About Portland Apartments - few Questions..... (low income, leasing, bad credit) - Oregon (OR) - City-Data Forum

fys · 12-17-2007, 11:50 AM

Hello,

I will be moving to Portland in about 6 months, and plan to live downtown, near PSU, or NW area.... I was wondering, if anyone new of any places or if it is fairly easy to find a landlord that will rent to a person that has a bad rental history, but over the last 4 years, my rental history has been good ? I do not want to use a co-signer, so in general will most places let me pay an additional months rent or something like ?

Also, does anyone out there know of any safe month to month places downtown/nw , that will rent to me, once i get there, then I can look for a permanent place while i am there ?

any answers will be appreciated,
Thank You -

Leisesturm · 12-17-2007, 01:30 PM

Are you being completely serious with us? I don't want to disrespect you out of hand for being disingenuous (gotta love Firefox spell check) but why should Portland landlords be any more or any less inclined to rent to you than anywhere else? If you want a don't ask don't tell landlord they can always be found but something tells me it won't be in Downtown PDX or NW for that matter. You won't allay their suspicions by offering cash up front either, you will probably come across as desperate which will get you nowhere. Why Downtown & NW specifically given your circumstances?

H

fys · 12-17-2007, 01:53 PM

I am not trying to "pull a fast one" or something on the landlord, by offering more cash...., and why is this a "bad Question" or something, is that what you are implying ?
I just was wondering, because I am trying to get a new start, and I love PDX, and I thought maybe landlords here may be more accepting or willingto rent to people with "bad credit" , unlike PHX or San diego for example....( for the most part).

I like the downtown area, I lived in Portland for a few months, for a writing workshop a few years back, never rented an apt though, just did the roommate thing at that time..

Is there a "rule" for what questions people can ask in these forums ?

I am just a person wondering if people can answer and help....that's all....

Tesaje · 12-17-2007, 02:00 PM

You can ask the question, but the answer is still going to be the same. Any landlord, anywhere in the country is going to be nervous about someone with bad credit because they will be worried about having a deadbeat tenant who will end up not paying the rent. There is no reason to believe it would be any different in PDX than any other city. That is why having good credit is so important. As for the areas, my understanding is NW and downtown are the tony areas of PDX and so getting a landlord to take a risk on someone with bad credit is less likely than in seedier areas. This is also a fact of life in any city anywhere in the country. That is simply the price you pay when you default on payments and it takes a long time of a good record to erase that mistake.

Suzer · 12-17-2007, 02:02 PM

My experience in finding a short term rental in the PDX/Vancouver area is that landlords are taking full advantage of the low cost credit/employment/criminal background checks that are now available.

I am from Southern California, and rented for almost 20 years before buying a home. I've never had a criminal background check completed, to my knowledge. I have a squeaky clean background and nothing to worry about, but the scrutiny seems substantially greater in this area.

little peg · 12-17-2007, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fys

Hello,

I will be moving to Portland in about 6 months, and plan to live downtown, near PSU, or NW area.... I was wondering, if anyone new of any places or if it is fairly easy to find a landlord that will rent to a person that has a bad rental history, but over the last 4 years, my rental history has been good ? I do not want to use a co-signer, so in general will most places let me pay an additional months rent or something like ?

Also, does anyone out there know of any safe month to month places downtown/nw , that will rent to me, once i get there, then I can look for a permanent place while i am there ?

any answers will be appreciated,
Thank You -

Sorry you are getting the feet over the fire treatment, you can message me, I am NOT a realtor (ugh shiver) but I do have contacts in these areas with properties, no promises but I can email them with your particulars or give you some leads, most pm are at liberty with their fair rental practices to have other avenues that allow you to pay more deposit if you are not able to meet rental criteria. Or you may be offered a month to month instead of a lease, ect. good luck.

feisty_bee · 12-01-2008, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tesaje

You can ask the question, but the answer is still going to be the same. Any landlord, anywhere in the country is going to be nervous about someone with bad credit because they will be worried about having a deadbeat tenant who will end up not paying the rent. There is no reason to believe it would be any different in PDX than any other city. That is why having good credit is so important. As for the areas, my understanding is NW and downtown are the tony areas of PDX and so getting a landlord to take a risk on someone with bad credit is less likely than in seedier areas. This is also a fact of life in any city anywhere in the country. That is simply the price you pay when you default on payments and it takes a long time of a good record to erase that mistake.

There's really no need to lecture anyone. W're all adults. I have something bad on my rental history because I was dumb enough to live in a low income complex and found out too late that they charged me $4000 for God knows what. There was very little wrong the apt and they didnt send me a bill or anything. I moved to the place right behind them and still saw the manager! So they could have gotten a hold of me at anytime. I dont even know what I can do about it. Now I have this on my credit and rental history. A friend of mine got a maintenance job there and told me they do it all the time. How is this my fault?

Minervah · 12-01-2008, 05:27 PM

I wish my landlord had a vacancy in one of his buildings. He is a nice guy who is willing to give most folks a chance. He took me in even though I have a bankruptcy in my past. But here's a suggestion instead; can you obtain some good references from other landlords? If you have them in writing and even notarized it may help you.

The bad news is that rentals are difficult to come by. Good ones that is. I have heard and even lost out to other potential renters when looking at a place because they had cash in hand as they were looking. So you pretty much have to be here to get yourself a decent place. It isn't unusual for landlords to rent to one potential renter who looks good and has money up front before seeing all the other people who have appointments. Then when they show up for the later appointments the landlord is nowhere to be seen because he has gone home.

You may be able to find one of those weekly rental places to live while you are looking for a permanent one. There is one of those near the Lloyd Center Shopping Mall. I think it's called the Lloyd Apartments or something like that. Also would you consider a motel?

Oh and also, if you do not have a job it will be a deal breaker. I doubt in these times that anyone will rent to someone without one.

Lilly12103 · 12-01-2008, 05:39 PM

Depends on your price range, but I'd check out Village at Lovejoy Fountain, Southpark Square Apartments, or The Vue. These buildings are all in SW right by PSU. I live in one of them (don't really want to tell the Internet which, though) and a few of my friends live in another one, and we all LOVE it. There is so much within walking distance, awesome area, you can walk to get anything... As for your rental history, all of these apartments will run a credit check and salary check to make sure your income as at least xx% of the monthly rent (I'm not positive on what it is). All you can do is apply and see what happens. Good luck.

subsound · 12-03-2008, 10:44 AM

People rent out rooms to help pay the rent in this economy might be a bit more lenient with bad credit then larger organizations...but you will have to deal with less professional management. I have a friend who was in the same situation and found a guy leasing out rooms in his home, and he does odd things like share out the cable and changes the package they have, change the heater/AC settings, change the water heater settings...nothing big but odd.