Affordable apartments in Cincinnati

[savafan]

I've grown tired of living in Kentucky, and am ready to go back across the river. Right now I pay $420 for a 1 bedroom apartment, and I'm looking for something at the same price or cheaper. Does anyone know of any communities or stand alone apartments in the Cincinnati area for around that price?

[RBA]

$420? Stay away from San Diego.

[savafan]

Originally Posted by RBA

$420? Stay away from San Diego.

That would be a helluva commute to work.

[westofyou]

Originally Posted by RBA

$420? Stay away from San Diego.

I had an apartment for $420 once in the Bay Area, it was rent control and about 23 years ago.

[BuckeyeRed27]

I lived in Mt. Lookout about 4 years ago and a two bedroom for $1000 which I split with a roomate. I looked at a couple older buildings in that area and they were generally in the mid to high $400s IIRC.

[Reds4Life]

I'm the opposite. I live in Ohio, and I'm ready to move to Kentucky. I'm tired of paying the insane property taxes in Hamilton County.

[RBA]

Originally Posted by Reds4Life

I'm the opposite. I live in Ohio, and I'm ready to move to Kentucky. I'm tired of paying the insane property taxes in Hamilton County.

Someone has to pay for GAB Park and Bengal Stadium.

[Caveat Emperor]

Originally Posted by savafan

I've grown tired of living in Kentucky, and am ready to go back across the river. Right now I pay $420 for a 1 bedroom apartment, and I'm looking for something at the same price or cheaper. Does anyone know of any communities or stand alone apartments in the Cincinnati area for around that price?

From my experience, $420 a month is either an apartment out in the hinderlands (Amelia / Batavia) or a rat trap closer to the city.

[savafan]

Originally Posted by Caveat Emperor

From my experience, $420 a month is either an apartment out in the hinderlands (Amelia / Batavia) or a rat trap closer to the city.

I'm looking at the areas outside the city. I kinda like my life right now, I wanna keep it.

[Redlegs23]

check out craigslist, there's always a ton of apartments on there.

[RBA]

Originally Posted by Redlegs23

check out craigslist, there's always a ton of apartments on there.

But, beware of scams.

[LawFive]

Originally Posted by Reds4Life

I'm the opposite. I live in Ohio, and I'm ready to move to Kentucky. I'm tired of paying the insane property taxes in Hamilton County.

I'm an Ohio native who moved across the river and then back. Ohio taxes are NOTHING compared to KY.

In KY, you pay personal property tax on your car each year, based on the book value of the car. It usually ran about $250 to register the Honda Civic I had at the time. You also pay insurance premium tax - I lived in Highland Heights which was 10%. So instead of $400 for six months, it was $440.

The city and county make sure to get a piece of all utilities, too.

And here's the kicker...KY cities, counties, school boards, independent fire districts, etc. are all allowed to ARBITRARILLY set the tax rates up to a certain percentage increase each year WITHOUT a public vote. IIRC they can raise it 4-5% a year. In Ohio at least you get to CHOOSE whether to pass the various tax levies. Hell, in Northern KY you even have to pay a rain tax - that's right, the sewer district has a rider on their bills to cover storm water drainage improvements.

[vaticanplum]

Originally Posted by Caveat Emperor

From my experience, $420 a month is either an apartment out in the hinderlands (Amelia / Batavia) or a rat trap closer to the city.

I pay $445 for a very nice two-bedroom with a garage in a good city neighborhood. You just need to find a landlord (not a management company) who owns the building flat-out and be an obviously respectable adult. Those kinds of landlords would rather have reliable tenants than turn a huge profit. They've been around for a long time and just want to avoid headaches.

My tip: don't rely on the paper or the internet. Talk to people, and drive around looking for signs in yards. A little extra effort will serve you well in the end.

[Caveat Emperor]

Originally Posted by vaticanplum

I pay $445 for a very nice two-bedroom with a garage in a good city neighborhood. You just need to find a landlord (not a management company) who owns the building flat-out and be an obviously respectable adult. Those kinds of landlords would rather have reliable tenants than turn a huge profit. They've been around for a long time and just want to avoid headaches.

My tip: don't rely on the paper or the internet. Talk to people, and drive around looking for signs in yards. A little extra effort will serve you well in the end.

$445 for a two bedroom? Damn.

You need a roommate? I'm mostly quiet, clean, can easily reach things on the top shelf and I have an Xbox with Guitar Hero.

In all honesty, this is great advice. I have friends who managed to get a 3 bedroom place in Hyde Park really cheaply because the house was owned by someone who needed it rented quickly and didn't want to go through endless showings and background checks. Talked to people who knew some people and get the deal done over a weekend.

Individual people are usually a lot more willing to negotiate on price than big management companies as well. The only downside is that if something goes wrong with the house/apartment/condo, you're dealing with a person instead of a company -- which can mean you wait a little longer for fixes and the like.

[vaticanplum]

Originally Posted by Caveat Emperor

$445 for a two bedroom? Damn.

You need a roommate? I'm mostly quiet, clean, can easily reach things on the top shelf and I have an Xbox with Guitar Hero.

In all honesty, this is great advice. I have friends who managed to get a 3 bedroom place in Hyde Park really cheaply because the house was owned by someone who needed it rented quickly and didn't want to go through endless showings and background checks. Talked to people who knew some people and get the deal done over a weekend.

Individual people are usually a lot more willing to negotiate on price than big management companies as well. The only downside is that if something goes wrong with the house/apartment/condo, you're dealing with a person instead of a company -- which can mean you wait a little longer for fixes and the like.

You can have my apartment. Seriously. I'm leaving in 12 days and it isn't rented yet.

I know somebody who pays $600 a month for a three-bedroom, four-story house with a yard - IN COLUMBIA TUSCULUM. The owner is roughly 1000 years old, he met her, she read him as a nice guy who would stay around for a while, and the end. Before that, he lived by himself for free in a mansion on the condition that he checked the windows every night to make sure they were locked. His presence kept the insurance down.

Yeah, you do have to be a little "understanding" of landlords sometimes though. I had to endure The Great Bat Exodus of 2009, which was handled not by an exterminator but by a garden hose. But hey, no more bats (they were outside, not in) and it's really the only problem I've ever had.