Berendt Properties

It was a real pleasure working with Jim when viewing and applying for a Berendt-​listed property in Berkeley. At each step of the process Jim was kind, helpful, and professional. And he was extremely communicative and responsive, which I especially appreciate — especially during the hectic and stressful experience of apartment-​hunting. Every time I called, emailed, or texted him, Jim responded almost immediately.
And we really love the apartment, too! Great find. I hope we don’t need to move for a long time, but if we do, we’ll definitely return to Berendt for help. Thanks, Jim!

We are relocating to San Francisco and worked with Gary Seto to find an apartment. It was a great experience and we’d happily use him again. We got in touch about a month before and had an initial discussion about what we were looking for. We then sent him some more info about our requirements along with application documents. Gary had some useful pointers about location and how far ahead we should be looking for places. The week before he sent us a long list of potential apartments to get feedback and then a few days before he started making appointments and planning our schedule.
We flew out to SF for a full weekend to look at apartments. Gary lined up around 15 viewings for us, mostly on Saturday and a few more on Sunday. Some of those were already off the market by the time we arrived, but we saw at least 10 places, the majority of which were a good fit and within our budget. Due to the SF housing market, our budget was much higher than it would ideally have been, but that’s another story! We ranked the top options and Gary handled applying to them. In the end, we were lucky and got our first choice.
Gary was a really good fit for us — he worked hard to line up as many places as possible, nudged as needed to make a decision quickly to avoid missing out, then worked to quickly get in our application. He wasn’t pushy at all and didn’t try to sell us on any particular place, just gave us as much information as possible and let us work through the decision ourselves. It went very smoothly, in part because we’d done research beforehand and knew roughly what to expect to get for our budget and the areas we wanted to be in.

Excellent, prompt and great communication! All members of the staff are as friendly as can be, and quickly accommodated the unique needs of my office lease. Can’t speak highly enough of their support!

I very rarely write reviews, but thought I should as my experience with Sam L. was great. He was willing to meet me almost right away and the next thing I knew, we were signing the lease! As a SF transplant from Boston, I was having such a hard time finding a place for my roommate and I. I contacted Sam from a posting I saw and the rest was so easy. He was awesome and very honest with me, which I appreciated. We found the perfect place and can’t wait until we’re officially moved in. Thanks so much, Sam!

I worked directly with Andrew, and he was awesome! He was very responsive and transparent about the entire process. The application process was seamless and everything was online which was very easy. I definitely recommend working with them and especially with Andrew!

I recently landed a studio with Berendt properties and worked with Craig.
Length of Process (⁵⁄₅): From application to holding the keys in my hand took a week long. The apartment viewing was on a tight schedule, but that lent to the quick nature of their process.
Communication (²⁄₅): Initially the response rate was relatively quick. However, after signing the lease and sending the check, email response rates slowed and I never was able to get a hold of him by phone. From what I could gather, this week was a bit busy for them and it is understandable. On the other hand, I don’t believe I was asking for much in terms of how the deposit and keys were to be handled.
Overall (⁴⁄₅): Despite difficulty in communication, the overall process was smooth. Craig was ready to answer all questions when he was able to have the time.

Rented from Gary Seto at Berendt Properties for the last year, excellent service provided throughout.
Any and all issues were handled promptly and with aplomb. Moving both in and out were incredibly smooth. Best experience I’ve had renting with a property company. Would definitely rent with again.

Gary strikes again. I would never recommend anyone do business with Berendt Properties due to his shady tactics similar to those of a scammer. I agree with the other 1 star ratings — he’s hard to get a hold of, he’s all over the place, and he led me on for some time. How about being honest?

I think that berendt properties service it’s fabulous. I am from Chile, and for me and my husband was very difficult to find a place to live because we don’t know the city.
Fortunately, we met Andrew Bryson, who works in Berendt Properties and help us with all the process. I definitely recomend this company.

