How bad/rare are the $700-or-less apartments near Midtown/Downtown?

[wburg]

I'd disagree a bit about the neighborhoods north of I or south of S on the eastern half of the grid--if anything, they are quieter and safer than the neighborhoods in the middle, closer to all the bars (and where people park to visit the bars that don't have parking lots, which is basically all of them.)

[sacite]

Originally Posted by wburg

I'd disagree a bit about the neighborhoods north of I or south of S on the eastern half of the grid--if anything, they are quieter and safer than the neighborhoods in the middle, closer to all the bars (and where people park to visit the bars that don't have parking lots, which is basically all of them.)

North of I ST would be H - A ST. Lol, what bars are over there? The apartments are consistently more rundown the further north you go and there are some pretty shady people lurking around. I love the "Shine Cafe" at 14th and F I believe, but I keep a close eye on my car whenever I go there. The closer you get to the railroad, the worse it gets.

[wburg]

sacite: The bars are in the middle, south of I Street and north of S Street. As you go farther east north of I Street into Boulevard Park and Marshall School towards East Sacramento, the neighborhood gets a lot fancier. 14th and E Street (Shine Cafe) is in Mansion Flats, not Midtown, and even Manison Flats is a lot nicer than it was years ago.

[Koray]

Follow-up: I made my two-week search trip, and spent only about a day and a half of the two weeks actually trying to get an apartment before I succeeded. (Prior to that I had been exploring neighborhoods just to learn about the area, without actually trying to rent yet.) When I started trying to rent, I immediately found several places online that seemed to meet my criteria. Most were studios going for about $650 per month. I went to look at the most promising one (in Midtown, a couple of blocks from the capitol grounds) and it seemed fine so I rented it. No roaches, evil neighbors, or landlord problems have appeared since then, so I guess the answer to my question is: "not bad, and not rare".

[bluevelo]

Originally Posted by Koray

Follow-up: I made my two-week search trip, and spent only about a day and a half of the two weeks actually trying to get an apartment before I succeeded. (Prior to that I had been exploring neighborhoods just to learn about the area, without actually trying to rent yet.) When I started trying to rent, I immediately found several places online that seemed to meet my criteria. Most were studios going for about $650 per month. I went to look at the most promising one (in Midtown, a couple of blocks from the capitol grounds) and it seemed fine so I rented it. No roaches, evil neighbors, or landlord problems have appeared since then, so I guess the answer to my question is: "not bad, and not rare".

Yeah, its not that hard. As other posters have mentioned, you probably won't get a parking spot for $700 or less. Also, you can find some great deals if you are willing to rent next to the W-X viaduct for example. You get a bigger apartment, sometimes with backlot parking, but the tradeoff is the noise and dirt of the freeway. And you are not really quick walking distance to the bars.

At least one of the property management companies offers parking spots for rent in Mid-Downtown too, for far less - if you don't mind walking a few blocks to your job - than what you'd pay for a garage spot in downtown.

I rented a generic one bedroom in Midtown near the Safeway on R for a little more than $700 this year before I bought my house. The downside is a lot of the properties in the $600 to $700 range are going to be older, maybe a little rundown, and you may not have great heating or great cooling. I don't think the rents on those apartments are going to change much in the next year or so, but as the economy improves the rents on nicer units are going to skyrocket, which eventually will put price pressure on landlords to raise the rents on the cheaper units - because they can and they will get it.

[bluevelo]

Originally Posted by wburg

sacite: The bars are in the middle, south of I Street and north of S Street. As you go farther east north of I Street into Boulevard Park and Marshall School towards East Sacramento, the neighborhood gets a lot fancier. 14th and E Street (Shine Cafe) is in Mansion Flats, not Midtown, and even Manison Flats is a lot nicer than it was years ago.

A lot of that neighborhood is owner occupied and there are million dollar properties in there, but there's a fair share of nicer rentals too.

Shine got lucky in last week's fire... if there had been any wind at all that night the entire block might have burned down, along with the surrounding area. You still have a lot of street people in the Mansion Flats area... they do scavenge the cans in Boulevard Park and Marshall School but you don't find them hanging out - for long - because the homeowners either chase them off or call the cops.