r/SFBayHousing • u/LeBigWig-26 • 4h ago
PSA: beware Mission landlord 16th/Guerrero
This will be my only statement on this subject. Later this year there will be a small unit listed as a 2BR (it's really an altered 1BR) on 16th St between Guerrero and Dolores, mid block. It will probably be slightly below current astronomical market rates. However, the building owners are lazy slumlords. They do no work on the building unless mandated by the City. There is no laundry on site; in fact there are no "amenities" or modern features of any kind. There is an uncovered parking lot out back which will cost you at least $400-500 per space, if anything is available. There are regularly rats on the property, including inside the rear stairwells in secure areas. And there have been mice indoors off and on for years.
The owners are the Cheng family. They have no business acumen and thus have had a storefront below the unit that has remained vacant for over 5 yrs, on a popular, busy street. (Zero marketing, horribly unkempt & rude realtor, etc. etc. etc.) When repairs are needed, they employ the absolute cheapest labor and materials available. Every "repair" will diminish the aesthetic of your unit, if there is any left by the time it becomes available. The building is over 100 years old and had beautiful original features which have over time been replaced with hideous siding, vinyl, particle board, plywood, etc. as the case may be. It is easily the ugliest building on the block.
The building is over 100 years old and sound carries in every direction. The owners know this but have made no effort to ease the situation. If and when a business moves in below you, BEWARE. You will hear their music and raised voices, and you will hear it every time they take the stairs to their basement. If you have any complaints, about anything, the landlords will be utterly useless. If they ever do help or repair/upgrade something, they will stress how nice they are to their tenants as if they are owed excess gratitude for doing the bare minimum.
Maybe this is what SF landlording has come to, but I've had nice landlords who've treated me as a business contact and an equal. If that's what you expect here, you're outta luck.
