Obtaining a Housing/Apartment Rental in San Francisco
12In the big, sad joke that is America’s urban rent crisis, San Francisco is a recurrent punchline. -Henry Grabar
I might relocate to San Francisco some time this year. Weeks of research have lead me to believe a few things:
- Renting in San Francisco is a more competitive sport than most.
- Unless you get there within an hour after the internet posting, you lose.
- 90% of the time, people attain a rental via word-of-mouth/friend recommendation.
90% of people with whom I exchange words are Mehricans
Do any of y'all have an apartment/studio that you would like to rent to me some time in the coming months? Do you know of someone who would like to rent to me a studio/1 bedroom? Do you have general advice about relocating to San Francisco for work?
Cheers,
connorbush
disclaimer
I totally might not even relocate there. I would like to--pending occupation; however, I thought it would behoove me to research as far in advance as possible. Thank you for your contribution.
- 12 comments, 46 replies
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there are nearby cities that are more affordable and reachable by BART or car, so expand the net a bit if you can deal with a commute. I'm personally a fan of Fremont.
@Lotsofgoats I have been thinking of Berkeley or Oakland. I imagine; however, that my hours at work might be too insane to make this feasible.
+1 for using this forum for selfish personal reasons. You get me.
@marklog
Yeah, you could say it's a bit more "competitive"…
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@JonT woah! sticker shock indeed.
I know someone who went from air B&B to air B&B for a year. They had a great tech job, just no luck w/ apartments.
That said, I lived there long ago. It was wonderful and fun.
And yes, way back then word of mouth was the best way to find a place. But we were kinda picky and wanted to be in certain fun neighborhoods.
My friends who are still there have their own houses. They say they could no longer afford to buy their own house.
I have a friend way over in the East bay waaaay over, who has a RE business and manages some properties as a part of it. So if you want to be way out in the sticks I can give you his email.
@ceagee depending on the level of my looming desperation--I will keep this in mind. Thank you!
Years ago a friend moved there. She was so happy to find that her new salary increase would offset the jump in housing. Until she found out about parking. Her parking garage required a mortgage.
Do what someone else already suggested, get a place outside of the city. We used to spend a great deal of time down there (San Leandro) and getting around via BART was so much easier than by car.
@jaremelz I am thinking that it will be more financially wise to eat my lease penalties and break my lease than pay $250-$400/month for parking. Also I will be saving the $180/ month on insurance.
@connorbush Sounds like a much better way to go.
@connorbush My last apt in the city ( it was near GG park. I love the park-- a big backyard you don't have to mow or weed) For the exorbitant amount of $50 extra a month I got my own garage : ) And there was room for a second car in the driveway !
It's probably being rented as an apartment now.
@jaremelz Also, I will be saving my lease payment. So ... genius way to go.
@ceagee - I can smell the eucalyptus just thinking about the park.
@KDemo @ceagee The first time my ex and I made the trip down there was with the travel agency I worked for. Normally we didn't go anywhere that we couldn't bring our dog, an Irish Wolfhound mix. So there we are, having a great time but missing him terribly. We decided to go to the park and when we turned a corner, bam, a group of Wolfhound owners were having a huge meet-up there. They let us just hang out with them and play with their dogs and it made everything better.
@jaremelz there is a 40-80 dog beach walk event weekly I believe
@ceagee I was at 42nd and Lincoln. Where were you?
@SSteve 9th and Balboa You were right on the edge, I had 2 blocks. But I was right near the museums. Great place to run -- would go by the buffalos and make faces. Love when they closed it off on Sundays.
damn you @sohmageek for making San Fran so expensive!
@carl669 thank you for summoning. I've got an old high school buddy out there :)
You're probably going to want to look East or South of The City - Marin is going to cost almost as much. (Although, we don't know how much you will be able to afford).
Or move to Seattle, where the weather will depress you instead of the high price of real estate.
@PocketBrain valid option. Seattle, San Francisco, Portland. All valid options.
@connorbush I have a co-worker moving to Portland. One other co-worker moved to Seattle. And I'm checking with a high school buddy that either moved to San Francisco or San Diego. Give me a bit here :)
@connorbush he lives outside of San Francisco but works there. Hit the email if you want me to see if he can help you out. ;) Sometimes I impress myself on this shit.
@sohmageek Okay cool! When I have a firm relocation date I shall email you to see if he knows of any available rentals! Thanks! By the way, if this all falls through, this month, totally your fault.
@PocketBrain 70 and cloudlessly sunny today, such a bummer
@matthew rough.
@matthew I'd bet it has rained more days this year here in SE Jawja than Seattle. At least the housing prices are low.
I'm convinced the source of Seattle's "bad weather" reputation is transplants from southern California with weak constitutions. It is very comfortably mild and lovely here all year compared to almost anyplace else in the lower 48. (It is kind of damp through the winter, it's true. Exactly like it would be throughout the midwest too, if winter temperatures there permitted liquid water.)
@matthew Darn Californians and their weak constitutions. Add that to the list of why I am departing.
@matthew I'd like to see people from the cooler states deal with 110+ in summer and see how their constitutions fare.
@matthew What gives people the impression that it rains here is that it is often cloudy and gray. But San Antonio gets far more rain, as does San Francisco. And it is quite gray from October until March. But when the sun is out, damn it's beautiful.
@Thumperchick After experiencing a northern winter, I stopped complaining about the weather here in SoCal. -33 (without wind chill) is HOLY SHIT THAT'S COLD to someone who's always lived where 90+ in December isn't unheard of.
@matthew did you see any sparkly vampires?
