DS and 2 roommates will be moving to San Francisco in August. They will be looking for a 3 BR apartment. DS will be commuting on a tech shuttle while his roommates’ jobs are in SF itself. Their budget will be about $6000 max, including utilities. Any advice on neighborhoods, apartment hunting, or the names of reputable realtors? DS lived in a house in the Mission district last summer and I wasn’t thrilled with the lack of security. I would prefer him to be in an apartment building. TIA.
A three bedroom for only $6K could be tricky. (I know, sounds absurd.)
He should ask his company for a map of their shuttle stops in SF, to aid in search for neighborhood. Where will roommates be located? His roommates may want to be near Muni? How far do they want to be from work? Do they have contacts here (college friends, alumni groups, FB friends, work contacts) ? They may need to explore every avenue…
Popular places are the Marina, North Beach, South Beach, the Mission, Mission Bay, etc., but some of those are not always friendly for the tech commute.
tell him to move to pittsburgh instead. it is an awesome place …from rust belt city to cutting edge boom town(in just 35 years)…with great neighborhoods restaurants and lots and lots of young people (tons of colleges in pittsburgh and surrounding area)
great opportunities etc etc etc…
and much much cheaper than san fran.
My D went through this a few years back. I got great advice on neighborhoods from several CC posters. @calmom, @dstark and @jshain and several others.
My D quickly figured out finding an apartment is hard work and you need to be prepared. All three should have copies of their credit report, checks ready to write. Find a sample rental application and have it filled out so you have all the information you will need to fill out the application on the spot. If they wait and take them and return them a few days later the apartment will be gone. They can have a neighborhood in mind but reality is that they wI’ll have a better chance of success if they are open to multiple areas of the city. If any of them hav a car they should know that most apartments don’t come with parking. And parking on the street means getting a resident permit. With that the car has to be in the kids name not the parents.
She used Craigslist but I think now there are a lot of rental apps such as Radpad. She also learned that she needed to jump on the ad quick. Don’t wait till 10 am to call. The apartment she finally got she called early and met the rental agent at 7 am in the morning. She had all her information and looked and decided on the spot to take it. If she had waited even a few hours she wouldn’t have got the apartment.
Not knowing where the buses will be stopping the Twin Peaks, Mt. Davidson, West Portal are nice neighborhoods that tend to be foggier which typically translates to cheaper. But that’s relative.
Inner Sunset (near UCSF), Potrero Hill and Cole Valley are also high demand neighborhoods.
@zobroward Haha. Just left Pittsburgh! A great city, we visited many times during his time there.
MODERATOR’S NOTE: Links to craigslist are not allowed, so I deleted one in this thread.
Our son will be moving into his new 3BR “flat” in SF on Thursday 6/1. He and his 2 roommates are paying $5,200 per month for a top floor unit in a home that was converted (?) in the past. They are up on Russian Hill, on Greenwich St. They have a gorgeous Alcatraz and bay view from several rooms. If you want to see the place, message me, and I will give you the address. The pics are still on Zillow.
They competed with 3 other renters who were interested in the property. Originally it was listed at $5,000 per month. The owner, who lives in NYC, had the broker call our son, telling him that the owner got a higher offer from one of the other interested parties (no details on amount) and would they be willing to go up to $5,200? I was mildly shocked, to be completely frank, that 3 young Cal guys got this place. What likely sealed the deal? The owner or the broker (do not recall which) also went to Cal!
I want to let mom60 know that she really made my day in remembering and appreciating a post that I had made several years ago.
I also smiled when I saw mom60 had remembered my post… but unfortunately the rental market has gotten so bad in the intervening years that I would generally not recommend renting in the city all. It’s just as bad, if not worse, as Manhattan. I wonder where else the tech shuttle might pick up?
Why it has to be in sf downtown? You can get more reasonable rent in Daly City, Colma and some thing right near the Bart station. They are very safe towns and just one or two stops away from sf boarder.
