[A Closer Look]: The apartment search begins

With spring quarter under way, students choosing not to live in
on-campus housing have been searching for apartments for the next
academic year.

But with each passing year, apartment prices continue to rise,
and it is increasingly difficult for students to find available
apartments.

Frank Montana, manager for the UCLA Community Housing Office,
said approximately 6,500 to 7,000 students live off campus in the
Westwood area.

And though high prices have become more common in the area, some
students are willing to pay.

Jessica Lin, a second-year microbiology, immunology and
molecular genetics student, said she would pay more to live closer
to campus because it is more convenient and she does not have her
own transportation.

And even though apartments closer to campus cost more, those
prices are still less than the cost of living in the on-campus
dorms, Lin said.

Though more upperclassmen will be living in on-campus housing
next year, it will still be difficult to find an apartment because
of an increase in demand and a decrease in turnover, Montana
said.

The vacancy rate was 4 percent in February, compared to 4.8
percent a year earlier as reported to the Los Angeles Department of
Water and Power, Montana said.

He said the vacancy rate is even lower in West Los Angeles and
Palms, meaning options for off-campus housing are becoming more
scarce.

In addition to the reduced turnover rate, some apartment
buildings have been converted into condominiums, leaving even fewer
apartments available to students.

Club California, a condominium complex on Levering Avenue, was
converted from an apartment complex late last year.

Erika Aspericueta, a transaction coordinator for Century 21
Award, which is handling the sales of Club California, said members
of the UCLA community, including students, had purchased at least
half of the condos sold so far.

Of the 50 units that have been sold, about eight have been to
parents of students, Aspericueta said.

Parents are interested in purchasing units so that their
children have a place to live while in college, and upon their
graduation they can generally make a profit if they choose to sell
it, Montana said.

Montana said apartments in Westwood tend to be more expensive
than apartments in other areas because of the close proximity to
the campus.

“As you leave campus and go a little further out to West
L.A. or Palms, rent goes down,” Montana said.

While the public can access roommate listings, only students and
UCLA affiliates can view the listing of vacancies in the
surrounding area, Montana said.

At this point in the year, some students have already signed
leases for apartments or have been put on waiting lists for
vacancies in Westwood, as some landlords are currently accepting
applications from students who are interested in living in their
units.

But Montana said apartments become available every month and
there is no need to look for an apartment until August.

If students are beginning to look for an apartment now for the
2006-2007 academic year, he encourages students to educate
themselves about the entire process and to narrow down what they
are looking for so that their search in August will go more
quickly.

Montana added that applying for an apartment varies from
building to building.

At some units, after students have submitted an application,
their names are placed on a waiting list, Montana said.

Sometimes, this is done for free, but some complexes require a
deposit in order to be placed on a list or even an immediate
commitment to inhabit the unit.

Montana said students cannot be guaranteed apartments because
landlords won’t “know who will have given notice until
May or June or when leases run out.”

In an attempt to provide an alternative to independent
apartments, Montana said UCLA Housing also offers its own
apartments to students.

However starting next year, as part of an effort to reduce
density in its buildings, Housing will be reducing the number of
spots available in the university apartments from 900 to 831,
Montana said.

Even so, according to the Community Housing Office Web site,
living in the university apartments is typically the same price or
cheaper than other apartments in Westwood.

According to the UCLA Housing Web site, a standard two-bedroom
university apartment with four occupants costs about $5,300 per
person for the academic year, just under $600 a month for nine
months.

“Generally, it’s a philosophy to be at or below the
current market price,” Montana said.

The Community Housing Office found the average rent in 2005 for
a one-bedroom apartment to be $1,395 per month and a two-bedroom
apartment to be $2,053 per month, according to its Web site.

Starting with the 2006-2007 academic year, the rent for
university apartments includes all utilities, and now cable
television and Internet, Montana said.

Montana also said these amenities are now being included because
many students looking to live in apartments are coming from
on-campus housing and are accustomed to having such expenses
already calculated into their cost.