50 Berkeley Ave, Orinda, CA 94563

March Rent is only $1 with a 1 year lease This ~2600sq. Ft. 4-bedroom, 1.75-bath house sits near the end of a quiet street on the south side of Camino Pablo; it is about 1.5 miles from the Orinda BART station. The main floor and deck overlook Orinda's valley, hills, and the Orinda Country Club. Occasionally, you can hear the cows moo from the ranches to the west and the hoot owls that inhabit the massive oak trees surrounding the neighborhood. This is a tranquil and family-friendly place to live. The house has many updates. The master bath has a grand marble shower with three different shower heads. The deck has an open invitation for morning coffee, a long phone conversation, a nice dinner, or an afternoon beverage. If weather conditions don't work for the open deck, you can go down to the lower deck of the same size and escape the sun or the rain. Also, the house's electrical system was upgraded to a 200A primary, with a 50A electric car charge port already wired in the garage. Interior and exterior paint completed the update, making the property move-in ready and eye-appealing. Fiber-optic-based and cable-based Internet services service the house. The following appliances are already in the house: a washer, electric dryer, double oven, gas range, dishwasher, large 3-door refrigerator, and freezer. The house is split into two levels; the common level is reached from the street via a fenced-in front yard with grass, a Viking-inspired planter, and a small garden. This level has two large bedrooms, a shared bathroom with a tub and shower, and a great room big enough for a family and dining room. It has laminate floors and a working fireplace. The great room's 9' x 4' picture window looks out onto the deck, which provides a great view of the hill and golf course. Off to the side of the great room is the updated kitchen. Opposite the kitchen and out the French doors is a 16' x 30' deck at the same level as this floor. Walking down the stairs, you enter another grand room. Three patio doors open onto a rainproof deck that looks onto the backyard and a giant play structure for your young children and their friends or grandkids. It has another working fireplace and boasts hardwood floors. There is a small home office carved out in this room. There is a full laundry room with gas and electric dryer hookups and a massive coat closet. A washer and dryer are installed if you don't have them already, or you can bring your own and move them in place. The master bedroom is at this level, large enough for a California King bed and more. It has sliding doors that open into the red-brick patio, making the room very bright and welcoming for that lazy afternoon reading a great book. The master bath, as stated above, has a huge marble shower with glass doors and custom built-in cabinets. The fourth bedroom ~(13 x 15) sits off the master. It can be used as a bedroom for young children, a large home office, or an extension closet. The house also has a 1.5-car garage with a remote opening accessible from the kitchen. Below the kitchen is an extensive basement area, not counted in the 2600 sq. ft. of living space. Access to the basement is from the utility/laundry room. Access to the house is via a gated front yard with grass where dogs can run and play but not escape. Smaller dogs or cats can also enjoy sunning themselves on the 1st-floor deck via an installed medium-sized pet door or relieve themselves by getting out the large size pet door downstairs to access the backyard. The front yard has automatic sprinklers, so you only need to cut the 12 x 20 grass area with a mower once a week during the summer. A fully gated and enclosed backyard can be accessed via the downstairs area or two lockable side gates. It has a patio on the top level and a large flat play area below. There is a play structure in the lower part of the yard and a slide from the deck area to the play area below. There is lots of running and playing room for your kids or dogs in this backyard. Dogs and cats can access the backyard via a large pet door from the downstairs area. The backyard is low maintenance with automatic sprinklers; mostly you just have to rake the leaves and keep the weeds down. A previous tenant added more landscaping detail to the property; he did a great job adding the brick patio, gardens, etc. He owns a successful landscape company based in Orinda, and the additions added a lot of appeal to the outside areas of the house without adding much maintenance. The home has a newer forced-air heating system that heats the house when it is cold and a full AC system when it gets hot. The walls are insulated, and the windows are double-pane to keep heating and cooling costs down. The home also sports a whole house fan that can be used about six months of the year to draw cool or warm air from downstairs through the house and avoid using the HVAC most of the day. Recently, while renovating, we did not use the AC unit any day or night from May through August due to the use of the whole house fan. The house is in a family-friendly neighborhood and community. Many children live nearby. Most go to the public schools in Orinda. The Orinda schools are amongst the best in California. Check out the scores for the Orinda Union School District. The house is near Wagner Ranch Elementary, Orinda Intermediate School (OIS), and Miramonte, which is the designated high school. Wagner is just 4 minutes down the road. If you are considering putting your kids into private school, you can instead rent this house, save the cost of private schooling, and give your children an excellent education. That is the reason my family and I moved to Orinda years ago. Orinda is a great place to commute from as it is close to everything in the East Bay; 20 minutes to downtown Walnut Creek, 15 minutes to downtown Oakland or Berkeley, 25 minutes to Bishop Ranch, or 25 minutes to downtown San Francisco. If BART is your preference, you can walk to the station in 15 minutes, ride a bike in 7 minutes, or drive your car and park in 5 minutes. Along the way, you will pass a Safeway, Rite Aid, US post office, banks, and more; shopping is easy and pleasant. The rent is $5,300 USD per month with a signed 1-year lease plus deposit, renewed annually. A credit check and application are required. Dogs, cats, and other creatures are welcome but must be included in the lease and will require a pet deposit. Renters insurance is required. Utilities: Tenants will be responsible for all utilities. Friendly pets are allowed; a deposit will be required--a payment plan can be set up. Minimal landscaping tasks are the responsibility of the tenants but can be taken on by the landlord with an increase in rent. A $5,300 Security Deposit is needed. Credit scores will be taken into consideration. A credit check is required to become a tenant. We collect a $40 fee per adult when you are being considered as a tenant but not before. We do not hand out applications until you have visited the house by appointment. Renter's Insurance is required.