@artloversplus It has to be SF downtown because he’s 22 and wants the fun and excitement of living in the city, though I’m not sure how much time and energy there’ll be for fun after work plus commute! It’s the same thing back home-friends’ recent college graduate children are all moving to Manhattan, despite the expense and tiny apartments. Thank you to everyone who responded. I would be grateful for any additional advice.
My son and his 2 roommates worked out different rent amounts, so that would be my advice if the bedrooms are different sizes.
Two of the bedrooms are the same size but larger than the 3rd bedroom. One of the larger bedrooms has a double bay window, while its counterpart has a single bay window. The smallest bedroom does not have a bay window but does have a great view of the bay-- probably the best view of all. No in-suite bathrooms. All 3 closets were the same size. My son was okay with the smallest bedroom once his share of the rent was less than his roommates. They agreed on the following breakdown: BR1 (2 bay windows), $1,900, BR 2 (1 bay window), $1,800, and BR 3 (no bay window), $1,500.
Everyone is happy. No one feels cheated. Everyone got the bedroom and rent of their choosing.
I think Mom60’s advice about preparing all docs ahead of time and in hand is excellent for apartment shopping anywhere.
My D and I found her unbelievably wonserful apt by the old fashioned method…driving all the streets around campus. Her generation thinks they can whip out their phone and find some kind of magic rental app. I had to force her to get her head out of her phone and drive the neighborhoods to get a feel for what’s available at what price.
I have friends who live in outer richmond, SF. They are walking distance to Sutro Park. They have a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage and backyard for $4,200/ per month. It is in a great area, safe, one block in each direction to bus lines along Geary and Anza. Zillow currently shows a private 3 bed, 3 bath home with garage and yard in outer richmond for
$4,800. Neighborhoods: Inner and Outer Sunset, Inner and Outer Richmond, Presidio, Laurel Heights, Marina District are good places to look.
Wow, these kids are paying in rent per person what we pay for our large house - P&I, insurance, and taxes. I think we’ll stay here!
Richmond and Sunset and along 19th street are basically suburban living, there is nothing excited about, same as live in Daly City. Actually, Broadway area in Millbrae has more activities than Sunset right now. I have a kid live in Japantown area with pretty low rent, he was lucky to find a one bedroom for around $2500, perhaps you guys can consider that.
^That’s lucky? Wow, I just can’t wrap my mind around that.
@MaineLonghorn - that is why my D after 2 years in SF quit her job and moved. She felt like it was a crazy life of working 50 plus hours a week and paying $2300 for a studio apartment though it did include a parking space in a real garage and allowed a dog. She does miss her apartment, SF has some nice older apartments. I miss visiting her and seeing San Francisco as a resident versus as just a tourist. Her apartment was a great location on the border of several good areas to walk. We could walk to the Marina, Cow Hollow, Russian Hill and Pacific Heights. It is a great city for walking if you don’t mind the hills. The views make the hill walking worth it. She now lives a 15 minute drive from us.
Yes, a kid of my classmate was paying $4000/mo for a one bedroom near Chinatown on a 4th floor walkup. He was a high paying engineer worked for Lucas Films at the Presidio, he could afford it. In the mean time, I am striving to get $3000 in my 4 bedroom 2.5 bath house just across the bay from Facebook!
In stead of looking at Twin Peaks, take a look at Oakland Downtown, specifically, Lake Merritt area, it became very hip and lively. Lots of bars and high end restaurants.
Don’t fixate on a three bedroom; look for a two bedroom with a den/dining room/study. Then someone gets a not-so-nice “room” without windows or a third wall, but it can help with the budget.
Talk to the HR folks at the internship companies. They may be able to help locate something.
You pay a premium for being near the tech shuttle stops. Time vs. money. For a summer, maybe not so horrid to have a slightly longer commute.
Be aware that the train can be faster than the tech shuttles, depending on where you’re going in the south bay, and where you live in SF.
No one’s bringing a car, right? So much easier/cheaper to use public transport + Lyft