Any Oregon Residents? Need Help!

[Deleted member 43650]

Howdy gang!

So it's official (well, it has been for a while, but last I mentioned on ACF we were moving to Alaska): my wife and I are moving to Corvallis, Oregon in April '19!

We're making the trek from Houston, TX - I'm having all of our stuff shipped ahead and we'll be driving over there. Long story short: we've been looking for pet-friendly apartments or smaller housing, as our plan is to simply get settled in first and then look for a house later. I've never made the move to another state, so all the logistics seem tricky: finding a place as an out-of-state resident, getting an apartment as a small business owner (dude, srs, apartments SUCK about this - I can offer them a year's rent up front but god forbid if I don't have a pay stub from a traditional job...).

So yeah...I imagine it might be difficult to find somewhere being transplants (and "self-employed"/private s-corp).

Ideally a nice, small apartment would suffice while we get settled in and start looking for either a house or land to build a house on.

Anyone in/from Corvallis or familiar with it? Or just familiar with cross-country moves in general (especially with a non-traditional job)? Any info would be super duper helpful.

Thanks!!

Edit: I realize many of y'all might not be excited about declaring on this thread "Hey I live HERE" so feel free to PM me.

 

[BiancaBaker]

We stayed in state BUT all I had to show was my 1099's / bank statements (this was fine for a mortgage) so I'm sure renting will be MUCH easier. If you have references/good credit you should be FINE My credit is 710 and I make 80k a year about. I put down freelance web design and NOBODY asked questions. So just dig out your 1099's and bank statements and find a realtor. I would pay a realtor to help as well (because they can push for you too). Also I'm in MA which is a VERY expensive state; if your going to Oregon I'm really sure you will be fine!! the animal thing will be more of an issue than your job/income/credit TBH

 

[JoleneBrody]

Hi there, Oregon resident here! I don’t nor have I lived in Corvallis but I’ve lived in just about every other smaller city along the I-5.
Couple things to keep in mind, Oregon is currently experiencing what is called a rental crisis. Some towns are much worse than others, but basically the home values in Oregon skyrocketed in the last couple years and in some areas, an apartment can have a waiting list of applications the first day. So, be prepared for that possibility. Corvallis is a university town, and come spring places will start popping up more, but obviously not as much as the start of summer when all the kids move back home.

1099’s or tax records should be fine for renting, if you explain you are an independent contractor. Web design and social media management are good ones. If you do not have at least one year of tax records/1099 it might be a little hard.

Finding something pet friendly can be hard in a rental crisis because the market allows landlords to be a little pickier without losing tenants. Just keep that in mind to ease your frustration. If you can find something in Corvallis, maybe consider some of the other towns around that area. Oregon is a splattering of cool old west-y little podunk towns nobody has ever heard of.

 

[Deleted member 37064]

Friend of mine is from the broader area you're looking at. I think he's closer to Eugene. One of the things he's mentioned is that with the Tech industry booming there, prices have skyrocketed due to demand. Not just rental but purchasing a house as well.

I have no experience other than that regarding living in Oregon. But, having helped my parents and friends move cross-country, I've learned it's kind of a pain in the ass. My parents went with Mayflower, which had limitations such as can't bring lawnmowers, or other gas powered items due to oil and gas fumes. There was a delay in getting it from the Midwest to CA, by about a week. Think they were waiting for another mover so as to have a full truck. Friend of mine went with something along the lines of a pod-style move. 8'x8' wooden crates that he loaded nearly everything into, which they then came and picked up. I'm not sure why, but he shipped his car and flew from Midwest back to Oregon. What couldn't fit in pods, he filled in his car.

