a friend in LA needs help

[Rhubarbodendron]

note to mods: I am not sure if this is the right place for this but it's an emergency of sorts. If you feel you must shift or close it, please contact me.


A RL-friend of mine lives in Los Angeles and his landlord has raised his rent for the second time in 3 months by $100 each. It's rather an outrage! My friend can't afford that in the long run. He does have a small income but is currently unemployed (he's a sound engineer / postproduction specialist - well, you all know how hard the movie business is. If you happen to have seen Black Scorpion - he worked on that one )

Now I'd like to ask for your help:
Does anyone know a decent and affordable small appartment for rent?
He's looking for a studio or 1 bedroom appartment or a bachelor one if it's not too small.

My friend would be very willing to take a larger appartment and share with a roommate but it must be a friendly person, no smoking/drugs and no partying.

John is slightly walking impaired so a bus stop in the vicinity would be a huge plus.

And if possible the deposit should not exceed 2 rents.


He tried a few agencies already but says some of them appear to be very corrupt and charge outrageous fees. Hence I thought we should maybe try a more personal approach and see if someone here knows someone who knows someone who.. - well, you get the picture

I'm doing my best to help him, but as I am in Germany, 12000 miles away, I'm not much help

________________

PS:
John didn't actually say something about a reward but he knows everything about Disneyland, all tricks, eastereggs, shortcuts and little hidden surprises. He also knows all the guides there and could arrange something special. I am certain he'd love to offer his services as a Disneyland tour guide (plus, if you go with him you needn't wait because you too will be allowed to use the wheelchair/disabled access. No queuing! Been there, done that, got tons of photos =) )
Or, if you like to make vidoe clips and audios, he could help you with a few professional tricks.

[sojourner]

Isn't that kind of rent hike illegal?

[Rhubarbodendron]

that's what we thought too, at first. But after a few inquiries it appears that it's indeed legal in this case.
John lives atm in a building that's rented out to people with disabilities and it appears that there is a legal gap that allows unlimited rent-rises in such houses.

However, John is not exactly disabled and hence there's no reason for him to stay there. He is vision impaired on one eye and walks with a slight limp but other than that he's perfectly well and a surprisingly quick walker. I asked him ages ago about his injuries but forgot his explanation. I believe it was an accident when he was a toddler. Earth quake, possibly. But I am really not sure.

He's an incredibly nice guy, gentle, caring, always there when you need him, always thinking positive, never giving up - I couldn't imagine a better friend. Or a better roommate or neighbour for that matter. In fact, I don't think I know a better person.

Oh, and he's a Trekkie

[sojourner]

Well, if I were in a position to help (on the wrong coast), I would.

[Kestra]

He needs to just hit up sites like padmapper and Craigslist. That's what I did when I had to find an apartment on relatively short notice. It was a huge pain and I felt like I'd never find anything, but I love the place I'm in now.

[Rhubarbodendron]

I'm monitoring craigslist for him as I am 9 hours ahead of PST and therefore can filter out the interesting stuff for hm before the competitors see it
But so far we haven't found anything suitable. There doesn't by any chance happen to be a free appartment near your perfect place? *hint hint*

I've never heard of padmapper. Thanks for the tip!

[Captain Ice]

Kestra wrote:

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He needs to just hit up sites like padmapper and Craigslist. That's what I did when I had to find an apartment on relatively short notice. It was a huge pain and I felt like I'd never find anything, but I love the place I'm in now.

Add Rent.com and Apartments.com to that list.

also have him pick up a magazine called "Apartments for Rent" at the local Ralph's or Vons.

[B.J.]

Can't help since I'm in the wrong part of the country, but I was wondering...

Rhubarbodendron wrote:

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And if possible the deposit should not exceed 2 rents.

I've never heard of a deposit being more than one month's rent. Though LA is usually quite different than the rest of the country, so is this normal there?

[Kestra]

Rhubarbodendron wrote:

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I'm monitoring craigslist for him as I am 9 hours ahead of PST and therefore can filter out the interesting stuff for hm before the competitors see it
But so far we haven't found anything suitable. There doesn't by any chance happen to be a free appartment near your perfect place? *hint hint*

I've never heard of padmapper. Thanks for the tip!

Oh I'm not in LA, sorry! Farther north in CA.

[Rhubarbodendron]

B.J. wrote:

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I've never heard of a deposit being more than one month's rent. Though LA is usually quite different than the rest of the country, so is this normal there?

I am not sure what's normal in LA but as he was so outraged about being charged 3 at one place, I assume that 1 - 1.5 would be normal.
3 months is standard in Germany, btw. Plus 2 + 19% taxes provision for the broker if you got it through an agency.
(Now you know why I am so broke after my move in September..)

Thanks for the tips, Captain Ice! I'd never have thought of Ralph's or Vons.

I have to admit that I never payed attention though I used to shop at both when I was in LA: do they have billboards? Many German supermarkets have them so that their customers can put up little private ads like "selling pushpram" or "looking for babysitter" or "roommate wanted".