First, it's a very unsafe place to live in. We've had 2 fires in the past 13 months, the last fire was in December 2024, and it was quite a big one. Many rooms were damaged, some completely burnt out. Their old electric wires started to burn, tenants ran outside, there were 6 firetrucks, lots of firefighters, but zero hostel managers (they are rarely around). Second, their manager COLLIN HOOPER IS EXTREMELY DISRESPECTFUL, RUDE & ABUSIVE. Always stressed & angry, he has no idea what being polite is. He talks disparagingly, gives orders and invents his own prison-like rules (I guess a prison was a part of his background) that make it even more difficult to live here. This person called me names, has been harassing me (and I'm sure other tenants as well) with his crazy rules & orders, I heard from him, "Don't walk away! Go to your room!" The lazy managers are in charge of the cameras, so they feel free to do whatever they want. Normal management is non-existent, most of the time, they don't even bother to reply, not to mention correcting a problem. The managers actually create problems themselves, by trashing the place, ignoring the complaints, mistreating tenants, etc. I heard & saw another manager BEN ELIAS (BENJAMIN HAJI-ELIAS) screaming and cursing at a tenant. All they care about are not working & getting paid. You'll be on your own dealing with drug-abusing screaming neighbors, beeping smoke alarms, trash & dirty laundry left by managers & tenants in common places, very bad ventilation in your room and in common areas, etc. Also, the harassment of tenants by managers is supported by business owners. There's no source of the air in a large area downstairs that include the lobby, dining area, mail area, washing area, kitchen with many trash bins and a bathroom. So, get ready to smell someone's dirty laundry (even if you're in your room) or wake up to the smell from the kitchen in the middle of the night. The bathrooms (toilets) don't have ventilation except for the tiny windows, and many people don't care about leaving them clean after use. If you have a problem and let a manager know or made a maintenance request, it will be ignored most of the time. If someone's smoke alarm sets off & starts beeping every 3 min, NO ONE will fix it, unless you complain to the business owners. Even then it might not work. You'll have to go to find the broken alarm yourself, record a video, mail it to the business owners & managers, and wait for days until they stop the annoying sound. One time, the manager Collin Hooper openly told me that he's not going to look for the broken alarm, although it was beeping for 3 days. So, the alarm kept beeping for a week. 18 rooms' windows (and mine too) + 5 bathrooms & 4 showers face a small, enclosed, ALWAYS DIRTY lightwell (see the pics) covered with the patches of black mold (deadly for your health), and have A VERY BAD VENTILATION. You have to make a request for a cleaner to sweep it & he does a very bad job doing it. I recently asked a manager and a maintenance man to wash off the mold & dirt, and they both started telling me that there's no need for this, "The streets are dirtier! This is not black mold, it's just dirt..." Some rooms' windows face a wall of the nearby building that's about 3 inches away (You'll have a narrow gap for breathing). Overall, the place is VERY old, with the old, chipped furniture, squeaky beds, old thin doors that will let you hear every step someone makes in a narrow corridor, dirty, smelly comforters and dirty sheets (When I rented my room, my sheets were literally grey - they were so dirty) + THE PLACE HAS MICE This place might work for you if you're completely deaf, OK with filth, lack of fresh air, dirty bathrooms, black mold & rodents, and have time and energy to deal with many different problems. Add to this a neighborhood full of homeless & drug addicts who sleep & walk on the streets and use the streets for all their needs. read more

See all

Finding housing in large American cities can be hard and so it is refreshing to see fresh young corporate faces on the scene. Do they make things better? No, no they do not. In this instance they had emailed me in a new chain to note they hadn't received a reply from me, they had and would know this unless they didn't check and/or used an auto mailer. Urbanests, hmu if you need a QA system devised. I'll be your huckleberry to train them sales folk in how to build a brand and not just chase personal KPIs.... read more

Urbanests - Urbanests emailing to note that I had not replied to her last email, I had. - Property Management Near Me - San Francisco, California

they will try to finesse you. extremely unorganized and quick to lie and not take accountability. also very weird energy

The bathroom and restroom's cleaning was really bad I wouldn't tecommend Suvh a bad service read more

SCAM. Please do not fall for the other positive reviews. He's the short of it: I was charged for a room that did not meet the specifics of the signed contract. In addition, the property they "owned" (they do not own property. They serve as an informal go-between between the property owner and you) had bed bugs and lice. They advertised 402 Broadway Golden Eagle hotel as intern housing but this was far from the truth. When I had arrived all the way from the East Coast and came to San Francisco, I was alarmed to realize that I was switched rooms and given a lesser room all while I was still paying for a premium room. They said that this place would have Wi-Fi when it did not In addition to other amenities. This company is not trust worthy. So please avoid. Please look into the legitimacy of the other highly rated reviews as well. Currently, they are refusing to pay the difference in my refund and wish to pay a reparated refund. I need my full refund as this was their mistake that they are expecting me to pay for. The virtual tour that I had was a lie. read more