@Thumperchick That is not unheard of in the winter either.
@connorbush The first time I took @humper home with me for Christmas, it was 90 on Christmas morning. He grew up in upstate NY and the concept of a hot Christmas morning, eating oranges and wearing flip flops was mind boggling for him.
@Thumperchick I can relate. The first white Christmas I had blew my mind. Of course, I overreacted by adorning full skiing outfit then all the snow melted. I had no idea what to do with myself.
@connorbush My first Christmas in NY was the perfect white Christmas. We spent it sipping homemade hot chocolate, looking at the beautiful snowglobe happening outside the windows.
@PublicArt may be able to help...
@Thumperchick thank you for summoning.
@connorbush And it worked too!
So, what others are saying is right, unless you're really set on living in SF, you'll most likely move south or east of SF. If you'd like to be in SF, but don't care about being in the city-city area, there are houses and apartments to rent in like the sunset area etc. Though your commute in would be similar to renting in the East Bay as far as time commitment.
I'm very happy in the East Bay, BART makes it quick to commute in, and there are nice suburbs in places like El Cerrito if you don't mind riding BART for a bit longer. The areas are nice and quiet and you're close enough to things. There are places like Berkeley, but they are also expensive and kind of congested as far as car traffic. For the most part you do not need a car, unless you venture out of the SF-Oakland-Berkeley areas.
You can also go further east if you don't mind a longer commute. Those places you will most likely have to drive to a BART station and then BART in, but the cost is more reasonable. If you've got a family, you'll probably want to do that instead as the cost per sq foot is waaaay more reasonable.
If you're set on renting in SF, there are places where you rent by the month until you find a permanent place, but they get pricey quickly. They're those pre-furnished type places, but also usually in very busy places so you can get a taste for city living. Also, for renting in the bay area (especially competitive areas like SF) you'll just want to have all your info printed out. It's almost like applying for another job.
Get your bio together, have your pay checks or credit score, show them a picture of your pets, and what hobbies you like. Overall be personable and show you can pay your bills, but yeah you gotta go over the top when you're contacting listings, and have all the materials ready when you go see the place. Also, I don't know where you're moving from, everything costs more here, not just the housing.
But aside from all that I love the Bay Area. There are pockets of culture I really value and there's A LOT of food, in many varieties. And just because you're working in SF really doesn't mean you have to live here. I work in SF and stay away from it when I'm not working, but know plenty of people who swear by SF living, and others who swear by East Bay living. If you want to chat more you can go to the #deals.woot IRC room on rizon and I can try to answer questions.
@PublicArt Thank you for the insight. I shall make a folder. I will include the offer letter from the employer among other things you suggested. I was leaning Inner Richmond/Inner Sunset area--from my web sleuthing. I will probably take 3-4 days to scope out the various areas IRL. I will also head to the IRC room to pick your brain later on. Thanks!!! maybe I can 3 month lease in in SF then if I hate life there I can flee to the east bay.
@connorbush @publicart my buddy lives in walnut creek and uses public transit to/from work. He says about an hour commute but so much cheaper for housing.
@connorbush @sohmageek I think it really depends on what you like to do after work and your age. If young and single and working in the city, then city is good place to stay and live. If family oriented then out is probably better.
I personally prefer down the peninsula to The East Bay.
Lots going on in San Mateo, Burlingame. Easy train to catch to the city. The further south you go, you get into the Stanford/Menlo scene. Which is also nice, just depends on what you want.
If you like the ocean-- check out Pacifica or Half Moon Bay. Need a car those places though.
When we moved out of The City in 1990, my girlfriend and I were paying $800/month for an immaculately kept two-bedroom flat with a backyard and garage that was less than 100 feet from Golden Gate Park. I just had dinner with a guy whose friend owns two ~500 sq foot bungalows on Duboce off Market. He rents them for $3600/month.
@SSteve Adjusting for inflation brings that to $1,458.71 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index Inflation Calculator. That doesn't sound terrible.
@SSteve I left in fall of '87, Were you there then ?
@ceagee I was living with my girlfriend in Palo Alto in 1987. We moved to SF in 1988. We broke up in 1989 then I moved to Davis in 1990 when my subsequent girlfriend got in to Vet school. (That girlfriend is now my wife.)
@jqubed Yeah, $1500 would be dirt cheap in today's market. I can't imagine what that place is going for now. Certainly less than a similar place in the heart of the city but it must be at least $3000.
@SSteve from my research, $1595 is about as low as a place (that has its own address) will go. Some makeshift garages etc studios will be a little less. Average for a shit box these days will be $2300/ studio. (not actually the average, just my observations)
Tip:
If you move in and like your location ok. ( or even if you don't) look around. Be nice to the people around you. Some of them might be owners who have an apartment or know someone who does.
Carry some groceries, open some doors. ( I hope you would do that anyways !! )
Some people just want to keep to themselves -- that's ok, BUT you don't have to hang and party with these folks. Say hi. Be friendly. You never know who knows someone who knows someone.
TL;DR network whenever you can ! Things turn up from surprising sources.
@ceagee this is SUCH an important lesson and one that I learned early on. Most every positive door in my life has come from the kindness of others which I found through being kind and networking!
Last week at Crissy Beach.
@KDemo My grandma's ashes are scattered straight out from where that little girl is facing. That's where I want to wind up.
@SSteve - Near the bridge? Nice when you want to visit and reminisce.
@KDemo Yep. The family rented a house in Marin county for the weekend. We had a big party for her friends then went out and scattered her ashes near the bridge the next day. It's the only memorial I've ever attended that I would want for myself.