SF apartments- how did you get yours? (Marina: renter, credit)

[madverb]

Excitedly planning to move to the Bay Area from NYC this spring/ summer... We're relatively familiar with the city itself but have a few housing-related questions:

How did those of you who rent find your apartments? Did you use a broker, or Craigslist, or contact management co.s directly?
Is it true that brokers don't charge the renter a fee? What have your experiences with brokers been?
Are there any SF-specific telltale signs that a broker or management co isn't legit? (we're used to all kinds of unnecessary expense and shadiness in NYC so I've developed what I like to call a healthy paranoia...)
If it makes a difference, we are looking to live in SF itself--at least for the 1st year or so while we get acclimated-- in any neighborhood. And we don't have a ton of money to spend.

Also, for anyone who has relocated while balancing finding a job and a place to live at the same time: How difficult did you find it to find an apartment without a job, and vice versa? We hope to have it all lined up for both of us before moving, but trying to be realistic. For example, do SF landlords tend to be flexible in requiring proof of employment if you have decent credit and/or could pay a certain amount upfront?

ANY insight you can give would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[clongirl]

Most people find their apartments through craigslist or spotting a "for rent" sign on a building. Sometimes they'll be "open homes" on the weekends where you can apply then and there with the landlord (then he decides after checking your credit history etc).

I'm not familiar with the broker/agent thing...that is very uncommon out here as far as I know. Trying to find an apartment while not having a job offer in hand seems very problematic since jobs are incredibly hard to come by right now..and competition is huge. Count on being unemployed at least year (just in case) before coming out (bring enough money to get you through). You might try contacting a few landlords off of craigslist with legitimate rentals and get a feel of what the requirements are for people in your situation.

[mdwstrnkid]

Craigslist is the place to go. We got our place through Craigslist and I know of many other people in the city who found their home the same way.

[daepro]

Suggest placing a well written ad in Craigslist describing yourself and what kind of apartment that you are in interested in. There is a good chance someone legitimate will respond and see what develops. This is often the way to find the right place for you.

[TVC15]

Originally Posted by daepro

Suggest placing a well written ad in Craigslist describing yourself and what kind of apartment that you are in interested in. There is a good chance someone legitimate will respond and see what develops. This is often the way to find the right place for you.

This is exactly what I did after months of searching for the right place. I had almost given up but as a last attempt I tried this. I had several responses but only 2 appeared to be honest responses. I was very lucky to find my place like this. I described exactly what I was looking for, the locations that I would consider as well as a little about myself and living habits. Good luck in your search!

[sabbytabby]

My boyfriend found our former place in the Marina through a craigslist ad. He was going to school at the time, but was able to provide proof of 'other' income. I came later and found a job. I will say, that when we moved down here to LA, it was very hard finding a place that would accept us without a job. Most places wouldn't take EDD checks as a source of income. However, I managed to find a place that took a chance on us, and it's been working out fine since. (Still haven't found a job though, so, that's a bit depressing.) I notice there are a lot of places for rent that just have signs in the windows, I think looking back now, that would have been the better route, if you can get a hotel for a few days to scope the area out. Good luck!

[camefromwest]

Originally Posted by madverb

Excitedly planning to move to the Bay Area from NYC this spring/ summer... We're relatively familiar with the city itself but have a few housing-related questions:

How did those of you who rent find your apartments? Did you use a broker, or Craigslist, or contact management co.s directly?
Is it true that brokers don't charge the renter a fee? What have your experiences with brokers been?
Are there any SF-specific telltale signs that a broker or management co isn't legit? (we're used to all kinds of unnecessary expense and shadiness in NYC so I've developed what I like to call a healthy paranoia...)
If it makes a difference, we are looking to live in SF itself--at least for the 1st year or so while we get acclimated-- in any neighborhood. And we don't have a ton of money to spend.

Also, for anyone who has relocated while balancing finding a job and a place to live at the same time: How difficult did you find it to find an apartment without a job, and vice versa? We hope to have it all lined up for both of us before moving, but trying to be realistic. For example, do SF landlords tend to be flexible in requiring proof of employment if you have decent credit and/or could pay a certain amount upfront?

ANY insight you can give would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

You don't need a broker. Just look on craigslist. Consider Fisherman's Wharf. Best area for a newcomer.

[andyadhi01]

Craigslist rules here. But just walking around the neighborhoods is useful in the city. Just call the number if you see a 'for rent' sign. This is how I found mine.

[xGrendelx]

I emailed just about every listing on craigslist that fit what I was looking for (price, location, etc), and I was lucky enough to get in contact with an owner who was cool with doing everything through email.

[madverb]

Originally Posted by TVC15

This is exactly what I did after months of searching for the right place. I had almost given up but as a last attempt I tried this. I had several responses but only 2 appeared to be honest responses. I was very lucky to find my place like this. I described exactly what I was looking for, the locations that I would consider as well as a little about myself and living habits. Good luck in your search!

Originally Posted by daepro

Suggest placing a well written ad in Craigslist describing yourself and what kind of apartment that you are in interested in. There is a good chance someone legitimate will respond and see what develops. This is often the way to find the right place for you.

Thanks! Surprised to hear this worked, I didn't think of that! I think my future domestic partner and I both "describe" pretty well so we may try it if necessary. Question-- were these landlords who you rented from? Or were you joining a roommate situation? (we don't want roommates, just want to make sure I'm understanding correctly.)