Where can we live in Los Angeles while our house is renovated?
March 14, 2017 8:17 PM   Subscribe

My wife, daughter, two dogs, and I are planning to have our house renovated over the summer, which will mean we'll have to move out for approximately 3 to 6 months. I'm asking the Mefi community if you have some ideas I haven't thought of to find nearby places to temporarily live. Besides Westside Rentals, AirBNB, and Craigslist, what are some reliable sources to find some places to find short-term rentals?

I checked a couple of apartments, but when you mention a lease that's not 12 months, they jack up their rate by about 50%. And then there are so many pet restrictions, it's nuts.

I researched renting a construction trailer for us to live in during construction. That would cost as much living in an apartment--maybe more. I researched renting an RV and a space with hookups, but the cost was astronomical.

Some complications:
1) We have two dogs. One is a 20-pound Corgi mix, and the other is a 70-pound German Shepherd. When checking with one apartment, they claim the German Shepherd is an "aggressive breed" and cannot let him live there. Plus, he's also over the weight maximum they impose of 60 pounds. I could possibly dress him up as a poodle and shave off his hair to cut his weight down, but I don't want to destroy his self esteem.
2) We need to be near our kid's daycare. She is in preschool. Finding a new preschool out of the area for 3 to 6 months would be too jilting for her. Also, we'd lose our spot in her currrent daycare. These complications are out of order. Don't read anything into my daughter coming second on this list and my dogs first.
3) AirBNB only shows a few places in the area, and they're insane--either bizarre or super expensive. A trailer in someone's backyard for $2300 per month? A houseboat for $2500? A place next to the beach for $8000 per month?
4) Most places seem to want a 12 month lease. I haven't tried calling too many, though.
5) None of our family lives nearby--so it's not like we can live in Mom and Dad's house for awhile.

So besides looking on Craigslist, looking at AirBNB, and random Google searches for long-term apartments, what am I not looking at? What are some great resources that I'm forgetting or not even thinking about?
posted by rybreadmed to Work & Money (13 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Get a one-year rental, and sublet after you move out.

Add the rental cost to your construction loan. It's part of the construction project after all.

I lived at a Marriott Residence Inn for a while. It was nice.

Might help if you mention the location you want, and your price range.
posted by JimN2TAW at 8:28 PM on March 14, 2017


Check corporate housing, like Oakwood.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:33 PM on March 14, 2017


Have you tried posting on a neighborhood website (eg Nextdoor)? You might find someone looking for a housesitter for a similar period of time, or some kind of symbiotic arrangement. It also might be opportunistic, in that someone has been considering a sabbatical or some travel, and now could luck into a good short-term lease situation without having to do much work to get their place rented/housesitters arranged.
posted by handful of rain at 8:34 PM on March 14, 2017


I think this is going to be harder in some parts of town than others, but you might get a Realtor. They're better negotiators and they know Secret Things, might be able to get on the MLS and find for-sale houses that have been sitting on the market a while and approach them about a short-term lease. You're going to pay more, but somebody feeling the strain of paying mortgage on an empty house might be willing to take a gamble (or a big deposit) for the dog.

The people who lived in the house I'm renting before us were in a similar situation - new to town and househunting, had dogs and kids. It can be done. I just don't know what part of town the daycare is in (I'm in the valley), so it might not be as possible there.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:36 PM on March 14, 2017 [2 favorites]


Try VRBO. That's how an industry friend rents out his house for 3-4 months at a time while away on production.
posted by roger ackroyd at 8:40 PM on March 14, 2017


Is moving out essential? We spent four months living in our house during major renovations (replacing half of the foundation; removing the ceiling in the living room; converting inaccessible "attic" space to a loft; seismic reinforcement; etc.). The work was carried out during traditional 9 to 5 working hours. Our contractor installed plastic sheeting over the doorway to our bedroom and kitchen, each with a velcro closure to keep most of the dust out. I work from home, so during that period I commuted an hour each way to a satellite office. My husband didn't have to change anything about his routine. Neither did our kids. I dropped our dog off every morning at doggy daycare, and picked her up on the way home. It was a pain in the ass, as any renovation is, but it cost dramatically less than living elsewhere.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 8:43 PM on March 14, 2017 [4 favorites]


Best answer: Do the dogs definitely have to move out? Would you be more flexible if you rented a small place nearby? Maybe even 1 adult could stay overnight with dogs regularly?
posted by vunder at 8:48 PM on March 14, 2017


Buy a used RV. Doesn't have to be great. Park it on your property and live in it when your house is unusable. You'll still be able to use your yard and whatever parts of your house/garage/whatever are available.

When done, sell the RV, or make it awesome and then you'll have an RV as well as a nice renovated house.
posted by erst at 11:22 PM on March 14, 2017 [4 favorites]


Los Angeles resident here.

A couple of problems.

First, the dogs are going to seriously complicate things. Many places that you could potentially rent out will flat out refuse if you have a dog, let alone an "aggressive breed." It's a bogus classification that landlords use to get out of renting to people with larger dogs. If possible, maybe you can leave them with family or friends in the area. It won't be fun but not having them will make your search for a rental easier.

Second, $2,000+ is normal for renting in LA. I'm not sure what neighborhood you're looking in but if it's anywhere even remotely upscale you're going to pay for living there. I'm renting a studio in Panorama City for $1,000. Short term leases are rare in Los Angeles and month-to-month right at the start is almost unheard of. I've literally never seen this and I've been renting here for close to 15 years now. Landlords and property owners don't want to go through the hassle of securing new tenants on a regular basis and there are enough people looking that they don't have to be super permissive with lease lengths.

What you might be able to do is find someone who wants to move and is on a month-to-month lease already. Inquire with the landlord if you can simply take over the lease from the person who wants to move. It might take some talking to convince the landlord to allow it but point out that you've got money ready to go. Once the construction is finished just close out the lease per usual. There shouldn't be any more cost than giving the previous tenant their security deposit and the rent.
posted by Socinus at 1:20 AM on March 15, 2017


Lex On Orange. They are VERY dog friendly, have a gym on the property, secured access, awesome pool, fire pits, office amenities and assigned parking. You can walk to Americana mall and the Great White Burger shack is across the street.

Leases terms are flexible and sub leases are easy- my daughter is an actress. Lex on Oranges is their favorite when the have to stay for an extended period of time.
posted by bkeene12 at 10:20 AM on March 15, 2017


Seconding putting an RV on your property. This is totally a thing and people do it for exactly the reasons you're articulating.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:55 PM on March 15, 2017


Los Angeles has pretty draconian living-in-vehicle laws and RV-driveway laws, so you want to research that very thoroughly before trying it.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:45 PM on March 15, 2017


Second calling the Oakwood. (Although honestly, we never moved out during our renos either.)
posted by Countess Sandwich at 2:18 PM on March 18, 2017


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