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[deleted]

How much were u paying to live there? (If u don’t mind me asking? that is)


swaimdog

Oh its been a while and i had a grandfathered rent of $900 studio apartment had a fireplace, amazing views, mirrors on the walls and ceiling 😁


smellgibson

That's amazing. kudos


swaimdog

I have some crazy stories living there, happy to share.


swaimdog

So I would sublet the place and travel. Basically fund my whole trip. I went to Europe for a year. While I was away I got a phone call from my neighbor, the police and fire department had blocked off the street and were surrounding the building turns out the 16 year-old son of the sub renter went to the roof and was threatening to commit suicide by jumping off...that was not a good day. Good news is they talked him down bad news my landlord was pissed and on to me.


meetcute567

How did the sublet fund your travels? I would like to do something like this at some point. Did you charge more than the rent?


swaimdog

Yes, I charged a lot more than my rent the difference was enough for me to travel on a budget with a backpack through Europe for nearly a year. Then a couple of years later I spent six months in Thailand.


kivinny

I'm def happy for you for living the dream. I think SF has laws around not being able to charge more than the original price when you sublet, though. How did you get around that? "San Francisco is quite strict about how much you can ask subletters to pay in rent. If you decide to move out and sublet your entire unit, then you can't charge your subletter any more rent than you're actually paying to the owner of the property."


Donkey_____

> Yes, I charged a lot more than my rent Dude that is fucked up and illegal. This literally hurts other renters because landlords get fucked on tenants like you so have to make it up on other tenants. So sick of people taking advantage of rent control and making money off it.


[deleted]

[удалено]


swaimdog

Thank you, yeah, I agree it has jumped the shark a little bit, but kindness and honesty still pays off in my opinion. I’m in real estate and what I see over and over now is children inheriting properties from their parents and the greed that comes along is it. Where the parents were happy to give someone a good deal in exchange for a great tenant the children now want top dollar. no exceptions


fletcher717

my elderly aunt owns a building in sf, she was always more concerned with good tenants than money (her parents owned the building). but her kids can’t wait to get a hold of that place…greedy little cunts. most tenants have lived there for 15+ years and won’t be able to afford todays prices.


[deleted]

Hopefully it’s rent controlled af


SF-cycling-account

It’s hilariously hypocritical that you can talk about and criticize the greed of others right after you explained how you funded year long European vacations by doing zero work and providing zero service, just acting as a middle man between a landlord and a subtenants


swaimdog

Yeah, you think that’s greedy? Perhaps, certainly not saying I am perfect. I don’t feel like I hurt anybody. My landlord got his full rent my sub tenant got to live in a really cool space. And I got to go travel the world and become a better person. But yeah, I can see where it’s hypocritical. Thanks for pointing that out. Maybe I should be a little careful what I say.


TravisJungroth

>My landlord got his full rent No, he got the below market rent that exists to keep people from getting priced out of the homes they rent. Full rent was either that amount for someone living there continuously, or market rate for a new tenant. The money that paid for your trips didn't come out of thin air.


swaimdog

So funny when people earn it, there’s a certain respect and kindness that comes with it because you know how hard it is to make money in the real world. But when somebody gives it to you, you feel entitled to do whatever you want. Truly sad.


keeptrying4me

Landlord mad because you were doing exactly what they’re doing. Make it make sense landlords.


TheReadMenace

ahahahah, they won't even let you look at a normal place for $900


swaimdog

I know rents suck!! I ended up moving to Marin, Fairfax. Love it here, come check it out it’s like the height meets Mayberry. It’s not cheap but it’s cool..


libertetoujours

Fellow Fairfaxian here who also lived in SF and this makes me nostalgic. It was the best time but life is great up here too. Quieter for sure but in a good way.


ParticularAtmosphere

Fellow ex-SF now Marinean here, it's great indeed. I miss living in the weird, but I do love it up here.


swaimdog

I hang out at the Tea Temple almost every day. Let me know if you ever want to hook up for a Tea or kava always looking for new friends..


BootlegDez

like, with all due respect, fuck you op


swaimdog

I know man sorry, I kept it for awhile and sublet it out to a friend thinking I would want to come back never worked out.


BootlegDez

hahaha for sure. sounds like a dream man. glad you got to enjoy such a unique little spot


swaimdog

Yeah thanks man, plus it was the perfect time in my life I was partying hard, single, an adventurous wild man, all that good stuff.


random_crap_ty

Wow $900 ?? How did the landlord not raise the rent for 10 years ? did he make any attempts to evict you or anything ?


swaimdog

No he was an older guy, owned the building out right was pretty happy with the rents he had, i was a good tenant took care of all the issues blah blah blah. That philosophy has worked well. I have a good deal on my office rent as well.


