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Going Downhill as Fast as the Rents are Soaring Uphill
From:
PDX_Downtowner
Date posted:
4/6/2008
Years at this apartment:
2003
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2008
I live in the townhomes area, so the elevator and mice infestation troubles have not affected me. Instead I will highlight the major points that do affect me:
POSITIVE POINTS:
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Good Location:
Nice downtown location that is really on the edge of downtown and fairless square. Nearly right on the river. Kind of a touristy area with a nice park and some nice restaurants. The Marina Market meets many urgent needs and has reasonable prices.
Washer and Dryer in Unit:
What can I say, having a W/D in your apartment can't be beat and these work pretty well despite their age.
Maintenance:
They respond pretty quickly to calls to the toll-free service line (seems to be open 24 hours). Nice guys/girl too.
Miscellaneous:
The floorplans are nice and storage in the garage is great. The sporadic resident appreciation activities are nice and the food is good, but don't expect more than 1 a year and you will only be disappointed occassionally.
NEGATIVE POINTS:
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Turnover:
The office and maintenance staff seem to turnover a lot. This is usually a bad sign. Last year the maintenance guys that had been with RPS for years suddenly left, dunno why, but I am curious. It seems that the office manager now is the 3rd or 4th in the last 1.5 years. The office staff can be cordial and they try to help, but...
Rental Policies:
They require immediate (10 days or less) move-ins. This seems like high-pressure sales technique, but it has been a policy for years. The rent prices are increasing at a rate that far surpasses inflation (10 to 20%). They don't really offer concessions anymore or any significant incentive to sign a long lease. They do seem to rent the units out, but I think this is because they have lowered their standards for their tenants. Seems they rent out to groups of roommates a lot now, I guess pooling their funds together these guys can afford the outrageous rents. Of course, this results in lots of turnover among the residents. The office manager also doesn't seem to value long-time residents or try to retain residents.
Enforcement of Rules:
They don't really enforce any rules. No one seems to get in trouble for letting their dog fill the few nice green spaces with poop. Unfamiliar cars parked in front of my garage ar not uncommon. Also it seems that many residents don't even feel the need to put their cars fully in their garages.
Soundproofing:
I thought this was pretty good and then I found out that my old neighbors were just very quiet. I miss them. Slammed doors, stomping up and down stairs, barking/howling dogs, enthusiastic get togethers can all be heard pretty well. White noise makers have come in handy.
Miscellaneous:
The floor creaks a lot throughout the apartment. The carpet also seems to be very stain sensitive. The outside of the doors and garage doors and screens are dirty.
Summary:
I like the area. I like the apartments mostly. The high-quality and respectiful residents seem to be leaving, being replaced by noisier beer-can leaving groups of roomates. The staff is always leaving. The rents are increasing very unreasonably. The management does seem to mind if I leave (despite an excellent tenancy of many years) and I don't think I will either.
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