Mstreets/Greenville apartment help (Dallas, Plano: wood floors, for sale, real estate)

[movingtobigD]

Hey all..
I am moving to Dallas in Feb (from FL) and this past weekend I spent a few days riding through a ton of neighborhoods to see what part would suit me best.
I'm now thinking the M-streets/Greenville area.
However..It's so difficult to find small, mom and pop landlords...
All weekend people were showing me big developer, cookie cutter apartments-- which is not my style at all.

Any tips on how to find some safe, decent apartments located close (but not in the middle of the greenville bar scene)? Is it safe??

I want young, colorful..laid back..short drive to bars..close to tollway, etc...
something unique/different.
hate cookie cutter!

Would be grateful for any and all feedback on the location..also if you can point me in the right direction w/ tips on finding these spots..that would be awesome.
Thank you!

ps- I'm also rebuilding my social network...so if anyone has any tips on what kind of dive bars has good tunes during the week, or what kind of mailing lists to sign up for..would be great.
Thank you!!

[DaveG99]

I lived in a loft style building in Deep Ellum for 2 years. Look up Westdale management and then click on their downtown lofts. Its abotu 5 minutes from greenville. Closer to downtown. And the buildings are unique. The buildign I lived in used to be a cotton gin factory. It was built in 1914. But they remodeled it in 1997 and it had stained concrete floors or wood floors depending on what floor. And it was very industrial with 14 foot ceilings. You will love it! And the management is pretty good.

[Lakewooder]

Try Moderator cut: real estate company, pick up the Dallas Observer - classifieds at the back, classifieds in The Dallas Morning News (not that many since -- craigslist). IF you go on craigslist try to put in specifics such as M Streets, Lower Greenville, Knox Henderson, Lakewood etc.

I would suggest you visit Stan's Blue Note on Greenville and mingle -- actually there are not that many dive bars on Greenville these days -- other good sort of dive bars are Slip Inn, Blue Collar, Lakewood Landing - good juke box, Pour House (sports), Ships - you might also hang out at some of the pubs such as The Old Monk, Dubliner, etc. Barcadia on Henderson might fit the bill also.

I'm a small-time landlord in the area and I haven't had a vacancy in a long time - once people move into the area they want to stay. Have you looked at any four-plexes? They always seem to have some turnover. I would suggest driving the streets extensively. Oram would be a good one to start.

[DaveG99]

I almost moved into a nice condo on Oram just east of skillman. Its a brand new building they built. I think the rent was $1200 a month for a 950sf 2 bedroom condo. You could also buy it for $177,000. It was too small for our taste though. We decided on moving into a house in Plano instead.

[johnnyt]

I rented in these lofts for a year and loved it. Power Properties - apartment search dallas, north dallas apartment, apartment rental dallas

I went on to buy a refurnished condo in a new project by the same developers. I'm moving out of that place later this month and my condo is currently for sale. Let me know if you'd like to look at it for rent. I can send you pictures.

For bars, I like the above suggestions and my favorite spot on Greenville is Hurricane (live music and jukebox). Also try Milo's and Vickery Park.

[movingtobigD]

thank you everyone for posting your thoughts..I can't begin to tell you how HELPFUL it is to hear from locals who are not contracted by large apartment complexs!!
Regardless of how clear I have been w/ these guys, they are still showing me big developer spots I have no interest in...

Johnny....Please email me some pics and more details on your rental at feinstein.allison@gmail.com... and thank you!

Lakewooder....thank you for the heads up..craigslist has been a bunch of hit and misses...If I find a place in the mstreet/greenville area that is desirable..it's gone within a few hours. How is lakewood?? People describe it was a suburb of dallas..but is that really true? It's still close to all major highways and you are a few minutes away from Uptown, Downtown, Ellum, Greenville, etc? Right?
I'm totally ignorant w/ the area....
But I'm pretty sure I saw some good duplex lease deals driving around this past weekend...

[ctrres]

It seems like you might want to look at Lakewood duplexes, the likes of which it sounds like you haven't checked out yet. Try Craigslist.

[Lakewooder]

johnnyt - I have an old classmate who hangs out at Milo's - I guess he is a little old to be there and most people would probably think he's strange at first encounter (which means he fits in perfectly in East Dallas) but they probably don't know (and never will) that he is extremely wealthy and just does what he wants. He is always on the Milo's St. Paddy's float.. but I digress. Yes I also like Vickery Park on Henderson which is really not a dive but fairly nice and has a great mix of people. Anyhow if you go to any of these places ask around about rentals...

Lakewood is definitely NOT a suburb, it's next to M-Streets and Greenville over to White Rock Lake and the boundaries blur - Lakewood is mostly single family homes (and has some huge mansions and estates) but also has some duplexes, apartments and townhomes/condos around Lakewood Shopping Center - Gaston and Abrams.

[movingtobigD]

I wish I would have inquired LAST week about all of this..The next time I'll be in Dallas is to sign the lease, roughly mid Jan, to move mid Feb..anyway..thank you all for the helpful tidbits..again..beyond helpful...
Lakewood..OK..I will most certainly look for duplexes in this area...
I hear White Rock Lake is a good spot to run and ride your bike (I've been living on the beach for the last 6 years...It's nice to know I'll have some form of a body of water closeby..).

[DaveG99]

I almost moved into this place

Stunning Mediterranean Stucco Flat loaded with Upgrades!

Its very nice! And close to everything but was a little too small for me.
They also had a couple for $1200 a month if you wanted to rent it.


the address is
6159 oram st Dallas Texas