Craig was fantastic to work with in finding the perfect apartment in San Francisco. Right now is NOT an easy time for renters, as SF gets more packed and it becomes more and more difficult to find the right home. With Craig, we were able to quickly and easily work with him to move into a fantastic apartment. He knows how to get it done and he is trustworthy. Once we found the right spot, the process moved quickly and very fairly. We were happy to work with him and we absolutely recommend Craig and his office!
— Jimmy and Heidi Spencer

Called today to inquire about apartment availability. Was asked what area we were looking and price range. We gave the area and price range of $ 3000. I guess we weren’t worth the time or effort! He said the apartments were for clients only. Never even offered any info how to become a prospective client. Very poor customer service.

Craig Berendt helped me find the perfect apartment! From first glance you can see how hard working he is. He went out of his way and with the kindness of his heart, made my apartment hunt not only successful but he made sure he did his best to help me get the perfect apartment in my price range. Craig really is the guru of rental properties.

YES!
Excellent presentation of the property.
Concise and to the point.
Thank you Craig.
John.
:)

I worked with Craig to rent my house out after my company made me relocate to Seattle. Craig was extremely professional and was very responsive to my calls. Craig went over and above to find a good tenant for my house. It was such a relief to know that Craig found and vetted a good reliable, responsible tenant for my casa. Now, if only Craig could help me get used to all this rain up here in Seattle!

I referred a few of my friends to Sam and Craig to find apartments and they did a great job. They are professional, accomodating, friendly, informative and really easy to work with.
Sam & Craig were tremendously helpful and I highly recommend them.

I’ll never be able to thank Gary Seto enough for how smooth my entire relocation process was when I moved down to SF from Canada for a job back in the beginning of November. I was a bit hesitant at first how it would go, expecting the entire process to take up to 2 weeks, but Gary’s awesome time management, organization, and attitude were able to get me into an apartment in 4 days.
It was my company that set me up with Gary and his team at Berendt Properties, and I’m sure glad they did. Gary got in touch with me 3 – 4 weeks before I made the move, asking me for my preferences on living arrangements, and began setting up appointments for me to see apartments.
Where Gary really shone was his ability to manage time once I had arrived in San Francisco. On our first day, he picked me up at my hotel and we spent the entire day viewing 11 different locations across the city. I had only expected to see maybe 3 – 4, but was incredibly impressed that we were able to go around different districts of the city, viewing apartments that were pretty close to the preferences I had sent Gary before I arrived. Throughout the day, Gary was incredibly knowledgeable about all areas of the city, pointing out great places to eat, where to shop, how best to travel to work, etc.
Gary took careful note over what I liked about particular apartments, rearranging appointments as necessary in order to fine tune future appointments throughout the day. It was also important that I find the right place, as I have a physical disability which hinders my ability to climb stairs, and he definitely took this into account when looking up places for me. I was amazed how many he was able to find.
As I visited different apartments, Gary sized up the landlord or agent, setting expectations with me after, identifying apartments that could be negotiated for. He gave great advice on apartments that were overpriced, and negotiated hard for me in order to get me my desired apartment.
In total, we looked at 12 different places, and signed on one of the very last ones I saw and wanted, in a neighborhood that I wanted. Gary really looked out for what was best for me, and I wouldn’t hesitate to work with him again if (and when) it comes time to search for a new apartment.
Thanks to Gary again for making my relocation process so smooth!

Is a secret password required to get a response from these guys? Very much like the experience of a previous reviewer, multiple attempts to contact this agency, both by voice-​mail and email, have resulted in exactly nothing. Not a single response of any kind. They will not benefit from our search for a property in the $ 4−6K range, and we clearly will not benefit from their alleged professionalism.

I am relocating to SF from Brazil and was interested in working with Gary from Berendt Properties because of his «excellent» Unilocal reviews. After calling him several times, I finally received a call back. I explained to him what I was looking for, and he was extremely pessimistic on the phone call. I had not yet smoothed out the details of what I wanted, but I do not think it was reason enough for him to write me off.
He told me to e-​mail him my preferences and that he would «send me a proposal». I asked him for his e-​mail address, and he assured me that he would text it to me instead of just giving it to me directly. I thought this was strange, but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Four days later, I have yet to hear anything back from him and realize he is not interested in working with me. I think this is very poor business, and have never been treated so rudely. Apparently, my business is not good enough for him. If he was straightforward with me and told me why he could not help me, that is different. However, he clearly misled me and made me feel disposable.
I do not recommend working with brokers who treat people this way, and hope you seek help from brokers who are honest and work with integrity.

