3946 SE 28th Place

I haven't heard of Paragon Equity Partners before, but here's their latest craigslist offering. My favorite thing about this place is the following part of their CL ad:

Please call/TEXT! Doug at 503-941-0659 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 503-941-0659 end_of_the_skype_highlighting to arrange a showing. You can also follow or message me on Twitter @PortlandForRent.

Great. So now someone's doing the apartment rental thing on the twitter. This blog is so 2003. Not to mention Doug is inviting you to text him. Unless he's carrying around two phones (one for work, one for home), then I think he wins the spirit award for dedication. The last thing I want to see on my phone at 10:15am on a Sunday morning while I'm either hungover or at the beach with my family or both is "do U stil have the apt on 28th pl & do U exept ferrets?"
At any rate, although this duplex looks pretty ugly on the outside I think it's a pretty nice spot to live--especially if you're trying to get out of living in an apartment. If I lived there, I'd probably spend most of my free time here.

The Claire

I think it was about 2006 when this place almost burned to the ground. It was totally a different place back then: Filled with lifers from back when the neighborhood was mostly methadone clinics and biker bars, and even the Barley Mill Pub was a strip club. Oh, 1980s, such a simpler time.
Anyway, I was managing a building on 14th and Belmont in 2006 (since bought by StarMetro Properties--a fun google) when I smelled the smoke in my kitchen. Minutes later I heard the sirens. And then it seemed like everyone in the neighborhood was congregating behind the fire line in front of The Claire, watching the firefighters throw burning chunks of plywood over the roof line to crash in sparky showers on the pavement below.
I will be forever humbled and embarrassed about something I did that night: My building down the street had an available studio and an available 1bd. Having lived through a fire that was not half as bad as the Claire's, I knew that these people were not going back to their apartments any time soon--if at all. So I told a few of the now-former tenants of the nearly-destroyed building that I had some apartments available. Most seemed as appreciative as they could possibly be considering the circumstances, although dumbfounded and numb from evacuating a burning apartment building. But one guy put me in my place: He said something along the lines of, "What are you, some kind of vulture preying on victims of a fire?" I was honestly trying to help, so I was quite taken aback by his accusation. Later that night I realized that I had learned a lesson in empathy.
Oh, and it turns out that the fire was started by a model train enthusiast. So there are two lessons to be learned here: Number one, don't market your $550 studio before the fire department actually extinguishes the fire, no matter how big you think the closet is. And number two, don't run those silly electric trains on carpet.
$1125 for a 2bd is more than I can afford, but congrats to whomever owns this place now because it looks kinda nice.

2834 SE 50th

View Larger Map
This craigslist ad seems promising, or at least interesting. I actually had to call the number to get the address, and there are no pictures in the ad. Best I can do is the google streetview map above. The fact that he's answering his phone at 7pm on a Thursday might be a good sign. $900 for a 2bd with hardwood floors seems like a pretty good deal. For comparison, I'm renting a 1920s 2.5bd on 20th and Salmon for $1140 (hardwoods) and a 2bd on 40th and Francis for $800 (carpet). If it really is just a triplex (tough to figure without visiting the place), then it seems like a relatively chill place.

House in the Woods

Right after high school, I moved into a pole building about half a mile from this place. We had seven acres of old growth douglas fir mixed with 2nd growth hemlock, spruce and various alders and poplars. Got kicked out after 3 months for leaving a broken dryer on the front porch. I'd love to move back there someday, but sadly I'm not 18 years old. So instead, there's this song:

Woot! Reader Question!

Martin. Avid reader of your site, even when not looking for a new place to live. I need help and a prayer- esp. considering what I am looking for. I have a yellow lab, looking for a 700+ sq. foot place (apt or house), close-in, and hopefully not over 900 a month....

Mission impossible? Yeah... I was afraid of that. But I was hoping that you may be able to help? I would forever be in your debt.

Hey Gerry:
If you're alright with the SE 40th and Powell, my Creston Villa Apts complex sometimes has 750 sq ft 2bds for $775-$825. I'm currently full, but I'm sure i'll have one in the next few months. APM has such a huge chunk of affordable 2bds in the close-in area, but they don't accept dogs.
What about this craigslist ad? I can't find them on the google though for some reason.
Or this downstairs part of a house on Mississippi?
Or this one on 61st? Too far?