Look at the first review. Its from 2019, 5 stars. HELLO, NOT RELIABLE. Larisa, CM, others... they know what theyre talking about - heed their warning. As for mine... WARNING - DEPOSIT SCAM - WARNING Myself along with MANY OTHERS have had their DEPOSITS TAKEN from this company. MANPREET RAJPAL has been telling my for MONTHS that my deposit will be returned... THAT HASNT HAPPENED. While I lived here I would read the signs that say PLEASE GIVE US 30 DAYS NOTICE SO WE CAN PROCESS YOUR DEPOSIT. I thought to myself Yea, Ill do that, surely they wont take MY money.. BUT THEY DID! and now they are ignoring emails! Aside from the STEALING OF PEOPLE's DEPOSITS.. I DO NOT RECOMMEND living here. Read the other poor reviews and youll see that the only positive ones are OUTDATED. Its NOT worth moving here. Parents, if your child is going to college and needs a place to stay, SKIP THIS PLACE. Foreign travelers - IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON STAYING HERE DO NOT EXPECT YOUR DEPOSIT BACK. read more

Scam. Changed the room that I paid for, and refuses to refund the difference in cost. And there's bed bugs and lice. I contacted the property owner too, who is not urban nest. And the owner said that urban nest often does these scams. read more

It's no secret that finding affordable accommodations in San Francisco is neither simple nor easy. Which is why when I found out about Urbanests through my university housing website (also simply www.urbanests.com) and from talking with former or current students about how to solve the housing dilemma, I was stoked to have found a both affordable and straightforward solution to housing. Urbanests has a portfolio of properties that fit a variety of budgets, but its major upside compared to other agencies, is that its primary customer base is aimed at students and interns/budding professionals. Bottom line is the following: About as affordable as you can find with plenty of choices in this affordable category. Buildings are adequately maintained and very livable. Building managers are kind, approachable, available and responsive to issues. Leasing process is painless with quick response times. At the end of the day my biggest cost concern (housing) was substantially alleviated by the variety of properties in the Urbanests portfolio. I urge those folks who are inbound or otherwise considering a way to get a foothold into San Francisco at a very affordable rate, to search the Urbanests website to find a place that works. 1080 Folsom is a great place, well maintained with common areas conducive to both relaxation and work. Quiet hours are respected and any issues I had were resolved in a timely manner. I was happy and felt lucky I found this place. read more

During my stay here I put in multiple request to get thing taken care of but nothing was taken care of until about 2 months in. sadly I had high hopes for the manager here but he lacked in certain areas. I'm glad things finally got taken care of and did his job. We don't pay for rent and a maid for people to sit around, we pay to have things taken care of. Hopefully in the future he does building walk throughs over the month to make sure the building is up to par and looking how it should be so a resident doesn't have to point things out. Over all the experience was good. Good people to live around. Nothing too bad going on around here. read more

Perfect for young professionals and students. Great for short term internships you might have in the city. They have so many options all over the city, that you are bound to find one of their properties you'll like. All common areas are always kept clean and the property managers are very helpful and quick to respond. If you are looking for short term affordable housing in San Francisco, this is your place. read more

I've stayed at multiple Urbanest buildings in beautiful SF and I get the same impression at all their locations- They are all- *Spartan, yet nicely decorated *Clean and efficient *Pleasant and secure *VERY AFFORDABLE A difficult combination to attain in this city. I highly recommend to anyone watching their bottom line- read more

Im going to have to agree with Congmin - this organization hasnt contacted me and ive been trying to reach them for days. Maybe theyre a great place to live - however, I wouldnt know, as they are unresponsive. read more

I worked with Ping and Tony- at Latitude 38 housing! They helped me when I over spent at Christmas and allowed me to pay 2 weeks late. When I needed a place fast- they came through for me! It is a challenge to find a room in the city, for student prices-- yet they came through for me. IF you are new to sharing a bathroom and kitchen, please take note- YOU have to provide the toilet tissue and soap- for the kitchen and your bathroom sink. AND you need to communicate to your floor mates that they need to pitch in too! All in all-- they made my life incredible! Chinatown is a safe place, never was I bothered by street people. Just a few blocks from market street. Close to Stockton tunnel! If you want to work with a company that cares about its renters- then call Ping and Tony! Awesome folks! Great company! read more

I was in San Francisco for a summer internship. Urbanest made it easy to find a place that was convenient to my internship and in a fun neighborhood. The rooms were comfortable, furnished, practical and reasonably priced. read more

Living at 371 Columbus Ave was really nice. It had a really good building coordinator and my leasing manager was always helpful indeed.

