What $6,000 rents you in SF 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 another person’s townhouse? Today’s price: $6,000.

Is there anybody in San Francisco who hasn’t yearned to live in a Queen Anne Victorian at last once? Like most of the same stock, this one in Alamo Square, divided into a duplex long ago, now offers a two-bed, one-and-a-half-bath apartment for rent, measuring a more than respectable 1,400 square feet. Behind that classically poised green facade the landlord promises a “meticulously renovated and restored” home with “period fixtures” but at the same time also “fully modernized,” packed with natural wood paneling, oversized windows, and two working fireplaces. It also comes furnished with gregariousness for pet owners, with both cats and dogs welcome in the lease. But you’ll pay a somewhat inhospitable price for it: $5,900 per month.

Of course, if you really want those oft-advertised period details, take a trip to the Haight, where this three-bed, one-bath (split) full floor flat spans 1,700 square feet. It offers a whole lot of charm, not the least of which being yard after yard of wallpaper to give a thoroughly antique atmosphere throughout, right alongside the built-ins and old paneling. The coved ceilings are a nice touch as well, but possibly the piece de resistance is the opaque stained glass window in the shower—exactly why anybody would need such a thing isn’t clear, but what the heck. Pets are also allowed here, but only if you can shell out $5,950.

And in Noe Valley, tastes turn toward the Edwardian with a stately circa-1906 building that’s been converted into a quadplex. One of the apartments behind those four blue doors comes with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and more than 1,000 square feet. The ad promises “dark-stained hardwood floors throughout” and dedicated roof top access. Unfortunately, the interiors don’t retain much of their Edwardian history and look essentially interchangeable with any number of similar apartments. But it’s a good day for pet owners, as they’re in luck with this one too—and if they can pay $6,000 for it they’re lucky indeed.

Tenters who decline to put their faith in a house divided can scope out the Outer Richmond, with a sprawling four-bed, two-bath, 2,800-square-foot single-family home that’s intact, detached, fully furnished—and all yours for $6,000. Or is it? The ad does mention “owner occupies the lower level of the property” despite advertising the place as a full single-family home—perhaps keeping the in-law for their own purposes? In either case, at least there’s plenty of space, along with gas fireplace, granite counters, jacuzzi tubs in both bathrooms, and a lawn-free backyard. Pets are a go here as well.

Last up, for the same $6,000 price, the Castro offers a three-bed, two-and-a-half-bath full-floor flat dubbed a penthouse on Sanchez Street. Well, it does indeed take up the top floor, as evidenced by the trapezoidal ceilings throughout almost the entire 1,000-square-foot space. No dogs are allowed here, but cats are okay.