Looking for 2 BR rental in Bend or Redmond (Prineville, Deschutes River Woods: low income, apartments)

[Hyper_Survivor]

We’re looking for a two-bedroom rental in Bend or Redmond. What areas should we avoid (was told to avoid DRW)? What areas have rents and decent neighborhoods? What is the rental market like in general?

I've looked on Craig's list; there are not a lot of listings, but it doesn't look too bad. We have no pets or kids.

Any tips or advice welcome.

[Steve Pickering]

Are you in Bend right now?

[oregonwoodsmoke]

There is nothing wrong with Deschutes River Woods, unless you don't drive and must bicycle everywhere you go.

There are no areas in Bend or Redmond that I won't go into at any time of night or day. Some blocks show a lower income level than others. Low income is not the same as crime. You can see that about the neighborhood when you drive up to look at the house. It does not mean that they are unsafe.

Personally, I would not rent in a couple of the apartment buildings in Bend that are really cheap and that don't screen their tenants at all. But I figure that if you don't have much money, or else you have messed up your own life with evictions and felonies, you take what you can get.

Most apartments are just as safe as anywhere else, though. Some of them are noisy. Noise does not equate crime, either.

Look at th neighborhood before you sign the lease. Go sit in your car on the curb about 5 PM, listen for noise. See how people are behaving. Go back at 11PM and listen for noise.

Call the non-emergency number at the sheriff's department, give them the address of the rental you are considering, and ask about crime in that area. Sex offenders are listed on-line. Check the address to see if any live in that neighborhood.

Other than that, since you give just about zero information about yourself or what you hope to rent, it is just about impossible to give you any advice.

[Hyper_Survivor]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

Other than that, since you give just about zero information about yourself or what you hope to rent, it is just about impossible to give you any advice.

Two people, no kids, no pets; we both smoke. Been living in Prineville but want more convenience. I work in Bend right now but have been interviewing at places in Redmond: in general Redmond would be a good choice as it's close enough to commute to Bend or most other jobs in the area. We don't have a lot of money, so cheaper is better. I also like long walks on the beach, horseback riding, and cuddling on the couch with a glass of wine.

Mostly just want to know what neighborhoods to avoid. Definitely not looking for trendy, upscale or fashionable. But I know from experience that every town has neighborhoods with higher crime, drug and violence rates than other neighborhoods.

[delta07]

I think oregonwoodsmoke gave you some great advice. I have several friends who live in DRW and they love it down there. I think your hardest requirement might be smoking, unless you don't have to smoke in the house. I don't know of many landlords who are okay with smokers in the house these days. It's a lot of work to clean it up.

You can do a search on the Bend forum to find a few other threads that discuss neighborhoods. The search button is found on the right side of the screen, below the page numbers. Here are a few to get you started.

//www.city-data.com/forum/bend/...on-newbie.html
//www.city-data.com/forum/bend/...hborhoods.html
//www.city-data.com/forum/bend/...ing-avoid.html

[oregonwoodsmoke]

You smoke and you can't pay high rent. I would guess that you are going to have to take whatever is offered to you.

You are in Prineville, you should already know as much as you need to know about Redmond. It's only 15 miles away from you.

There are a few areas of cheap rentals. Near the Daisy Quick Stop. Over by the bypass, close to Eberhearts. In cheap rent areas, there will be more drugs. But not necessarily more violence. Do you watch the news? Every little car window broken gets reported on Z-21. That should give you some idea about crime in Redmond.

[BendLocal]

With Delta's search idea I found this thread.

//www.city-data.com/forum/bend/...blem-bend.html

[delta07]

Originally Posted by BendLocal

With Delta's search idea I found this thread.

//www.city-data.com/forum/bend/...blem-bend.html

I'm not sure what your point is with this reference? If you read through the thread it basically shows that there isn't an overwhelming meth problem anywhere in Bend. Yes, meth is here, just like it is everywhere else, but it's not a hot bed for it.

[BendLocal]

Originally Posted by delta07

I'm not sure what your point is with this reference?

There are insights from others about different neighborhoods in Bend.