Need to find bay area rental home asap

[KooLaid]

Is there any other option to finding a home in the bay area OTHER THAN craigslist? It seems to almost be the only option I've got at this time.

Also, how much of a pain is it to get from Foster City to the Millbrae BART station? Or would it be better to just jump on the 92 to the 280 to SF state every day?

 

[slamstrom]

101 North and South bound is a pain during rush hour. Are you only looking for a house or apartment?
Try these:
http://www.bayrentals.com/~bar/Rental_Homes_Bay_Area.html
http://www.rentalhomesplus.com/California/SanFrancisco&BayArea

 

[ChopsJazz]

Foster City is a pain to get into and especially out of during peak hours because there are only three ways in and out. I lived there for a year. Sometimes traffic was so bad I'd just turn around and go home for a half hour to let the gridlock die down.

Hwy 280 to SFSU is a fast route, but parking on campus in a b*tch. BART is a good option.

HTH

 

[EuroBoutique]

I would not even attempt driving from Foster to SF during rush hour - you should consider looking near San Bruno or Millbrae areas. At least from ther it's a short run on Skyline or 280 into the city.

Look on CL for places but you need to act fast since good places seem to go really quick! Let me know if you need help since I'm near that area sometimes.


rick

 

[KooLaid]

I've had the opportunity to roam the area a few times now during various rush hours. It seems that El Camino Real south of 92 is actually pretty quick. 101 is simply a mess. 280 is an absolute dream. 92 is great going west but can back up going east from El Camino Real to 101.

So it seems that I can get between SF and Foster City no problem as long as I stick to 92 and 280 at all times. Which puts Millbrae BART station out of the question.

I don't know what to expect when the regular semester starts but there seems to be good parking along Lake Merced Blvd during the summer semester. Also the backup would be to park at the Daly City BART station for $3/day and take the free SF State shuttle from there to the school.

I am looking for a condo or house. I just prefer not to live in a apartment. I just feel that living among a LARGE number of renters doesn't give me much of a sense of security versus those who have spent hundreds of thousands or into the million for their home.

 

[ImolaOrange03]

I've had the opportunity to roam the area a few times now during various rush hours. It seems that El Camino Real south of 92 is actually pretty quick. 101 is simply a mess. 280 is an absolute dream. 92 is great going west but can back up going east from El Camino Real to 101.

So it seems that I can get between SF and Foster City no problem as long as I stick to 92 and 280 at all times. Which puts Millbrae BART station out of the question.

I don't know what to expect when the regular semester starts but there seems to be good parking along Lake Merced Blvd during the summer semester. Also the backup would be to park at the Daly City BART station for $3/day and take the free SF State shuttle from there to the school.

I am looking for a condo or house. I just prefer not to live in a apartment. I just feel that living among a LARGE number of renters doesn't give me much of a sense of security versus those who have spent hundreds of thousands or into the million for their home.

You might want to place a "House Wanted" ad on Craigslist. Might get a few responses.

 

[slamstrom]

I don't know what to expect when the regular semester starts but there seems to be good parking along Lake Merced Blvd during the summer semester.

I am looking for a condo or house. I just prefer not to live in a apartment. I just feel that living among a LARGE number of renters doesn't give me much of a sense of security versus those who have spent hundreds of thousands or into the million for their home.

During the regular semester, Lake Merced Blvd will be parked bumper to bumper up and down street on both sides. The streets in Park Merced, and on 19th Ave. will be packed with parked cars also during the regular semester.

Is there a reason for finding a place in Foster City? Have you thought about finding a place in Daly City or in the area around S.F.State - like in the Parkside (between S.F. State and Taravel) or Sunset (between Taravel and Golden Gate Park) districts)? Just a thought. Good luck on your search.

 

[KooLaid]

During the regular semester, Lake Merced Blvd will be parked bumper to bumper up and down street on both sides. The streets in Park Merced, and on 19th Ave. will be packed with parked cars also during the regular semester.

