Prospective renter looking for explanation of "open house" (San Francisco: apartments, evictions)

[TheJollyWag]

Hi,

I'm looking to find a place in the East Bay in a couple of months, and I've noticed that many of the ads on craiglist mentioned to come during an open house. Being from an Upper Midwest city where open houses are not the norm (at least in terms of apartments, and I've never owned a home so I don't know how they really work, period), could somebody please explain how they work? Do people just show up, and the landlord takes 10 people on a tour of the property? Is a coin flipped if two different would-be tenants are interested in renting the place?
I probably shouldn't be confused, but I am, and I'll only have a couple days to look once I travel out there.

Thanks!

[daepro]

As an owner of a small rental property showing the units to multiple people at the same time works best for me. Having to schedule appointments and sometimes having the potential renter not come is just a waste of time. This happens all too often.
An open house means that I will be there at the stated hours and anyone interested in the apartment can come and check it out. If interested they fill out an application and take it from there.

[Oakland Uptown]

Originally Posted by daepro

As an owner of a small rental property showing the units to multiple people at the same time works best for me. Having to schedule appointments and sometimes having the potential renter not come is just a waste of time. This happens all too often.
An open house means that I will be there at the stated hours and anyone interested in the apartment can come and check it out. If interested they fill out an application and take it from there.

Just curious but how do you decide who to rent to? What if 4 people show up at the same time?

[lmk1707]

I got my current apartment by showing up at an open house. As it turned out, the point of multiple people clamoring for the place was moot - I was the only one who showed. In SF, rental property is extremely competitive, and property owners often have open houses. Many people will bring a completed application along with their credit report along to the open house so they can apply immediately and give themselves an edge. It won't be that way in the East Bay, but it might not be a bad idea to bring a filled-out application or some type of "credit resume."

[TheJollyWag]

Thanks for the information. Interesting and very helpful.

[clongirl]

Originally Posted by lmk1707

I got my current apartment by showing up at an open house. As it turned out, the point of multiple people clamoring for the place was moot - I was the only one who showed. In SF, rental property is extremely competitive, and property owners often have open houses. Many people will bring a completed application along with their credit report along to the open house so they can apply immediately and give themselves an edge. It won't be that way in the East Bay, but it might not be a bad idea to bring a filled-out application or some type of "credit resume."

Back in the late 90's the rental market was so competitive that one rental was given to the guy that offered the owner new carpeting (I kid you not). For every half way decent rental with anywhere near a decent price, there would be people lined up, kissing up, and bribing landlords to rent to them! People would show up at these places with referrals, gift baskets, tickets to ballgames, etc.

Glad that the market has improved. Those were some of my most stressed and angst filled times!

[sonarrat]

In some parts of San Francisco, "open house" is code for "50 people pay $50 a pop for an application for a decently priced apartment, never get called back, and then there's another open house the next weekend."

[lmk1707]

Originally Posted by clongirl

Back in the late 90's the rental market was so competitive that one rental was given to the guy that offered the owner new carpeting (I kid you not). For every half way decent rental with anywhere near a decent price, there would be people lined up, kissing up, and bribing landlords to rent to them! People would show up at these places with referrals, gift baskets, tickets to ballgames, etc.

Glad that the market has improved. Those were some of my most stressed and angst filled times!

Judging by my friends' experience, it's definitely better. Even my friend who rents in the Marina mostly just ended up wasting some time, not money, and she was dead set on that at-capacity area. When my sister lived in Upper Pac Heights, she got a very well priced apartment - large 1br for $1400 - and didn't even have to bribe, cheat, or steal

That said, I doubt the OP will have issues, though it depends on where in the East Bay he's going - if it's walking distance to UC Berkeley, he'll definitely have to be quick on the draw, otherwise I think the rental process should be fairly easy.

[mayorhaggar]

Yep it's a time slot that the landlord sets where anyone who is interested in the place shows up. Depending on how tight the market is, there may be a huge mob of people, but maybe not now with the recession and not so much in the East Bay.

It would help to bring a print out of your credit report, and if the landlord emails you a generic form application, fill it out and bring it. Otherwise bring a notebook with the usual information for an application so you can fill it out on the spot.

If you like a place and feel good about it, and it's affordable and in a good area, and you really want to be there, then you should probably ask if you can leave a security deposit to reserve the place. Some landlords will say no but some will say yes because they want to get the process over with, and then basically you get the apartment. Otherwise they look at all the applications and credit reports and decide who they like the most. Also I have gotten apartments (like my current one) by being the first person to show up at the showing, they didn't want my security deposit right away but gave the place to me because I was first. A ton of people showed up right after me and they all handed in applications and got nothing.

It can be frustrating though when you show up first, have good credit and good income, and the landlord takes your application then 2 weeks later you see the same place listed by the same person. Landlords in San Francisco can generally afford to be very picky when the rental market is very tight, like it was 2 years ago when I was looking. Hopefully it's better now and hopefully it's better in general in the East Bay, but you should still be prepared to be assertive and have all your documents ready.

[daepro]

Choosing the tenant is often a difficult decision based on income, assurances that they can pay the rent on time,whether they have pets, no evictions etc.
My tendancy is to not pay too much attention to credit rating numbers though and try to determine whether the prospective tenant has the steady income necessary to maintain the lifestyle they are entering into.