On a general note regarding pet-friendly rentals, be very specific when you are searching. What I ran into is that if you've got an ankle biting, yippy dog, they're happy to take you. But, if you've got a dog over 30 pounds, or a "known to be agressive so we black list them" breed, you're going to have a very difficult time. Took me forever to find an apartment that didn't have restrictions. Of course, once I moved in, I find out the tenants are the problematic onces that give dogs bad names. They woulnd't pick up after their animals, they would stand right next to the entrance door and let them do their business right next to my unit so I'd get the nasty smells.

In general, people are lazy fucks when it comes to their pets. You're better off finding a house to rent, or better yet, buy and skip the multi-tenant BS.

 

[BiancaBaker]

Also I would pick a SUPER cheap state with NO income tax... SO Florida lol ..Vegas is also an option for me but both are pretty fucking cheap, warm, and full of fetish models. This is where I belong and will be in 5 years (either vegas or fl)

 

[Deleted member 37064]

Oh, and in case you aren't aware...

Get used to not being allowed to pump your own gasoline at the station

 

[JoleneBrody]

Also I would pick a SUPER cheap state with NO income tax... SO Florida lol ..Vegas is also an option for me but both are pretty fucking cheap, warm, and full of fetish models. This is where I belong and will be in 5 years (either vegas or fl)

Vegas is wonderful! I LOVED living there!

 

[Bocefish]

Oregon is a splattering of cool old west-y little podunk towns nobody has ever heard of.

True dat.

It's been a few years... but I stayed in Astoria for a couple weeks while on a motorcycle trip because the tiny town is absolutely awesome with picturesque coastal beauty & good fall salmon/metalhead fishing.

As far as pet-friendly places to stay, Google is your friend, or maybe hire a travel agent to help you if nothing else comes to fruition. Maybe call a few realtors to see if they have recommendations where to stay while looking to buy. They probably have some influential contacts that could help as well.

Oh ya, make sure you have all your pet's documentation of shots... readily available because some places require that.

.02

Best of luck.

 

[JoleneBrody]

oh yes I also recommend a realtor! At least in larger cities, they often help fill rentals and are usually paid by the landlord, not you. Small towns with booming rental markets, they MIGHT not be as common. My experience was in Vegas where filling a place is harder

 

[SaffronBurke]

Took me forever to find an apartment that didn't have restrictions. Of course, once I moved in, I find out the tenants are the problematic onces that give dogs bad names. They woulnd't pick up after their animals, they would stand right next to the entrance door and let them do their business right next to my unit so I'd get the nasty smells.

I came home earlier this week to a big pile of dog shit on the stairs up to the building, like you couldn't have your dog move one foot to the side and shit in the grass?

One thing that people do a lot in my area is not tell the full truth about their dogs. We've even had the ARL & humane society do it, we had a county-wide pitbull ban for a long time, so to get pits adopted instead of killed, they'd call them "lab mixes". A lot of people also just get a puppy, then never tell the apartment how big the puppy got.


My apartment requires that cats be front-declawed, which I didn't know until I was signing the lease, because they didn't have the pet policy posted online. We just didn't tell them. My cats are good at scratching their toys and not the carpet, and I had to pay a $300 non-refundable deposit plus $60 to have them, fuck off with declawing.

 

[Fatquack]

So you're going to be OregonMuscleJock now? It doesn't have the same ring.

 

[AudriTwo]

So you're going to be OregonMuscleJock now? It doesn't have the same ring.

You can take the man out of Texas, but you can never take Texas out of him.

 

[Deleted member 43650]

So you're going to be OregonMuscleJock now? It doesn't have the same ring.

Ha! Fortunately, I took my name from the S.E. Hinton novel, so all remains well!


Thanks for the pointers, y'all! Super helpful. Looks like the doggo might be the biggest issue. I have a good job outside of adult media so finances won't be an issue, just the proof of income. Even as an LLC, some apartments are weird about that stuff. I think we will either go with a private landlord or just buy a tiny home (which we plan to do eventually anyway) until we make sure Corvallis is where we want to start a family and find/build a house we like. We're decided on Oregon, that's for sure - combination of being near family, being closer to nature, and being SO sick of urban life. Sounds like there are lots of cities to pick from if Corvallis is a no-go.

