When Nazila Mokarram learned she was accepted to UCLA’s
Ph.D. program, she was not only ecstatic, but also worried about
where she would live.
Unlike the average UCLA student, Mokarram came from Iran.
Unfamiliar with Westwood, she asked a friend residing in the area
to help her find an apartment. He suggested UCLA’s Community
Housing Office.
“The first place I found off the Web site is the place I
now live,” said Mokarram, a civil-engineering Ph.D.
student.
With the school year coming to an end, finding an apartment is
an issue many UCLA students may soon have to face.
Several Web sites are available for students inexperienced in
apartment-hunting. Some, in particular, cater to students
interested in living in Westwood Village.
One such Web site is developed by the CHO. The site lists a
number of vacant apartments, sublets and roommate vacancies
available in the Village.
Frank Montana, CHO manager, believes the site is a good resource
for students because it’s restricted to students.
“With other Web sites, students have competition with the
general public,” Montana said.
With the CHO site, students can filter their search by the rent
amount, rental type and vacancy availability.
The North Village Improvement Committee also has a Web site,
titled Your North Village. Covering the area west of the
university, the site lists apartments located on avenues such as
Gayley, Levering and Kelton.
In addition to basic information on rent and location, the site
also includes pictures of building complexes and information on
apartments with cultural and historical significance.
Though the number of vacancies posted is minimal, Shelley
Taylor, president and founder of the North Village Improvement
Committee, said the listings of all the apartments available in the
North Village are more important than the number of vacancies
posted.
“We have the phone numbers to most of the apartments in
the North Village listed on the Web site. Visitors can pull up an
apartment they like and contact the landowner,” Taylor
said.
UCLA’s Financial Supports Commission also provides a
housing search service on their Web site called the Bruin Housing
Index. The site, which also lists apartment vacancies in the North
Village, provides students with the option of an aerial search.
By clicking on this option, students will have an aerial view of
apartment complexes enclosed in a certain region of the North
Village and can click on a complex to view its details.
Andrew LaFlamme, financial supports commissioner, said
it’s useful to have a Web site where students can just sit
online and search, rather than walk through the Village.
“This way, you can sit in your dorm room and go to the Web
site and find contact info and specific buildings,” LaFlamme
said.
For students who are interested in branching outside of Westwood
to nearby Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Santa Monica and Culver City,
other Web sites are available.
One such Web site is the West Side Rentals site which covers
apartments in the West Los Angeles area and most of Southern
California. Aside from information on the rent, amenities and
number of rooms available, the site also provides a photo of the
complex and a map of the general area of location.
However, information on addresses and phone numbers requires a
$60 dollar subscription good for 60 days. Mark Verge, the owner of
the Web site said students do subscribe.
“We do get a fair amount of students to our Web site,
it’s easier for them because we’re now streaming
videos,” Verge said.
Through the use of the video, subscribers have the option of
getting a glimpse of what their potential roommate looks like.
Rebecca Tran, a third-year political science student said Web
sites provided by UCLA are beneficial to students.
“The sites by UCLA are more local whereas sites like
Craigslist are more national,” Tran said.
Along with listings for San Francisco and Washington D.C., the
Craigslist Web site does provide listings for the Los Angeles area
and visitors can filter their search to show only those in West Los
Angeles.
Some UCLA students may also find the housing forums on the
MyUCLA Web site useful. They can directly interact with other
students interested in finding an apartment or roommate.
It’s been a week since Mokarram moved into her apartment,
and she’s thankful she looked at a housing Web site.
“Since I’m not familiar with the area, I
didn’t know what to look for,” Mokarram said. “I
think it’s a very good resource for students.”