I have a 3 bedroom, 2 bath SFH (1357 sq.ft) in San Francisco that I'm renting out to 4 different tenants (two couples, working professionals). The main level of the house just went through a complete renovation (all new electrical wiring, kitchen, bathrooms, appliances, recessed lighting and new paint and baseboards and trim casing in all rooms). There are two separate 1 car garages, washer and dryer, backyard (a pretty good size for San Francisco). There's a downstairs unit (a large room) with a bathroom which could be a potential studio apartment if I put in a kitchenette

I know the first couple personally so I'm giving them a slight deal. I'm having difficulty trying to find a market rate rent to divide among the two couples. Most of the rentals are apartments in that area, within half mile radius as most of the SFH are owner occupied.

Here are the Zillow Rents comps:

- 4 bedroom 2.5 bath condo(1655 sq. ft) for $5890. That condo has a view of the mountain in that neighborhood.

- 3 bedroom 2 bath (1340 sq ft) Victorian house renovated for $7495.

- 4 bedroom, 2 bath house (2166 sq ft) for $8950

- 1 bedroom (877 sq ft) apartment for $3195 right across the street

- 3 bedroom 2 bath apartment (1471 sq ft) for $4895

The $7495 rent seems very high and my house isn't a Victorian but built in 1957. A realtor I know suggested charging $2000 for master bedroom with private bath and $1700 the other 2 bedrooms who share a bath. The makes the total $5400. He didn't give me comps. It's likely one of the bedrooms won't be rented out for a while since the two couples know each other and to get a stranger in there would disrupt the household balance. My thoughts were $1900 for the couple I know, and $2000 for the other couple who would have the master bedroom and private bath (maybe $2100). There are 3 cars (the second couple only has 1 car), so each couple would get to use the 2 garages. So that's $3900 to $4000 a month total rent. Is that low? I'm not trying to price gouge them but that renovation cost me a lot of money.

Also I'm paying for PG&E (electricity and gas) and SF Water since I can't meter each person's usage. How should I bill them? Include a certain amount in the rent? Bill them separately after I get the bill and divide by two (for each couple). When the owner lived there the PG&E I believe was somewhere between $100 to $180 a month for one person (who ran the heat constantly when it was cold).

The second couple needs to know soon as they need to give notice to their landlord in 2 weeks (their current rent is a $2000 studio apartment). Thanks for any help you can give. I'm new to the SF rental market. My other rental is in Indiana. I'm having them all fill out a rental application and running a credit and background check (I wouldn't necessarily have done a check on the first couple I know but my friend advised me to).

San Francisco, California

0 Votes