Jose and Julia are super responsive. I booked this Place for two nights, as I had two in-person work retreats. I had never been to Oakland before, so I sent a message asking the hosts for information about traffic from their place to my place of work. They called me within minutes to give me information.
The place is small, but it has everything you need. It was super cozy and clean. The restroom did have a funky smell, I think it may have been the bathroom rugs not drying completely before putting them back after washing.
The street is busy, but I did not hear any outside noises at night. I felt pretty safe and secure at all times. It seemed to be a neighborhood of working people. We found the location to be very close to everything. There are a lot of Mexican taquerias and loncheras near by. We also found a Safeway and Walgreens within minutes, we were in downtown in about 15 minutes.
I do have two suggestions: be aware that the unit does NOT have AC. I did not realize until I got there (it had been 100 degrees that day) and it was super stuffy and hot. My partner and I were not able to sleep even though the hosts had an electric fan. It is not enough to cool the place even at night when the temperatures get that high and the host has signs all over the place to please shit everything off when every time you leave. I would suggest for the hosts to make this more obvious in the description of the place (I have seen other postings that have this information in multiple places throughout the posting, as for the person booking to make a more informed decision.)
The other thing to note is that although they provide a parking space, you do share the little driveway/alley with the hosts and their daughter. I do have to say that they were super responsive in moving their blocking car within minutes, but it is annoying to have to ask the hosts or their daughter to move their car every time you have to go out. Either offer the parking spot or not.
All in all, I GIVE THE HOSTS A 5 star review, but due to the experience with the parking and lack of proper AC during summer time the overall review is 4 stars for me.