Comments on: Westside Rentals Empire Expanding

By: Mike W.

Mike W. — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 03:58:16 +0000

I can’t say anything about the fake listings etc, but I’ve used WSR a couple times now and have been generally satisfied. I am by no means rich, but $60 seems like a reasonably small sum to pay to get some extra listings beyond what you can find on Craigslist. Maybe $60 isn’t such a paltry sum for poor college kids, but for every poor college kid looking for a $800 1bd apartment, there’s a 30-something professional with wife and kids looking for a single family home or a condo. Point is, WSR’s business model doesn’t (necessarily) revolve around ripping off 20-year-old college kids. There are those of us for whom $60 is worth the money, even if it only finds a dozen or so listings that you can’t find on Craigslist, or even just for the ability to do an advanced search. When you’re 20 years old, you have gobs of free time, but very little money. When you’re 37 with a wife and kids who works long hours, you have just the opposite.

I’m not saying WSR is perfect. I’m not even saying that they don’t do some shady things with their preview listings, etc. But all the people who have been “burned” or “ripped off” by WSR need to realize that not every customer feels that way. I for one was not lured into shelling out the $60 by looking at the preview listings. I didn’t even bother to look at the preview listings. I paid the $60 because I don’t have the time to scour every single ad on Craigslist searching endlessly for something that’s in the right area, allows pets, has W/D hookups, etc etc, and because so many landlords use WSR that it (potentially) lets me find the right rental a lot quicker. And like I said, I’m not rich but $60 is a relative pittance. Time is my scarcest resource, and the amount of extra time I would have to spend finding and sorting listings on my own (or on Craigslist) is worth way more than $60 to me. I got good results last time I used WSR (found a nearly ideal place in the first week), and so far this time it’s working out well. I’ve been signed up for about a week now and I’m still looking, but so far I’ve been reasonably satisfied with the number and quality of listings I’ve found on WSR.

By: Sol castillo

Sol castillo — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 19:37:56 +0000

Westside Rentals is a total scam! The fictitious ads draw you in and then they hit you with the fees. I have a friend that paid $500 for a guaranteed living space. They were driving around by some fool who didn’t know the city, a total nightmare. the people who wrote good reviews for this place probably work there. You are better off driving to a neighborhood and looking for signs yourself.

By: LM

LM — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 06:09:51 +0000

I grew up in the Palisades so know it pretty well.
WSR put a FAKE listing (ie/ fake address, fake landlord name) on their “guest search” that was too good to be true. I should have known but at this point didn’t know they were liars for hire.

After I paid, the listing was still “avail” but the “landlord” never called me back. I spoke to WSR manager who gave me the address (and some huge story about how she was out of town) whereupon I drove there and found there was NO SUCH HOUSE. I called them back to complain and he never returned my call. This was in 2001.

SCUMMY!!! A friend who knows the founder told me, “oh yeah, Mark’s a big fat liar”.

So put your money down with a healthy grain of salt – some listings are real, some are fake. I can’t believe they are still doing this.

I was going to write letters to local papers but figured it was too exhausting to fight such people.

SAD!

Hence I have no qualms whatsoever trying to get a used password at reduced rate – it’s all fair in the housing search.

By: Eric

Eric — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 21:00:11 +0000

I’ve used westside rentals and did find an apartment. I really hesitated to pay the $60, but there were just too many listings on craigslist, it took too much time to find the ones that I wanted. Since then though, I’ve found a 3rd option, http://hotigloos.com which is free and very easy to search through. Finally!

By: C

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:13:42 +0000

I subscribed and paid $60 and didn’t even get to use it since I found a place through friends. I wouldn’t mind getting half my money back, email me at djdurtysanchez gmail …pleas b real and leave a number and some info so I know its legit and not WSR getting back at me

By: not-a-number

not-a-number — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 02:50:16 +0000

Wow. I was looking around see if I could snag a free WSR password from someone and found this thread. I used them twice before, in 2001 and 2003, and both times found really nice places (expensive but nice) relatively hassle-free. I’m looking to move again, and have had no real luck with craigslist.

I had no idea they even had this reputation. It took longer to find a place the first time, but still only about a week — and not because there was anything shady. Are people really calling about listings and being lied to? I’d love to know before I plonk down $60 in desperation.

Also, the clear BS posts by WSR people? You know you’re losing good customers, right?

By: Richard McNeil Blows

Richard McNeil Blows — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 07:25:41 +0000

Richard McNeil stop spamming fly by night how would you know about something that does not effect you?

Mark Verge WSR copied other companies ideas and simply placed bells and whistles on; underneath everything there is still a lot of rip off shit going one behind WSR doors.

By: Boiler Service in Hertfordshire

Boiler Service in Hertfordshire — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 12:16:48 +0000

very nice :)
Beautiful expression.
Beautiful stuff! That’s not just tagging, that’s art.

By: ....s

....s — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 22:51:48 +0000

Westside Rentals has paid for a guy to dance in his seat during the Lakers game. He stands up during timeouts and dances the entire break. He is distracting to anyone who sits nearby but I especially feel for people who sit directly next to him. Just because there's a stoppage in play doesn't mean that people don't need to see what's taking place on court. Plus he didn't always take off his big floppy hat when gametime resumed. At least Dancing Barry moved all around the Forum and wasn't covered in advertising. I guess the Lakers/Staples can't make any rules completely banning such activities but you think they could do to minimize the disturbance he causes.

By: Richard McNeill

Richard McNeill — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 23:00:48 +0000

I am managing a building at 908 4th St. Santa Monica 90403(I reside there) I like Westside Rentals very much. So many rental companies do not even have offices and are fly by night companies. That is why Westsiderentals is on top. Richard McNeil