Lol I know them landlords want you out so bad

$600 for rent in California?! And if my math is correct, you got that place right around the housing market crash in 2008!

I did. The price is amazing, but sometimes it feels like I’m handcuffed to it. And yes the new landlord has offered two buyouts over the past year.

How does it feel to be God’s favorite

​@@eddycarpenter8989landlords be plotting assassination attempts on the mf

Yes it makes the whole experience feel like this is _your_ apartment unit. It doesn’t feel like a hotel room

@@jarjarbinks6018 I'd totally go for a dingbat. I want more of them built

I lived in Vancouver for a LOT of my young adult life in a "garden estate" and we had outside front doors and 2 units shared a staircase per floor and the buildings faced inwards with a garden with trees in the courtyard and the other block has a pool (8 blocks in total in a figure of 8 layout) car parking was single row in the laneway behind NOT "under" the building I could open the sliding door on to "my porch" and look out into the tree tops and across to the other block facing towards us and this is in a central area UNDER THE SKYTRAIN with a 2 block walk to transit station OR Metrotown mall and all the shopping / dining you want/need

@@jasonriddell Yeah the LA light rail and subway lines have this kind of development around them as well Dingbats were conceived decades ago during a time when both LA’s and Vancouver’s interurban transit systems fell apart and were demolished

@@PlaystationMasterPS3 They're illegal to build

I thought they were normal growing up everywhere in the US cause of how common it is here. 😅

Besides, it’s Southern California. You can go outside.

Absolutely. I have never once seen a communal space actually getting used by more than a person or two. I don't care about whether my apartment has a pool or a gym I want it as inexpensive as possible, with no forced cable subscription, and the ability to reliably find a spot to park my car since public transit is basically unusable in my city.

Absolutely. I live in a neighborhood. We do shit together. Except 1 cat. I grew up with him. I rarely ever talk to my neighbors aside from saying hi. Maybe helping them out fit quick random things. I rather them not know me personally. But we do watch out fit each other.

Yep. On my first housing hunt after graduation, I considered extensive common spaces to be a negative feature. To me, that was space that I was paying to maintain, heat in winter, and air condition in summer that I almost certainly wasn’t going to use. Sometimes, “no frills” can be a positive feature.

What a nasty brutish way of thinking

I would say its more of a SoCal thing. We have a million of these in OC and I've seen them in San Diego and IE as well.

@@ashtonnelson2624 you have to keep in mind too that most of oc was developed much later than la county, so maybe not mid century ones but 70s or 80s ones for sure

Me too. I grew up in the 70s in one of these dingbats in West LA on S. Bundy Dr. My neighborhood was full of dingbat housing.

They also have them in NoCal too in the San Francisco Bay Area.

it’s not just in socal

@RuDuffEnough WellRu they didn't waste money like people do nowadays

@RuDuffEnough WellRu People spend hundreds of dollars on cell phones. It's a matter of principles.

@RuDuffEnough WellRu exactly, the kie is where just "unrestrained" now. I don't smoke, I don't drink I don't drug, but I don't make eneds meet in Vegas by simply not doing those things. If you think they haven't figured out most quit vices as they raise prices, thus they take that same money other way, I can't help ya. They plan for you to be squares. So when you aren't, you suffer greatly. If you are square, you suffer less.

They have to get retrofit BECAUSE they were cheaply built. Also because of the L.A. soft story ordinance that requires they retrofit by law.

@@alexisjsosa You can say that when payphones make a comeback. It's also called technological progress.

I do too, I think they're adorable. And if done right,you could have a green space or courtyard in the between dingbats as the video stated. Put up a gate and only let the residents use it.

affordable??? lol good joke.

Or just make housing affordable

Mid rises in mixed zoning are also a good option, as much of Europe does that, but there’s a lot of issues right now with housing prices than just too much demand

@@tom4208They aren’t. I rented one for 3,000$ and I didn’t even know what a dingbat meant. I had no clue that they were built to be affordable. The dingbat I lived in had a great inside and outside even if older.

I didn't know they had a name either and I was born, raised and still live in So Cal 60+ years. They are pretty much innocuous, just "apartments" and can be found almost anywhere here. "Dingbat" has a negative connotation as someone who is empty headed or silly. I guess that does apply since these buildings are very vulnerable to earthquakes (a huge concern) and must have been designed by dingbats.

L.A. also famous for Bungalow style houses/duplexes. But, it seems every time I visit more of the old buildings seem to get torn down and most neighborhoods look so different than when I was a kid.