Is there a reason for finding a place in Foster City? Have you thought about finding a place in Daly City or in the area around S.F.State - like in the Parkside (between S.F. State and Taravel) or Sunset (between Taravel and Golden Gate Park) districts)? Just a thought. Good luck on your search.

Well it's my once in a lifetime opportunity to live in a place like San Francisco (and it's close surrounding areas) and I want to live it up in a nice wonderful place. I had to expand my acceptable area since prime homes close to the campus are thin when you're trying to stay at a max of $2000 for a nice 2bedroom. A great place in Daly city will always be my #1. Prime homes in Daly City are becoming thin, very thin.

Foster City is an option because of the chance to live by the lagoon. Figure if I can't have the sunset view, I don't mind taking my daughter out to go fishing or canoeing in the lagoon when it's 5-10 ft away.

I'm trying to avoid living IN the city though. Not too sure why but probably because I have a better chance of a "regular" home outside of SF.

Thanks for the info on parking. Just trying to sort ALL of this out in the next 30 days.

I've been working on it for atleast 6 months now but the last landlord of the Condo I was looking at is being difficult because of my status as a college student for the past 3 years and military background. Those two mean a "less stable" financial background because of being a student, and I had to move around about 6 times in the past 7 years because of the military so my housing history doesn't look very pretty because of it. Also, all my best references are atleast 3 years old and I wouldn't know where to look to find all the colonels, majors, captains, etc that I worked with anymore since you're always on the move in the military. I've got EXCELLENT family cosigners willing and able but he doesn't seem to give a damn. I was truthful, honest and upfront about everything and my finances are EXCELLENT even as a college student. Maybe I should of just been deceptive and cooked up a fake past 3 years of my life, makes me want to.

So I wrote him one last letter basically saying I want the place, what would it take to sign the lease. 3 days, no response, I just said forget it. I can give $24k in rent a year to someone else.

 

[yojack1]

Well it's my once in a lifetime opportunity to live in a place like San Francisco (and it's close surrounding areas) and I want to live it up in a nice wonderful place. I had to expand my acceptable area since prime homes close to the campus are thin when you're trying to stay at a max of $2000 for a nice 2bedroom. A great place in Daly city will always be my #1. Prime homes in Daly City are becoming thin, very thin.

Foster City is an option because of the chance to live by the lagoon. Figure if I can't have the sunset view, I don't mind taking my daughter out to go fishing or canoeing in the lagoon when it's 5-10 ft away.

I'm trying to avoid living IN the city though. Not too sure why but probably because I have a better chance of a "regular" home outside of SF.

Thanks for the info on parking. Just trying to sort ALL of this out in the next 30 days.

I've been working on it for atleast 6 months now but the last landlord of the Condo I was looking at is being difficult because of my status as a college student for the past 3 years and military background. Those two mean a "less stable" financial background because of being a student, and I had to move around about 6 times in the past 7 years because of the military so my housing history doesn't look very pretty because of it. Also, all my best references are atleast 3 years old and I wouldn't know where to look to find all the colonels, majors, captains, etc that I worked with anymore since you're always on the move in the military. I've got EXCELLENT family cosigners willing and able but he doesn't seem to give a damn. I was truthful, honest and upfront about everything and my finances are EXCELLENT even as a college student. Maybe I should of just been deceptive and cooked up a fake past 3 years of my life, makes me want to.

So I wrote him one last letter basically saying I want the place, what would it take to sign the lease. 3 days, no response, I just said forget it. I can give $24k in rent a year to someone else.

Hey David, looking forward to your arrival, you will have to stop by with your daughter so we can see how much she has grown. We could use a guy with your kind of enthusiasm around here!:smile:

 

[KooLaid]

Hey David, looking forward to your arrival, you will have to stop by with your daughter so we can see how much she has grown. We could use a guy with your kind of enthusiasm around here!:smile:

Definitely, she loves all the cool cars around your home both big and small so she won't mind

 

[KooLaid]

Would living in Oakland, particularly around this Eastmont Hills area be a bad idea?

