Portland Move, Rental questions (Eugene: fit in, apartments, rentals)

[spgnz]

Hi, my wife and I am moving to Portland at the start of June from out of state. Can't wait to get back into hiking, fishing and the outdoors, and I have a great job lined up in the top of the Pearl District.

We have been looking at rentals and have a few questions that we hope you can help us with.

We are used to renting townhouses, and want a 2 bedroom place with parking for 2 cars (on or off street), ideally for $1200-1700. It doesn't need to be huge, but clean, warm and dry - although a decent closet would be awesome. It seems that there are places in this range in NE, SE Portland, are there any areas we should stay clear of? I would like to be able to commute via bike/transit if possible.

It seems that including a washer/dryer is uncommon, is it possible to rent these and if so, what would be a rough $$? No rental site seems to list their prices.

Utilities: I see notes like "Garbage $30-40 a month depending on level of service". What do I need to check is included? I expect to have my own gas/power/internet bills, but what sort of expense should I expect for water/garbage? Where we are at the moment they do it three monthly, roughly $30 per month for both.

Is there anything else that I need to take into account that you can suggest?

Thanks for help in advance!

[bler144]

Originally Posted by spgnz

Utilities: I see notes like "Garbage $30-40 a month depending on level of service". What do I need to check is included? I expect to have my own gas/power/internet bills, but what sort of expense should I expect for water/garbage? Where we are at the moment they do it three monthly, roughly $30 per month for both.

Most ads I've seen always specify laundry (W/D means provided, hookups means provide your own), so I'm surprised you're regularly seeing adds that don't mention it.

Utils: In the city it's $36/mo for every second week garbage, every week recycling (glass and commingle) and yard waste. Many complexes have their own dumpsters/bins, so the rate would be whatever they passed along, but I'd say $30-40 is pretty typical. I believe you can get a lower rate if you reduce garbage to 1/month, but I'd guess that would get pretty rank in the summer.

Water will depend - for a SFH with average use (and not extensive outdoor watering), $100/mo would be typical, most of the charge being sewer and access fees rather than the cost of water itself. Town home harder to guess since it would depend on a lot of factors (who waters shared space, are costs split). If you're looking at a unit the water bureau could probably give you a historical cost for prior tenants: Portland Water Bureau | The City of Portland, Oregon

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by spgnz

..........It seems that including a washer/dryer is uncommon, is it possible to rent these and if so, what would be a rough $$? No rental site seems to list their prices...........Utilities: I see notes like "Garbage $30-40 a month depending on level of service". What do I need to check is included? .............expense should I expect for water/garbage?.............

If washer and dryer are not mentioned, they probably aren't there. If the place says washer dryer hookups, you provide your own machines, They are cheap to buy used from a Craigslist ad and that makes a bit more sense than renting them.

Garbage service will depend upon what company you are using. Different prices generally refers to different size bins. Small can, less monthly fee. Large can, higher monthly fee. I don't know if you will pay for the recycle pick-up. That's included where I am, and might not be where you end up. There is usually an extra charge if you set a bag of garbage on top of your full bin because it won't all fit inside.

Water is very likely to be on a meter. It's not cheap and generally, the sewer bill is based upon water usage. My sewer is not based upon water usage and it is $50 a month for the sewer, just to give you a ball park idea.

You can find out all of those fees by calling the assorted utility companies.

[Nell Plotts]

Funny story, at least to me, about laundry mats. Yesterday a teacher was reading to kindergarteners a book about a stuffed bear at a laundry mat while they ate lunch. I heard a murmur at the lunch tables... what is a laundry mat?

When the teacher became aware that the kids didn't know the term she stopped and explained. Oh, was the response.. you mean like our apartment laundry room.

[Steve Pickering]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

Funny story, at least to me, about laundry mats. Yesterday a teacher was reading to kindergarteners a book about a stuffed bear at a laundry mat while they ate lunch. I heard a murmur at the lunch tables... what is a laundry mat?