I had a long internal debate as to whether using a broker to find a new apartment in San Francisco would be worthwhile. After working with Gary Seto and Berendt Properties for three weeks, I can now say conclusively that it was an excellent decision.
My wife and I were relocating from Boston to San Francisco and we had one weekend to find an apartment. We flew out to SF and spent two days with Gary. In the end we signed on a great unit, in our desired neighborhood, with a great layout, and on budget! In such a crazy tight market, that is a hugely positive outcome, and we seriously couldn’t have done it without Gary.
In my opinion, here are the major benefits of working with Gary Seto:
1. You save a ton of time and don’t have to worry about logistics
— Gary puts together the application package for you
— Gary arranges all apartment viewings and drives you around town (we had 8+ appointments per day). Just taking those logistics off our shoulders is such a stress relief.
— He handles all communication with the other side during your search
2. You will see more of the market
— While you can see a lot of listings on your own online, having Gary work for you ensures you’ll see absolutely everything in your criteria. For example, sometimes an application will fall through on a place you had looked at, and the unit comes back on the market. Having someone keeping a constant look out for your means you’ll get a better selection to choose from in the end.
3. You’ll make a better, more informed decision
— Because Gary’s knowledge of the market is incredibly good, he will be able to tell you within the first five minutes of a viewing whether it’s a good deal or a ripoff based on market comps. Basically he’s an insurance policy on getting a crap
— Because you have an agent in SF, if you’re flying in for one weekend to look at places, you don’t have to feel pressured into signing a place you’re not in love with. After my apartment search weekend, I still hadn’t signed on a place. While I flew back to Boston, Gary was willing to keep scouring the market for me. He was happy to do a virtual viewing of new units if necessary.
4. You’ll work with an awesome guy who is dedicated to making you happy
— Gary is highly responsive and always follows up. This is critical with a relocation agent.
— He has an awesome personality and is a fun guy — and when you’re spending two entire days with someone, this is actually a very important factor.
— Gary took many steps (not always necessary) to make sure that we were happy. You could tell this was his absolute highest priority.
In the end, the worst (and most expensive!) outcome for us would have been rushing to sign on a sub-​optimal apartment, being dissatisfied, and moving again in a year. Having Gary on your side basically ensures this won’t happen.
I can’t recommend Gary highly enough. Working with him is a no brainer for someone relocating from another city.
I’m happy to share more with any Unilocalers who want a personal reference.
Thanks again to Gary and Berendt Properties! We are thrilled with our new apartment.

I hired Berendt Properties to assist me in finding an apartment when relocating from the East coast. They arrived highly recommended but, having not personally used a relocation agency before, I have to say I started out a bit skeptical.
Now a few weeks after the whole thing, I have to say that hiring Berendt was unqualifiably worth it. I worked with Gary Seto, and he was attentive, responsive, polite, friendly, and very happy to listen to my preferences, wait while I thought things over, and give advice and feedback as appropriate. I actually found myself enjoying riding around the city and looking at apartments with Gary, which was particularly nice given the otherwise hectic schedule of adjusting to life in a new city.
Above and beyond the excellent customer service, I have to say I was also particularly impressed with my outcome: SF housing markets are tight right now, but I ended up with a great one bedroom in a very popular neighborhood (NE Mission) very fast, and at a below market price. The access granted you by being vetted by a relocation agency ends up being quite valuable, especially when you consider that landlords are very wary of deadbeat tenants in SF. Going through an agency makes your offer stand out as being serious (since you’re paying a good amount) and vetted and thus, in the end, makes you a desirable tenant. I would recommend Berendt in a heartbeat, and could not be happier with how things turned out.