Accessible, affordable 2BR in Berkeley
September 7, 2010 8:54 AM Subscribe
Wheelchair accessible, affordable 2BR home or housing in Berkeley? Help me help my friend.
Two friends are planning a move to the Bay Area, and seek (an) affordable, 2BR, wheelchair accessible home/housing in Berkeley.
Since my knowledge of accessible, affordable realty is negligible, I'm asking if any Berkeley-specific Bay Area people know about realtors who specialize in this kind of housing, or any other relevant and useful resources. They, my friends, are open to a house or housing - i.e. apartments - as long as it's a 2BR space that's accessible. One person uses a powerchair. They're seeking somewhere quiet, sunny, and spacious, and are open to renting but may be open to buying (I will follow up if necessary).
I am not looking for huge housing developments like this.
Two friends are planning a move to the Bay Area, and seek (an) affordable, 2BR, wheelchair accessible home/housing in Berkeley.
Since my knowledge of accessible, affordable realty is negligible, I'm asking if any Berkeley-specific Bay Area people know about realtors who specialize in this kind of housing, or any other relevant and useful resources. They, my friends, are open to a house or housing - i.e. apartments - as long as it's a 2BR space that's accessible. One person uses a powerchair. They're seeking somewhere quiet, sunny, and spacious, and are open to renting but may be open to buying (I will follow up if necessary).
I am not looking for huge housing developments like this.
I currently rent in Oakland (between Telegraph and College, just south of the Berkeley border), from a property management firm most of whose properties are in Berkeley. A group of us rent a seven-bedroom house for $4950; I'm not sure how this translates into rent for a 2BR but this might give you some idea of affordability. I seem to recall that two-bedrooms were listed on their web page at around $2500, which doesn't sound all that affordable, but most of those were very close to the UC campus and therefore probably a bit inflated.
I'm mentioning this to give you an anecdote on what I've seen around here -- wheelchair accessibility has been a mixed bag for us. One of the people who moved out recently used a wheelchair. He (and his father? I was told the details quickly when I moved in but don't remember) built a ramp which runs over the front steps, and the management company was okay with this. But currently we are being told that we have two choices regarding the ramp: either allow the management company to remove it now, or take responsibility for removing it ourselves at the end of the current lease. (Incidentally, I've been meaning to ask a question about this situation on askmefi...)
posted by madcaptenor at 11:28 AM on September 7, 2010
I'm mentioning this to give you an anecdote on what I've seen around here -- wheelchair accessibility has been a mixed bag for us. One of the people who moved out recently used a wheelchair. He (and his father? I was told the details quickly when I moved in but don't remember) built a ramp which runs over the front steps, and the management company was okay with this. But currently we are being told that we have two choices regarding the ramp: either allow the management company to remove it now, or take responsibility for removing it ourselves at the end of the current lease. (Incidentally, I've been meaning to ask a question about this situation on askmefi...)
posted by madcaptenor at 11:28 AM on September 7, 2010
Housing in Berkeley is difficult to find and expensive. There's no way around that.
You or your friends can try contacting The Center for Independent Living, which is one of the best and oldest disability-rights groups in existence -
"the world's first organization run by and for people with disabilities" (quote from their website). They offer not only housing services, but employment services, advocacy, you name it. It's a great organization!
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 12:34 PM on September 7, 2010
You or your friends can try contacting The Center for Independent Living, which is one of the best and oldest disability-rights groups in existence -
"the world's first organization run by and for people with disabilities" (quote from their website). They offer not only housing services, but employment services, advocacy, you name it. It's a great organization!
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 12:34 PM on September 7, 2010
I have some information about a newly renovated wheelchair-accessible 2 bedroom house for sale in emeryville very close to the berkeley border. depending on what your friend needs with regard to transit, this might be something good to look into. you can private message me if you want me to forward more about it.
posted by juliapangolin at 1:20 PM on September 8, 2010
posted by juliapangolin at 1:20 PM on September 8, 2010
Mod note: This is a followup from the asker.
Thank you to all of the people who responded. My friends are able to rent, and cannot exceed $1650/month. I'll keep exploring the options.posted by cortex (staff) at 1:57 PM on September 9, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by rtha at 9:19 AM on September 7, 2010