Living affordably in Portland. Is it still possible?

[jjpop]

Originally Posted by Minervah

Lots of maintenance issues? Like what for example? Charm is fine but it's not so charming when things aren't being maintained well.

Yeah, those "charming" old buildings also are usually poorly insulated and heated with electric. Nice to have a rent bill of $900, but when your heating bill is $150 for your studio, that can be pretty discouraging.

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by jjpop

Yeah, those "charming" old buildings also are usually poorly insulated and heated with electric. Nice to have a rent bill of $900, but when your heating bill is $150 for your studio, that can be pretty discouraging.

Yes. When I lived in Portland my last apartment was one of those "charming" ones. A one bedroom for $788.00 a month it cost around $100.00 a month to heat due to poor insulation and leaky walls that keep it forever damp and moldy. Summers were like living in an oven.

Today nearly three years later, the rent is around $1200 and it's still in the same shape.

[princessgrace79]

Originally Posted by Minervah

Lots of maintenance issues? Like what for example? Charm is fine but it's not so charming when things aren't being maintained well.

We aren't slumlords. All things work or we will get working. But generally they are older so maybe the cabinet doors stick, the elevator is a bit persnickety, windows are older, no dishwasher etc.

Maintenance on a 100 year old building that hasn't been gutted is always going to be more and more often, even when maintained well. Old piping fails more often than new.

[ryan_ninenine]

Originally Posted by princessgrace79

We aren't slumlords. All things work or we will get working. But generally they are older so maybe the cabinet doors stick, the elevator is a bit persnickety, windows are older, no dishwasher etc.

Maintenance on a 100 year old building that hasn't been gutted is always going to be more and more often, even when maintained well. Old piping fails more often than new.

Hey, just out of curiosity, could you link me the addresses of some of these buildings? Not looking to buy right now, but I'd be curious to know what types of places you've been putting up for less than 1000. Maybe I'm just bad at searching, but I seriously can't find anywhere that cheap.

[AnalogMan]

Unfortunately, I think the days of being able to live 'affordably' in Portland are over. See my comments in another thread, on the impacts of the City Council's misbegotten high-density infill (RIP):

//www.city-data.com/forum/portl...-back-pdx.html

It's simple: as long as demand for housing exceeds supply, prices will continue to increase. On the demand side, as long as Portland is less expensive than California, Californians will continue to flock here. Of course, in the long term, an equilibrium will be reached, probably with Portland housing prices stabilizing at some level slightly below the San Francisco Bay area, but that will not be anything remotely close to 'affordable' (at least not for current Portland residents).

On the supply side, developers will insure that supply always remains just short of demand, because that is the point where they maximize their profits. Developers have no reason to undercut their own profits, and will never do so (just take a look at what's happened in Seattle, San Francisco, New York, London, Tokyo, and all the academic studies published analyzing the impacts - lots of 'development', uglier housing, loss of green spaces, but prices never come down, because developers are smart enough to know how to make the most money).

You might be interested in seeing the following studies and articles:

Portland's Disappearing Affordable Bungalow - CityLab

https://psmag.com/illusion-of-local-...a03#.s89bay5r6

The Evolving Urban Form: Portland | Newgeography.com

http://www.pdx.edu/realestate/sites/..._article_3.pdf

The only way housing can be affordable in a situation where demand exceeds supply is with rent control. Rent control is FAR from perfect, but it does work. My wife and I are both originally from New York City, and witnessed first-hand for over 40 years the effects of rent control. While it certainly has its own problems, it allowed for us, and millions of others, to live in New York when it otherwise would have been impossible. With the effective slow but sure dismantling of rent control under the Bloomberg reign, letting the 'free market' drive costs, prices have progressively increased to the point that one now needs at least a six figure income to live decently in New York.

My understanding is that the Oregon constitution prohibits rent controls. If you want to ever see affordable housing in Portland, petition your elected 'leaders' to change this and allow rent control. Otherwise, Portland will surely go the way of San Francisco and Seattle - a city for venture capitalists and those with 'tech' money, and few others.

I have attended and testified at many City Council meetings, on the RIP and others. Sadly, the message I clearly heard was that the City Council's priorities are for the newcomers who might move to Portland over those of us who already live here. In response to a question I posed at one meeting, specifically asking them where their priorities were, one of the managers of the RIP program said words to the effect of (paraphrasing), 'others made decisions in the past which enabled you to move here, so now it's their turn, and we're making changes to allow others to move in'. That would be fine if it wasn't at the expense of displacing those who are already here - and at the irreversible cost of forever destroying the very soul and character of Portland, erasing the very reasons people want to live here.

But then, that was another message I clearly heard from listening to many City Council and RIP meetings. Their priority is to make Portland a 'shining high-tech metropolis of the future'. I clearly heard that their goal is to create another Seattle or San Francisco, city of 20 and 30 something 'tech' workers making six figure incomes (all the better to boost the tax revenues), and the hell with everyone else.

It's a shame. Portland was a gem, an absolute treasure. The last mid-sized city on the west coast with it's early 20th century Craftsman architecture and neighborhoods still largely intact. A low-key, non-materialistic place reminiscent of San Francisco in the 1970's, which I fell in love with. It used to be a place where everyone, of all walks of life and financial means, was welcome. I guess there is no place left for unpretentious, accepting, meaningful places of substance over form and materialism.

We'll miss the old Portland. We've literally cried about it, and the loss of so many of our friends who have been priced out of the city and forced to move. We're leaving too. But, I guess that's 'progress' (or at least the kind of 'progress' being shoved down our throats by the Portland City Council).