ROFLMFAO.🤣🤣🤣🤣

Or It makes you feel like you are in on the joke bc they didn't look that crapi. At least from the outside.

With a few design changes they would be able to resist damage just like any cheap home. I don't think you can blame the car port when the house itself is so thin.

I lived in one for 4 years. 8 months of the last year I was there were spent towards retrofitting it to be earthquake safe. It can be done quicker in about 3 months but it’s a big job nonetheless

Oh 😲

This. Retrofitting costs a fortune and periodically there’s data released on how many properly owners have failed to retrofit. An earthquake slightly larger than northridge will be devastating given the current number of buildings still not brought up to date.

There’s plenty of pictures of them pancaking cars during the Northridge quake. Scary stuff.

Good to know but I’m certain it was more of a design flaw or oversight, it could definitely be built to withstand a strong earthquake anything can

We used to call them "Sunburst " apartments. I lived in one in Palms when I first moved to CA. Never had a noise problem , tho.

Love it !

Santa Monica is paradise! I live in South Carolina, I wish I was in Santa Monica.

@@johnel-amin4095 yea, overpriced sun drenched, drought ridden beauty, with a few methheads sleeping on your sidewalk and pooping in the sand. Paradise.

How do you afford rent my boy

They are LA's Brownstone. In areas of the country that lack adequate housing and still have street patterns that are more conducive to cars, why not build something like this?

Very kooky

Except they're all throughout CA. I used to live in one and am 8 hours from LA. I'm not sure why the person in this video makes it seem like they're LA specific.

Check out Googie -Coffee Shop Architecture if you're into Mid Mod type of stuff!

They look like seedy places that remind me of ghetto shitholes. Id much rather live in a clean new high rise tower

They were supposed to look faux-luxury at the time. The reason new units tend to be so upscale is that lets them mark up the properties even more with the housing demand. And earthquake design constraints mean they're chunkier and with fewer overhangs and open car ports.

@@CrissaKentavr That may be ever so true for L.A.. But here in Phoenix. it appears they're allowing same over-priced "pseudo-luxury" garbage to be thrown up in just about every nook and cranny that can be found. I say pseudo because even an untrained eye like mine can tell this stuff ain't made of nothin'. But the developers and realty management groups want to charge you an arm, a leg and few of your gold tooth fillings to rent that crap.

I want to see more focus on efficient simple affordable connected multi-family housing with common sidewalks and bike-friendly pathways to shops, schools, places where kids can go play in recreational parks walking distance and not need a car, and that liberation from being secluded in suburbia. I think this is what all of American cities could use more of and I think it requires relaxing zoning requirements for an important and practical and pursuit of happiness reason. Affordable places to sleep are in short supply and we need more affordable connected housing wherever there’s room for it. I think we could look to Dutch towns in the Netherlands for neighborhood designs.

@@ESponge2000 "we need more affordable connected housing wherever there’s room for it." I agree with you. But, as usual, this sensible solution faced two obstacles: Greed and Selfishness. The obstacle of greed is pretty much self-explanatory in that it is one of the biggest reasons why so many people with good jobs and decent wages have been priced out of the market, rental and home purchasing. As for selfishness, a number of area residents have made it clear that they do not want ANY form of affordable housing either in or around their precious neighborhoods. That resistance is being experienced right here in the metro Phoenix area.

@@TheChicagoL I am of the idea that we don't need to build "affordable housing", just more housing. Multi-unit, on the order of 4-8 to a lot, but with much more parking. Once housing supply exceeds demand, prices will drop. That's my idea. I think that prices would drop naturally and the stupid concessions made to facilitate "affordable housing", such as less parking per unit which make neighborhoods unlivable, would be eliminated.

I lived in a well built apt. on Cattaraugus , near Robertson , in LA. Never heard the neighbors , or traffic. I liked it.

Not all were built well. Some were. Most, probably not so much, unfortunately. As with most things, the first are usually done well, then the cheap copies come along.

Built well with cheap materials. Have you lived in one ?

I guess so because they’ve survived a lot of earthquakes! My triplex is from the 1940s and still has the original windows. The land it’s built on has jello like characteristics. Or is it pudding? Lol.

@@TrevorHammonds exactly

you should see the ones they have in the smaller beach cities in San Diego, like in Encinitas I don't know what it is but the 50s aesthetic is stronger down there there's some nice ones too though in Belmont Shores in Long Beach

@@gyozanomics Yes, I love both of those areas, particularly Encinitas.

No

OMG noooo. There should be no historic monument protection for these…

I sort of find the guy speaking a bit condescending. People live in what they can afford. It comes across as smug comfortable middle class.

