Free edition The Rent Hacker SF South Bay, CA · August 7, 2026 2,536 active listings · 209 screened · 1 beat the S&P 500 We screened 209 of the region’s 2,536 active listings this week so you don’t have to. |
This week, our screen ran across 5 ZIPs in South Bay. The funnel: | Active listings, South Bay metro | 2,536 | | Screened (market research) | 209 | | Cleared S&P 500 on paper | 1 | | This week's top 1 | 1 |
Assumptions: 3.5% down (FHA floor), 2-year owner-occupy, then full rental. 10-year hold vs S&P 500 total return. We screened 209 properties across five South Bay ZIPs this week and published one. The two that ranked above it were a pair of triplexes our model had counted as fourplexes, because it inferred the unit count from a bathroom count instead of reading the listing. One sentence in the description corrected that, and both dropped below the S&P line. One clean deal beats three with a phantom unit inside them. — Danny Brown, founder · danny@therenthacker.com |
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What changed this week Price cuts 1105 Appian Ln cut $107,000 to $1,488,000, a 6.7% reduction in its third week on the board. Re-run at the live price, its S&P breakeven improves from the 10.4% we published on July 17 to 11.8%, and the cautious margin from the $35,131 we published that week to $151,424. The card below is priced at the cut. |
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★ Pick #1 · Unlocked for free readers · Week 3 on the board 1105 Appian Ln Roosevelt Park · 95116 $1,488,000 · 8 bd / 4 ba · 3,328 sqft · built 1961 · 101d on market |
Wealth advantage · 10 years +$151,424 vs S&P 500 · S&P would need 11.8%/yr for 10 years to match |
Strategy Live in one unit, rent the other three | Financing Owner-occupied at 3.5% down | Live-in rent $6,900/mo | Full rental $9,200/mo | Renter pool Workforce renters / SJSU students and hospital staff | Catalyst Five Wounds Urban Village Plan (0.84 mi) |
The case, and the catch A 1961 fourplex in Roosevelt Park, third week on our board, and the seller just took $107,000 off the ask. Three rented units cover $6,900/mo while you live in the fourth, and all four rented run $9,200/mo once you move out. That figure is our own $2,300 per-unit band, and it sits below what the listing says the building already collects, so we are not pricing in a step-up. The tenants are long-term and month-to-month, and we have not verified which rent cap governs them: AB 1482, or San Jose's own apartment ordinance, which reaches pre-1979 buildings of this size. At 101 days listed, this market has already had a long look. 1105 Appian Ln clears our cautious bar at 11.8%, but that margin leans on rents we did not set. The listing reports $9,469/mo collected in place, above the $9,200 we model, and the gap holds only while the current tenants stay. They are long-term and month-to-month, and we have not verified which rent cap governs them: AB 1482, or San Jose's own apartment ordinance, which reaches pre-1979 buildings of this size. If those rents already sit at or above what the units fetch on turnover, the cautious margin compresses from $151,424 toward the low five figures. One extended vacancy at roughly $2,300 a unit takes another year of it. Confirm the governing cap before you underwrite any step-up. The model's at therenthacker.com/methodology if you want to challenge any of the inputs. Sensitivity (rent assumptions) Best case $11,400/mo +$1.32M 4.0%/yr home appreciation modeled. Why pick #1 is the free unlock There is one pick this week, so it is the free unlock and you are reading the deal in full. What the paid edition adds is the screening record around it: a per-ZIP read on all five markets we tested, including the four that produced nothing at all. |
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Get this week's full report One deal cleared this week's cautious-case test. Here are its numbers: | | Price | $1,488,000 | | S&P breakeven | 11.8% | | Margin vs S&P | $151,424 | | By units | 1 × 4+ units (100%) |
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One deal cleared. See everything we screened to find it. You have the deal above in full. What the paid edition adds is the screening record underneath it: a per-ZIP read on every market we tested this week, including the ones that produced nothing, and the candidates that led the board until a correction knocked them out. Refund the first two issues if they don’t pay back the $29. Reply with the word ‘refund’ and a human reads it the same day. Subscribe · $29/mo, first two refundable →$29/mo · cancel anytime |
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This week's 5 ZIPs | 95116 | East San José · county's cheapest 2–4 unit stock, future Little Portugal BART | | 95133 | Berryessa / McKee · S-tier, Berryessa BART premium west of McKee | | 95035 | Milpitas · Great Mall / Milpitas BART transit core | | 95131 | River Oaks / Berryessa · high-income tech-worker SFH, BART-adjacent | | 95122 | Little Saigon · walkable King & Story core, EBRC Story Rd LRT 2027–28 |
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Every figure uses cautious rent estimates backed by documented comps and computed distances to named growth catalysts. Property taxes are modeled at each ZIP's median effective rate unless a parcel-verified figure is stated; confirm the actual tax basis with the county before you underwrite. No invented numbers. No hype. This is not investment advice. Know someone hunting for South Bay deals? Forward this — they can pick their region at therenthacker.com. The Rent Hacker · SF South Bay, CA · August 7, 2026 Manage regions · Unsubscribe |
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