So you found your dream apartment, but before you sign a lease, try sites like www.apartmentratings.com and read the opinions. Don’t assume that a shiny lobby and slick corporate brochures mean that you are dealing with professionals. Do your research or you could be stuck in a noisy/dirty/unsafe building that will rob all the energy from your studies. Just see the reviews for the Pacific Electric Building, for example. Ugh.

Here’s a simple tip: stay away from buildings managed by Legacy Partners (ALERT: they run a LOT of buildings in the L.A area). If you rent from them, you will risk (1) discrimination, (2) your deposit becoming the landlord’s bonus, and (3) money disappearing from your tenant account. Yes, you heard me right--you pay your rent on time, but somehow you owe them more. Read the blog by a former Legacy employee http://hvingrl.blogspot.com for all the looney details. Weird stuff but, as screenwriters realize, reality is stranger than fiction.

If you can avoid renting apartments that used to be run by Legacy, then avoid them. Any landlord willing to tolerate Legacy’s antics (and profit from them) wouldn’t have any problem squeezing tenants through a different management company. Keep your eye out for ex-Legacy buildings like the Packard Lofts. Only a cash-strapped landlord would slap Rush Hour 3 banners across their building and turn secure resident areas into public storage. USC students should be especially aware. Many downtown buildings are/were Legacy.

Is this like an Anti-Legacy post? Sounds like competition.

No, I'm not a landlord or corporate monkey. Just a victim of Legacy's shady business practices. If just one person avoids the nightmare I've gone through, that would be a measure of relief. But if you're still looking for some ulterior motive in my post, then I guess there's nothing that can convince you to run away when you hear the word "Legacy." But keep all your receipts. Heck, you're gonna need them.