A couple years ago when I started this blog I found most of the content just by taking my newborn son on walks around the neighborhood and seeing all the "for rent" signs. Our "territory" back then was bordered by Burnside and Division to the north and south, and 35th and 11th to the east and west. I always thought it was pretty amazing how most of the smaller complexes, plexes, and houses would rely solely on a sign. Maybe this weekend would be a good time to take the dog on an extended walk? Supposed to be 63 and sunny on Saturday.

In the mean time, I'll keep an eye out for dog-friendly places. You'll have to let me know if you absolutely want hardwood floors, because that might be the deal-breaker as far as "close-in" is concerned. Thanks for reading!

More 2121 Belmont lulz

It seems that 2121 Belmont--for some reason a project that I've been picking on (fairly?) since they broke ground--may be foreclosing soon. Despite being 94% occupied and getting at least $1.80/mo per square foot, that's apparently not even close to enough money to break even. For some context on $ per square foot, I have 2-bedrooms on 40th and Francis that fetch just over $1 per square foot (and that building makes pretty good money overall), and 1-bedrooms at the Queen Marie that get about $1.50 per square foot (and again, that building makes a pretty good profit). The article linked above is best summed up by this quote from Gary Winkler, portland real estate expert:

"But renters want to pay the same price, regardless of whether a unit has granite countertops or whatever."

My guess is that 2121 Belmont broke their budget with all those balloons they put out each morning. That can't be cheap.

The Money Shot Is At 1:33

Rule #1: Keep yourself out of the video.
Ashley Court has a 2bd for $775. Specials, storage, parking, etc.
503.232.8200

Hudson Court Apartments

This post is monumental in two ways. Way the first: They are giving away flat-screen TVs upon moving in. That's just nutty. Way the second: This is the first sponsored post I've done. Someone told me that if you accept gifts or payment for a blog post you legally had to report it, so there ya go: I'm writing this in exchange for a 22oz bottle of Ninkasi. Okay, let's see here, what's going on at Hudson Court? It's at 4129 SE 39th, that's nice. There's a two-bedroom for $750 (about $25-$50 under market) that looks like it has new carpet and lino. Oh, and a FREE FLAT SCREEN. Whatever. It's probably a Sorny. Do give Jessica a call at 503.774.3611 and check out her apartment. Tell her that the $4.59 she spent on that beer for me was well-spent. Let us all now celebrate my new paying gig as a blogger by drinking beer. Specifically, Tricerahops Double IPA.

Kailash Ecovillage

Oh man, why didn't I think of this? Oh yeah. I can barely keep a blog going, so having the patience to turn the old Cabana Apartments into neo-hippie paradise would probably make me want to get pregnant at Arby's. Anyway, I hope this works. Good luck to them. They have an apartment or two open, but I'd like to see some bamboo floors in there--more expensive, sure, but they last 10 times longer than carpet. Not to mention the off-gassing properties of petroleum based materials in carpet.

Creston Villa #12, and a little incentive comparison

I have an apartment coming available in a couple days. It's a two-bedroom townhome for $775:

So yeah, there it is. Not a bad little place. It's always been difficult to rent apartments around xmas, but it's especially hard this year because of the crappy economy. So this morning I'm going around craigslist to see what other places are giving away to get people to move in:

• Ashley Court is giving away 2 weeks free and a $150 Visa gift card.
• 3609 SE 42nd is offering $200 off your first month rent.
• 3430 SE 58th will give you one month free.
• Madrone Acacia will let you sign a month-to-month lease or give you half a month free.

All of these seem like pretty good deals I guess.
But take a gander at MY SPECIAL:

Here is our special, and it is a good one: Upon move-in, you will receive a partial CD discography of obscure 80s band The Chameleons UK, including--but not limited to--"Script of the Bridge" featuring the hit "Up The Down Escalator," which reached #18 on the German pop charts in 1983. One might say it was their seminal album.

I think I know why I haven't been getting much traffic these days.

