In a bid to provide affordable housing for area students, one Sunset family is generously offering the use of their converted garage for a mere $1300 a month. A few years ago, a windowless, kitchenless setup like this would probably have gone for $800 or $900, but now that $1300 is the going rate for a room in a sketchy SRO at 16th and Mission, this family obviously thinks they can command that price for their quiet, if illegal studio situation.
They don't give the address or cross streets, but from the transportation amenities (four blocks from the N-Judah, six blocks from the L-Taraval) we can figure out that this is somewhere near Noriega in the Outer Sunset.
The exterior shot really sells the place. And yes, this room is somewhere behind those crooked garage doors. Those doors may, in fact, be the only entrance into the building, from the looks of things.
The faded Astroturf out front, underneath what appears to be a trash bin, is an especially nice, drought-friendly touch.
Upstairs lives a "family of 2," and this is billed as "Room available in Chinese Enivronment Apt." They admit that the room/apartment is "within a garage," and is suited for "1 person only" and has its own bathroom as well as laundry access. There's no mention of a kitchen, because clearly there is none, and from the look of the above and below decorating schemes (it appears to be the same room from different angles, as inhabited by two different people, but I'm not clear on that) the renters they've had in this garage have been pretty transitory.
There is no photo evidence of the bathroom, so we just have to take their word for that.
There's also "No pets" allowed, and the room comes unfurnished, so those furnished photos are just for design inspiration, really.
I'd like to return to the wide-angle panorama shot above, which is meant to give us a more complete feel for this spacious little miracle.
I want to call special attention to those Post-Its over at the left.
I imagine that whoever lived here last used that door to post affirmations of some kind, or perhaps they were steps in a life-improving to-do list.
"Step 1: Get on anti-depressants"
"Step 2: Get job that pays better"
"Step 3: Move out of windowless garage. You are better than this garage."
"Step 4: Wax eyebrows"
"Step 5: Find husband"
So, the next time someone asks you if it's possible to live alone in this city for less than $1500 a month, you can point them to a certain Mission SRO, this lovely converted basement in the Excelsior, and tell them that there's a place in the Outer Sunset without a window or kitchen that could do them just fine. You want a window, a kitchen, and a neighborhood that's not the Outer Sunset? That will cost extra.
