sfrent.net

I scheduled a showing at one of their properties, 1739 Pine, with agent Anna Kwan. She did not show up. If this is their business manners when they are trying to get your money into a contract, I wonder how they treat customers that are already contractually bound.

I had a very positive experience with sfrent. My daughter was attending school in the city, had lived on Pine street, and needed to find a new place in the downtown area to live. Sfrent appeared to have some decent places that fit the bill, so that’s where we looked. At first it seemed difficult to make contact with anyone regarding apartments posted on line, but once I figured out how the system worked, and we started talking to Katie, Toby, and Annie, things began to fall into place. We found the agents friendly and welcoming. My daughter ended up renting a great apartment in the Pharaoh. Toby (the manager) was extremely helpful in so many ways which became really important when 3 months later my daughter had to take a medical leave from school. There we were, all of us living in Alaska, with an expensive 1 year lease in San Francisco. I contacted Toby first, then Katie, to ask the possibility of getting out of the lease. Katie never missed a beat, she said we understand that things like this happen and we’re not here to make these things difficult. And they didn’t, the apartment was re-​rented within a month and I got my security deposit back in the mail today. THANK YOU Sfrent, I appreciate your help and support!

Typical land management company. At our place they refuse to put any money into the place that has constantly backing up sewage into the outside area and washer and dryer area and no hot (just warm) water. They refuse to give out the door code and won’t give a key to the outdoor area so you have to bring your bike up the stairs, through the building, and then down stairs to the outside just to lock your bike up. They operate properties in many cities out of a building in the middle of SF so going in to complain is quite a journey. You never get to talk to anyone, just submit «maintenance requests».
This review is for 1505 Jackson St in Oakland.
Be sure, as always, to Unilocal future landlords and ask current tenants how they like their living arrangement.

So, despite the fact that there are many negative reviews here on Unilocal about the folks at SF Rent, my fiancée and I have had a much different and better experience. As one of the tenants below, we also lived in the St. Francis Terrace building in the Tendernob of SF. And similarly, we also knew what to expect, when our apartment bordered the trash-​collecting area.
However, despite the location of the apartment, for a studio it was pretty big and had some of the best storage set-​up for any apartment I’ve seen in San Francisco. The trash area itself was usually kept pretty clean as were the hallways. Most of the upkeep is done by only one person, Eric, and he is awesome. As a building manager he is always on top of things and is very responsive and honest about what he can or cannot help with. In the latter situation he has always referred us to the correct people at the main office.
As for the maintenance department, my experience was the opposite of most. Very quicky after I submitted a maintenance request online to get things fixed (leaky faucet, toilet paper holder…) they always respond within a day or two. And when they do come, it was usually Jorge, and he works fast and does a great job every time.
The rental process was quick and easy, the direct deposit made it very convenient to pay correctly every month, we had no problems with pets in the building and the office staff was always friendly and accommodating when we went to visit.
Overall, I think SF rent did a good job.

Yikes. I haven’t even lived in one of their apts but am giving them 1 star for the application process. Pretty shady that they say in their emails «an earnest fee will bump your rank on the wait list.» I’m not a lawyer but isn’t that a bribe? Thanks Unilocal!for helping me steer clear of these guys.

These people are scumbags. I don’t say this lightly or without a lot of experience dealing with them. I lived in one of their buildings in Oakland for a few years, mostly because it was easy to get to the airport and the places I needed to get to in the city, plus I can’t stand the act moving. If you care about having a clean, safe, functional building to live in, do not rent from SF Rent.
Things started out OK, but their screening process both for new tenants and resident managers fell off a cliff. Neither of these would have been killers, but their maintenance department is a joke, and nothing was ever fixed in a reasonable amount of time. The water/​hot water system was constantly broken, resulting in 7 instances of multi-​day outages in my time there. Sometimes it was no hot water, sometimes no water at all, ranging from the better part of a day to 3 – 4 days in length. They finally bought parts from shady dealers and constantly refused to pay to have things fixed on weekends/​nights, prolonging every outage.
Only one time was compensation provided, and it was in the form of 2 of the cheap bottles of wine they give to new tenants on move-​in. A few of these outages rose to the level of code violations, but they did not seem to care. When I called to find out why this kept happening, the woman in the office laughed at me when I told her I had been unable to get a shower in 3 days.
The ancient elevator was always broken, and service was always slow when it was out of order.
There is mold and mildew in the common areas, and the cleanup (cosmetic at best) was never completed. Trash pickup was always inadequate, despite many resident complaints. Security was never taken seriously until a resident was attacked in the lobby.
Communication was always from a «no reply» email account so that you had to call or use a web form to deal with them, providing an easy way out of a paper trail.
Upon moving out, I hired a professional cleaner to ensure I would receive my security deposit back. Of course they retained a significant part of my deposit for cleaning, with no explanation. When I contacted them, they again refused to explain.
I know this is a shady business, but you can find better people to rent from.

