We had a rough start with our rental but overall this is a very nice and large 5bdrm house with 4 full bathrooms located in a great Oakland neighborhood that works well for families or a large group.
The Pros: 5 nice bedrooms all with very comfortable queen beds. Note that there are no twins or other sizes if you have kids. There are 4 full bathrooms, a very good cooking kitchen with ample counter space and a quality stove/oven. The location of the house is in a beautiful Oakland Hills neighborhood about ¾ mile above a fantastic village of Montclair that has many local shops, a Saturday farmers market, tennis courts, pickleball courts and a very nice strolling neighborhood. The back yard is very private with a nice grill and great landscaping. The house is spacious but has rather spartan decorations with few pictures, drapes or other decorations. The furniture is comfortable but not upscale.
The Cons:
I don’t like to be negative, but the house was not thoroughly cleaned and prepared for our arrival. The heat didn’t work in two of the three zones and the quilt in the master bedroom was stained and not very appealing. There was a lot of rain, so there was problem with tiny ants in the bathrooms. The internet was not working throughout the house. However, the manager, (Sami) was very responsive and ran out to buy us space heaters, nice new blankets, and other supplies that were missing. The HVAC person couldn’t come until Monday (2 more days), and was only able to fix two of the three zones. There is no heat in the kitchen or back bedroom now, however, the space heaters work great and keep the rooms quite comfortable. The house is perfectly comfortable now and it was not clear if the heating system will be fixed until the house gets a complete renovation. You will need to rely on space heaters for the 5th bdrm above the garage and the kitchen area. Also, the 5th bedroom is a very nice private bedroom/office space accessed from the kitchen if someone needs a quiet area isolated from the main house. However, there is no bathroom in that area.
The house is quirky but has great potential. The Bedrooms and bathrooms are all very generous but there is no main floor bathroom. The house is not a good rental for an elderly relative or visitor: There is no banister going upstairs from the front hallway to the closest bathroom, and the driveway is very steep and slippery in the rain. The kitchen is great for cooking with lots of counterspace, a good oven and stove, but it could use a nice collection of pots and pans.

Overall, this is a very nice house with a great backyard in a classy neighborhood. If the manager wasn’t as responsive and helpful to fix almost all of the issues, it would have been a bad experience. It is priced reasonably for all that you get and I would rent it again if I needed this large a house. Thank you to Sami, who does everything to make this a good experience.