Westside Rentals

They gave me 11 locations, 3 of them are same! 6 of them never respond to my phone calls!!! Never use this website and save your money and time

My boyfriend and I drove by a place we were interested in and called about it. They were supposed to email me but didn’t. We purchased an account with them, and I’ve been on the phone waiting for over thirty minutes. It’s a complete waste of time, and I want my money back.

Terrible experience. Spent hours on the phone with them and they called me back to tell me that somehow they already have a deposit on the apartment and didn’t see it in the files.

Waste of time & $!
Over ½ the listings have already been rented & are obviously not removed so it looks like the have way more listings than they do! In the last 2 days I’ve texted their # about 23 properties & only 9 weren’t already rented! As it’s free to list for the landlords maybe you should penalize them if they don’t remove your signs. Better yet hire someone to go & remove them!!!
Must be why they don’t offer a 1 month subscription!

Seriously the worst. They post ads all over free apartment search sites but when you try to contact property it directs to WSR and they won’t give you info unless you sign up. What the f? Ridiculous and misleading !

Like others who have reviewed this site, I did not not find my rental on WSR.
Most of their listings were outdated or non-​existent.
The reason why I am giving four stars is because I called WSR to complain and was directed to Patrick.
After hearing me out, he fully refunded me without asking for too much.
Just for that, next time I would need to find a apartment I will definitely use WSR again.

Wow! Seriously rude. I mean, I’m truly sorry for inconveniencing you by calling about a property and asking how I can be a paying customer. If as a prospective customer I interrupted your day, I do apologize. How any tenant or landlord would want to use this company is beyond me. They don’t even seem to want to help…

Don’t waste your money. We were in a hurry to find a new place and had exhausted all the free sites like Hot Pads, Trulia, etc. We thought, as a last ditch effort we would use WSR online. First of all, what a rip off, $ 60 for two months, one user. After looking through for several days, all day everyday, I kept seeing the same crap that was on all the other sites and came across the same issues, nobody ever calls you back and if they do expect a two to three day wait, which in my opinion is crazy, you are trying to rent these places, no?
Long story short, I wound up finding a place off of Hot Pads a few days after I bought the subscription for West Side Rentals. I was annoyed but heard from a friend that you would also se WSR for vacation rentals. My parents were coming into town later in the summer so I thought, «oh well maybe I will be able to find them a vacation rental and the price will be worth it.» We took the next week to move into our new place, which again we DIDN’T find on WSR.
After the move I finally had time to look for a vacation rental. I signed into WSR and changed my account info to reflect my new address, deleted any favorites I had saved and then logged off. The very next day I tried to log on and do some searching and I couldn’t log on. I rechecked and rechecked my login info I had written down and couldn’t get in.
I called WSR and the lady told me my account had been deactivated. At this point I was only about two weeks into my subscription. I asked her why and she wouldn’t’ give me any answers and transferred me to someone else, who never picked up the line so I left a message for that person. Days later and I never heard back from WSR. Every time I called I got the same run around. Meanwhile days and days are just ticking off the time I had paid for their BS subscription. Finally, since I couldn’t get anyone at WSR to help me I called my bank and cancelled the charges. The woman said this wasn’t the first time she had to deal with these people for these same reasons.
This company is SUCH a complete scam and a waste of time. There is NOTHING you won’t find on Hot Pads, Padmapper, Craigslist, etc. that you can find here. Their selection is sub par and just a repeat of everything that you can access free on countless of other sites. I find it an abomination these people are in business and I don’t understand how in 2015 and the Internet people are paying to look for an apartment, but I guess in desperation. Just learn from me, no matter how bleak your search may be looking, keep it up and don’t fall for paying for WSR, it’s complete garbage.

Fucking idiots. I don’t know how this place works but it’s not professional! Every Time I request to get info on a place I saw online they say oh we will email you more information and they do, but the fucking idiots just send me a blank page with no attachment. Then another time this asshole was just hang up on me followed by a fucking automated voice saying «you don’t have permission to call this extension» WHAT THE FLYING FUCK, I thought the agreement was I pay you 60 bucks and you help me find a place. FUCK YOU GUYS! YOU EXPLAIN AMERICA, taking people’s money’s and half assing your job.
Sorry Unilocalers for the profanity, I am just utterly surprised at this dysfunctional scamming business.