When the teacher became aware that the kids didn't know the term she stopped and explained. Oh, was the response.. you mean like our apartment laundry room.

Well you had me for a minute. I had to give this some thought. Did you mean Laundromat?


Many apartments do provide connections, but there is a move back to Laundry Facilities provided by the Apartments because of the damage often caused by personal machines.

Also there are several local and national companies that rent short term or rent to own appliances.

[Leisesturm]

We just found a place in your price range. The complex has 16 units and only four were rented at the time we got in (last week). There are only six garages (one car), we've got one of them (for storage). Everything is in the rent, except electricity. The washer/dryer is in the bedroom closet(!) and is higher end. These units have never been rented before so all your appliances will be brand new. It is in close-in SE. PM if you want contact info.

H

[spgnz]

Originally Posted by bler144

Utils: In the city it's $36/mo for every second week garbage, every week recycling (glass and commingle) and yard waste. Many complexes have their own dumpsters/bins, so the rate would be whatever they passed along, but I'd say $30-40 is pretty typical. I believe you can get a lower rate if you reduce garbage to 1/month, but I'd guess that would get pretty rank in the summer.

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

Garbage service will depend upon what company you are using. Different prices generally refers to different size bins. Small can, less monthly fee. Large can, higher monthly fee. I don't know if you will pay for the recycle pick-up. That's included where I am, and might not be where you end up. There is usually an extra charge if you set a bag of garbage on top of your full bin because it won't all fit inside.

Thanks, that makes sense. We don't make a lot of waste, 2-3 supermarket bags a week (we have a waste disposal at the moment which helps keep it down).

Originally Posted by bler144

Water will depend - for a SFH with average use (and not extensive outdoor watering), $100/mo would be typical, most of the charge being sewer and access fees rather than the cost of water itself. Town home harder to guess since it would depend on a lot of factors (who waters shared space, are costs split). If you're looking at a unit the water bureau could probably give you a historical cost for prior tenants: Portland Water Bureau | The City of Portland, Oregon

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

Water is very likely to be on a meter. It's not cheap and generally, the sewer bill is based upon water usage. My sewer is not based upon water usage and it is $50 a month for the sewer, just to give you a ball park idea.

You can find out all of those fees by calling the assorted utility companies.

I am surprised Portland would need much outside watering, but good to get a heads up on the possible water costs. I checked the site you mentioned which estimates ~$30 a month (5ccf) is the average water consumption, plus the base charge. Good to know, thanks!

[jjpop]

Originally Posted by spgnz

I am surprised Portland would need much outside watering, but good to get a heads up on the possible water costs.

People from outside the PNW often don't realize that Oregon west of the Cascades can experience 0" (that's zero inches) of rainfall for weeks at a time from July into September. Coupled with temps in the 80s and humidity around 30% or less, that causes all but the most drought-tolerant plants to wither.

[bler144]

Originally Posted by jjpop

People from outside the PNW often don't realize that Oregon west of the Cascades can experience 0" (that's zero inches) of rainfall for weeks at a time from July into September. Coupled with temps in the 80s and humidity around 30% or less, that causes all but the most drought-tolerant plants to wither.

Yup, exactly that. Farther down towards Eugene it can be nearly bone dry from May-October, and things can start to look brown as you move towards fall.

The lushest green is typically in the winter and early spring. It's like a milder version of Cali, where summer water comes not from the rain but from melting Cascades snowpack. That's why the reduced snowpack this year is a concern, esp. on the south side of the OR/CA border.

Portland doesn't require full xeriscaping, but at least a mix of native plants will do better year round than a full traditional lawn of Kentucky bluegrass.

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by spgnz

I am surprised Portland would need much outside watering, but good to get a heads up on the possible water costs. I checked the site you mentioned which estimates ~$30 a month (5ccf) is the average water consumption, plus the base charge. Good to know, thanks!

There is very little rain for the 3-4 months of summer. Plants, lawns, gardens, all will require watering during the summer to continue growing in any lush manner.