I know I’m getting pretty wordy in my denunciation of this company (see my previous postings below), but I’m encountering further egregious acts that should scare anyone away from doing business with them.
I have been trying for weeks to get their maintenance department to come and fix my furnace. I have called and emailed both the management office and the maintenance department SEVERAL times and have gotten ZERO response, nada. AVOID THIS COMPANY! DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT WHAT THEY MAY HAVE TO OFFER. THEY WILL TRY TO SCREW YOU IN EVERY WAY POSSIBLE!!!
UPDATE: JAN. 1 and still no furnace! They finally got around to having contractors bid on fixing it, and I’m told they are shooting for Mon. the 3^rd to have it done. That will be THREE MONTHS from the day I requested maintenance on it. And THAT only because of my innumerable complaints via emails and phone calls. So, for the first half of the winter I have had no furnace in my apartment. After a couple of months of complaining, SF Rent brought over a couple of radiator heaters that only warm up a small area while using more electricity than I like.

I’m unhappy with SFRENT. I’ve been their tenant for 2 weeks. My place was newly remodeled but they did not clean it after the remodel so there is dust and dirt everywhere. I put this on my move-​in worksheet and they did nothing. More importantly, many things are missing from the unit or not working and they have not addressed those or even contacted me about it despite: me putting it on my move-​in worksheet, me calling my building manager, me using their maintenance request form, and me calling their office directly and leaving a message. The shower is missing a curtain rod and several of the lights do not work.

These guys are a complete joke.
They clearly have no process flow or organizational structure in place to correctly manage a client. Tasks get left forgotten all the time, and they must be constantly nagged. When you try and call them they will only answer if you are a new number or if you call over and over and over.
Moving In:
The day before I had to move in I was still waiting to hear back from SFRent to know what I needed to bring. I was flying out early the next morning and wanted to have all my ducks in a row (especially since banks close early). The lady who was supposed to get back to me had decided to take the day off, without even letting anyone else in the office know I needed to be contacted.“
Had I not send them several emails and many voicemails, I would never heard back from them until I arrived empty handed at their office the next day.
Moving out:
Its been 6 weeks I still haven’t gotten my deposit back. I emailed them my address and verbally told them my address several times on the phone. No surprise, they sent the check to the wrong address. From the background noise on the phone, I am sure the guy on the phone wrote done the correct address (he read it back to me), but the same lady copied it incorrectly on the envelope.
These people are either brain-​dead or smoke hella weed all day long.
They need a new manager to institute a shared process flow where tasks and clients cannot be forgotten by the retarded lady.
The actual stay:
Was very pleasant.
TLDR: The office people are just incompetent, unprofessional, and not willing to make up for their mistakes.

NO NOT GIVE YOUR MONEY TO THESE CON ARTISTS!!!
I called asking about information on a 1 bedroom they had listed. It was going to cost $ 2145, 1^st month rent, and 1.5 for security deposit. When I asked about a pet, she informed me that there would be a $ 100 a month addition to the rent for the dog. When I asked why the young lady (with all the eye rolling heavy sigh attitude she could muster) informed me, «yes, that’s what we do».
I questioned her further asking why this was necessary, and she replied that there are wood floors, and they would have to fix the damage a pet would inflict. She said, and I quote «they scratch the floors, chew the molding, and eat the walls». I then asked her if that wasn’t why we pay a security deposit… any damage, and the cost to repair comes from the security deposit… she could not answer that, so I asked her again very clearly. She refused to answer my question.
I then stated (very clearly and slowly) «Help me understand this… you are making an extra $ 1200 per year from my dog… PLUS a security deposit. why am I paying an additional fee? She could not answer the question, and just hung up on me, and would not answer my call from that point on.
THEY ARE SCAM ARTISTS TAKING ADVANTAGE OF UNSUSPECTING RENTERS!