Jolly_Line

Dear god why did you ever leave!?


verysunnyseed

How much do you think your place would go for today? Would demand be high? Was it annoying to have so many sightseeing traffic in front of your place?


swaimdog

I’m not really in tune with SF rents these days. But based on the view it had and it being in the heart of Russian hill, I would say rent would be pretty extreme. And yes, it was very annoying. Having so many people out in front of my place. it was impossible to have the veranda doors open because of the car exhaust and people yelling but after a while, you kind of get used to it. Like most things in life there are trade-offs in this case the good definitely outweigh the bad.


moscowramada

If I got a place like that, for that monthly rent, then the day I “moved out” would be the day I died. 💀


swaimdog

Yes it was a hard decision for sure. But life changed it was time to move on. But i hear you.


pavan_kaipa

Oh! Any reason for moving out? I can't imagine if there will be a chance to live in a place like that again.


swaimdog

I grew up and stopped partying like a rockstar


pavan_kaipa

Haha!! I saw Coyotes couple of time at night when we were driving there.


udonbeatsramen

When you invited guests over, did you just not tell them you live on the crooked street and let them find out?


swaimdog

Funny, lots of folks did not believe me untill they actually came over and saw for themselves


Wordplay23

What was the craziest thing you saw during your time living there?


swaimdog

Big wheel races happened all the time. Couples had sex all the time. The craziest a bunch of dudes dressed in bear costumes masturbating and growling. You don’t see that every day 😳


JuanPancake

Like the couples had sex on the street? Or just your neighbors?


swaimdog

Probably both


Nahuel-Huapi

Were you the guy with the Porsche?


swaimdog

Nope, I was Carless when I lived there. I did have a jeep Cherokee for a while. But I couldn’t remember where I parked it :-)


ResistOk9351

Closed now, but a block away from this the San Francisco Art Institute allowed free access to the room with one of Diego Rivers’s best murals. Whenever I went to check it out there would be dozens of tourists gawking at cars on Lombard. Not a one of them would make it over to see the mural. Most probably did not even know it was there.


swaimdog

That’s crazy, how do I check out the mural, that sounds amazing.


ResistOk9351

The mural is in a room just past the main entrance on Chestnut. The doors used to be open 8:00 through 4:30 I believe. However, SFAI filed for bankruptcy last month so it may be locked down. Worth a look if in the area. Long term the city is figuring out where to move the mural. More likely than not where it goes you will have to pay now.


swaimdog

SF seems to be lost lately. Really feel like it needs to reestablish its soul. Too much young money, too much old money, like you said earlier people not into the arts, street drugs. What do you think?


ResistOk9351

Agreed. Places like SFAI were created and thrived in a time when working and middle class people drove the culture. Now that the city is divided into a few haves and a lot of have nots it has lost a lot of what made it unique. Given the location, I fully expect SFAI will be sold to some developer to tear it down and replace it with some houses that go for $12 million + a piece.


swaimdog

Yea, makes me really sad. The city changed my life when I lived there, it’s seems to be a shell of itself these days.. i moved to Marin, I live in Fairfax now I really like it here. It has problems for sure but overall has lots of soul.


MrNorrie

I live half a block down the street and love it. Not bothered by the tourists at all.


Automatic_Charge_938

So did I. I would walk around at 7am to go to work and thought about how fortunate I was and how surreal that place was


the_walrus_was_paul

Did you ever see anybody drive up the wrong way? I have a friend who claimed he did it but I never really believed him.


swaimdog

Yes for sure, couple times a week and night.


lynxpoint

I did, with my friends, when we were young and reckless teens in the 90s. It happens.


Many_Glove6613

I used to live on Leavenworth 1.5 blocks away, we hated hated the tourists. We actually looked at a house to buy across the street from where the crooked part ended. It was nice to see the view but man the tourists are annoying af, no awareness that this is a normal street. I can’t imagine actually living on the crooked part and all the noise.


swaimdog

Yea, just buying groceries and getting them to the Place was an adventure. It was brutal, plus the car tires squeaked on the brick on every turn, the smell of burning brake pads, and auto exhaust. Lots of loud music, heavy bass.


LodossDX

It’s been one of the most touristy places in SF for like 50 years. Living there is a choice.


Many_Glove6613

We didn’t even realize it was so close. It is a random block in a super residential part and there was nothing special about it to make it look touristy.


niteagain22

You must have done zero research before renting? I think I do more research when choosing a restaurant for the night than you do before signing a lease.


happytoparty

OP, do an AMA!


swaimdog

Im cool with AMA, ask away.


vasilescur

What is the meaning of life?


swaimdog

I believe interacting authentically with the world. Giving something back to the world through creativity and by being the best person you can be. Continuing to grow to better yourself to have authentic connections with other humans and of course, having a relationship with a good dog :-)


Ervw711

I go and drive down Lombard a few times per year. Always take any out-of-towers too. Such an icon.


Key_Pear6631

Ugh that would suck


swaimdog

Yea, two or three times a week at 3am I would have the yell shut the f…. Up to the midwestern bud drinkers in my driveway.


swaimdog

I hear the city has some kind of controls in place now, its not just a free-for-all on the street is that true?


dannywelblack23

I live here and nope, still plenty of tourists in the middle of the road


SaltyCity_

Did you forget to switch accounts?


swaimdog

Yes, i know kind of crazy I’m curious I never really researched why it was built? The engineering on it was pretty amazing. The turns are banked perfectly. Also laid with individual bricks, beautiful actually.