<p>there are no right ones... and the nice ones I want to live in (formerly owned by Panoramic Management), my roommate doesn't want to that much.</p>
<p>boo......</p>
<p>Yes, apartment hunting is tiresome.</p>
<p>mm I did my apartment hunting in February. It's fun when craigslist has very recognizable listings posted 5 days in a row for the same apartment because Reddy Realty thinks I'm stupid or something. Given their shady history I don't know who would rent from them.</p>
<p>I wanted to live where everyone else is east of Telegraph but all of the cheap-end places are ugly ugly ugly. There really are no perfect places around here.</p>
<p>It's my dream to live in the Gaia building but at $1895 for a one-bedroom I'll have to wait until I'm a corporate yuppie.</p>
<p>Right now I live in a loft that's 85% as nice as Panoramic for half the price...that's a 35% benefit for me...and it has a spiral staircase so I'm happy :)</p>
<p>Also CalRentals is useless. It needs to be boycotted.</p>
<p>Exactly. I want to live in the Gaia apartments as well, but we need 2 more ppl to bring the rent down when split 4 ways (2bedroom for 4 people is reasonably priced compared to 1 bd for 2).</p>
<p>Ditto that!</p>
<p>Panoramic Management has nice properties, but the price is so not within a student's range. Allston Lofts used to be okay, but then a private company bought them, changed the name to Allston Place and jacked the rents up $600. </p>
<p>I've had a couple apartments I liked sniped from me. I'm SO ready to just find the next acceptable place and sign a lease. Finding anything close to campus is such a PAIN!</p>
<p>... Relatedly, the apartment I'm subletting (Derby x College) will probably be available after I leave for additional sublet. It's super-cheap for a 1 bedroom apartment... yadda yadda. If you know anyone looking for a place that's a little further away sometime in July, send me a PM. :P</p>
<p>also ucbhi, I am intrigued by your loft. Which units are these? I'm really concerned about getting a clean, tidy place.</p>
<p>EDIT: i just read up on the allston lofts. looks like the reviews aren't so good for them..
EDIT2: seems like the review websites are mostly reviewed by complainers (if that's a word).</p>
<p>I live exactly on top of where the UC Theater used to be around University and Shattuck. It's right next door to the Touriel building. It's very clean... I actually have never seen a spider or any insect here outside of the occasional tiny flying bug. It's at most seven years old, upstairs (carpet) /downstairs (pergo), granite counters and dishwasher.</p>
<p>There are only 20 units here though so there's probably no openings. In any case, I encourage everyone to live on west side because I'm tired of seeing all graduate students :)</p>
<p>Yes no spiders is good :)</p>
<p>Is there a name to the units? How much are the apartments for studio, 1bd and 2bd?</p>
<p>There's not really a name. The company is UC Studios but they don't advertise that name or anything. I'm pretty sure all 20 units are studios and the rent is $995, water/garbage paid. Electricity bill is around $5-10. I'm splitting with my girlfriend so it's really dirt cheap for the quality.</p>
<p>This place intrigues me: <a href="http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/apa/322991799.html%5B/url%5D">http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/apa/322991799.html</a></p>
<p>The door to this place is right in front of the UC-bus stop for BART. It looks nice from the outside, seems incredibly convenient and I wish I got a look at it before I signed my lease. We called to look at it in February and the owner said 30 min and never called back. Committed to the place I'm at now on the same night.</p>
<p>Every morning when I'm waiting for the bus I fantasize about living there and being able to take one step out the door and onto the bus. Or coming home late at night and being dropped right in front of your door. Oh...it sounds so great.</p>
<p>Saw that post.</p>
<p>Here's the catch:
"Lease to 5/31/08 or longer or possibly Summer only."</p>
<p>I wouldn't really call that a "catch." If you read into the listing, it's very pro-student which is a good thing. Aside from the obvious references to "Cal shuttle" and "campus," their looking for a year lease or summer only would coincide with the academic terms at Cal. Most places require a year lease, anyhow, I don't see how or why you would interpret this as a "catch." Are you looking for something in particular?</p>
<p>Yeah I've heard students complain a lot about apartments. But then again, when you compare it to a triple in the units, for 1/2 the price, it's not a bad deal. Most apartments tend to be farther away from campus though, that's what irks me the most.</p>
<p>2109 Shattuck Avenue is where my boyfriend lives at the moment. They're rather expensive for what they are -- for example, for a lease beginning last May, he pays $1000/month for a 1 bedroom that is basically a 12x12 room, a 12x6 room which serves as the living room/kitchen, and a small bathroom. However, if it's close you want, you certainly can't beat "right across the street from campus."</p>
<p>Any questions about that one I can answer. It's a pretty nice building, nothing special -- its real appeal is the proximity. They do 1 year leases, usually May to May, sometimes August to August; very flexible with students, 1 month deposit + 1st month for move-in.</p>
