Academy House of Hope

If you’re looking for a place to live on a shoestring, or specifically if you’re a Loyola Law School student, Academy House is the place to live!
In the summer of 2014, I was looking for a place to moved to as a halfway point from Illinois to getting fully settled in L.A. for my first year of Law School at Loyola. When I went to visit in April (I moved out to L.A. in July), I met with the property manager, Angie. She was incredibly accommodating and pleasant to work with. I got an economy studio with them for just under 700 bucks. The economy and smaller rooms are essentially a bedroom with a minifridge, a lot of closet and cabinet space, a desk built into a corner of the room, and a twin bed. You have a small bathroom attached to the room that has a toilet and sink (Showers for the smaller apartments are communal, but kept very clean and tidy). A total of 39 spaced can be rented in the building.
The building itself is very interesting. It was formerly a convent, and it was converted into an apartment-​style building. A lot of the fixtures are original, and the place certainly shows some wear around the edges, but everything functioned fine and was well maintained. As another factor in its age, there is no air conditioning in the rooms, so bring a fan! It does get hot in the summer, even with a fan. I ultimately moved to another place without AC, but Academy House was definitely a little toasty. There is AC for the second floor that is turned on when it is above 90 degrees, but residents have no control or assurance of the AC.
There is gated parking onsite for $ 60 a month, but it’s incredibly hard to park! I drive a Malibu, a mid sized sedan, and wish I had something smaller. I scraped the side of my car on one of the concrete abutments in the lot trying to park the car. Luckily it was just me vs. concrete and not me vs. another car! I moved my spot to an easier place to park, but it really is a sardine can of a lot! That being said, it is safe and secured entry with a remote, so you can come and go as you please. If you aren’t going to drive at night, there’s a lot across the street for $ 45 a month, but no in and out after 10pm.
The area of town that both Academy House and Loyola are in aren’t a bad part of town, but certainly aren’t that inviting after dark. I was in fairly early each day, but the neighborhood was quiet at night, so no people out in the streets/​police sirens all night, etc. The school is right by a Catholic church and just a block over from Loyola Law School, so for someone on a budget, it’s a great fit. All ultilities and Wifi internet are included.
While I’d normally give this a 3 star rating, Angie, the manager, bumps it up to a 4. She was incredibly easy to work with, logical, and fantastic in the move in and move out process. I only ended up having my lease for a week until I found another apartment, and she was very easy to work with regarding return of deposit and leaving prior to when I had planned (early-​mid August). Seriously, she is what *makes* this place run, and she is such a pleasure to work with.

I’ve been living in an upstairs $ 595 Studio for some time now. My studio is very quiet. My neighbors are quiet and pretty much keep to themselves. The «meeting place» seems to be the huge kitchen downstairs where we all do our cooking. It’s a good place to meet and chat while making meals. Angie, the Korean manager, has been very polite and helpful. I especially like the gated off street parking as well as the building being so close to the bus stop to catch to get downtown. I’d highly recommend the place to anyone looking for an affordable place close to downtown LA.