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Comment by ahemphill | Hacker News Reader

I'm moving to SF in 10 days and I'd like to know the best way to go about securing an apartment. I've been trolling Craigslist for a couple weeks but have not received one response despite in-depth emails. Should I just have my credit report, a couple grand and the ability to drop everything and go look at a place? My friend (who, unfortunately for me, is moving from the Mission to Berkeley) suggested that a lot of people just leave things 'til the last minute. Any insight would be appreciated.

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I lived in SF for a few years and I'm about to go back after dealing with some family nonsense, so I've given this some thought.

There is huge variability in the SF housing market and great deals tend to go quick. I'd put my stuff in storage and stay at a long term hotel for a few weeks and be really careful about this, after all you're talking about spending 12-20K a year.

You can get a decent hotel around the airport for like $60 on hotwire, which is really pretty cheap for SF.

http://www.housingmaps.com/ This is useful.

>despite in-depth emails Too long and you'll get no response just like any other CL ad?

One random note : some places require a social security card.

Luckily I'll be able to crash with the aforementioned friend for about a week — any longer than that and I'll have to hit up acquaintances or dole out for a hotel or a place on Airbnb.

As for the Social Security card, hopefully that's not commonly a dealbreaker…

Thanks for the advice.

Just to echo what keefe said, I successfully apartment hunted a few weeks ago and did what you're planning: crash with a friend for a week and obsessively read Craigslist. Something that helped me get a feel for the area was biking/walking around the general vicinity of where I was wanting to live (Berkeley). A lot of apartments have signs outside stating they're for rent too; in general though, Craigslist is pretty comprehensive.

One other point: come with your checkbook and be ready to put down a deposit on the spot. Don't rush your decision of course, but places go /fast/ and you'll want to act quickly to ensure the place you're looking for doesn't get taken.

it was a deal breaker for me twice while I was out there and it takes a couple weeks lead time to get a replacement

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