Free SF apartment background check

498 Carl St

Cole Valley/Parnassus Heights, SF 94117 1265015 6 units · 3 fl · 1915

This building has significantly more problems than most nearby buildings. A handful of unresolved issues. Worth a careful walk-through and pointed questions.

NOVs (7y) vs. neighborhood
Compared to a typical building in Cole Valley/Parnassus Heights
At or below average
avg 0.9
0
FewerMore

This building has 0 novs (7y), at or below the Cole Valley/Parnassus Heights average of 0.9.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 498 Carl St rent-controlled?

San Francisco's Rent Ordinance caps rent increases and provides eviction protection for most residential units built before 1979 with 2+ units. Here's how this building scores.

Built before 1979
Built 1915
2 or more units
6 units
Property type
Multi-Family Residential
Zoning
RH3
Likely rent-controlled. Building age and unit count suggest this property falls under San Francisco's Rent Ordinance.

Based on SF Assessor records. Not legal advice — confirm with the SF Rent Board.

Building characteristics
Units6
Floors3
Year built1915
Total area6,150 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot1265015
Ownership

Registered owner per SF Assessor-Recorder (secured roll).

Owner name
Szeto Herbert C
Mailing address
3017 Bateman St Berkeley CA 94705
Last sale
123111

Landlord portfolio

Other SF properties this owner holds, with risk grades for each.

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Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The three-story multi-family residential building at 498 Carl Street, owned by Herbert C. Szeto, was built in 1915 and contains 6 units. The property has undergone significant seismic retrofitting, completing a voluntary soft-story retrofit in 2010 at a cost of $45,000, followed by stair repairs in 2020. Recent issues include a December 2023 complaint about a large hole in the garage ceiling and a 2020 report of rotting stairs on the back staircase. The building's maintenance history shows attention to critical systems, with electrical upgrades including a new service installation in 2003 and a 100-amp service pedestal installation in 2013, along with reroofing projects completed in 1997 and 2004.

The building has experienced several safety-related incidents that required attention, particularly in 2008 when multiple fire safety violations were recorded regarding fire escape ladders and fire extinguisher maintenance, though these were promptly abated. Between 2019 and 2023, there were three fire-related complaints about extinguishers and several false alarm incidents with no injuries reported. Historical issues include a significant electrical incident in 2000 involving damage to tenant appliances due to a power surge, and plumbing concerns with noisy water pipes documented in 1998. Recent 311 calls from late 2024 through 2025 primarily relate to street cleaning and garbage management issues in the vicinity of the property, with multiple reports of overflowing public garbage receptacles and debris, though these are external to the building's actual maintenance record.

AI-generated · may contain errors · check the source data tables below

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Risk rating

How 498 Carl St's risk score is calculated

We trained a model on 7 years of SF DBI inspection data — notice of violation filings, complaint history, and owner track records. It estimates the probability that DBI inspectors will issue a Notice of Violation at this address in the next 12 months. Lower % = safer.

What the score means for you

Grade A–B — Low risk

DBI rarely finds violations here. Strong maintenance history and a clean complaint record.

Grade C — Moderate risk

Some past violations or complaints on record. Worth asking the landlord about any open issues before signing.

Grade D–F — High risk

Elevated violation and complaint history. DBI has found issues here before and is statistically likely to again.

Neighborhood percentile
12th percentile

Out of 526 buildings in this neighborhood, 463 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
48%
No DBI
violation
52%
DBI violation
likely
Model explanation

What's driving this score

The three data points that most influenced this building's risk rating — ranked by the weight the model placed on each one.

Number of units

The number of units affects how the model reads complaint and violation totals — more units means more potential sources.

DBI tenant complaints (past 7 years)

Formal complaints tenants filed with DBI about this building over 7 years.

DBI complaint rate, owner's portfolio

Per-building complaint rate across the owner's portfolio.

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 43.7%
Moderate concern 38.8%
Severe concern 17.5%
Estimated probability of receiving a DBI Notice of Violation in the next 12 months at each severity level. Model: full_hgb_balanced.
Apartment reviews

498 Carl St apartment reviews

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The story over time

498 Carl St event timeline

Violations, complaints, fire incidents, permits, and buyouts — most recent records in order.

2026
311 Request Jun 17
Garbage and debris
furniture
311 RequestMay 12
Not offensive

See all 8 events

Full history back to 2020 — violations, complaints, permits, buyouts, and fire incidents.

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Every record we have

Full data for 498 Carl St apartments

13 SF public datasets for this parcel — permits, violations, complaints, fire records, 311 calls, planning records, and buyouts.

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Cancel anytime · Data sourced from SF Open Data, DBI, SFFD, SF Rent Board & Planning

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