Downtown Raleigh Alliance pleased with downtown growth:

[miamiblue]

Originally Posted by suncat

I looked around at apartments in the downtown area, and I'm a little disappointed. I love older buildings, but the ones I saw seemed to be kind of run down and/or filled with students. I've got nothing against students, but I've been there, done that. Some that I checked out include the Raleigh Apts., the Wedgewood Apts., and the St. Mary's Apts., as well as some brick ones on Hillsborough Street (sorry, can't remember their name).

I'm curious about the Tucker building going in downtown. I heard it was going to be condos, but now it'll be an apartment building.

Also, how do you find out about individual condos for rent? Is it reasonable to think I could find one downtown for under $1000/month?

It took a LOT of legwork, frustration, and looking at a lot places that ended up being run down/gross for us to find the nice apartment that we did. My best advice is to look at the listings on craigslist and in the newspaper daily, find some of the property management companies, and just drive around. The place we found was actually one that my boyfriend saw a sign for just driving around the area. The building we're in is a quad that's over 100 years old, but was renovated about 8 years ago and is very nice - not a "luxury condo" by any means, but has all the things we want (full size w/d connections, central a/c, off-street parking, storage, etc.) and a great price tag for the area. We are also lucky because it is managed by the owner who carefully screens the tenants - so no irresponsible, partying students.

I'm thinking you may be able to find a condo for rent under $1000, but it will probably be a 1br. It is true that the Tucker building will be rentals, but I haven't seen anything yet on pricing. The area is in desperate need of more rentals downtown for young professionals.

[suncat]

Thanks, Miamiblue! You confirmed my hunches that downtown holds some hidden gems, like what you found.

Upon exploring Raleigh, I've decided I'll either get a one-bedroom in/near downtown, or a two-bedroom in the burbs. I'll probably only be renting for about a year, as I keep my options open. I have a condo here in Portland I want to hang on to in case I change my mind. If I decide to settle for good in Raleigh, then I'll hopefully be able to buy a house or condo there.

I love older brick buildings, but I wish more came with garbage disposals, dishwashers and central air. Guess I sound spoiled!