Is anyone familiar with Canine Good Citizen status? We were thinking of having our dog take the test and get registered in hopes that this could be a good exemption in the eyes of potential living situations.

Thx!!

 

[Deleted member 37064]

Is anyone familiar with Canine Good Citizen status? We were thinking of having our dog take the test and get registered in hopes that this could be a good exemption in the eyes of potential living situations.

Thx!!

Unfortunately, this most likely won't change things too much. Unless the dog is a registered therapy dog, most places have to abide by insurance and legal regulations. Even then, I have heard of some people who have therapy dogs of black listed breeds still being denied due to insurance, etc.

 

[Deleted member 43650]

Unfortunately, this most likely won't change things too much. Unless the dog is a registered therapy dog, most places have to abide by insurance and legal regulations. Even then, I have heard of some people who have therapy dogs of black listed breeds still being denied due to insurance, etc.

Wow...this sucks. It's especially annoying because my wife is a vet, so she always points out the stupidities (that I wouldnt otherwise know about) to me . For instance, our current apartment/condo complex kept asking if our puppy had its rabies vaccine. She had to sit them down and explain that if you force a dog to get a rabies vaccine prior to 6 months of age, you'll kill it. Then, they told her the only vaccine they required is rabies. Like, what! What about distemper/parvo vaccine, which is wayyy more important?!

A lot of these people don't do their research. Same thing with certain breeds being blacklisted. Haha this stuff gets me mad.

 

[Deleted member 37064]

Wow...this sucks. It's especially annoying because my wife is a vet, so she always points out the stupidities (that I wouldnt otherwise know about) to me . For instance, our current apartment/condo complex kept asking if our puppy had its rabies vaccine. She had to sit them down and explain that if you force a dog to get a rabies vaccine prior to 6 months of age, you'll kill it. Then, they told her the only vaccine they required is rabies. Like, what! What about distemper/parvo vaccine, which is wayyy more important?!

A lot of these people don't do their research. Same thing with certain breeds being blacklisted. Haha this stuff gets me mad.

Yep, they just work off of paper guidelines and don't know things like this. Best of luck to you

 

[AudriTwo]

A lot of these people don't do their research. Same thing with certain breeds being blacklisted. Haha this stuff gets me mad.

I hate breed blacklists. Blacklist bad dog owners not doggos. Our old apartment had a ban on any pit like dog. Our friends who lived door had a stratford terrier who was probably the best dog I ever encountered. He was so patient and a big teddy bear. When we got a little puppy, we never had issues when we would bring him over with us. My little puppy would be digging into his stomach, chewing on his ear and jowls, and the stratty would let him and lick his eyes when my pup would tire himself out. Sadly the apartment complex got new owners who were enforcing breed bans. We were really sad to see him go. Threw him the best dog going away party.

 

[SMuser69]

I hate breed blacklists. Blacklist bad dog owners not doggos. Our old apartment had a ban on any pit like dog. Our friends who lived door had a stratford terrier who was probably the best dog I ever encountered. He was so patient and a big teddy bear. When we got a little puppy, we never had issues when we would bring him over with us. My little puppy would be digging into his stomach, chewing on his ear and jowls, and the stratty would let him and lick his eyes when my pup would tire himself out. Sadly the apartment complex got new owners who were enforcing breed bans. We were really sad to see him go. Threw him the best dog going away party.

You can blame the dog owners all you want but it's the building owner that get sued for not enforcing bans and dealing with the community anger when some kid gets mauled.

I remember when the guy was keeping a bengal tiger and alligator in his project apartment in Harlem. It was the housing corporation that got sued and fined and the guy that owned the animals WON money for breaching without a proper warrant. The owner STILL lives in the same project.

