San Francisco is a beautiful place to live in. The city’s magnificence and vibrancy are some of its main attractions, which explains the massive migration to it. For this reason, finding an apartment to rent in San Francisco may not always be the easiest of things.

Sure, there are plenty of options but that’s what makes the whole process complicated.

If you are new to the city, you might find the five tips we share here useful before getting yourself a rental unit.

Get a roommate

If you are the fly-solo kind of a person, you may need to adjust your preferences. San Francisco is one of the most expensive cities in America, with rental prices among the highest. If living costs are proving to be beyond what you can afford, then we recommend getting a roommate. Remember, in a city like San Francisco, each dollar counts.

Furthermore, a roommate may help you feel less lonely and greatly reduce stress especially if it’s your first time moving to SF. Even so, be sure that your would-be roommate is a person you can tolerate. You certainly don’t want to live with an annoying person.

You can negotiate rent

While the rental prices are high, some of the landlords are open to negotiations. You can also request them to adjust lease terms to your favor, including lease length and security deposits. But as with anything, this depends on the prevailing market conditions and location.

Negotiations are likely to be more successful in suburban and rural areas of the city. Landlords in urban areas are quite hard to convince.

You will also need to be careful with some property owners to avoid being exploited. This mostly happens when it’s time to renew your lease.

It’s not uncommon to see landlords increasing rent for some absurd reasons. If this happens, you can make a clever move. If the market rental rates haven’t changed much, try fighting back against the increase by explaining it to them. You could even pretend to want to move to another apartment.

Finally, other tenants may be quite useful here, which takes us to the next point.

Apartments with many tenants are better

As the sage goes, there’s power in numbers. Tenants, in unison, can influence a decision easily. Notably, some property owners are cunning. They change rental prices and other lease agreements whenever they want. Without adequate support, you can fall into their trap.

But with enough people backing you up, you can all fight against such actions. If it's the landlord against several or all of the tenants, chances are that you guys will win.

In addition, shared resources in the apartment are prone to frequent breakages. In most cases, it takes more than one tenant to pressure the landlord into making the necessary repairs.

On the downside, apartments with many tenants are likely to be noisier and have other distractions, so take that into consideration, too.

Timing matters

San Francisco is a busy city with great opportunities. Indeed, this is one of the key reasons people prefer coming here.

Notably, the number increases during summer as people love the sun, sand and surf that SF offers. If you try looking for a rental unit this period, be ready to deal with stiffer competition for housing, which translates to high rental market rates. If you are on a tight budget, this period may not be the best for you.

For the best prices on good apartments, we advise starting your search in October. And even then, once you find a suitable flat, act quick. Reach out to the property owner and check it as soon as you can. Being the first prospective renter gives you the upper hand in securing the apartment.

Weather in San Francisco changes in minutes

It can be warm in one spot and chilly in another. This unusual climate makes San Francisco a one-of-a-kind city.

To be safe, it’s wise to dress in layers. Have a light jacket within arm’s reach. But if it’s May, June or July, a heavy one is better as the fog season comes around these three months.

In general, the weather in San Francisco is unpredictable. You need to prepare for this even before finding a rental in the city.

Notably, the Bay Area is quite unique. The weather patterns are narrow and therefore more predictable. During spring and fall, there are more warm days around this area. On the other hand, rainy days are fewer which makes the zone a great place to rent an apartment.

Ready to move to San Francisco?

San Francisco is a great place with awesome apartments to rent. If you are looking to live in this majorly commercial area, we hope the five tips we shared with you in this post will help you better prepare for the experience. Best wishes!