99 Silver St, Portland? (real estate, apartment, foreclosure)

[gmara2044]

Hello All,

I am looking for any information on 99 Silver St in Portland. My wife is looking at a one bedroom apartment she found on Craigs List for $635 all utilities included; she will be attending the PA school at UNE's Portland campus for the 10-11 year and needs a place in the city to stay. I will be 2.5 hours away in Mass, so safety is my biggest concern; secondly, does this price sound too good to be true? I am unfamiliar with the rentals in Maine; I do know that in Mass an apartment with all utilities included for $635 would put you in some VERY undesirable locations.

Thank you in advance for any assistance.

[dubthang]

Take it. It almost seems to good to be true. Silver Street is right in the Old Port. There is plenty going on in this area. She'll have a lot available to her within walking distance. UNE students can also ride the Metro (city bus) for free so she can get to the campus from this apartment without needing a car. Parking in the Old Port is not easy.

[WhoFanMe]

It is a well known condominium and the owner is an investor or an owner that has not been able to sell. The building has coin op laundry in the basement, but no parking. Find out how much and where the parking will be (if she's using a car). Check with the management company (who may be handling this lease already) to make sure that the owner has the right to rent the unit and the condo fees are current and I'd also check on the owner's equity to make sure that the unit is not close to foreclosure, as often the tenants are the last to know.

[K-Luv]

As for safety, 99 Silver St. is about a block away from the police station, and two blocks from the Courthouse. Aside from that, its a pretty safe area. Two things, though; there will be a lot of foot traffic and noise from tourist in the summer, and it would be a hike to UNE. UNE is not that far away by any other large city standards, but for Portland, it might as well be in Mongolia.

The rent sounds really good. Almost too good. The place is either a dump, she got lucky, or what WhoFanMe said.

If she has a car, she can get a parking permit from the city, which I believe are free, and she would be allowed to park on the street without worry of ticket or tow, but the problem would be finding a spot. There are two parking garages near by, which are not that bad for monthly rates compared other 'metro' areas.

[lawmom]

One thing to be aware of is that ads on CL that are "too good to be true" are sometimes scams. I have no clue about the rent in Portland nowadays -- just giving some advice. If they don't give a phone number, that's one red flag.

[gmara2044]

And the verdict is...definite scam. Thank you for all the advice, as soon as I contacted the "owner" he informed us he was away in England and would require money to be wired to him through a company called "Word Cargo." Back to the newspapers and real estate agents for us!

[WhoFanMe]

Wow, we've been warned about that in our office, but this is really close to home!

I saw something similar, note the $650 here (http://www.wmtw.com/news/22543730/detail.html - broken link) last week.

[Kiwiluver]

I have had good luck on CL with stuff locally. That is to say when I can go in person to check out the "deal" in person. CL is not always bad. Heck, I have done some major renovation stuff here on my home from CL purchases at a fraction of the cost I would've paid retail (more money I can bring to Maine). The scam stuff is usually like this, when you are not local. You did the right thing.

[moughie]

Perhaps you should make sure it is not a basement or ground floor apt.
You want her to be safe, at all costs!

[WhoFanMe]

There are a couple of basement units in that building that I've shown, but they are 2 Bedroom units. They are not bad, but you do get a view of peoples shins as they walk by on Silver Street. On the positive side they are on the same level as the laundry and secure storage bins.