I have just received my deposit check back after moving out so I feel I can finally close this chapter in my life and write a review about my experience with SFRent.
I would not be able to recommend this place to anyone. I know that you’re probably looking for places to rent in the Bay Area, and the rental market being what it is you probably are thinking, well I don’t have many options. You are probably right. Before signing with these guys make sure you are prepared to spend your time wrestling with maintenance to get things fixed and lose a portion of your deposit regardless of the condition you leave your apartment in.
The location of the Oakland property that I resided in for a few years is close to down town and in an OK neighborhood. You can walk anywhere. They allow pets (under 45lbs, but they will offer to cut you an invalid lease without your pet if you can «get rid of it»). No problems there.
The problems for me started when I applied for apartments — they lost my application and took my fee, so I had to reapply for a different unit. No big deal, at least I had a roof over my head and a place that allowed dogs. I found out a few weeks after moving in the reason they had «lost» my application was because they were giving the apartment I applied for to a resident manager. We ended up having 4 different resident managers over the year and a half that I was there.
The unit I moved in to had a broken oven and a detached light fixture in the bathroom. I submitted work requests for both on move in. The oven was fixed 1 year (!) later after a few requests, and the light fixture ended up on the floor after the maintenance guy couldn’t figure out how to reattach it. It was still lying there the day I left. I am still getting emails about whether or not the job is finished from the maintenance system.
During my stay a pipe burst in the building near my unit. Luckily no damage was done to my unit but SFRent had to send workers in to fix the pipe in my kitchen. They removed half of the cabinetry and tore a large hole in the wall, leaving it uncovered while they were away. I was without hot water for a week and the kitchen wasn’t useable for over a week and a half. The maintenance people could not give me a repair timeline, and refused to discuss rent credit for the untenable situation. I ended up staying with friends while they worked since the interior wall was left exposed. When the work was finished every surface in the apartment was covered with drywall dust and I had to wash down everything.
When pressed about the issue I was kindly mailed this line in the lease:
«Tenant (s) understands and acknowledged that the premises is located in an older building that was built many years ago. Given the age of construction of the premises and building, Tenant (s) understands and acknowledges that certain defects or maintenance issues will arise more frequently that they would in other, newer buildings… Tenant (s) further understands and acknowledges that any required renovations or repairs to keep the premises or building in good condition and repair may result in temporary losses of use of portions of the premises or building and may inconvenience Tenant (s). Tenant (s) hereby accepts this as a condition of the tenancy and agrees any such maintenance, repair, or loss shall not constitute a breach of the warranty of habitability or a significant reduction in service or otherwise warrant a rent credit.»
They did not respond to any further questions I had after that! I should have known that the reason they write that in their lease is because there is a high likelihood that something could break in your unit and destroy some of your stuff.
Moving out was probably one of the biggest reliefs of my life. I wasn’t even surprised when half of my deposit was missing in the check I received in the mail. General cleaning and maintenance charges. I had a walk through done by two different managers (they lost another one during the 2 weeks that I was moving out) and both of them confirmed that I should expect all of my deposit back because I left the apartment in better shape than it was when I moved in. Every surface scrubbed, floors cleaned. I suppose I should be happy they didn’t take more!

Just signed a lease with SFrent, and it was positively the easiest experience I’ve had with a landlord or rental agency. No weird upselling pressure, everything was straightforward, and the communication was all quick and easy. Fritz helped us out with everything we needed to get approved and to get us into an aprtment we liked, and I feel really happy with the entire experience.

I find it ironic that a majority of negative reviews posted here are based on properties in San Francisco and Oakland, and yet, there isn’t even one review about the complex in Pleasant Hill, CA for the Tuscany Apartments. I’ve been a tenant at this complex for a little over a year, and the only complaints that I have are towards the cleanliness of the complex grounds, and the functionality of our elevator.
I think it’s a shame that some of the tenants who reside within the complex don’t bother to put their litter in its place — in the trash can or dumpsters. Come on, people! This isn’t just YOUR home; it’s OUR home as well, and we have to put up with your mess every time we come home from either school or work. We have enough problems in our own lives as it is, and we don’t need anyone contributing to the «mess». In addition, everything that you do, doesn’t only affect your monthly rent, but ours as well. Should we honestly have to pay for your mistakes or your carelessness? No!
My next gripe is about our elevator. Although the elevator seems like a convenience for those who have a hard time using the stairs, it really isn’t. The rule of that elevator is, make sure that the door is closed securely before you hit the buttons to your destination. I was stuck in that elevator for a few minutes (thank goodness), but our own landlord was stuck in there from 45 minutes to an hour. We need a new, and functional elevator. This is the 21^st century, and everyone (employees included) deserve an elevator that works properly.
The only good things I can say about the complex is how responsive our landlord and maintenance department is to our every day needs or complaints. When I first moved in, my front door wouldn’t lock properly. I put in a request via e-​mail, with pictures to back it up, and within days of my move in, my door was fixed. I also had a broken dishwasher when I moved in. The landlord came in, told me that the motor wasn’t working anymore, and said that it would cost more to repair it, than to buy a new dishwasher. He admitted that requests such as dishwasher installation are one of the few things that are not handled by the maintenance department, and contacted an outside vendor for this request. When the outside vendor failed to perform the duties as instructed by the landlord of Tuscany Apartments (or show up for the matter), the maintenance department took matters into their own hands, and installed the dishwasher themselves. Heck, I’ve even had my mailbox tampered by someone. Once I filled out a request online, the maintenance guy fixed it in a heartbeat; he installed a new lock, and now my box closes properly.
Oh, yeah, and to those who complain about receiving e-​mail notices only from the main office about inspections or a utilities shut off, this is the 21^st century. If you can’t check your e-​mail for messages regarding your own home, how are you gonna function outside when so many jobs and businesses rely on technology to communicate left and right? Personally, I prefer receiving notices via e-​mail because there are times when I’m away from home for long periods, due to work and family.
I honestly think our place can be better, provided that other tenants show more respect for the complex they live in, instead of treating it like a garbage dump. If you don’t want to live in a dump, do your part by helping to keep it clean, and mean, and pristine!

