New Portland Rent Data (real estate, apartment complexes, rental)

[bliss61]

This is good.

Metros with the biggest rent drops - MSN Real Estate

Portland is listed as one of the cities where rents are decreasing...if the economy does not pick up by early spring (which it won't), rents will continue to decline.

I wrote a lot about Portland slumlords and predicted the "hype" and "fluff" were going to crash (worse than some other parts of the country); several people agressively attacked me on this forum.

So...new ideas for you, if you are moving to Portland within the next year or those who already live there and understand how you can make things better for youself and others.

Before: Landlords did not return email inquiries or telephone calls from their ads in Craiglist, if you were then living outside of Portland.

Now: If you are ignored now, move on. Don't waste your time with 25 year old corporate drones in large apartment complexes who want to
"close you" (like a car deal), when you arrive in person.

Now: New tenants had to grab anything, including misrepresented remodels, old appliances, crooked floors, leaking wood windows, etc.

Now: Take your cellphone charger and plug it into the wall, if it falls out, you know the truth about their "remodel". Move on. There are a lot of old junk buildings in Portland. You don't need to live there anymore.

Before: When leases expired, rents were going up as much as $100. a month.

Now: Negotiate down, if you got caught up in the hype. Offer less to sign a new lease for less or move.

Before: Put you name on a waiting list for the "blowout" specials, "get this one quick", "this one will not last", etc.

Now: Watch the offers on Craigs List for free rent, pet deferred deposits, gift certificates, etc. Get the best deal because you can.

Before: You were afraid to complain because you might not have a place to life.

Now: complain, complain, complain on Apartment ratings websites all you can. Help others avoid the suffering you experienced. (Apartment complexes changed their name, when there were bad posts about them online.)

Before: Landlords wanted one year leases. So if you didn't like Portland, lost your job, were kept awake all night by boom boxes, you were stuck. Long term leases, from the owner's prespective are financial tools to get their building re-financed, etc. Landlords can keep your deposit, if you break the lease early.

Now: One year lease in this economy is too long. Offer six months. Don't believe anyone who says that Portland is so cool, the economy there is expected to change by spring or summer. Not true. Oregon's economy will be one of the last to come back. It is, as Ven.Artist says, an anti-business atmosphere.

Whereas many states will agressively pursue new business, Oregon likes the simple, poor, hip life and their success has been more by accident and a tax deduction for California real estate developers. It really does not have a clue about business (as seen by the short term mentality of rental owers) and is going to be so financially burdened by illegals and homeless that I predict it will be five years behind other states.

You are now in the drivers seat...not to take advantage but to get businesses to compete for your business by setting higher standards.

It is not so important that I was right and I don't like the suffering but to the slumlords who so exploited me and others...stick it where the sun don't shine; you could have had me as a good tenant but you ran me out of town by your abuse, high rents, ripping balconies off the side of the building (while I was living there), renting to cast of thousands illegal families, not replacing old applicances and holding me hostage in your tenement mentality.

Game Over.