Rental housing in LR - or NLR (Little Rock, North Little Rock: real estate, apartments)

[sapphos]

We may be relocting to LR for a job and I've checked Craigslist for housing and there's not much available. Can someone give me some info on housing there?Also, is there a cool trendy or historic area for housing? We do have pets as well.
thanks

[rackensack]

Cool/trendy/historic would be Hillcrest and Pulaski Heights neighborhoods just west of downtown, roughly bounded by West Markham on the south, Kavanaugh on the east/north, and University on the west. Lots of old houses, older apartment buildings with character, etc. Hillcrest is the southern part, south of Lee Avenue. Pulaski Heights is a little more urban-villagey, with a lot more retail and restaurants in a very pedestrian-friendly area. The entire area was mostly developed between the 1890s and the 1930s, with the older part located toward the east and south, the newer stuff farther west and north.

[Sam I Am]

Sapphos, also consider the Capitol View area, which is down by the deaf school at Markham and Woodrow. That area is making a fast, fast comeback. It would be Denison, Rice, etc. off the south side and N. Woodrow and the very easternmost edges of Hillcrest/Stift Station on the north. You can get a little bit better rent in some of those places. Heights and Hillcrest tend to be expensive and the Capitol View area is up and coming.

Go to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette online and search the rentals.

Classifieds

In there somewhere you will find that there is a company that you "list" with for $60/year. There are lots of houses for rent by them in all sections, you'll figure it out as you start to read. You pay the money and give them your parameters - area of town, house or apt. or duplex, fenced yard, pets, whatever - and your price range. They will notify you of their rentals that will be available. It's up to you after that to make contact with the owner and work out a deal, but if you don't have time or know exactly where to be looking, it's a good resource. If you find something, come back here - those of us who live or have lived in Little Rock can tell you if you are headed in the right direction. You might also contact some of the larger real estate companies that handle residential listings.

Downtown is also doing well, but it gets a little more marginal outside the actual River Market district and you have to do your homework and leg work to really get a grip on that. There are few houses for rent through there, it's mostly apartments.

If you go to North Little Rock, I'd look in the Park Hill area. Argenta, which is downtown, is upcoming as well - and marginal as well. You just simply have to know your area, which you don't at this point, so ask away. The LR/NLR area is just like any other, you can be fine and then go two blocks down and be in an area you don't really want to be.

Another spot that you might consider which is up toward the Heights, only slightly west, is the Pine Valley Rd. area. Lots of cute 50's houses through there...Pine Valley is actually the western end of Kavanaugh. The road cuts back north toward Cammack Village, which is a pretty cool place to be, very safe...and most of the houses are very small and rent is premium for the size house you are getting. Cammack has it's own police department and is it's own Hillary Clinton village right smack in the middle of Little Rock. It's a really great area as well.

[sapphos]

great thnks for feedback. so in some of the best areas in the middle of everything what is the going rent...even if smaller and hi priced for instance a 2 or 3 br house. school is not an issue for a few years, i would just love to walk to coffee shops, shopping, libraries, or public transport in case we don't take a second car.

[Sam I Am]

I'm going to say Hillcrest/Heights for what you are wanting as far as walking to coffee shops, groceries, a little shopping - but I don't know how accurate that is. The vast majority of shops have moved to west Little Rock in areas that you can't get to on foot - you'd take your life in your hands crossing Chenal or Bowman. There are lots of coffee shops and specialty shops both in Hillcrest and the Heights, and grocery shopping is easy....I'm wracking my brain for the library, I seem to have lost it in my head. There IS a bus line, but to be honest - I couldn't tell you the first thing about it. No one uses public transportation in Little Rock, and the trolley cars downtown don't really run much of a route...I think they're just for tourists! You can call CAT (Central Arkansas Transit authority) or look at this link to their site - I believe the schedules and routes are on there

Welcome to the CAT Web Site!

I'm going to guess Hillcrest around the promenade is most likely where you would want to be....starting at about Kavanaugh and Midland, either north or south of Kavanaugh, and going west to about Van Buren? These are older homes and they range from little cottages to the Rockefeller mansion, depending on which street you're on. It's a more diverse neighborhood, very desirable, and therefore more expensive (but not as expensive as the Heights). I guess you could walk to University Mall if you were so inclined...ugh.

Here's a map of the area I'm talking about - you may have to zoom around a little, but stay around the Pulaski Heights area and you'll find Lee, Woodlawn, Palm, Beechwood - along through there is the area. I would guess a 3 BR house in there to run $900-1K/mo? I'm sure there are houses that are less, houses that are more...it's all in what you can live with.

Little Rock, AR, USA - Google Maps

My next choice would be the Heights/Cammack Village - and Cammack is it's on little municipality on the far end of North University. Back south of that, though, it the Heights.....a wonderful old neighborhood that has always been desirable - and still is. There's more money there overall than Hillcrest, I'd say....and I have no clue what a house would rent for if you could even find one. You may be able to find one on the west side of University and north of Kavanaugh that would be reasonable - again, if you live in Little Rock you have a clearly defined notion of what the Heights encompasses, but people will stretch those lines to the furthest limits of their imagination. I cannot imagine being able to rent anything in the actual Heights for under $2K a month, but I could be wrong since there's a sprinkling of smaller houses still left.