Or is it bad to live in Oakland or around it in general? You can get one hell of a nice place on that side of the bay.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou....15724&spn=0.018319,0.038581&t=h&z=15&iwloc=A

 

[flaminio]

Would living in Oakland, particularly around this Eastmont Hills area be a bad idea?

The commute to SFSU would be a nightmare from there. Much worse than Foster City.

If you want to live on my street, there's a family moving to India for a year looking to lease out their house. It would be epic to have two NSXen on my little lane :biggrin:.

 

[KooLaid]

The commute to SFSU would be a nightmare from there. Much worse than Foster City.

If you want to live on my street, there's a family moving to India for a year looking to lease out their house. It would be epic to have two NSXen on my little lane :biggrin:.

I was actually looking at taking the BART into Daly city. I know traffic is always a mess on both ends of the bay bridge.

I wouldn't mind living in Foster City but that 101..... yikes. Thats how you saw me the first time, I was intentionally getting lost just to get away from the 101 till it cleared up a bit.

I'm still trying to look at places to live where the time from home to the Daly City BART station (SF State runs a free shuttle from/to there) is less than 30 minutes.

And with the budget Crisis, the CSU system has cut ALOT of courses. Which means I will more than likely need to find a sitter for my daughter in an area where I almost know no one, in order to get my classes.

There are plenty of places to live. Just not enough places available that I would WANT to live. This is a once in a life time opportunity to immerse myself in a whole new living environment. Even have lived in Colorado's 2nd biggest city or even Denver doesn't compare. Especially compared to where I call "home" now, a place that I can find a dairy or farm within 10 minutes no matter where I live.

Still on the hunt! So is living in Oakland really as bad as they say it is? I mean, when I think Oakland, I think riots.

 

[KooLaid]

Is there public transportation from Mill Valley/Sausalito into SF by the university??

 

[baynsac]

Millbrae would work well for you as its near bart and also not the far from the city. I am sure you can find people renting out thier homes there as well.

 

[KooLaid]

So I found a place and the owner is drawing up the lease agreement. I asked him what to expect in the lease agreement and here is what he said:

1. 1st / last last month rent as deposit- $3600 total/ -22 month lease required.
2. Partial rent ( depending move in date)
3. rent due within 5 days of each month and 10% penalty after the 5th.
4. Association rules and regulation
5. Inventory list of what is included in the unit.
6. No pets
7. No smoking in unit
8. Utilities are not covered
9. Owner/Landlord inspection of unit every 6 months

Is there anything out of the norm, such as #1, #2 and maybe #9? I can live with #9 because the guy is taking a risk with someone who is living off GI bill and financial aid in his privately owned condo. But shouldn't #2 be rolled into #1? 22 month lease because I graduate 22 months from now.

 

[slamstrom]

Great, where did you finally end up? What city?

On #2, some landlords likes to make rent due at the beginning of the month, and will prorate the first partial months rent if you move in say on the 15 of the month.

I have heard of #9, but not the 22 months lease. Heard of leases in increment of 12 months or 6 months after the first year of rental.

 

[KooLaid]

Great, where did you finally end up? What city?

On #2, some landlords likes to make rent due at the beginning of the month, and will prorate the first partial months rent if you move in say on the 15 of the month.

I have heard of #9, but not the 22 months lease. Heard of leases in increment of 12 months or 6 months after the first year of rental.

The 22 month because I'm moving August 1X, 2009 and will be at SF state till June 1, 2011. He agreed to do it that way because it was close enough to 2 years and that I bargained him down a whole whooping $50 according to an email from the wife but $75 from the husband posted ad.

Daly City. Top of San Bruno Mountain on the western tip. Not the view I wanted but it's a still a great community and a beautiful condo inside.

Not in there YET because I haven't signed a lease agreement yet. So who knows. I might end up in a pacifica apartment or maybe that crazy but very nicely set up condo a block from the pier there.

 

[aridon99]

KooLaid, Not sure if you moved in yet, but I lived in San Bruno b4 and if you're above the fog line, which is about half the city, you're in for pretty crappy and cold weather most of the year. That's why I moved to Foster City