What to Do? (Need Personal Advice on Home Options)

[Disneyphile]

Ooooh. I kinda want to check out this place in Costa Mesa:

http://www.rentnet.com/apartments/fy...urce=1xxctb079

They have a community "media room" that would be perfect for client screenings, and the den is right off the living room, making it a perfect office.

[DreadPirateRoberts]

Originally Posted by Disneyphile

Ooooh. I kinda want to check out this place in Costa Mesa:

http://www.rentnet.com/apartments/fy...urce=1xxctb079

They have a community "media room" that would be perfect for client screenings, and the den is right off the living room, making it a perfect office.

Maybe you can rent in your current place month-to-month, until you can save up for moving costs. That will also give you more time to hunt for better, safer places to live.

If you pick the above place, make sure they don't have a problem with using the media room for commercial purposes.

[Strangler Lewis]

Originally Posted by Disneyphile

Ooooh. I kinda want to check out this place in Costa Mesa:

http://www.rentnet.com/apartments/fy...urce=1xxctb079

They have a community "media room" that would be perfect for client screenings, and the den is right off the living room, making it a perfect office.

This looks like a nice place, but you'll still want to have a talk with the management and/or the police about the crime levels. If the place takes HUD residents, you might be more at risk. Also, before you count on that media room, make sure that you'll be able to use it for commercial purposes. At my last apartment, the lease prohibited running a business out of the apartment. Of course, a bunch of us did, but nothing that involved extra people coming on the property in obvious ways. How that would have been policed, I don't know, but if you have to tell the management what you want to reserve the media room for, you might have an issue.

And if dad didn't say it, I will: don't leave stuff in your car.

[BarTopDancer]

Originally Posted by Disneyphile

Ooooh. I kinda want to check out this place in Costa Mesa:

http://www.rentnet.com/apartments/fy...urce=1xxctb079

They have a community "media room" that would be perfect for client screenings, and the den is right off the living room, making it a perfect office.

Not a bad area at all. But there might be a lot of college students due to the proximity to OCC.

Something that was recommended to me was to drive around/through the complexes you are looking at after the leasing office is closed (Fri and Saturday nights/Saturday afternoon) to see how people really are. Also good to drive around at night to see the parking situation.

A good site to look at is apartmentratings.com. Yes, it is mainly negative reviews but you can get a feel for the community as well. Is everyone complaining about bugs? Or are they just griping that the management gives them a hard time for paying rent late and partying all the time.

[Ponine]

Originally Posted by Disneyphile

Ooooh. I kinda want to check out this place in Costa Mesa:

http://www.rentnet.com/apartments/fy...urce=1xxctb079

They have a community "media room" that would be perfect for client screenings, and the den is right off the living room, making it a perfect office.

If you plan to check it out, my advice on that one is, how much is the media room? That can get pricey if you actually have to rent it.
At my fathers place the media room is $100 a pop for a day, and they dont do hourly rates.

So you can pay $100 for 9-11am, then someone else can pay $100 for 6-12pm

Or you can have it all day for the same $100 you used in the morning.

[lindyhop]

This doesn't solve the problem of broken windsheilds but, um, don't store anything valuable in your car in any neighborhood.

Just a thought.

[BarTopDancer]

Originally Posted by lindyhop

This doesn't solve the problem of broken windsheilds but, um, don't store anything valuable in your car in any neighborhood.

Just a thought.

Our VP of sales had his laptop stolen out of his rental car because he left it on the seat. In "daylight" in a business district. We told him cars aren't invisible in daylight! And thieves are going to case it looking for electronics left out.

[sleepyjeff]

Originally Posted by lindyhop

This doesn't solve the problem of broken windsheilds but, um, don't store anything valuable in your car in any neighborhood.

Just a thought.

Leave the windows down and both problems are solved.....


...although when I do this sometimes I end up taking the cat on my errands with me

[Babette]

Originally Posted by Disneyphile

Ooooh. I kinda want to check out this place in Costa Mesa:

http://www.rentnet.com/apartments/fy...urce=1xxctb079

They have a community "media room" that would be perfect for client screenings, and the den is right off the living room, making it a perfect office.

There are a lot of car dealerships in that neighborhood as well. They have bright security lights in their back lots. This may seem a little more secure, but it also makes midnight as bright as noon. My first apartment ever was in that area and I didn't think about things like that. I never needed a lamp in my room.

Like BTD said, drive the neighborhood at night and other random times to get a feel for noise, parking, security, etc. Good luck!