J.Wavro Associates

A big thumbs up to Joanne from J. Wavro who helped me get a tenant in very short order towards the end of last year. She did this in a few short weeks, in difficult circumstances when I was remote and especially after I was against the wall after my experience with a prior rental agent who did not deliver. Her professionalism is commendable and she got it done. I highly recommend Joanne if you are looking to rent out your place.

Peter was absolutely AMAZING!!! He made the entire process feel effortless! He was super flexible with meet up times and was extremely prompt in all his communication, Plus he’s super friendly. Thanks Peter!!!

Horrible experience! I went along with my husband and brother to view a property in San Bruno to rent. Let me just mention we are all working professionals who are serious about our careers and make more than triple the asking rent. Well apparently Chuck didn’t think so and chose to discriminate against us, my best guess is because we look young, in actuality our ages range from 27 – 31, which chuck would know if he had given us the chance to apply… We requested an application for the property, he avoided sending this for a day and then responded informing us there was another application that had been submitted. Keep in mind when asked just 12 hours prior to this (the first time we requested the application) he let us know there was no other interest. So not only has Chuck still not sent the application form to us, now he’s telling us we can’t apply… Turns out a family viewed the property a day after our viewing and a day after we requested the application and he gave them an application. Also, This property is still listed on Zillow, trulia, and craigslist… If you as a company are not serious about renting your properties to tenants who are financially responsible and willing to submit an application, and choose to make judgements using your own distorted thought process, you should probably take your postings down. Be advised if you are looking to rent a property you will be judged and discriminated against!

Scott Peterson at J. Wavro is a true professional. I had a great experience leasing one of his listings I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Scott to renters or property owners.

Joanne and her team were extremely helpful throughout the entire process of securing our new place in the Outer Richmond. Beginning with the initial showing, Joanne walked us through every aspect of the unit, and answered each and every question that we had. Being relatively new to renting in San Francisco, it was great to hear her insights about the market, logistics of renting, and our rights as renters. She went above and beyond to provide the most convenient service possible (including driving to my office to pick up documents and drop off the keys to the unit). As a buyer/​renter, I would highly recommend Joanne and the J. Wavro team for anyone looking for a seamless leasing experience!

This process was a nightmare. After a grueling 2 month SF apartment search, my partner and I applied here and thought we were finally done. After providing proof of employment, we were held up for 3 weeks while they requested extra paperwork proving my partner’s F1-​OPT Visa status and work authorization, which no other landlord had ever requested from us. (Is this even legal to ask?) We paused our search because we were told we were first in line and fine to obtain the unit once we received the paperwork in the mail, worrying daily and paying extra for temporary housing while we waited. Upon receiving the paperwork, we were told they had another tenant for the unit. Another unit opened in the building, and we were told we had to go and talk to the other tenant and «FIGURE IT OUT AMONG OURSELVES» for who would get the original unit we’d been waiting for, after they had promised both of us the same unit.
Mouth agape, unbelievable. The new place we ended up moving into asked us no questions about work status paperwork and processed us in 3 days.

Not living in San Francisco anymore, we tried to use J Wavro’s company to rent our SOMA studio. In the past, we’ve been able to rent it ourselves, and have never had an issue with finding excellent tenants and re-​renting it without delay when a tenant does leave.
Let’s face it, given the San Francisco rental market, a unit located in a new building in one of the hottest locations in San Francisco should essentially rent itself. Right? Not when J Wavro and his «associates» are involved, evidently. The agent assigned to work with us was not only unavailable most of the time we tried to reach her, but when we did manage to communicate with her, completely and utterly incompetent.
Part of the commission she was to earn included obtaining keys from the leaving tenant, and arranging for the unit to be cleaned and presentable for showings prior to the actual showings. As owners, we understand that not only cleaning, but sometimes painting, replacing fixtures etc., generally freshening up the place needs to happen when one tenant leaves. The entire point of hiring these folks was for them to be our eyes and let us know what needed to be done to make the place look shiny and beautiful; the way I would expect an apartment I was renting to look. Our agent told us she would get the place cleaned professionally and placed an ad to show it. After weeks of back and forths with her, and multiple showings, she basically came up empty. No tenant to show, for a unit which has been rented within a few hours of posting in the past. Hmmm…
In frustration (and because no one can afford to have a rental property sit empty for too long), we told J Wavro and his buddies to take a hike, and my husband took time out from his work to go to SF to rent the studio himself. As soon as he got there, he called to describe what he found.
Now, I understand that «clean» may mean different things to different people, but I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that a filthy bathtub (yes, filthy black marks on the bottom of the tub), a mouldy shower curtain and dirty floor mat left as parting presents from the previous tenant, and a missing light bulb in a bathroom fixture perhaps had something to do with the fact that no one wanted to move in. I would be embarassed to have been trying to rent this place.
Had I been a prospective tenant looking at the studio, I’d still be running.
I should add that we were charged over $ 100 to have the place cleaned. Again, if this is what our agent considers clean, I shudder to think what her home looks (and smells) like.
This company not only wasted our time, but ultimately cost us money.
I can’t think of a worst recommendation for a business. Save your time and pesos and find a different company to help you manage your property.

Joanne was outstanding. She helped us rent our apartment by consulting with us to set the right price, patiently meeting tenants until we found the right one, and coordinating all the necessary logistics to make it super easy for us. She is a true professional: responsive, detail-​oriented, yet flexible. I would easily work with her again.

