What $4,000 rents you in Oakland right now

Welcome to Curbed Comparisons, a regular column exploring what you can rent for a set dollar amount in different neighborhoods. This time we head across the bridge to Oakland again. Is one person's studio another person's townhouse? Let's find out. Today's price: $4,000.

↑ It’s hard not to appreciate the bifurcated design of this house on East 21st Street near the Clinton neighborhood from the curb, with its twin gambrel roofs separated by the one peaked gable that seems to demand all of the viewer’s attention all combining to create a two-headed vibe. The two-bedroom, one-bath apartment on offer here is only the third (and top) floor of this place, asking $4,000/month. Inside, those gambrels add up to “17 ft high ceilings with skylights in every room.” The ad is mum on whether there’s room for pets underneath those peaks, though.

↑ Speaking of ambitious ceiling heights on third floor units, here’s a two-bedroom, two-bath loft in Jack London Square with windows going all the way up and kitchen tucked beneath the eponymous loft. No peaks to speak of, but it’s “light oak hardwood flooring” below and concrete ceilings above, and this time the $4,000/month is enough to admit both cats and dogs under the lease. This building at 311 Oak Street, known as the Sierra, opened for business back in 2003.

↑ But those who prefer to stick closer to the ground may find the prospects of this long and low three-bed, one-bath “cute rancher” in Redwood Heights (a block from the elementary school, according to the ad) more to their liking. A touch under today’s price, coming in at $3,800/month, this home offers a stay underneath a ceiling boasting barn-like beams. Dogs are permitted, perhaps in keeping with the “ranch” vibe of the design, but cats are out to pasture.

↑ On the other hand, this house in Castlemont lacks any particular design panache one way or the other, but comes to bear with the biggest value for $4,000/month for any renter who comes to it with a particularly large headcount in tow. The entire home comes in at five bedrooms and two and a half baths, plus a yard on top of it. The latter could use a bit of TLC from the look of it, but at least it’s something to work with. Pets are A-okay too.

↑ Finally, the Uptown neighborhood and a Broadway complex just south of Koreatown offers a two-bed, two-bath, vertically-inclined apartment (a “sleek and modern home,” as the ad puts it) for $4,000/month even. Dogs are again fine, but cats are on the outs. Guess it can be a rough town for the feline persuasion.