You Don't Have to Live Next to A Mean Pit Bull

Unless you want to, of course. According to The Eastsider blog, landlords are finding that in this market they can't just jack up the rents $100 every time a tenant leaves. "It's not like apartment rents across Echo Park and other Eastside neighborhoods have dropped dramatically. But if you are stuck paying $1,400 a month for a one-bedroom apartment with no parking and a growling pit bull for a neighbor, then it might be worth checking out the market. You will probably find more options and amenities than existed only two or three years ago. It's kind of payback for years of living in a landlord's market." This would especially seem to be the case for residents of downtown, a neighborhood where the rental occupancy rate has dropped to 85 percent, "which is very low," according to experts quoted in the Downtown News. [Eastsider LA]