This is a caution to all apartment hunters — stay away from this company. If I could give this company no stars, that’s what I’d give it.
As a budget conscious person right now, I chose to purposely steer clear of any paid-​subscription rental sites like Westside Rentals, so the first strike happened when they list their apartments on free sites like PadMapper.
I found a bungalow in Highland Park that I wanted to look at and found it — for free — on PadMapper. I called the number listed to make an appointment to see it and a snooty Westside Rental person picked up and informed me that unless I was a member, I could not even TALK to the apartment owner, or SCHEDULE an appointment to see the place… even though it was listed, on a third party site, where non-​WR members could see the address. I’m not a fan of this business model — if WR wants to have rentals behind a pay wall, then only advertise on the WR site!!!
I’m familiar with HP, so I decide to go out and see what I can of the place before paying money to WR to seriously pursue renting with them. Luckily, the bungalow was open for viewing, so I took a look inside.
Although Highland Park is the neighborhood du jour right now, it’s still pretty sketchy, and yes this tiny one bedroom/​one bathroom was a good price at $ 800, but… after I saw the place, the owner should be PAYING renters to live there!!!
I walk into the bungalow and am immediately dizzy because the wooden floor, unstained and chewed up, isn’t even LEVEL. The whole place is dirty and when I walk into the kitchen there are two dirty, old stove ranges that aren’t even hooked up to the wall. There’s a small cabinet with doors HANGING off the hinges and a thick layer of grime on a strangely sunken shower floor. There’s no door on the closet and the window (with bars on it) doesn’t even look like it would latch properly. It’s an understatement to say this place was filthy and shameful!!!
To top things off — the person trying to rent the property was SERIOUSLY trying to rent it — because there were rental applications on the kitchen counter.
What does this have to do with Westside Rentals, you might ask?
I seriously have to wonder if WR even inspected the place before representing the bungalow owner. On the one hand, if WR DID know the state of the apartment they should be ASHAMED to ask anyone to PAY money to live there. On the other hand, if WR didn’t know the state of the bungalow, then what service are they providing and why aren’t they inspecting properties they are repping!!!
BUYER BEWARE — stay away from Westside Rentals!

Terrible.
Every single unit that I have had interest in was leased the day before.
No doubt there are bogus units on line.
What a waste of money.
Zillow and trulia are free and offer better services.

I didn’t find a listing on Westside Rentals but they get 3 stars solely on their refund policy. (It would have been lower if I didn’t get a refund)
As many others, I had a lot of trouble getting the apartments to contact me back and when they did, the apartments were already rented. I went through this for about 2 weeks and found an apartment on a different website.
I called Westside Rentals and was directed to Patrick’s (the refund guy’s) voicemail with little hope of getting a refund. Much to my surprise, Patrick called me back the next morning and emailed me with the information to get a full $ 60 refund.

I’ve found their listings limited and inaccurate. Yesterday I went to view a 1-​bedroom listed on their site, and it turned out to be a studio. I’ve also viewed other listings that had features described on their site… only to have the actual unit NOT come with those features (fridge…stove.etc.).
I know Westside Rentals can’t control whether landlords decide to lie on their listings, but shouldn’t there be SOME oversight? I’ve also seen listings on there for 6 weeks or more. That’s just weird and sketchy. If a listing is on there for SO long, without being rented, shouldn’t Westside Rentals be consistently checking whether it’s still actually available. I’ve definitely called some units and had landlords tell me they were rented a couple weeks ago. Sigh…
I wish there was a way for users to place comments directly on the listings. It would have saved me a LOT of hassle to read what other apartment hunters experienced after viewing certain older units that were still listed.

What a waste of $ 60 bucks! I emailed over 20 listings inquiring about their property and only one person called me back. I went and viewed the property and it was a shit hole. I even tried calling and leaving voicemail messages and no one ever returned my call. Also if someone actually answers it’s only to say that the property has been rented out.
It’s totally a scam. They have old rented out listings online, and they never update their listing. They just want to take your money and provide you no serious. Moving is already stressful enough without having some rental serious scam you! Never again!

The worst experience I have ever had with a mgmt/​rental company. Poor follow through with posting ads, office staff is ass backwards and I actually had to share a lead and show the unit to get it rented– that’s what they are suppose to do. If you want a good hack job then by all means use them. You are better of listing with a realtor on the MLS for the same price and you will get much better service.

I am about to echo all of the negative reviews here. This is why WSR is a waste of money for what they charge.
They allow landlords to post their own listings. Landlords lie, hide facts, and in 2014 seem to busy to take many pictures to help you see what you are getting into. Most landlords seem to not know anything about parking. Its street, carport, garage, or nothing.
They dont proof read anything. Found 4 listings with 9 phone number digits — it takes 10 to complete a call in the usa.
Customer service is terrible. Uneducated snobs who are more interested in your anger, not the cause of the anger, which is a poorly run web site that costs $ to get and is full of lies.
In general, i am finding many good listings on craigslist. Thats free.
Really cant give WSR a good review. They do a half assed job and allow landlords to lie, supply very sloppy details on rentals, and a complete lack of quality pictures to review.
They really need to have a system where a post can get booted off the site if they misrepresent the information. Guess what the consumer gains by this step: better listing and your time/​$ not wasted. Guess how quickly a landlord will get their poop together after their rental property gets booted off line and a month or 2 goes by with no renter at all? Real quick!!!

