Renting an apartment in Cincinnati (Cleveland, Findlay: section 8, apartments, rental)

[ginnienyc]

Hello:


I currently live outside Cleveland, recently visited Cincinnati, and am considering moving there in the next year.


What is the convention about apartment leases in Cincinnati? Is it possible to get a 2-year term for an initial lease? What is the average increase (percentage) upon renewal? Does the increase vary by neighborhood?


I spent time in Westwood/Cheviot, Mt. Auburn, OTR, downtown, and Pleasant Ridge. Is it realistic to think I could find a place of about 700 sq ft for $850 or less in these areas, or other parts of the city?


I should mention I can't drive, so I used the bus system, and will have to on a regular basis.


I appreciate any advice/thoughts.

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by ginnienyc

Hello:


I currently live outside Cleveland, recently visited Cincinnati, and am considering moving there in the next year.


What is the convention about apartment leases in Cincinnati? Is it possible to get a 2-year term for an initial lease? What is the average increase (percentage) upon renewal? Does the increase vary by neighborhood?


I spent time in Westwood/Cheviot, Mt. Auburn, OTR, downtown, and Pleasant Ridge. Is it realistic to think I could find a place of about 700 sq ft for $850 or less in these areas, or other parts of the city?


I should mention I can't drive, so I used the bus system, and will have to on a regular basis.


I appreciate any advice/thoughts.

Well, for leases I think you will have more flexibility working with private landlords vs a large company, or large complex. Typically, leases will run year to year with a company and you could basically expect to pay the upper end of market rent and also expect incremental rent increases each year. If you go with a private landlord theres a good chance you will have more flexibiity as they typically will give a lot to keep good tenants in their properties. So what you might find could vary so much that its hard to say what you can work out if you look and negotiate. For example, I rented a home in Northside where the landlord wrote into the lease that the rent would stay the same amount for the duration of the lease. He actually hand wrote that on the lease and we both signed off on it. I had no rent increases for 6 years. While this is not the norm there is flexibility to be found if you can negotiate.

700 sq ft, im thinking you are looking for a one bedrom or perhaps a studio?

Mt Auburn maybe...Over the Rhine, downtown probably not for that price....Westwood/Cheviot-Pleasant Ridge maybe more of a chance in that price range.

So heres the thing. The bus system sucks around here. I used to for 6 years daily. Its doable but I recommend getting on a busy route. Also, please understand that the bus system sprawls out from downtown at Government Square. Most routes run from downtown outwards meaning crosstown busses usually suck realy bad. Some routes around here may not be serviced on off hours either so you may be looking at summplemental uber rides in that case. If you are bus dependant then stay in zone one and do your best to stay in the inner city where theres multiple busses heading out into various directions. I lived in Clifton, Over the Rhine/Mt Auburn and Northside and took Metro with no problems. Routes were busy and I could get where I needed 7 days a week. Hope that helps some.

[blickcd]

I've never heard of a two year lease, but have also had experiences with private landlords that didn't increase the rent once the lease was up because they considered me to be a good tenant.

I've also had experiences where an apartment was fine when I moved in, but things went bad months later. Noisy neighbors moving in, maintenance issues not being fixed, etc. With that in mind I don't think a two year lease, even if offered, would be a smart thing to do.

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by ginnienyc

What is the average increase (percentage) upon renewal? Does the increase vary by neighborhood?

Oops missed this question. I think it depends entirely on how greedy the landlord is, an a host of other factors...hehe. I would say it definately varies by neighborhood at this point, and Ive seen this happen a lot over the years here in Cincy. New development and re-vitalized neighborhoods tend to show steeper rent increases from what Ive seen. Im speaking specifically about OTR, Mt Auburn in pockets, Clifton, Northside.

Over the Rhine is an awesome success story on several components and one of the side effects of the neighborhood being redeveloped is steep rents. And those rents went steep quickly. When the long standing section 8 landlords saw this trend they jumped on board and terminated section 8, did chinsy renovations, and upped rent quite significantly. I literally witnessed this first hand because I work in the construction industry.

Now, Mt Auburn is kind of a split neighborhood that caters to college kids, grad students, and professionals over closer to UC and primarily along Auburn Ave, though there's smaller groups of college kids over on Highland near McMillan and that doesn't extend too far down into Mt Auburn either. The rest of the neighborhood is a mixed bag. Along Vine Street is still an open air drug market south of McMillan heading into OTR. Inwood Park is rough as well as Jackson Hill Park, but not to be avoided. As you get into the neighborhood a little further it's not quite as ghetto but still has a lot of rough pockets. There are a lot of long time homeowners there where the homes have been in families for decades, so that tends to bring some stability to the neighborhood. Then there are the investors who are trying to get a foothold as home become vacant. So, you mentioned Mt. Auburn and I personally shopped homes there as I love the neighborhood. The housing stock can be really cool.