Same here! I lived in LA for about nine years and for most of my time there I lived in a very large dingbat. It was affordable when I first moved there but as time passed and the area started getting trendy the rent doubly increased.

@@xr6lad Condescending is right. This was an L.A. hit job, for the most part. The real "dingbat" is the narrator, IMO. He tried to make up for it a little at the end, but it wasn't convincing.

@@xr6lad funny how people want affordable housing but then buy luxury vehicles. There were lots of BMWs and Audi’s parked in the dingbats. Interesting…….

@@glamdawling most people can’t afford to live in LA. But spending 50% of your income on LA housing sounds so appealing!!!

The Kitchen is a hallway

Those are the best.

He actually did mention this in the beginning - referenced "maximizing living space" and minimizing common space.

FACTS! I live in one of these buildings and the rooms are HUGE compared to every other apartment I've ever lived in - some of them brand new construction with these tiny rooms. Who wants to commingle with neighbors in an apartment building in LA anyway?! I'd rather have more space inside and keep my tiny kitchen and huge dining room!

@@LisaMontoya 😄 while I don't hate a swimming pool. The ones in newer building are usually only 5' deep and shaded 80% of the day. Bigger rooms all day! 🥳

sounds like "middle American "McMansions" all outside and junk box on the inside have a friend that has a McMansion and the and the place is Ridiculous and as described all outside grandeur

@@jasonriddell Yeah lol I've been inside a handful of mcmansions over the years and I was shocked by how bland and uninspired the interiors were.

Hmm. Maybe there's a solution in the problem there. Like if people enjoyed being ironically pretentious, but actually enjoyed simple lives, then maybe the fakeness could become a part of the real charm. That's asking for a lot though. Whenever a large group starts doing something ironically, there's always going to be a minority that doesn't realize it's all ironic, and then eventually the irony is ruined. The pictures of the "Crapi Apartments" from the video are basically an example of what I'm talking about.

you've put a lot of thought into this

@@JDWonders I can see that, it is weirdly nostalgic but the issue is, it's not people doing it intentionally, it's almost a scheme, like if you took the worse rundown apartments you see in NY but in LA they make the putside look pretty to try and hide how shabby and unmaintained so many buildings in LA are once you get inside. It just instantly reminds me of how people associate LA culture with fakeness. It's on a mountain of things that give this vibe of false success and aspiration you honestly see everywhere out here.

and now you know why there is a housing crisis. it is engineered by the regulatory agencies. and this is also why our nation is falling behind in development.

los angeles isn't *all* hell thankfully

Palm Springs is another great place to see preserved mid century architecture, although no dingbats there afaik

Im sure there are a lot of Dingbats around the area I grew up, like outer Melbourne beach suburbs in Australia. But I didn't have any recollection of them until about halfway through this video. Or the crazy signage they used on the front, I know Ive seen it before but cant believe I didn't appreciate it until now. And Ive always assumed they were 70s era motels. Wow what a video 🤣

You wouldn't have to look very far haha

@@AshLilburne dingbats are NOT very common in Winnipeg but there are a LOT of 50 era apartment blocks and some still have the 50's charm including the "driftwood" and "thunderbird" but are "normal" Canadian walkups with NO under building parking and are NOT residential lot takeover we DO have "block of 4" buildings and other 4 to 6 flat apartment blocks in residential neighbourhoods on 2 or so "normal lots"

Agree on the non-socialization, it's an apartment, not a college dorm.

The neighbors probably don't speak English anyway.

Agree. When I heard that (and I live in an apartment) I’d hate areas like that. People would abuse them or have parties. Apartment complexes are not public halls for entertainment. They are where people live. I know my neighbors to chat in the hall or when we met at the supermarket; I don’t want areas that have to be paid for to be maintained for groups to gather.

A carport or garage is truly appreciated today. There's nothing quite like starting your car , on the street , and discovering that the catalytic converter is missing. LA today.

This whole thread is full of a happy and pleasant bunch. Sheesh.

No

I love them too!!! I didn’t know they were unique to LA. I think they’re a treasure.

What about global warming, and non-vegans. Think they have a chance at surviving those twin evils?

We lived there too! On Pacific ave in a very obvious dingbat, right down the street! It was in the 80s and we ate at Bruno’s on Centinela every Friday night. Miss those times! Glad we eventually bought though…

Is Dinah's Chicken still there??

L.A. nostalgia above!

Sounds idyllic.

