starting slow

i signed up at (the slightly misnamed) westside rentals, and have been scoping out craigslist los angeles apartment listings.

one thing i’ve been thinking hard about is how much i’m willing to spend. if i were buying a house, apparently a lender would expect at most 29% of my gross income. what’s reasonable for rent? 15%? 20%? 25%? 30%? should i be thinking in terms of net income?

here's an interesting list of downtown los angeles residential buildings i stumbled upon. poking around on los angeles downtown news, i get the distinct impression that downtown los angeles is a hotter residential market than i imagined. lots and lots of loft projects.