Ask HN: How do you look for houses to rent for several months in Silicon Valley?
Hi HN,
We are a startup from the Philippines and are staying in SV for 3 months for an immersion. For our lodgings we are left to our own devices. I've been looking at Trulia, Airbnb and Zillow for houses to rent but I don't have any idea if the prices are fair or are the location strategic or convenient. We are planning to rent a car. Our immersion host is at Sunnyvale (Plug N Play). Any help would be much appreciated. Just to warn you about car rentals in US, I was recently surprised that a rental that was supposed to cost $130 (according to a booking at priceline.com) actually costed about $450. Insurance is super-expensive and renting navigation turned out to be almost as costly as renting the car itself. If you book on forehand, there are some sweet deals to be made. I can rent a subcompact for € 784.00 for an entire month, including all insurances, waivers, unlimited miles, etc.
For navigation: better to buy it secondhand on craigslist, or use your phone. For renting apartments CL isn't very good IMHO. Most of it is >1yr lease, and/or they want credit reports. The sublets section has a little more to offer. Check on Craigslist too here: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sub/