Creston Villa #12

Weird apartment coming up:

It's the only 2-bedroom townhome I have at Creston Villa, and it should be ready around the 21st or 22nd of December. I personally prefer the flats to this townhome, but with this one at least you don't have any upstairs or downstairs neighbors. And I guess it's slightly bigger than the flats, but just barely. $795/mo includes water, sewer, garbage. Rent this apartment from me and you can have the rest of December for free. And, um, I don't know. How about a $50 New Seasons gift card? 503.771.4040

The 20

Live the 20! You can get a 2bd for about $1400 or so. They have a fancy garage that stacks your car somewhere like in the future. I was fixing a faucet yesterday, and my tenant's Mom or Aunt or someone like that lives there and has supposedly been very late to work a few times because of said futuristic garage. Also, I saw a youtube video (can't seem to find it right now) in which someone touts the garage as "sustainable." Does that word even mean anything anymore? It seems to me that unless it runs on solar power and grows fresh ripe plum tuhmaters, then "sustainable" is just a fake marketing term. So, other than the crazy garage, it looks like a really pretty place.

Creston Villa #6

Hey, I don't have a video for it yet, but it looks a lot like this one:

I'm even offering a $75 gift card to New Seasons if you move in before the 1st. If it were me, I'd spend it all on this. I gotta say, Creston Villa is getting more and more awesome. I would've avoided that place three years ago, but nowadays it's the bee's knees. Or many bees' knees. Call me and rent it! 503.771.4040

Bagdad Basement?

What? You can rent the basement of the Bagdad? How weird would that be?
Such a weird craigslist ad. No contact info, but they invite you to text them?
Out of curiosity, I called one of the managers of the Bagdad. She told me there is no apartment in the basement of the Theater. So your guess is as good as mine.

Dangerous Phrases

I've been searching craigslist to see if this is still for rent, but can't seem to find it. But I did find this ad which made me nervous:

Spacious 1898 Victorian now available for rent! This is a perfect home for a professional couple. It has 2 bedrooms (the downstairs bedroom could be used as office, the upstairs bedroom has sitting area in front), remodeled bath, hardwood floors, high ceilings, elegant molding in the living room and dining room. Excellent location, quiet neighborhood, and you can walk to the New Seasons Food Market, and Hawthorne stores. (bold is my doing)

That's so close to saying that this isn't a perfect home for a family, or a single person, or whatever else you can think of. I'd probably be fired immediately if I put that phrase in one of my ads. Or maybe I'm just being too picky because of that fair housing class I had to attend last month.
Anyway, it's a nice house if you can afford $1650 for a two-bedroom.

Creston Villa #30

Although this video is of #5, it looks exactly like #30. I'll have a video of #30 after I get it finished--which might be a little while. The girls that just moved out were YOUNG, 19 and 21. They were also artists. Or at least I'm assuming they were artists based on the amount of stray spray paint all over the walls, doors, deck, ceiling, etc.
Young girls and property management--like young girls and everything else--are kind of a mixed blessing. It's nice having them bake you cookies and pretend-flirt with you, but sooner or later they're going to move out and you'll have to scrape their glow-in-the-dark stars off the ceiling.
$785/mo on a 9-mo lease includes water, sewer, garbage.

Creston Villa #41

I also have an apartment for rent, shown here:

$775/mo includes water, sewer, parking, and garbage.
Pet friendly, quiet building next to the Safeway.
The address is 3640 SE 40th, and my phone # is 771.4040
Here's the CL ad.

Ashley Court Apartments

I see that other apartment managers are finally utilizing youtube.  It's worked exceedingly well for me over the last 2 years or so, but now that the economy stinks and my job is getting harder (at least I have a job?) I'm not sure I like the competition.

Check out Ashley Court:

The classical music probably doesn't come with the apartment, but the color scheme is kind of a refreshing break from the Polar White standard in this town.  503-232-8200.

5625 se gladstone

View Larger MapThis sounds interesting: Hardwood floors, energy trust package, tiled bath. Not the best neighborhood in the world but not horrible either. Bad news for people like me that have apartments coming up next month, but good news for you. Sounds like they have 15 pretty nice apartments coming up soon.

Brittany Forest

I have good news, and I have bad news.
The good news is that Brittany Forest is the best looking building in the 39th and Powell area.
The bad news is that they want $100 more than anyone else in the neighborhood.
The other bad news is that "Original Taco House" is neither Original, Taco, or House.
Reliance Property Management
Google Pic
Original Taco House