So trendier nighborhoods, I feel, tend to show more price volatility simply because if a landlord can ask X amount of dollars and get it, well, then that's whats gonna happen. Trendy in this case would be OTR and perhaps Northside somehwhat. Areas closer to UC cater to college kids and the rent is actually quite ridicoulous.

[ginnienyc]

Thanks everyone for the input!


My impression of OTR is that it's expensive and a little schizoid in housing condition/income. It reminds me of the lower east side of Manhattan in the early 90's, when it first began gentrifying. Two adjacent buildings were undergoing rehab near the Findlay Market; one job was B+, the other C-. 2 blocks away, people were dealing in the street at 3 in the afternoon. 2 blocks in the other direction, girls in their early 20's were walking fluffy dogs.


In Cleveland, the convention has been a 6% increase on lease renewal. However, in the past 1 1/2 years, this has been thrown out the window; now 10% or more is common. Are the increases more than 10% in Cincinnati?


I appreciate the advice about the Metro. It does seem bus service to the suburbs is sparse or less frequent on the weekends.


My next trip I'll visit Oakley, Kennedy Heights/Silverton, Walnut Hills, and maybe Fairfax Vlg.

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by ginnienyc

Thanks everyone for the input!


My impression of OTR is that it's expensive and a little schizoid in housing condition/income. It reminds me of the lower east side of Manhattan in the early 90's, when it first began gentrifying. Two adjacent buildings were undergoing rehab near the Findlay Market; one job was B+, the other C-. 2 blocks away, people were dealing in the street at 3 in the afternoon. 2 blocks in the other direction, girls in their early 20's were walking fluffy dogs.


I think you pretty much nailed it. While there is a lot of development north of Liberty St there is still a ton of street life up on Vine and Green Streets. Its 24/7 at that one spot alone with drinking and loud music all night any night. However, it will not stay like this. They are literally developing the entire stretch from Liberty to Findlay Street along Vine, maybe not every building but you get the drift.

I think you are spot on with the comparison between Lower East Side and OTR. I lived in NYC when they were working heavily on the Lower East Side and was in the neighborhood often enough. Great comparison. However, that schizo thing will fade back at some point. It's just that anything in Cincinnati takes forever and this city is typically behind the rest of the country on certain aspects and thats good and bad.

Since you are looking at Kennedy Heights and Pleasant Ridge you may want to check out Roselawn as well. Fair warning though, the neighborhood around and north of Summit is bad. Also, Eastlawn around Losantiville and back into Eastlawn where it dead ends into a cul de sac is rough as well. Otherwise, there some really good housing options around here. I own a home in Rosalawn so I speak from experience. Roselawn also puts you on the 43 which is a great line. Theres some good options up along Montgomery Road as well in the places you mentioned.

Best of Luck!

[ginnienyc]

Thanks everyone! Your suggestions/input has been very helpful.

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by ginnienyc

2 blocks away, people were dealing in the street at 3 in the afternoon. 2 blocks in the other direction, girls in their early 20's were walking fluffy dogs.

This kind of contrast occurs throughout the city. You can parachute down anywhere in the city, walk for 5 minutes in any direction, and experience a completely different vibe from the one you left. Cincinnati is a city of neighborhoods, with pockets within pockets within neighborhoods. So if you hear "oh, xyz is a bad neighborhood" - well, maybe not all of it.

[austiNati]

Originally Posted by ginnienyc

Hello:


I currently live outside Cleveland, recently visited Cincinnati, and am considering moving there in the next year.


What is the convention about apartment leases in Cincinnati? Is it possible to get a 2-year term for an initial lease? What is the average increase (percentage) upon renewal? Does the increase vary by neighborhood?


I spent time in Westwood/Cheviot, Mt. Auburn, OTR, downtown, and Pleasant Ridge. Is it realistic to think I could find a place of about 700 sq ft for $850 or less in these areas, or other parts of the city?


I should mention I can't drive, so I used the bus system, and will have to on a regular basis.


I appreciate any advice/thoughts.

I live in Kennedy Hts, right in between Silverton and Pleasant ridge, and you can easily find apartments in the $750-850 range, that's what I pay. $1000-$1500 will put you in a newer construction development, but below that will afford you some decent options.

There's also a few bus lines that run through the area. Route 3 can get you downtown, or north to the mall. Route 4 gets you out to Blue Ash and the new Summit Park development.

As far as apartments in your price range, you'll more than likely have to sacrifice things like in unit washer/dryers and dishwashers. I recently tried to renew my lease for 2 years, but they gave me a 1.5 year contract instead. I'm sure you could work something out with certain rental agencies. All in all, I LOVE this area of town and plan on sticking with the Montgomery Rd/Madison Rd corridor neighborhoods in the future.