I live in Santa Monica too! My dingbat was renovated for a more millennial-friendly look and it is the most terrible-looking way to deal with MCM that I can think of LOL. They just stripped the character and painted it navy blue and white (poorly) with faux marble countertops :/ - I agree that we need more than those! So many luxury condos and NIMBY-ism in our community leave me with little hope that we can house everyone affordably.

Per unit? I think you need to do more research sir , if it’s that expensive nobody would build 💀💀💀 a single unit will be less then 100k if we’re talking apts or right at that.

No, it doesn’t cost that much. I do plan review for architects on attached dwelling unit buildings. The regulations are easy to accommodate.

Those regulations keep you from getting crushed in an earthquake.

@@mrorganic13 sadly the OP is right, idk if it's due to regulations tho

Watch All in the Family. You'll hear it several times.

"The fact of the matter is they charge top dollar for these places and put very little money in them" Isnt that the story of america though, charge top dollar for some shitt you barely did anything with. Thats also the whole trailerpark BS right now right, people buying up trailer parks. Barely doing anything for the place but asking a coupla hundreds a dollars more of the people that already own barely a thing. Because of course your middle higher class couldnt care less about whom they are stealing from aslong as they themselfs make a profit, yall even have a dude giving lectures about this subject AND HES PROUD OF IT, heyy im casually robbing people for no other reason then my own personall gain look how cool i am, oewhh im going on a luxury vacation next month while the latest familie i suddenly demanded a coupla hundreds more from is struggling to eat....

Because people from other states wanna live in LA so bad they'll pay anything the landlords say

@@lyssanch3096 - True, it also has to do with all of the "Hollywood attractions". No matter how old or ugly a building is if it's close to any of the Hollywood attractions or studios it raises the price as well, just living near any of those.

So true!

That is likely due to location. Newer units have less square feet per unit.

Thats a deal!

That’s so cool ! I agree some people who live in similar complexes have been there for YEARS upon years never leaving the rent stays lower for them since they lived there for so long

Thanks! The rent was actually $1500 when we moved in. The $1650 is where it’s at now. The bulk of the people that live here have been here longer than us!

@@taylors5145 that’s a steal! I live in a rent controlled gem in NYC, only a 1b/1ba, but it’s slightly more expensive than yours. I’ve always admired the LA dingbat apartments, definitely an under appreciated aspect of LAs architecture 🌴

Same for me, but in Los Feliz! I joke all the time that the only way I'm leaving this rent controlled dream is if I leave LA, win the Lotto, or die!!!! 🤣

That would be expensive as the roof (and walls below) would have to be built to hold the people and stuff they'd bring up. Current roofs are just simple lightweight truss structures that a very few can walk on (repairmen) and support some equipment (HVACs), but that's it. I worked on one in OC that had a roof deck and the roof/deck floor was literally bombproof.

I know I was surprised by that once I bought a drone and starting seeing air conditioner units where I thought would be rooftop pools on the new multimillion dollar condos here in LA, like the one at Wilshire and Western. Even the original ad back in the 2000s showed a rooftop pool when in reality it’s just a bunch of air conditioning units up there 🤷‍♀️

Right? In videos I've seen from Japan it seems like rooftop areas that are accessible recreational spaces are not uncommon. In the US, not just in LA, it seems like rooftops are overlooked as a usable space in building design, you just don't see it here much at all. I think that is a shame, it's such a nice feature IMHO.

The roof seems like a lot of fun until you fall thru or off of one, or even worse, get stuck up there for any length on time. They made a movie about that called The Hangover

we have that in like Playa del Rey and the South Bay it's pretty bourgeois though it's not something you can expect to see implemented on a large scale

I think that building codes should mandate good sound insulation between units so this is much less of an issue or outright a solved issue

@@PlaystationMasterPS3 Yes, but remember these were built 60 years ago!! They addressed the needs of the time, fast forward to now and many that were dilapidated have been gutted, retrofitted and upgraded. Except for the single carport per unit, they still meet the needs of many people today.

Yup, I know where a lot of those apts are....

The house in Los Angeles is a very nice place and also a place that has developed well in terms of scenery and economy, etc. There are many places we can go and like.

Nice, hope the fam still owns them

wonderful area you could walk to the Areo to see a movie or walk to middle school or Izzy`s Deli .

California should learn from Portugal, a similar climate where they primarily build vertically. Much more open space is preserved. Portugal has more open green space than any other country in western Europe. The tiled surfaces are a sonic nightmare though.

Let the developers decide what to build and where. And not the bureaucrats and NIMBYs micromanaging libre earles.