Maaaaan, I really wanted to champion you WSR, but sorry guys…3 strikes and it’s an out for me homies.
This is the 3^rd time I’ve used WSR (in 3 years) and I’ve not rented a place from them any of these times. Now, please don’t think I’m stupid. I did have success with them in the past! I’ve found 2 places from them before in previous years (2008 & 2009), which is why I kept trying. But, I’ve noticed in the last few years things have reaaaally gone down and I end up finding my apartments on FREE sites which is lame b/​c this is a PAID service. 3 things and I’m going to have a seat:
CUSTOMER SERVICE FREAKIN SUCKS!
Whatever you do, if you have a question, don’t call! The 2 reps I ended up speaking with when I called with questions talked to me as if I was wasting THEIR time. The first guy I spoke with, I told him I was a member and he just flat out did not believe me and kept asking if I was a member. Sir, what part of «I-​am– a-​member» do you not understand? The second guy was just rude upon saying hello. Now, wait a minute… how is it that I’m the customer and YOU have the attitude? I wasn’t even upset when I called but see, now I am. BTW… I was only calling to find out if an apt was already rented b/​c the number listed NEVER picked up. Which leads me to my 2^nd issue…
OUTDATED LISTINGS
I called several listings of places I was interested in, only to find out they had been rented already (if they even picked up the phone). I think it would be a good idea to keep in touch with the people renting these places so you can remove the post once rented. Nothing is more annoying than seeing «available now» on the ad, only to call and find out that the spot is NOT… available now.
QUALITY LISTINGS
For a paid service, you would think you would get more quality options. Not at WSR, folks! What you see on craiglist is what you see here too! They used to have bomb rentals, but times… baaaby…they are a changin’. Many of the options are ones you can easily find on other free websites. It should be a perk for a paid service to have great listings. And what’s up with places that don’t have a photo available or just 1 photo?! Seriously?! I can get that on google street view! And with YouTube readily available, why not have renters submit videos of the units for your customers? Where’s the value added? In my opinion, you should not even be allowed to post an ad unless there is at least 5 pictures. I’m just sayin…
I’ve tried it and I just warning you… don’t waste your money on this. When you are moving, there is enough stress already than having to add WSR to the list.
Happy hunting!

I had heard very bad things about them in the past but decided to give it a try because they have some good properties. My fiancé and I made an appointment to see a house for Friday, and they called us Thursday to reschedule for Monday. We agreed and set it for Monday at noon. We then go to see the house Monday and they don’t show. We call and the receptionist says we aren’t even on the books and no one can come out. We then rescheduled for Wednesday at noon and they called today to reschedule again because of «scheduling conflicts». Basically, they double booked us and wanted to change AGAIN.
I tried to give them to benefit of the doubt, but they are not trustworthy or loyal to their customers and I would not go through them.

Sure they found renters for my house as promised BUT…
–They never returned phone calls.
–They didn’t give me the application letter the prospective tenants wrote to me stating their desire to rent my house until AFTER the lease was signed.
–They never gave me the written request my prospective tenants submitted, asking to have 2 walls painted.
–They gave the renters the keys to my house 10 DAYS BEFORE their move in date, WHILE WE WERE STILL LIVING THERE!
–They told me to come down to the Studio City office to pick up the signed lease, and when I did (30 minute drive each way), they told me they had mailed it instead.
Thanks, Westside Rentals!

I have a few WSR gripes:
CUSTOMER SERVICE
I called the Melrose/​Fairfax location 3 – 4 times during my 60 day membership and every time I called the 1 – 2 people I spoke with were extremely rude and unprofessional! It sounds like this location is run by kids who have just graduated high school and dont GAF. On two different calls the initial person who answered the phone put me on hold/​transferred me to the membership agent without even saying «one second» or «hold on» so the call went from me speaking to complete silence… kind of rude if you ask me! Maybe WSR could teach their workers some basic phone etiquette?
MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS DESK
WSR advertises a $ 60 credit from TWC if you sign up through them or $ 30 if you transfer service through them… I called WSR and the worker said «oh _​_​_​is not here. she is going to be here at 5» (it was 5:30) and then I asked for her VM/​for her to leave a note on her desk and the girl transferred me without saying «sure» or «no way I don’t do memos» she just transferred me to a voicemail… sure enough nobody has called me back about my inquiry so I called TWC myself (not a big deal… but it would have been nice to save the $$ that the ad that is plastered all over the search results advertises)
LISTINGS
Most of the listings are ALSO POSTED ON CRAIGSLIST and SOME OF THE LISTINGS ARE POSTED BY REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND ARE ACCESSIBLE FROM THE MLS. I think I saw about 5 «exclusive» WSR listings within 60 days.
I would suggest sticking to CL+finding an agent to sign you up for the auto notifications on MLS (its free)
good luck finding a place, fellow Unilocalers!