Three of us, three cars, one September deadline
3 bed · 2+ bath · $4,500 all-in · keys by Sept 1 · three cars off the street · no landlord on site. Combined income $235k, one 750 credit file, two with no credit history yet, no pets.
The set point
Seven gates. All seven green means stop thinking and book the tour.
✅ All 7 green → tour it. ❌ Any one red → skip it, don't spend the evening.
1Actually availableLandlord confirms in writing it's still open and will start a lease around Sept 1. Advertised ≠ available.
2Three cars park off-streetThree real spaces — garage plus driveway. Tandem/stacked counts as one and a half. Street parking counts as zero.
33 bed / 2+ bathThree real bedrooms with doors and closets, not a converted den.
4$4,500 or less, everything includedRent plus mandatory fees — parking, water, trash, admin. Complexes hide $150–300/mo here.
5No landlord living on siteNot owner-occupied, nobody in the back unit or next door.
6Timing worksSept 1 start, or they'll hold it. A week of overlap is fine; a whole extra month of rent is not.
7They'll take our applicationOne 750 credit file plus two with no credit history, $235k combined — 4.3× the rent. Confirm before paying any application fee.
Verified live — these actually exist right now
Every option below was re-checked tonight against the listing source. Four of the earlier candidates turned out to be dead and are at the bottom.
1173 Capri Dr$4,500/mo · $1,500 ea
✅ confirmed live🅿️ attached 2-car garage🚲 10 min bike
3 bed / 2.5 bath · 1,238 sqft townhome · in-unit laundry · pool · no pets · available now · $25 application fee · tenant pays water, trash, PG&E; landlord covers HOA
The best-verified listing on the page — active on two separate sites and the owner refreshed it yesterday. Gate 2 is the only question: the garage holds two, so the third car parks on the street.
264 Everett Ave$4,500/mo · $1,500 ea
✅ ad still active⚠️ it's a duplex🚶 5 min walk
Advertised as 3 bed / 2 bath, 2,000 sqft · basement · new appliances · washer/dryer hookups only · available Aug 7
Three things don't line up. County records say this property is two units built in 1920 and lists it as one bathroom, not two — and a public records site shows a "264 Everett Ave Apt A." Parking is described only as a surface lot. Unbeatable location, but treat every claim in the ad as unconfirmed until seen in person, and ask directly whether the owner lives in the other unit.
14575 S Bascom Ave, Los Gatos$4,395–4,495/mo · ~$1,480 ea
✅ confirmed live📧 emailed🅿️ 2-car garage🚲 12 min bike
3 bed / 2.5 bath · 1,300 sqft, 3-story townhome · A/C · pool · washer/dryer hookups · managed by Valley Management Group
Emailed the management company tonight asking about availability, a Sept 1 start, three parking spaces, and total monthly cost.
1049 Lucot Way$4,650/mo · over budget
✅ confirmed live⚠️ $150 over🚲 12 min bike
3 bed / 2 bath · 1,520 sqft house · in-unit laundry · yard with fruit trees · parking not stated
The real asking price is $4,650, not the $4,050 some sites show. Also: a copy of this ad circulates at $3,995 with no address — that one is a scam, ignore it.
Contacted, waiting to hear back
Emailed tonight with the same four questions: still available, three parking spaces, Sept 1 start, total monthly cost including fees.
Valley Management Group📧 sent
About 14575 S Bascom Ave — the Los Gatos townhome above
DWM Properties📧 sent
About 1153 Capri Dr, listed around $3,195 — the cheapest 3-bed that surfaced anywhere. Its public listing has since disappeared, so this email is asking whether it's gone or just relisted.
Cedar Glen — our current complex📧 sent
2275 S Bascom Ave, 19 min walk. This is where Kevin already lives, so we know the building, the parking and the management. Asked the leasing office whether any 3-bedroom opens up for September — right now the only unit showing available is too small to be one. Worth noting the complex gives assigned spaces, so three cars is still the open question.
Orchard City Lofts☎️ 669-316-1806
190 Dillon Ave, 5 min walk. Has 3-bed floor plans, but parking is a 2-car tandem garage — two cars stacked nose to tail, so a third car has nowhere to go. Their web form is behind a robot check that blocked submission; a phone call is the way in.
Dead — checked tonight, don't chase these
202 Budd Avewas $3,500
Listing now reads "check back soon for upcoming availability" — it is not rentable today. It is also half of a duplex, has no air conditioning, and the laundry sits in a single detached garage, so it never had room for three cars anyway.
1086 Springfield Drwas $3,351?
Also "check back soon" — not available. And the real asking price is $4,590, over budget. The cheap price floating around other sites was stale.
333 Budd Avewas $3,700
Marked off-market and recorded as multi-family. The page that showed $3,700 is a sold-history record, not a live rental ad.
1153 Capri Drwas $3,195
The listing link now bounces to a generic search page, which means it was taken down. Emailed the manager to confirm whether it's truly gone.
Walk away immediately if
- No street address, only a neighborhood
- Price is well under market — a real 3-bed near downtown is not $2,000
- The same place shows up twice at two different prices
- Landlord is "out of the country" and wants money before anyone goes inside
- They ask for Zelle, wire, Venmo or crypto before a signed lease
- No in-person showing offered, or only a lockbox code after payment
- "Three other applications today, send a deposit to hold it"
At the tour
Parking — the make or break
- Walk the driveway: do three actual cars fit without blocking each other?
- Is the garage usable or full of the owner's storage?
- Any permit or time limit on the street as backup?
The rooms — rent split isn't decided yet
- Photograph and measure all three bedrooms, bring numbers back
- Does the smallest one fit a queen plus a desk?
- Closet in every bedroom?
Daily life
- Cell signal in every room — sales calls happen from home
- Run both showers at once, check the pressure
- Turn the A/C on and confirm it blows cold
- Actual washer and dryer, or just hookups?
- Stand outside two minutes: traffic, light rail, bar noise
- Confirm out loud that the owner does not live on site
Ask the landlord every time
- How many applications so far, and when do you decide?
- Total move-in cost — first, last, deposit, fees?
- Lease length options and the price at each?
- Who handles repairs and how fast?
Have this ready before the first tour
Goal is to apply on the spot the same evening. Good Campbell 3-beds are gone in days.
- Photo ID — all three of us
- Two recent paystubs or an offer letter
- Roommates: proof of income plus one line explaining no credit history yet
- Credit report pulled once, reused everywhere
- Deposit money liquid and ready to move
- Previous landlord reference and contact
- One-page intro: three working professionals, no pets, quiet, $235k combined
Already crossed off
Avalon Campbell — no 3-beds available · Parc at Pruneyard — no 3-bed floorplans exist · Revere Campbell — none available, quoted $5,595+ · 23Fifty Bascom — income-restricted, three salaries disqualify · 648 Weston Dr — one bathroom · Cedar Glen — apartment parking won't hold three cars · 874 Wellington, 206 Michael, 2120 Vizcaya, 366 Manchester, 841 W Latimer, 912 Campisi, 1057 Shamrock, 1042 W Hacienda — all over budget · 358 Calado "$2,000" — stale or room-only · the $3,995 Lucot copy — scam · Corinthian House — seniors only.
Third roommate is in Texas until late August and can't tour. Two of us tour, photograph every room with measurements, and send them the same evening. Don't let his absence stall a place that clears all seven gates — by the time he lands it will be gone.