Can't rent my SF house, request candid feedback (Palo Alto, Woodside: real estate, apartment)

[leej23]

I've been trying to rent my 4BR/4BA house for about 3 months now. I've been slowly dropping the price but have not found a renter yet. The location is near St. Francis Woods so its not in the hot Mission/Noe Valley areas. I've been dying to ask those that I have shown the house what their candid feedback is on the house but I don't think I'd get a honest answer for fear of insulting me

I get plenty of calls, and have shown the house about 20 times. The obvious answer is the price is too high but its priced at the same level as 3BR houses in the neighborhood. The other issue could be the presentation so I hired a leasing agent to show the house.

Is there anything I'm missing? Maybe I should stage the house? thx!

http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee154/leej23/miraloma/house.jpg (broken link)

[TheGreatCurve]

Is this a serious post? If that's really your house, it is obviously beautiful, with awesome views, and looks to be recently renovated. How much are you asking in rent? Maybe it is too high?

[clongirl]

High end properties are very difficult to rent because anyone that can afford to rent something so nice (and large), can normally afford to just buy.

Craigslist may not be your best bet in this case, imo. You might want to contact a real estate agent in an area like Woodside, Palo Alto, Hillborough, etc. so you can appeal more to wealthy people renters that may just be working in the area for short term.

[ashlandbus]

scammer, it seems to me. i bet he wants people to PM him and then he will proceed to scam them with the "great deal", either showing them a house that isnt his to rent, requesting up front payment, etc.

[jaypee]

Originally Posted by ashlandbus

scammer, it seems to me. i bet he wants people to PM him and then he will proceed to scam them with the "great deal", either showing them a house that isnt his to rent, requesting up front payment, etc.

Looks like it's this one: ♛ Modern 4BR/4BA Views, 30+Windows, Hardwood, Studio Apartment ♛ (http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/2962766579.html - broken link)

[ashlandbus]

Originally Posted by jaypee

Looks like it's this one: ♛ Modern 4BR/4BA Views, 30+Windows, Hardwood, Studio Apartment ♛ (http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/2962766579.html - broken link)

Oops... you are right... legit post then

[DocGoldstein]

Price fixes everything.

If you're asking for anything north of $10,000 a month, you're going to be waiting a very long time.

[leej23]

Definitely not a scammer post, I am the owner of this house and was looking for candid feedback from a renter's perspective. I didn't include any links to the ad because I wasn't looking to rent the home to anyone here, just get their opinions.

I believe it to be priced competitively because it is in the same price range as 3BRs in the same neighborhood, and mine is a 4BR. The price is $4700, not unreasonable when 2BRs in the city go for $3000 or so. I'll consider another price drop, but was just looking to see if anyone saw something obvious that I'm missing.

[legal_eagle]

I would guess it is primarily due to location, which is inconvenient for getting around the city and suburban in feel. So that would rule out a group of college students who might band together and share a house. And a visiting executive who is moving his family to SF for a year or two is going to want to live in a more interesting part of the city. Also, there's a lot of fog out there. This the type of place someone would buy to raise a family, or rent because it is a really good deal.

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by DocGoldstein

Price fixes everything.

If you're asking for anything north of $10,000 a month, you're going to be waiting a very long time.

From the Craigslist ad, it looks like he's asking for $4,700. (<-- edit: confirmed above)

I think clongirl said it best: People that can afford to spend that much in rent probably have enough saved to just buy (especially if they're looking for a house), so I imagine that's one of the main issues. Location could be an issue too, since it's further away from the "happening" areas of the City, but I know it's still a really nice neighborhood. Then again, since it's more suburban, it would probably be attracting well-off families, which (again) probably would be more interested in buying than renting.

That being said, there are definitely people who are looking to live in the Bay Area for a short amount of time (months to a few years), and aren't interested in buying for a variety of reasons. I have a friend who owns a condo in Infinity Towers and he now rents it out since he recently moved to LA for a new job. The person he's renting to is paying ~5,500 a month for the 2Br/2Ba condo...This house is comparatively a steal.

Maybe Craigslist just isn't the best place to move such a high end place like that? My friend with the Infinity Towers condo hired someone to find him a good and qualified tenant, and he did little work himself (not sure how much that cost him, though). The house your advertising looks awesome, but maybe you're just not attracting the attention of the type of people that would be interested...