moving to the East Bay - accessible housing?

[SFcatgirl]

I did a search and came up with this article from SFgate. It may not be what your looking for or apply to you. Still maybe it has useful info.

How to Find Housing for the Disabled | Home Guides | SF Gate

[eastbayhopeful]

Originally Posted by johnny22

Thank you! That's really helpful. I'm glad to hear that there is accessible housing stock, even if I have to look a little harder for it. I'm fine with a place that I have to add a ramp to, although you really need a lot of room to meet ADA specs for the incline/grade, so it might not always be possible.

As encouraging as your first two paragraphs were, your last one is quite scary! Why did it take you two months to find a place? Was there that much demand for apartments, or did you have really specific requirements? I'm moving from out of state, so I'll have a week at most to look at places in person, and probably more like a weekend.

Sorry to scare you - it was definitely my own doing! I wasn't 100% familiar with the area so I looked around a lot before I found the right place, and I could only go to weekend open houses since I work full time 9-5. I also have a cat and it was pretty hard to find apartments here that are pet friendly in my price range without any really high deposits or pet rent. I looked at a lot more that weren't allowing animals just to get a feel of the area and the kind of places that were available. When I did find my place I signed the lease the next day and moved in the next weekend so it all moved pretty quickly.

I am also in my very early 20s (as in 20, lol) so a lot of landlords weren't taking me seriously when I submitted an application and didn't bother to check my references or 700+ credit score. I even had one guy tell me that even though I made more money than any of the other applicants, he had a strict "no-party" policy and wasn't sure I could "adhere to that." So ridiculous and I'm pretty sure that's not even legal but I digress. I guarantee you will have better luck than I did!

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by eastbayhopeful

I even had one guy tell me that even though I made more money than any of the other applicants, he had a strict "no-party" policy and wasn't sure I could "adhere to that." So ridiculous and I'm pretty sure that's not even legal but I digress. I guarantee you will have better luck than I did!

Wow, age discrimination! Sorry this happened to you. As if all 20-somethings are partyers!

[eastbayhopeful]

Also, I'm not sure if you're doing this already, but I really liked utilizing the street view function on Google maps. It might give you a better idea of whether or not something is accessible.

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Wow, age discrimination! Sorry this happened to you. As if all 20-somethings are partyers!

I was appalled to say the least! Especially since I am allergic to large or noisy social gatherings, I probably party less than most 40 year olds. Not to mention, this was at a pretty ****ty place in West Berkeley that I submitted an application for as a backup. I ended up getting a way nicer place in a much better area so... I win.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by eastbayhopeful

I ended up getting a way nicer place in a much better area so... I win.

I love happy endings!

[jade408]

As for the basements? There Easy Bay are lots of houses (like the cratsmans) that have stairs to the main level, so the basements are at street or just below.

As for areas, I agree with the other posters to just ask.

For example, I live in the Piedmont Ave area of Oakland. I'd imagine about 30% of the buildings are pretty accessible. (of the garden apartment variety)

Mine would be tricky, as there about 3 stairs to the front door, and no ramp. And I think the driveway is a little too steep officially, but I might be wrong, but the neighboring ones would fit the bill. Most have elevators, and not too many stairs. The bit issue in my building is really getting in, after that, things would be straightforward. The doors are pretty wide and so on.

I lived in a definitely accessible building in Alameda as well, and many were on the same street. (Central Ave in Alameda has a zillion apartments). Most should be in your budget.

So ask, because many places fit the bill on their own.

[Ruth4Truth]

It would be great if Craigslist, and other listing sites, had a universal symbol that indicated wheelchair accessibility, that they could put in their ads. That would really simplify things. Such a simple solution. Maybe it'll catch on someday.