Moving to Hillsboro/Beaverton - Help? (Portland: apartments, rental market, credit)

[TwistKick]

Hey, for those who remember me, I finally got a job! It's located in the north part of the Amberglen neighborhood of Hillsboro and I'm hoping to move to somewhere close enough to bike (closer than 5 miles, ideally closer than 3) or at least within 1 mile of Sunset Transit Center (where I could catch a bus to work). Basically I really, really want to bring my commute under 45 minutes - as is it's an hour and a half.

I've got to find a place that'll take a cat and a dog, and is ideally $800 or less for a 1bd/1ba or studio, and my move-out is the first full weekend of June. However, I've got a week's worth of wiggle room on both sides - I could bail from my current location a week early or stay with a friend a week past my move-out, so I'm thankfully not in a 'must get an apartment by then or I'm homeless' sort of situation.

Here's what I've got in my favor:

-I'll (probably) have at least 1 full paycheck when I move out (I start Wednesday and will have 2 full work weeks plus three days - if things sync up well I'll have a full paycheck, if not, I'll have 3/4 a full paycheck)

-I can front the deposit, 1st and last month's rent upon move-in

-I may be able to get the owner of the place I'm currently renting to act as a rental referral for me (and I've not been any trouble)

-I've got decent credit (think around 650)

And against me:

-I won't have a full month of employment yet when I move out (I've been told some places demand it, and sometimes more, before they'll even consider you)

-I have a 55-lb dog (he's very laid-back and generally well-behaved, and isn't a big dog, more medium size, and his vet is willing to vouch for his good behavior)

-I don't have significant rental history (prior to the 3 months in SE Portland I lived at home with my mom, having stayed at home for my whole college time).


So.. what do you advise? Are there any particularly good areas within those limitations (<5mi or <3mi from northwest Amberglen or <1mi from Sunset TC)? Should I start looking right now (even though the rental market is super tight and I doubt anyone is going to hold a place for me for 3 weeks)?

What would you do if this were your situation? Any advice is very much welcome - I want to have the best shot I can at snagging a good place.

PS: Any ballpark estimates for the utilities (water, gas, electricity) for a single human, one cat and one dog? I know water is pricey here, but supposedly it also is only billed every 3 months, not every month? Bwah?

[pdxchef]

I would advise looking into shared housing just based on the lack of income/rental history. Those will be a big obstacle, as well as the pets. Good luck to you, I was recently doing the same thing commuting from SE to Hillsboro for about a year and it's hard to say whether it's worth it to live in some blase suburb to cut your commute. Depends how invested you are in your job. Either way, gotta get some rental history under your belt to compete in this market.

[TwistKick]

Thanks, PDXChef. I'll definitely consider it. Also, I definitely agree living in Hillsboro isn't ideal, but since I'm disinclined to get a car, or be away from my home for 12 hours in order to manage an hour-and-a-half commute each way plus 9 hour shift, I don't really see any other option..

What I'd really like would be to live on the west side of Portland near a MAX stop. But I don't think I have a ghost of a chance competing for an apartment inside Portland proper with only 3 months' rental history and a cat and dog.

[pdxchef]

You know where you actually might have a shot? Check out central Beaverton around the Transit Center. That area is cheaper and probably less stringent about the prequalification stuff (there's a pretty big constituency of undocumented folks out there, as is often the case around MAX stops in cheaper areas). I personally think it's one of the most underrated areas in Portland, and definitely on the westside. Really nowhere west of downtown compares, save Multnomah Village.

It's an older area (1920s-40s) with a decent smattering of bars and restaurants you could actually walk to, a rare luxury in Washington County. It's a somewhat Mexican/Korean area and ALL the Korean restaurants in metro PDX are right there, $1 tacos are never far, there are multiple Asian groceries (even if you don't seek the stuff out, they always have the best prices on the most random things), the dive bars are actually priced like dive bars (Portland, I'm lookin at you and your $5 pints), plus it's relatively convenient to downtown and points east... Check it out dude! Of course don't go out there expecting Alberta or Mississippi to pop out of suburbia, but for what it is I think it's a pretty nice spot.

[TwistKick]

Hm.. you know, that wouldn't be too bad? I mean, it'd be a quick MAX ride to Sunset.. I'll definitely look into it! Plus Beaverton's a lot bigger than Hillsboro (and better-serviced in terms of the mass transit, and closer to Portland)... Yeah, I'm definitely going to consider it.

The kind of lousy thing is, all my favorite haunts are on the east side (well, t's where I've been living for almost 3 months, it's small wonder), which means it'll be weekend visits only. Boo! But it'd be worth it to me to not have to spend an hour and a half each way.. Even if it means living in a blase neighborhood ;P

[Rob Allen]

This complex accepts pets, but the rent is a little higher than you're looking for:

Apartments for Rent in Beaverton, Oregon 97005 | Canyon Park Apartments

[TwistKick]

Rob, I had a look at it, and it looks really nice! Unfortunately, I met with a financial advisor and worked out that $750 is basically the maximum I can pay for rent, including the pet rent. Blah!

I've also been advised to try places further-out and also that are independently-owned.. We'll see how that goes.

[psichick]

Originally Posted by TwistKick

Rob, I had a look at it, and it looks really nice! Unfortunately, I met with a financial advisor and worked out that $750 is basically the maximum I can pay for rent, including the pet rent. Blah!

I've also been advised to try places further-out and also that are independently-owned.. We'll see how that goes.

Yikes. That's pretty low for a 1bdrm with pets. I can't think of anything in the area, but then, 3-5 miles out is actually pretty far (sort of) and diverse, so I hope you can find it. You might want to look into places that don't have pet rent. AS for the dog, most don't have weight limits, that I've noticed, but they do have breed restrictions. As long as your dog doesn't look like a bully breed, you should be fine. But don't quote me on that, once place did have a 20lb max.

I think Beaverton will be a better choice for you. Everything near Amberglen is too expensive. Good luck. Sorry I don't have any suggestions.