@@haylobos8261 Yeah, um, trust me, as someone who lived near Cabrini Green (see original "Candyman." It was no joke then. It was WORSE than they showed you in the movie) and another one that was more low-rise...you don't want that shite NEAR you. It's nothing but noise, crime and other issues: drugs, shootings. Prostitution, gangs, public defication/urination and worse. Vandalism. Too many people are too lazy/stupid to not have kids they can't afford or get into school or trades. Then expect handouts for doing NOTHING. Any idiot can walk into city colleges and get FREE schooling. But people PREFER being stupid. As you'll see when anyone tells someone they have the wrong word or didn't spell a 3rd grade word right (they're/their/there, too/too/to...). If you get permanent birth control and get education or in trades, I'm all for help. Laziness? Hell, no. With grants, that shite is FREE. Shouldn't be given anything to give NOTHING in return. Give these people anything, and they'll be back in an hour for more, and you'll see how stupid you were. Been there, won't do it again. You can make more bothering people for their money, than working. And you'll see them over and over for YEARS.

No

Yeah, I love when these ugly things pop up in CHICAGO. Where it's cold/snows 6 months+ a year. Lol. Looks moronic.

@@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823 What moron is building Dingbats in Chicago?

What if the parking requirement limited each unit to only one car instead of demanding 1.5 parking spaces? 'Muricans love their cars too much to go without at least one spot.

@@lopoa126 what if we built no parking and good transit and walkable neighborhoods

@@AdamFaruqi "bUt wHaT iF We BuIlT No PaRkiNg???" Then people will park in the street and clog them up worse than they already are. 1 per unit is reasonable. 0 is stupid, and you know it.

There are so many cars in LA, every household has at least 4 cars. We need more parking.

I would rather have this than a yard I don't use and have to upkeep. I can make way more use of a garage than a yard.

Howdy, I also lived in the south bay, I even rode for the South Bay Wheelmen in the mid 80's, I myself lived in a dingbat on Lawndale Blvd. My name is Bicycle Bob and I approved this message.

They can be! Tho they have downsides if there's gates that confuse or block deliveries, like badly designed apartment buildings. Ones that lack trees or proximity to parks and stores are also frighteningly common.

Bet that apartment is $3k a month now 😅

You left SD ? No way!

The ‘lanes’ or sidewalks only often with little gardens each side in Pacific Beach/Mission Beach can be lovely with some quite nice homes/condos. Or you taking more inland down Grand ave etc?

Ha reminds me of my time in PB those were great great times...& yes AFFORDABLE if you had any basic job not just being a beach bum....I worked @ the Firehouse

with the "garage" OR open and the cars make up the facade as is most of the dingbats shown in Canada 40s era blocks would often have a row of garages in the rear and the cars park inside the garage but the "front" is grass up to the facade of the unit often with 1/2 sunken units so windows near the ground

Here's an idea. How about a reverse dingbat in a way? Parking on the roof? Put a ramp along the side of the building so the car can drive up and park on the roof, and put a covered carport with a white painted roof on top of that and it will provide more protection from the sun and reduce energy costs, and keep the car off the street.

@@samsanimationcorner3820 no hate to you but the logistics of that are a nightmare and the look would be substantially uglier if that happened, it would fit less units, need to be made of reinforced concrete and it would be very visually a parking lot on the roof at only 2-3 stories tall

@@LucasFernandez-fk8se I mean, you're probably right. I just love puzzles and brain teasers. My first instinct to any puzzle is "what happens when you flip it upside down?". I still think I'm on to something, but it needs more refinement than just "park on the roof". Of course it would probably call for a whole shake up of infrastructure, and in the bureaucratic plate of spaghetti that California keeps serving itself that, might not work.

@@samsanimationcorner3820 insanely expensive

Same here! Go figure.

"All in the Family?"

I was and is an insult. Even when applied to these apartments. That's the point. Crappy cheaply built apartments with a pretentious or overly optimistic name like "Shady Manor" of "Fiesta Village".

We can design better today than 40 years ago.

@@Kingsleyrulz "Can" and "will" are two different things. Low cost structural designs are always just good enough to comply with current code. Has the code for digbats been updated for earthquake safety? I don't know.

Was looking for this. lol

Yep, that's where I first heard the term. At age 11, lol.

Yes it’s a nightmare I know I live in one!

Hearing other people fucking and fighting is disturbing

Eh with weather like SoCa, why stay in your apartment all day? I just eat/sleep in one and it's good enough

Yeah, the streets they're on is often the most dystopic thing, not the building or even the traffic levels. If they had narrow lanes, timed parking for visitors and delivers, actual sidewalks or multiuse paths, they'd be less upsetting.

Also known as bedbug hotels