How to Rent In the Bay Area.

One of the most common requests I get as a Bay Area realtor is help with finding rentals. The rental market is tight now, with prices high and competition steep.

There used to be a much bigger demand for realtors or property managers to help with finding rentals. Now, with Craigslist and other websites, it's more of a do-it-yourself endeavour and a realtor can't always help you as much as you might expect. Most rentals end up on Craigslist, and only some rentals end up on the MLS (multiple listing service), a database only available to brokers and realtors.

Times have changed... When I tried to rent a place in San Francisco in the late 90's, this was during the previous bubble and the rental market was crazy, I was up against applicants who had made VHS interview tapes of themselves to present to the landlords. 

A realtor can be of help to renters, however, especially if you are out of town. Your realtor can tell you about the neighborhoods, schools and commuting. And even more valuable, realtors have access to their own network who will often let their co-workers know of an off market rental, or a rental that is about to come on the market. Being ahead of the game is a plus in this market.  In addition, your realtor can ask her network for rental leads on your behalf.

Viewing places and gaining access to them with a realtor is also a benefit. You don't have to coordinate with the landlord or deal with general open houses for rentals.

Just as during buying or selling, your realtor can be your advocate and help you navigate your way through the competitive rental market.  Your realtor will also help you with the application process and makes sure you have everything ready ahead of time, to help you stand out.

Things You Will Need to Apply for Rentals:

• Print out your credit history, using one of many free services such as CreditKarma.com. Be ready to explain any blemishes on your report.
• Have your list of references ready.  
• Write a good cover letter.  Sell yourself. Mention your rental history, your family, your work or income source.

Be patient. Just as with buying a home, chances are you'll will lose out on a few before you get the rental you want.

Urban Chalet.

If I ever have a renovation, remodel or design project to do, I know who to call.

Angela and I met as cubicle neighbors at our banking jobs, in San Francisco, back in the heydays of the late 1990's.  We were in our 20's, single, and executive assistants to investment bankers.

She was a great assistant, because she was so good at organizing all the high end functions like closing dinners and client events such as trips to Napa Valley wine tastings, and "roadshows", where bankers traveled, looking for investors. She had endless energy, tons of ideas, very high standards and nothing threw her off.

While she had her day job in banking, she was busy remodeling her old Victorian house in the city. At one point she and her husband had the whole thing lifted up to fix the foundation.  They pretty much did it themselves.  I was impressed then.  She also did endless decorating and improving everything in the house, from bedding, to flooring, to window coverings. She liked things custom, high quality and unique.  It wasn't surprising that on her honeymoon to Indonesia, she ended up buying a crate full of custom made ultra heavy, solid wood furniture, (oh, and she did this while battling a horrible intestinal illness she pick up there, putting her in the hospital.)

People noticed her style and her work ethic. While she was still working at the investment bank, (she eventually became a financial analyst), clients and co-workers wanted her help and hired her to get things done.  She had high-end clients who needed high end help, whether it was party planning, decorating or organizing.  Word spread and she got busier and busier with bigger jobs, eventually leading to remodeling and designing multi million dollar homes.

She left the investment banking world and started her business which would be called Urban Chalet, www.Urban-Chalet.com.  From out of her San Francisco living room she helped clients with interior design, site design, project management and custom furnishings. She took on assignments in California, to Park City, New York and beyond.  She got her clients purely from word of mouth.

Urban Chalet kept growing, Angela's living room hasn't been large enough for her business for a while, and so Urban Chalet has expanded to several office spaces in San Bruno, San Francisco and New York City, with a total of 17 employees, including her brother and sister.

Angela, and some of her ideas...

Displays of design projects, ideas and concepts.

They are currently designing and managing over 25 projects annually, with budgets ranging from $10 thousand to $45 million.

I visited her recently at their San Bruno offices.  The last time I saw her office it was in her living room, and now it's in a large office complex with several rooms, everyone sitting at open desks, with large tables, shelving and walls full of samples and drawings and ideas.

Things to come; Urban Chalet is designing their own line of furniture. Miniatures on a shelf.

A beautiful coffee table book, of course.

Angela has an amazing sense of style, is one of the hardest working people I know, with incredible amount of responsibility and stress and yet she is always happy and laughs at everything. (I remember once I was with her when she got a call that a shipping container of materials she had to have at her work site in the Bay Area, pronto, was stuck in customs in Los Angeles, holding up the entire project. I was so stressed out for her when I heard this, yet it didn't phase her one bit. She got on the phone and worked it out.)

Angela and I are now in our 40's, have been in each others weddings (she did my flowers!) and have had a few kids.  But other than that, not much has changed, she's still the same hard working, positive person I always new.

I look forward to working with Angela and Urban Chalet one day.  Either for my own project or with a client. I know we'd all be in good hands and get amazing results!

Ideas on large tables.