Rental/Temp accommodation advice in Almaden Valley/Los Gatos (Saratoga: apartment, renters)

[TamW1]

We're hopefully moving to the Almaden Valley/Los Gatos area from the UK within the next 2-3 months and trying to look at our options for 3 bedroom rental houses (or other temporary accommodation) when we get there. We'd love to buy ASAP but realise it's probably sensible to build up our credit rating first to secure a better mortgage rate (and of course get our Green cards). Such a move will be difficult enough as it is with Covid so we're trying not to put additional pressure on ourselves!

We're specifically wanting to find a place in the Leigh high school and Union Middle school area and we're a family of 4 with 2 kids (11 and 13).
Rental properties in this area seem quite scarce right now when I look at Zillow and I'm told that leases are minimum of 12 months.
We've explored AirBnB but I think the costs are going to be too high for a 3-6 month period and I'm doubtful whether we could use an AirBnB address to enroll our kids in school.

- Are 12 month+ leases pretty much standard or are there other options for shorter term rentals that anyone is aware of?
- Where are the best places to find a rental house in this area? Zillow etc or specific property management companies? Any recommendations?

Thanks guys.

[BRinSM]

12 month leases are pretty standard in the area. Having said that, you may be able to negotiate with the landlord.

For finding houses to rent, Zillow is as good as any other sight. If you are being relocated by an employer, I would definitely leverage that company's resources as much as possible. And you are also right that inventory is tight these days.

[Heidi60]

So many are leaving the Bay Area that you shouldn't have too much of a problem. But it might be easier to leave the family behind for a few months until you can find what you are looking for. There are a number of property management companies that usually have a good supply of long and short term rentals.

[Semiworker]

I second all of BrinSM' s comment.
There is always a shortage of house for rent, exodus or no exodus.
There's even rarer availability in the area with the schools you specified.
For less than 12 month lease, you might have to accept even higher monthly rent, or be open to apartment or townhouse community living.

[StandingRoomOnly]

I'm not sure what the market is like in Almaden / Los Gatos, but I'm in Los Altos and it is definitely a renter's market. Plenty of properties available. Excellent schools (when they aren't doing distance learning). Normally when someone posts about looking for a place on Nextdoor.com, about 20 landlords who are looking for renters or locals aware of rentals near them jump on the post with suggestions. Unfortunately with the pandemic, the crime rate has skyrocketed in our local area (specifically thefts, home break-in's, etc) -- it is likely similar 20 minutes over in Los Gatos, Saratoga, etc.