Anybody with a toehold in the exorbitant San Francisco housing market holds the potential for reaping major rewards, but Zhengtao Ji may have made a uniquely savvy investment.

In 2021, Mr. Ji, a Silicon Valley software engineer, bought a one-bedroom condo on a small alley in a neighborhood dotted with freeways and auto body repair shops. It was not exactly the stuff of glossy real estate brochures.

But it did have one distinguishing feature: For 17 years, Vice President Kamala Harris owned it.

She lived there until she moved to the upscale Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles with her husband, Doug Emhoff, and then to Washington, D.C.

Mr. Ji, who goes by David, paid $860,000 for the condo, and did what any shrewd Bay Area entrepreneur might. He listed it for rent on Vrbo and Airbnb, the short-term rental sites and, in all capital letters, described it as “AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY TO LIVE INSIDE THE HOME PREVIOUSLY OWNED BY VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS!”

This isn’t meant for just any casual lookie-loo, though. You’ll need a month to spare, along with at least $6,000 to stay here.

San Francisco’s strict rules on rentals shorter than 30 days led Mr. Ji to rent the property for a minimum of a month at a time, charging about $200 per night.