Portland Rentals (Hope: real estate, apartments, HOA fees)

[la_cavalière]

My DH and I will be in Portland later this week to look for a place to rent. I hope someone can help answer a few questions for me:

We are hoping to move by March 1, but we are not finding many intown places that meet our criteria. We may end up taking a short-term furnished rental until we can find the right place. Do more rentals come available later in the spring or summer?

We are looking at places in the West End, Munjoy Hill and the Back Cove. A couple people have told me the East End has an... odor... in the summer because of the water treatment plant. Is this true? Also, how busy are Baxter Boulevard and Ocean Avenue?

Someone recommended we contact a real estate agent. Can they help with rentals? How are they paid?

Thank you!

[7th generation]

Many realty companies have a rental service available.
There will be no out of pocket expenses to you-the renter.
The fee is included in the rent and it is an agreement between the owner of the property and the rental agency.

[dubthang]

well, what are your criteria?

[la_cavalière]

Here's our wish list:

3 bedrooms or 2 bedrooms + small office space
2 bathrooms
Private patio area or deck (important!) (bonus for fenced, view)
Nicely updated (especially kitchens & baths)
Dishwasher & washer/dryer hookups
West End or East End (walking distance to restaurants, walking trails)
Storage for bikes, kayaks
Off-street parking for 2 cars (a garage would be nice, but I realize this is rare)
Prefer townhouse or stand-alone house (but will consider second floor or above condo)
Quiet street
Less than $2,000/month (will consider a bit higher for the right place)
Allows two small crate-trained dogs

So far neither the dogs nor the price has really been an issue... it's just that we haven't come across very many units available with these amenities, especially the patio/deck area. I am searching craigslist and several real estate rental sites.

[la_cavalière]

Zut... the owner of the ONLY condo that fit most of our criteria just e-mailed me to let me know she has signed a lease with a new tenant. We never got a chance to see it... four days too late!

I just set up appointments to see several furnished short-term apartments. Hopefully we will find something long-term quickly, because the rates go waaay up during the peak season.

[diablogun]

I bought a beautiful almost-new house (2000 SF) and my payment including taxes is less than 1650; with your budget you can BUY a beautiful house for less than that rent.

[flycessna]

Yes the rental market should open up come spring.. Most tenats that planning on leaving do so in the warmer weather..

You mentioned condo.. My friend owns a condo on east prom???? there are two large condo buildings around there..one on the water and one is not but both have views??? anyways I think there might be some opportunities to rent there.. both buildings are nice and in your price range.. unsure about pets though.. IDK who you would call but maybe there is a message board in the lobby or something..

[la_cavalière]

Originally Posted by diablogun

I bought a beautiful almost-new house (2000 SF) and my payment including taxes is less than 1650; with your budget you can BUY a beautiful house for less than that rent.

We considered that, but my DH's project will only last a little more than two years. After figuring closing costs, yearly taxes, HOA fees (or maintenance) and then the real estate commission when it comes time to sell, we are better off renting. Plus we still own a townhouse here we would need to sell.

That said, I wish we could buy... it looks like there are some real deals out there.

[Machel0809]

Cava, I just read this thread...Sorry about the place being pulled out from under you! Just like me..BOOO.

anyways good luck again. I'll be sending positive energy your way since you are probably a stones throw away as we speak! haha.

Michelle

[la_cavalière]

I'm back from my trip to Portland... I love it!! What a charming little city! The first couple days were beautiful and warm, and then a snowstorm dumped a foot of fluffy white snow on everything. It was just beautiful! Luckily we didn't have to dig out our car... lol. We went to L.L. Bean the night before the storm to buy boots and a winter coat.

We found a couple very nice furnished rentals, one in the West End and one in the East End. We are going with the East End because we really like the feel of the Munjoy Hill neighborhood and especially the Eastern Prom. Even in winter the views are breathtaking!

Question: When we were driving on the Eastern Prom toward I-295/Tukey's Bridge/the Back Bay, we smelled a nasty odor... must have been from the sewage treatment plant. I've heard about this odor before, but I assumed it was pretty rare.... is this true? We could smell it pretty strongly even through the closed windows in our car.