[quote=spdrun]I’ve heard stories of people renting a 3 bdr apartment for $400/mo. Generally this is pretty rare though.[/quote]

3/4 bdrm (1600-2000 sf) rent-controlled apts (flats) in SF typically rent for $2000 – $2500 mo. That is the cheapest I’ve heard of and SF’s rents are probably on par with Manhattan (NY, NY’s) rents.