This property gave us a great opportunity to be in SF for a short amount of time. Greg - the property manager - was very responsive and helped us with anything that we needed throughout our stay. Room was in great condition upon arrival and location of the building is prime in the city of SF! Great stay! read more

This is a perfect place to live if you are wanting to live in SF proper but are on a budget. I lived at 1080 Folsom for 2 years and really enjoyed the place. Just left to take care of my mom in AZ for a while. But will certainly return when I can! Rooms are clean and updated with sink, closet, bed, fridge. There is also shared spaces: Living/study space, Kitchen - fully stocked, showers and toilets (separate). All kept clean by a cleaning service which comes in every week day to keep the place up. Shout out to Ben, on location manager, Ping, my rental rep and Oscar, the house keeper. Stellar staff. If you are social, there are group dinners where everyone brings something, game nights and over all a pleasant sense of community. And if you are not so social that's ok too. The place is pretty quiet since a lot of the tenants are students who have crazy schedules and are always studying. Check it out. read more

I honestly can't imagine how I would've made it moving into SF and going to Hack Reactor without this housing service. The accommodations were so nice, I ended up staying at their Epik Residences for just under 2 years. Maid service once a week, concierge service, free coffee, a beautiful lobby with board games, friendly staff, and an attached bar. Located 2 blocks from Civic Center, everything I needed was within a mile of my building. I made tons of friends during my time. The leasing agents along with the co-founder, Ping, were amazing. Super easy to deal with and went out of their way to be incredibly accommodating. If they had more corporate-style housing, I would still be staying with them. Thank you for the amazing memories and allowing me the foundation to start my career in tech! read more

This company is amazing. Finding housing in SF is super difficult, especially if you are on a tight post-grad budget like me. The people who work here are extremely helpful, sweet, kinda, and seem like they really care about making sure you find a place that is the right fit for you. They were quick to respond, despite my millions of questions in millions of emails haha. The building I ended up in (1080 Folsom) is super affordable, clean, beautiful, and in a fantastic location! The people I live with are so fun and easy to be around. They have a great common area, so it is a super social environment, and has become a community for me in this originally unfamiliar city! Highly recommend finding your residence through this company, I can't recommend it enough. read more

If you are a student or intern looking for short term housing, and don't have time to tour before moving to the city, Urbanest's is a great option! While the actual living conditions are pretty average (kinda dirty) the flexibility of having a relatively affordable place to stay in the short term was great to have. I stayed at the Balmoral on Bush St. While the room was a little unclean on move in, having a place in the middle of SF made getting around super easy, and it is a relatively safe location to be in lower Nob Hill. I'd also like to leave a 5 star review for my lease advisor Kelly Moore. Whatever you're paying her, double it. As a young professional nervous about moving to a new city, Kelly went above and beyond to make sure my living situation was comfortable. She would respond within minutes of any inquiry I had, and ensured I was taken care of. She made the stress of moving easy, flexible, and dependable. read more

I have lived in Pyramid SF for a few months now, and I have to say I really love it, its a perfect set up for me. I'm a simple guy, so what I was really looking for in a place to live that was affordable, convenient, and clean. Definitely one of the best deals I've found in SF. The staff is super helpful and friendly, it's in a great location (right near a BART station and 7 minute walk to Market St), and as a huge plus that the people who I live with have actually become really good friends of mine. I think it's exactly the kind of place you want to live when you're young and out grinding away in the most expensive city in the world. It's simple, but does the trick, and really what more could you ask for? read more

SLOW, SLOW, SLOW. This is high tech SF / siliscon valley but the service is so SLOW. I've been contacting one of the guys via phone, txt and emails. SLOW response or no response. read more

5 stars does not even come close to describing my experience with Urbanests and my wonderful leasing advisor Kelly. Her quick and thorough responses from the very beginning of the process made me feel at ease and informed, and she's stayed by my side every step of the way. I'm now able to live in an amazing location in my dream city that I never in a million years thought I'd ever be able to afford. If you're considering renting from Urbanests, don't hesitate. You're in very good hands, especially if you're lucky enough to have Kelly on your side! read more

If you're a student in need of a place to stay, I'd recommend getting in contact with this service. The employees were more than accommodating, especially Ping. I'd get on it quick before they reach capacity for fall. read more