Alex's place was exactly as pictured. The check-in process was very smooth, he was there at the property to let us in as soon as we arrived. The place was extremely clean and I did not really have a problem with the neighborhood, as I have been to Oakland and San Francisco many times and knew what to expect. The only negative I would say was the noise level in the building was kind of loud in the morning with people gong in an out of their studios.
Other than that I would definitely recommend his place to others.