We had some really nice days at Tara and Michael's place. The apartment was perfectly located for doing a bike trip to Venice/Malibu Beach (North/West) or even Manhattan/Hermosa Beach (South/West).
The check-in was also easy and exactly as described. We only had some short talks with Tara and Michael, because they are usually out most of the day. But Michael was really nice, he even wrote us an e-mail with some helpful tips for New York (where we headed to after staying with them).