Need help finding apartments for $600 or less (Portland, Beaverton: for rent, condos)

[efarley]

Hello All,

I am moving to portland from new york in the upcoming weeks and I need to find a place to live which is proving difficult from this far away.

I am looking for an apartment for $600 or less preferably including utilities (water/sewer/garbage) but am having some trouble finding anything with availability that will accept unemployment as income. I have looked at Orchard Glen, and Park Place both have a place available next month but reviews online make these places sound like a very high crime complex in total disrepair (Multiple people saying they have been harassed, robbed, property broken into and shootings in the complex etc). Many of these reviews are a couple years old so any more current information would be excellent!

I have also looked at the park at fox pointe but they will not accept unemployment as income.

I am currently looking on sites like apartmentguide.com, apartments.com, craigslist etc but am having trouble finding anything in my price range where my car won't get broken into or my apartment broken into when they see a $3,000 tv moving in.

Hopefully being in the area you guys know of some less advertised places I can contact. Please and thanks!

[urbanlife78]

For that price you might have to hunt for a roommate situation. Rent here is fairly cheap, but finding anything that price is few and far between these days.

[turquoise1]

I just moved here from NYC too - everyone I know paying that kind of rent has a roommate. That said, some people are co-renting some really nice houses.

[efarley]

Well I was hoping to avoid that but my apartment hunting was leading me to the same conclusion you guys are recommending. Sigh well hopefully I can find a job quick and get in a place of my own.

[efarley]

Well seeing as how I will most likely be going this route can anyone recommend a quality storage facility with decent rates?

[urbanlife78]

Originally Posted by efarley

Well I was hoping to avoid that but my apartment hunting was leading me to the same conclusion you guys are recommending. Sigh well hopefully I can find a job quick and get in a place of my own.

Yeah, renting by yourself you are looking at about $750-800 just for rent these days. I am lucky that I only pay $600 and live next to downtown, but that is because I have owners that only raise rents when someone moves out.

The problem is when looking for rent that price, you would need to look outside of the inner area, but then the areas you are looking at are all houses that either are broken down into smaller units or are roommate situations.

[efarley]

I have been looking in Vancouver and Beaverton mostly as I don't want to deal with downtown. There is too much traffic and not enough parking.

I am from a rural area and while I have lived in cities before and like city life I hate traffic and searching for parking or having to pay for parking so I would really rather live in a area where everything isn't condos and I ether have to park 2 miles away from home or pay $50 a month for a designated parking spot.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Originally Posted by efarley

Well seeing as how I will most likely be going this route can anyone recommend a quality storage facility with decent rates?

I can tell you that if it's one of those public ones that everybody can rent for storage, it's bad news.
They're expensive and not very secure.


Whoever you pick, INSURE the contents and buy the absolute best lock money can buy.

[Nell Plotts]

Basically storage places follow neighborhood rents, the further you go away from the city center to the north, southeast & east the lower the rent. West of Portland and south of Portland rates don't soften much.

[ramedud]

Just want to echo everyone else to say $600 or less is a roommate situation. I've done the apartment hunting thing and as urbanlife78 said $750~$800 is the norm.