<p>Are they nice/new on the inside? Like the flooring and carpeting and appliances...is that really nice entrance way that you see through the door just a facade for the businesses located there? Oh, and can he leech off of the internet provided by the Cafe downstairs?</p>
<p>Please tell me that everything is gross and falling apart or I'll keep having my door-to-bus fantasies.</p>
<p>"Please tell me that everything is gross and falling apart"</p>
<p>Yes, please do; especially the details of the all important bathroom.</p>
<p>I can't tell you everything is gross and falling apart, sorry. :P</p>
<p>My boyfriend's apartment was recently refurbished before he moved in: the stove/oven and refrigerator were new (within 2 years at least, probably newer), the small strip in front of the counters, stove, sink and refrigerator (the kitchen lines one wall) was new hardwood flooring, the rest new carpet. The bathroom is quite small but was very clean with new fixtures (except the shower-head which was outdated/cracked until BF replaced it).</p>
<p>I had a chance to glance at an identical unit for rent -- same as boyfriend's, just on a different floor -- and it was older looking, so not all of them are newly refurbished/pretty. Those appliances looked ~15 years old, and the paint was wearing, and the carpets were thin but still looked decent.</p>
<p>The building looks a little odd inside; the floor that you can see from the door is nicely tiled, and then you go to an old-style elevator (the one with the door and the sliding grate). The laundry room is in between the first and second floors (it's half a flight up) and is filled with a lot of new machines. The carpeting on all of the floors looks exactly like the stuff on the stairs you can see from outside: new, industrial-type carpeting. The hallways are decently wide, not barely-1.5-people-wide like some buildings around here are, and the hallways are split so you don't have an entire floor full of tenants passing by your room (there are ~4-5 units on either side of the elevator and stairs).</p>
<p>Really, the two huge disadvantages are that it's small and expensive for what it is (though not nearly as bad as Panoramic, at least Panoramic gives you perqs).</p>
<p>ETA: Delay in response was because I went to see another apartment. Nothing sucks like looking for an apartment, except maybe looking for an apartment AND trying to do finals. :P Got a 15 page paper due tomorrow, another on the 14th, and three finals (two essay exams, one foreign language exam). Fuuuun week ahead for me, because I've ALSO got to figure out where I'm living this summer.</p>
<p>Is Panoramic really that bad? It's nice though, isn't it?</p>
<p>are they really that small? i'm fine as long as the bedrooms are the same size as the dorms (in the Units) or bigger.</p>
<p>
[quote]
because I've ALSO got to figure out where I'm living this summer.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>There are so many people begging to have people sublet their apartment you won't have a problem! You might even be able to pay less than they want, cuz if they don't sublet at all they have to pay everything!</p>
<p>They are small for $1000. I am a little spoiled because my apartment is twice as large and I'm paying less than $600, but that's because I'm subletting a place that hasn't had a major rent increase in 14 years (same tenant all 14 years). :P</p>
<p>The bedroom is pretty spacey, plenty of room for two people and a desk or two, though it might get a little cramped if you try putting too much in there. The problem is that the living area/kitchen shares the same space which is about half the size of the bedroom. Not enough room for a couch, TV/stereo AND kitchen table. Boyfriend has a kitchen table there now, kinda small, and it still looks a bit cramped.</p>
<p>It's not that bad -- just maybe not worth $1000. And certainly not something my boyfriend and I could share without feeling like strangling one another. :)</p>
<p>Panoramic Properties are gorgeous, the only (well, Allston Place and Library Gardens aside, but they are functionally the same) commercially owned and maintained apartment buildings near campus. The stuff in them is new, they're decently sized, most of them are REALLY close to campus, and they come with amenities like high-tech security, high-speed internet, cable, etc. The problem is they cost twice as much or more as most of the other apartments, making them impossible to consider for 1 or 2 roommates on a student budget -- the ones closest to campus start at $1895 or so for a cramped 1 bedroom, and then jumps to $2195+ for big 1 bedrooms/2 bedrooms. And you still have to pay to do laundry, and for your utilities, and food...</p>
<p>I have options for this summer, but I don't particularly LIKE any of them. I know there are sublets for the summer, but I am really tired of moving, and I'd much prefer to find a place with a 1 year lease beginning June 1/May 31. Am I maybe asking for too much? Sure. But I have the option of staying where I am until August if I need to, or through the year, so I feel like I can afford to be picky. It's my own fault that finals will suck while I'm looking, but it doesn't mean it doesn't suck!</p>
<p>Panoramic Management is too expensive. Just go onto craigslist and pick one. But yeah, apartment searching is veeeeery stressful. So hard to find a place that is affordable and close to campus, especially in April.</p>