 

[AudriTwo]

You can blame the dog owners all you want but it's the building owner that get sued for not enforcing bans and dealing with the community anger when some kid gets mauled.

I remember when the guy was keeping a bengal tiger and alligator in his project apartment in Harlem. It was the housing corporation that got sued and fined and the guy that owned the animals WON money for breaching without a proper warrant. The owner STILL lives in the same project.

jesus christ what a reach. bengal tigers are not domesticated animals. i was talking about the stigma apartment complexes believe and ban dogs who have a bad rep based on actions of humans. when that stigma is 100% opposite from the truth.

 

[SMuser69]

jesus christ what a reach. bengal tigers are not domesticated animals. i was talking about the stigma apartment complexes believe and ban dogs who have a bad rep based on actions of humans. when that stigma is 100% opposite from the truth.

They marked that tiger a 'cat' on their apartment info. This goes to exactly what you're talking about. The bans are in place because some people keep very bias impressions of their animals without any consideration of those around them. I had a family living below me who had a 'never bites' family mix lab but tell that to the scars on my knee when it put both teeth into me one day as I rushed by to the elevator.

Even when I became a building owner myself and was doing my first tenant interviews I realized how stupidly conceited people could be about THEIR 'special' pet that was allowed to do whatever it wanted and other people that paid the same for their apartments had to 'deal with it'. The story of the tiger was the reason I banned all pets from my building because even before that I had issues with tenants with birds that made noise all day. Dog's that barked at their shadows and a cat that fell out a window and got ME fined because I didn't enforce window guards for PETS (only thought window guards were for kids in my city).

 

[Gen]

a cat that fell out a window and got ME fined because I didn't enforce window guards for PETS (only thought window guards were for kids in my city).

You’re mad at them because you didn’t properly read or understand landlord laws?

 

[SMuser69]

You’re mad at them because you didn’t properly read or understand landlord laws?

I don't see how a child window guard would stopped that cat either way. The problem was the law was vague at the time. It's now specific to children because I wasn't the only landlord that had an issue. It's not an matter of being MAD, it was a problem I made a solution to the problem. I felt bad for my tenants that had good animals too when I made the rule change. The only tenants that didn't understand were the ones that caused most the problems for others. The only animals left in the building are service animals for my blind tenants. I have to deal with the issue of the older tenants feeding the cats outside and letting them breed too much.

 

[Gen]

felt bad for my tenants that had good animals too when I made the rule change.

Did they have to get rid of their pets or were they grandfathered in?

 

[SMuser69]

Did they have to get rid of their pets or were they grandfathered in?

They had to send them someplace else. It was handled on a family by family case with incentives the faster it was completed(two free months of rent if it was immediate). So I took a large hit doing it but it's been a year and everyone's generally happier. There wasn't a case of a pet with no place to go fortunately. There was three cases where the pet was clearly being neglected by the owners so I don't feel too terrible about it. They can keep their fish but can't have a tank larger than 10 gallons.

 

[curvyredhead]

I realized how stupidly conceited people could be about THEIR 'special' pet

Your tenants are lucky to have such a sensitive landlord.

I took a large hit doing it

Oh jee, wow..hope it didn't hurt you too badly.

In the particular (insanely extreme) case that you mentioned...the "building owner" would have been the housing authority.....so if any lawsuits were to happen..they would have been against the city...not against a single owner.

 

[Gen]

They had to send them someplace else. It was handled on a family by family case with incentives the faster it was completed(two free months of rent if it was immediate). So I took a large hit doing it but it's been a year and everyone's generally happier. There wasn't a case of a pet with no place to go fortunately. There was three cases where the pet was clearly being neglected by the owners so I don't feel too terrible about it. They can keep their fish but can't have a tank larger than 10 gallons.

Wow. The faster you dump the family pet, the more money you get. Not coercive at all.

I’m glad that would be illegal here. We have lots of slumlords but we do have strong tenants rights laws and some recourse to deal with them.