Cheap Apartments in California

Low Income Housing Information

Low income housing can be a godsend, but if you don't know how to apply, or who to get your information to, how can you ever expect to be approved?

Since laws and procedure vary from state to state, you'll need to learn a few specifics before applying. We can help!

Where to Find Cheap Apartments in California

The first thing that people moving to California have to keep in mind is that the state is enormous and extremely diverse. California includes districts of virtually inhabited desert wasteland to quaint rural agricultural communities to several of the world's largest urban metropolitan areas. Further, it should be kept in mind that California has one of the highest costs of living in the United States, so virtually any rental property will cost more in California than a comparable property would cost in a state with a much lower cost of living, like Oklahoma or Arkansas. However, even taking these factors into account, the basic rental market in California operates on the same principles as rental markets elsewhere and the same basic rules apply.

The first thing to take into consideration is where, precisely, you want to live in California. If you do not mind living in the "middle of nowhere" out in the desert or the forest, you can find very low rents, but this does not suit most people. Instead, most people relocating to California do so because they want to be close to one or more of the major urban areas, where the opportunities are to be found. Assuming this is your goal, the dynamics of finding a cheap apartment are much the same as they would be in any other urban area. These include finding or negotiating a better deal, living in a less desirable part of town, or looking for rental properties well away from the urban center.

Although most rental properties administrated by professional property managers are not interested in negotiating with potential tenants, many smaller and independent landlords are willing to negotiate, so you may be able to work out a good arrangement with a landlord if you are willing to go to the trouble of doing so. Similarly, some California cities, including many of the major ones (like Beverley Hills, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose, and Santa Monica) have rent control. If you can manage to get into a rent controlled unit you may be able to get much cheaper rent though this is usually very difficult for newcomers to do since such units are very desirable.

There is also the option of living in a less desirable location, which usually results in lower rents. While this may include high crime slum areas, that need not be the case necessarily. Other undesirable properties include those that are positions close to busy airports or train tracks (undesirable because of the noise), extremely old and/or poorly maintained properties, or areas utterly dominated by ethnic communities that are uninviting to outsiders. This is usually the case in most housing markets and the same is true in California.

The most popular option though is to live well away from the city center and commute in as needed. California is quite famous for its urban sprawl and this is a trend that has continued unabated in recent years. As the costs closer to the center continue to increase, more people move further away from the center, expanding the suburban communities surrounding the urban center. In California, where so much of the inland is empty and inexpensive, urban sprawl has really hit unprecedented heights. The further out in the suburbs you are willing to live the less expensive your rent will usually be unless you opt to move into wealthier high-end suburban community.