What $3,900 rents you in San Francisco right now

Welcome to Curbed Comparisons, a regular column exploring what you can rent for a set dollar amount in different neighborhoods. Is one person's studio is another person's townhouse? Today's price: $3,900.

↑ Hopefully there’s no need for alarm, but it seems this one-bed, one-bath condo at 855 Brannan in SoMa is a “last resort.” Or possibly that headline on the ad is meant to inform apartment hunters that it’s the “last resort-style” unit available, and some sloppy writing makes it sound like more of an emergency than it really is? In any case, this 700-square-foot place is still fresh out of the box inside a new building, asking the $3,855/month for the entire affair. The ad spends a paragraph talking up Moscone Center, which of course is in a completely different neighborhood; weird, but it does highlight the proximity to downtown. Dogs and cats are both a go here.

↑ On the other hand, Noe Valley’s 288 Mersey, another one-bed, one-bath apartment, is a home with history, although it might not be apparent at first glance. The ad notes the property is an “updated Victorian on a quiet alley,” but it doesn’t have much by way of Victorian visuals. Turns out this is actually a onetime carriage house—the equivalent of a garage in the horse and buggy days—since converted into a home, and then subsequently received a recent renovation into the contemporary. It’s asking $3,900/month of tentative tenants. Another pet-friendly building here, which makes sense given that in a previous life it held horses.

↑ By way of a remodel still holding onto the past, this boxy building in Jackson Square markets itself as “fully-remodeled vintage” style in an old warehouse building turned 29-unit hub, standing bricks and all on Montgomery since 1907. The advertised remodel would have had to happen back in 2013, the date of the most recent building permits. But what’s most interesting about this two-bed, one-bath, 660-square-foot apartment is that when it appeared on Comparisons two weeks ago, it asked $3,750/month. Apparently still without a taker, the landlord opted to up that game and ask $3,850/month instead. Well, it’s a bold move. The ad says “no pet policy.” Presumably this means that the policy is “no pets.”

↑ This little blue house in Russian Hill opts to pour on the charm advertising a 1- to 2-bed, one-bath unit that wants $3,895/month. The ambiguity about the bedroom count stems from the seven foot by nine foot extra room that might work for a bedroom. Beyond that it’s a laundry list of materials: “chic black granite countertops,” maple cabinets, Italian porcelain, fir wood floors, and old-school beadboards wainscoting, plus pedestal sink, clawfoot tub, and “elegant, tree-lined street.” It’s a lot to go around, but is it worth $3,895/month? Mum’s the word about pets.

↑ This two-bed, one-bath Nob Hill apartment near Hyde and California keeps things simple, opting only to play up the place’s original 1913 chandeliers and “nice moldings,” the latter of which are curiously not featured in the accompanying photos, leaving it up potential renters to use their imagination. No guesswork needed for that awesome suite of built-ins, though. It’s $3,895/month, and cats are allowed with an extra deposit.