How to Find Cheap Apartments in Simi Valley
For many people, you may be tempted to first try the easiest and most convenient means to looking for an apartment- picking up “The Apartment Guide” booklet. This may seem like a good idea, since they have a few buildings listed that often have openings, they give a ton of information about those buildings, and you can pick up “The Apartment Guide” for free virtually anywhere. Well, I will save you some time by telling you that those are not the cheapest apartments in Simi Valley. If you want bigger apartment complexes with more amenities and a management office available around-the-clock, then there are a few in there that may be good for you.
If you do not care if there are 10 washing machines within a few yards of your door, or about having a swimming pool or playground in the complex, then you will most likely do a lot better searching the smaller complexes. The trick to this is that they do not always have openings, so they do not place themselves on websites like “rent.com,” or advertise in “The Apartment Guide.” This means that you will need to take the time to do the footwork yourself.
The first and most important step is to pick up a copy of the Ventura County Star newspaper. The best day to do this is Sunday, and Saturday would be the next best choice. If you really want to make sure you don’t miss anything, get a paper Saturday and Sunday. Look through the classified section and circle or highlight every ad that you think may be a good deal for you. Check in the “Apartments for Rent” section and the “Townhomes/Condos for Rent,” as well as even “Duplexes” and “Houses.” You want to make sure you don’t miss anything. Call as many of them as possible before you even go out looking. Many of them may not answer the phone. Make sure to leave a message! Most of the smaller buildings out there are managed by a single person who may have another job, not a management office or company, so they may not be available to answer the phone all the time. They still need to rent their apartments though, so leave a message. They will probably call you back within a couple of hours.
Another good method is just to drive around neighborhoods that you know have a lot of smaller apartment buildings, and look for signs. On the west end of Simi Valley, there are many apartments off of First Street that are a good deal. Some of these even pay all the utilities. On the east end of Simi, there are quite a few smaller and/or older buildings from around Stearns to Kuehner; the cheaper ones are mostly on or around Los Angeles Avenue.
After you call as many buildings as possible from the newspaper ads or from signs, set up appointments to go look at as many as possible. Take all things into consideration, and make sure to take notes so that you don’t get one building confused with another. Ask important questions. Find out what the laundry situation is. See what utilities, if any, are paid. If they say that they pas gas and water, find out if the stove and heating systems are electric or gas. If the heating is electric, then you’re not really getting much out of them paying for gas. Ask for the square footage if they have it. The layout of one apartment may look bigger, but they can all start to blend together after you have looked at a bunch of them.
Managers are under pressure to get tenants, so realize that they will be pressuring you to make a commitment to an apartment as soon as possible. While you do want to make sure you don’t lose a good opportunity, you also don’t want to jump at the first building you look at because the manager says he has “other people looking.” Make sure you look at a decent selection of apartments before you decide to pay for an application fee or give a deposit.
The apartment for you is most likely out there. Be patient and take your time in finding the one that fits your needs and budget. Realize that it is not likely that you will find a one bedroom apartment for under $1000, maybe $900, but you don’t need to pay the $1200 and up to live in one of the bigger complexes like Creekside or Shadowridge. Wherever you end up, I hope you are happy in Simi Valley. It is my home, and a beautiful place to live, even if it is expensive.
