Strategy for landing an apartment in SF - suggestions welcomed!

[tikkasf]

Originally Posted by beb0p

Winter months are the slow season, so you should in theory face less competition. With that said, the area you are targeting is in high demand and the price range about par for the neighborhoods. My guess is that you will see vastly different level of competitiveness depending on the characteristics of each unit. At the upper end, renters can afford to be picky and you might find yourself competing with 10 other applicants for the gem while the ugly sister sits at the corner alone begging for an applicant.

Like dalparadise said, the name of the game is prepareness and making a good impression. Some renters dress up with business attire for the open house and with all documents ready in a folder ready to be handed to the landlord. Usually dressing up works better for women as men can come off as too corporate and intimidating so for men, I suggest business casual with khakis and no tie, etc. If there are more than one person living together then all people should show up so the landlord/manager see for himself/herself that you all are not some drugged up hooligans with tattoos on the faces. Making a good impression can make or break the deal. Even if the manager said he/she doesn't make the final decision, you bet he/she will have some input regardless so go and talk to the person and be super nice and sell yourself. You can also download an application online and fill it out ahead of time. Yes, many landlords have their own application but all forms are mostly the same anyway. Having a pre-filled application gives you an advantage - while management waits for the other applications to arrive, yours is set and all ready to go on the first day of open house. Management will likely run your credit and background check first and might just decide, "hey this looks good, let's just stop the process and rent this unit to this applicant." I like to use the application from rentalguide.com because it is more extensive than most forms out there and covers all the questions most standard forms ask you and more, so you can just convince the manager/landlord to accept your application, "Hey look, my application has more information on it than yours."

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The ordeal one has to go through to find a apt to rent in SF, is certainly is not like the Central Valley where I grew up.
I remember back in the early 1980s renting a duplex in the East Bay. I saw the ad for the rental in the newspaper. I called the landlord (he was a banker) and he met at the duplex and showed me around. We talked a bit and I told him I was interested in the place, money & rental agreement exchanged hands & I had the keys in my hand that same afternoon...

[justmeinca]

http://www.thefillmorecenter.com/Apa...erty_floorplan[id]/155655#

I was going to suggest that then I saw the price.

I paid only $2500, I think, for 2 bedrooms/bathrooms there in 2001/2002...