • Ask the previous tenants what the average utility cost on a monthly basis was.
  • Some of my friends living in large complexes got screwed on this since they had to pay a large AUM amount.
• Noise Level at Night
  • Check out the nightlife near your apartment before you lease if this is an issue for you.
  • Generally, complexes adjacent to frats have issues with this kind of stuff, and could be a problem for some people.
• Ease of Access
  • I generally like first-level apartments the best because you do not have to wait for a slow elevator most of the time.
• Natural Light
  • This is huge. Places without natural light can feel so depressing throughout the year. See how the rooms light up and ensure that there are windows that get some light!

Things to Keep in Mind

• Gayley gets loud at night due to frats, people walking, and lots of cars
• Apartments that look nice on the outside do not necessarily mean they are nice on the inside
• Veteran has generally more affordable apartments within walking distance of campus
• Consider whether having a 3B3B+ apartment will work for you; sharing the sink, fridge, and spaces with that many people can be an inconvenience
• Always reach out to prior tenants and ask for information; knock on random doors if you have to
• Don't let amenities sway you as you probably not use them nearly as much as you think you will

Hopefully, this helps your apartment search this year. Wishing you all the best!