Why is renting a new apartment...

[AsahinaKimi]

Almost as difficult as applying for a new job? And.. you even need to go for an interview!! Plus the 30 dollar
application fee. (Glad they don't have that for jobs.)


looking for a 1 bed room between 1000-1500 dollars a month.
(This is the low end!) San Francisco.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. Because of all the bad tenants out there.

[Chan790]

2. I figure if I'm paying !*that*! much for 1000 s.f. of space...

I have the right to practice my drums with my 9pc. punk-orchestra while swinging in my illegally-installed and improperly-anchored sex-swing at 4am on a Monday.

:hide:

[haele]

20. In SanFran itself, "that" much rent is probably for closer to 500 sqft.

With no balcony and street parking. In a slightly dodgy neighborhood that's just waiting for the right moment to start getting gentrified.
Daly City, you might be closer to 900 sqft at that price.
Unless,of course you're trying to rent an alleyway view in the Tenderloin, which might be cheaper as a a one-bedroom but still not any bigger. $1500 there would probably get you a 2 bedroom roach motel, though...

Haele

[Chan790]

25. I was actually referring to NYC rates (where I used to live) for 1K sf 1BR/1BA,

About $1500-$3000 depending where in the city you were. For that much money I'm going to do as I please...I have the expectations though that my neighbors will also.

[Yavin4]

3. Where Is You At?

Cause if you're looking for an apt in NYC, that's very similar to being tortured.

[Chan790]

5. I actually found pretty close to that in Marble Hill.

I didn't go look at it but it had to have been a mediocre apartment...still, it's Manhattan.

[KamaAina]

14. Actually it is in New York County but on the Bronx side of Spuyten Duyvil

worse still, you'd be on the 1 train. :scared:

[Chan790]

17. But it's considered part of Manhattan and not the Bronx.

It's because it was originally part of the island. They moved the river from north of 231st(now, then it was just empty land) to south of 224th to create a shipping-lane channel in the early 1900's that would allow them to avoid the undertow/slow-whirlpool at Spuyten Duyvil. There was a twenty year period when it was actually its' own island until they filled in the original river course to the north, leaving only the shipping channel to the south.

Sorry, the only link I could find to explain this was from Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marble_Hill,_Manhattan#Political_status

[Chan790]

18. What's wrong with the #1?

It's kinda dirty in places but it's part of what made NYC feel like home to me. I'm proud of the one train, it has the subway stop for the one university I applied to smart enough to reject my admission application. I respect Columbia for that...I was a lazy prick back then.

[KamaAina]

19. My Inwood connection describes it as overcrowded

of course, all her shopping bags might have something to do with that. :loveya:

[Chan790]

26. It is between 96th and 168th.

It's a nice place to live that has lots of housing units (and they're building more) and is cheap compared to the rest of the city because it's on the "wrong" side of the island.

The absurdity there is (and I'm sure you already know this) is that the island is so narrow that high up that most people could walk across it in 45 minutes or less. You can see from one side to the other from the elevated platforms at 125th.

[TheCentepedeShoes]

27. Isn't the Spuyten Duyvil area

where much of the action takes place in the latest Preston/Douglas book Cemetery Dance?
That would be scary
:scared: (zombiis)

[AsahinaKimi]

6. San Francisco

For my last apartment, I had to bribe the landlord.. I won't say how much, but
it put me back a while, but I did get the place, as crummy as it was.

[JVS]

4. Because eviction is a lengthy process that doesn't even recoup the loss from unpaid rent.

[caitxrawks]

7. good lord

We pay $500 a month for a 2bed/1bath in NC. What I hate is that damn security deposit. Ugh.

[Chan790]

8. I'm going to try to be as nice about this as I can be...

I hate you. I. Hate. You. I hate your cheap apartment in a part of the world where the temperature is not currenly 6 and 2' snowstorms do not occur out of the blue. I hate that your apartment costs less than my condo fees when I lived in NYC. I hate...
:nuke:

(Edit: I don't really hate anybody, but Golly I wish I'd taken that job on South Beach.)

[caitxrawks]

10. LOL

I was getting prepared for a bitchout. You really wanna feel bad? There were cheaper places, this was as expensive as we were willing to go xD We looked at a few places that were $350-$450. There was one place that was $250, but it was in a bad part of town and it needed some work...plus a creepy old bearded drunk lived downstairs.

[AsahinaKimi]

9. Not only is there a security deposit

But there is a deposit for pets as well. My cat will cost me easily $500.00.

[caitxrawks]

11. nooo!

We're not allowed to have pets in our apartment because we have hardwood floors. But the other three apartments in this building (it's a big old doctor's house) have carpet, and I think they pay about $150 for cats and $250 for dogs. The people next to us have a humongous dog that goes nuts anytime you step into the foyer.

[AsahinaKimi]

12. The place I am looking at has hard wood floors.

This could be my next place



I love the neighborhood, there are lots of Chinese and Vietnamese places, and even a Sushi restaurant around the corner. There is a supermarket within walking distance, and lots of Chinese open markets. Transportation is fairly decent there and one can get downtown San Francisco rather easy. The living room window has a view of the backyard which is a garden. Its a huge window which my cat will love sitting in. There is also a big counter top between the kitchen and the living room. I hope I can snag this place, but there is a ton of red tape and approvals to go though. Meh... It may take weeks to get the approval, but its not like I am going any where. I just guess I will have to start my classes in the spring instead of the winter.

[dysfunctional press]

13. when we were lanlords, we were very benevolent about it.

we let the tenant pay the security deposit over their first 4 months(unless it was december- then we'd let them push it back another month).

we also included directv with all the premium channels, free dsl internet hook-up, free use of the basement laundry, and free heat. we also allowed pets(within reason) at no extra charge.

we owned a two-flat in chicago, lived on the first floor, and rented out the second. by including a lot of that stuff as part of the rent package, we were able to deduct half the cost of it on our taxes.

[rebel with a cause]

21. $400 for a two bedroom house in Illinois.

Of course this is a steal and is in a small town. We rented it because it is cheap and has no stairs..no where. It has done wonders for my feet, legs and heart but I would love to move to a different place. The problem is we are spoiled by the price, the privacy and the feeling of security I have about the place. We have lived here four years and my sense of safety is in this little cabin now.

I would love to go to a city where my medical choices would be more broad/diverse but we could not afford it. It seems I am stuck here fr the moment.

[KamaAina]

15. You can find a place in The City for 1000?!

:wow:

I'm paying 1050 plus utilities in San Jose. On the unfancied Milpitas side, no less.

[AsahinaKimi]

16. my current place is 1000

Its called an In-law..its horrible that you have to share the utilities with a neighbor you don't know nor care about. I want my own place, above ground, in the sunlight, where I am responsible for my own bills.

[rebel with a cause]

23. I would not mind living in a mother-in-law unit.

But only if I was the mother-in-law. ;)

[BlooInBloo]

24. Sigh. That's the main reason I stay in Seattle, even though I would LOVE...

to live in SFO. I just can't justify the cost to myself.

[LeftyMom]

22. Because it's easier and cheaper to fire a worker than evict a tenant in California.

Good luck with finding something.