Oh man. I wanted to list my 3bed condo and wanted to use their help. A sales agent called me back and she did a terrible job in explaining how they were different from other property management companies or how they were better.
Response I got was… «go look at our website and you will see why we are different». Wow I was blown away… Not worth wasting my time with these guys.

Joanne took all our worries away! We are first time landlords and asked folks for advice. of course we knew we needed a lease but what we didn’t know was all the other details involved. Thank goodness we found Joanne. She took care of everything. And we have the best tenants ever. They have never missed a payment and are easy and friendly. They just renewed another year and we couldn’t be happier. If you want a solid sales agent then go no further than Joanne! she does it all and she does with expertise and professionalism. thank you Joanne I cannot reccommend you any higher!

Peter was extremely helpful in getting me my top choice apartment. I highly recommend working with him if you have the chance.

Peter Yeh is a really great agent, really really honest and helpful. He is very understanding and give many advices beyond simply renting apartments. I would highly recommended renting houses from Peter! I’d moved couple times around the Bay Area, and never had I encountered an agent that is as sweet as Peter!

Scott did a great job helping us find our apartment in SF! After listening to all of our must-​haves and would-​likes, he set up two full days of viewings for us and drove us to each. His knowledge of the neighborhoods was very helpful and he provided good advice throughout the process. When we narrowed it down to two places, he recommended the place he felt suited us best, even though it was cheaper and would mean a lower commission for him. Plus, he happily did all of this according to our crazy schedule!

Both Aneel (the landlord) and the rental agents are complete scum.
It was nothing more than backing out of a contract that we already had with Aneel (the landlord) — we had even already wired him the deposit!
Our price was more than fair — it was $ 7,500 a month for a one bedroom apartment! And we offered to pay 6 months rent upfront. But more importantly, it was agreed upon.
J Wavro convinced him to back out of the contract so he could get an extra $ 500 a month — oh, and so they could get a fee out of him!
The landlord has no business sense at all — he is a many times failed entrepreneur whose father is rich and supports him, and in my opinion J Warvo took advantage of him. (He ended up making less money than he would have off us because of their expensive fees. They just manipulated him.)
We’re now renting a 2 bedroom in a much better building for $ 8900, and our landlords are amazing, ethical people — the type of people that you want to do business with.

Review for Joanne
We searched for weeks for an apartment in SF. Agents were rude or slow to reply or not helpful (many times, actually, all of the above).
Joanne was so responsive (I have emails from her at 7am and 11pm, not sure she sleeps), answered our questions clearly and in a helpful manner, and was always friendly in person. She definitely stood out for us and we are thankful to have worked with her (and we did sign the lease on the property she showed us). Thanks again Joanne!

We worked with Maureen DeBoer and she was fantastic.
Maureen was:
— Organized
— Informed, expert grasp of rental details
— Considerate of our schedule & needs
— Reassuring
— Delivered results effortlessly
She guided us through the marketing process and made things very easy for us. Her advice on what to do with the house was great. The photos & marketing post were excellent. And lastly Maureen quickly found perfect tenants for our house.
Honestly this went more smoothly and well than expected — we could not be happier.
Highly recommended!

After a particularly difficult tenant moved out of a unit, I turned to Joanne for professional help in what to do. She was generous with her time and her advice was most valuable. Throughout the process she kept me fully apprised and I remain truly impressed by her professionalism, thoroughness and effectiveness.
I regularly refer her, without reservation, to my clients who ALL have reported back to me nothing but positives. You will not be disappointed if you call «the go to girl for residential leasing.»

I have worked with J Wavro multiple times over the years and always found them to be very professional with a great staff of people. My last encounter was a particularly outstanding one which is why I felt compelled to finally leave a Unilocal review!
I was relocating back to SF from NYC, it was 2 weeks before Christmas and I had 2 days to find an apartment and get a lease signed. This seemed like an impossible feat but Loraine Lee make it happen. She lined up a ton of places for me to see, and drove me around the entire city for 2 days until I finally found the perfect place. She then helped me negotiate a fair rent price and ensured that the entire process through lease signing was easy and painless.

Deborah Brown was amazing!
She was there when we showed up. She followed through and was clear on what we needed. When we we’re slow to respond back with papers and someone else beat us to the apartment, she made arrangements with us to show another unit and upon viewing of that apartment, the original apartment was again available (prospective leaser found another place) so Deborah gave us the option to have either of the the apartments and she let the other bidders know we had our choice on which place we wanted first.
And when it came time to sign papers, it was super easy with Docusign and Deborah even met us in San Francisco to step out from an event she was attending to exchange the checks.
I highly recommend working with her. Thank you Doborah

Where do I start? J. Wavro Associates has been nothing but great to me. I relocated to SF from Atlanta, GA and was completely clueless to starting the process of apartment hunting. I could have gone the Craigslist route, but dealing with the stress from that route, was not on my favorite list. I decided to go the broker route and merrily found J. Wavro on a google search.
After seeing some places within my budget on J. Wavro site, I emailed Loraine Lee and that’s where the conversation got started. She is AMAZING. We started the search while I was still in Atlanta and she worked with me in getting a sufficient list of apartments for me to look at when I arrived in SF. Once I got there, she actually picked me up from the airport and the search began. I found a place within 2 days!
What I love about Loraine is that she was very helpful and was willing to stick with my budget and help me find something in a good neighborhood. She was also very honest with me about living in SF and I am very appreciative of that – being completely new to the city.
I would highly recommend J.Wavro. They are fast and they know what they’re doing. Loraine, in particular was great.
Great experience!