Unresponsive, uninformative, complete lack of personal etiquette and a «management company» it is not; there is no management going on here.
I also don’t like the way they abuse the terms of service on CL by not actually responding to any inquiries and sending you to their site.
Finding an apartment can be stressful and you need someone on your side that answers questions and helps to find you a HOME.
This would not be the right venue. If it’s any indication of how they manage their properties, I certainly wouldn’t move into one.

Wow, I am kind of amazed at all of the terrible reviews on here. I have had nothing but a good experience so far.
I live in the Saint Francis Terrace building on Post. While the building is old and the apartments are small… this is nothing that I wasn’t aware of going into the lease. Our building manager Eric is mainly who I deal with… so I don’t know if maybe the management company is more trouble… but I haven’t experienced it.
Any time I submit a maintenance request, it is taken care of right away. I should note that those are submitted online… so maybe that has something to do with the larger company? No complaints here. I have locked myself out… Eric has let me in with no complaints or threats of charges (as I have had at other buildings).
It is a very pet friendly building– which I love! Some of the people seem very friendly, others keep to themselves, you’ll have this anywhere. The building is kept pretty clean and if there is anything that seems like it should be different, its never uncomfortable to bring it up and ask (which I did once about smoking… it was taken care of anonymously).
Love the neighborhood and well the rent was the right price at the given market. No complains and I have been here for about 6 months at this point. If looking to rent from sfrent, it might be good to check into reviews about on-​site building managers… I would guess that could be the complaints, since I cant see a problem at all.

I wish I could give a thorough review about what its like to work with this company and their leasing agents…
Unfortunately, after the numerous calls, texts, emails, and voicemails I’ve sent their way, I haven’t heard so much as a peep. As far as I’m concerned, this company is entirely inoperable other than the occasional Craigslist posts advertising available apartments.
Bottom line, if your company can’t handle the volume of prospective renters… HIRE MORE PEOPLE!
It’s a shame that companies like this think they can show total disregard for customer service solely due to the high demand for rentals in this city. Despite all the negative reviews and unsatisfied tenants, this company will unfortunately still remain in business.
Don’t waste your time. If you do… good luck with these guys.

I’ve been living at their 555 O’Farrell building for about a year now and I’ve been pretty happy. They are very responsive to my maintenance requests and with resolving tenant disputes. People in the main office are generally pleasant, too. The current building manager is also very good. All-​in-​all, I’m quite happy.

I never even got to view the 2 apartments I was interested in b/​c the leasing agent didn’t show up to the open house for one of them and didn’t return my email about the other. There are no phone numbers listed in their ads.
I emailed the company to tell inform them that their agent blew off an open house and doesn’t return emails. The person who responded asked me when the open house was and if I still had the ad for it. I had the link, but it was already flagged on Craigslist. When I called them out about posting scams, I never heard from them again.
Don’t bother.

If I could give negative stars, I would.
The nitty gritty: My Raymond apartment in Oakland was entered unannounced on three separate occasions. There was absolutely no contact made with me. Totally illegal. When I complained about this, I was given a few bottles of wine as an apology…
Not having learned my lesson, I tried to transfer into a 1 bedroom apartment with my boyfriend (upgrade from my studio). Even though I was told explicitly when I signed the lease that I would be given preference to an apartment if I wanted to transfer as long as I was in good standing, this was completely disregarded when it finally came time to it. I licked my wounds and eventually found new housing and faxed my notice to vacate. Apparently, SFRent said they never received it but that I could put my original date on it when I refaxed it. Then they went back on that promise too and insinuated that I was lying about sending it in.
Such a horrible experience. Do not even entertain the thought of renting from SFRent. You will sorely regret it.

WOW, I got a little threatening message from SF Rent that I am making slanderous statement to their business.
Too bad that I can produce all the phone call records, and multiple e-​mails that came back without a reply.
DONT THREATEN ME, SFRENT​.NET.