the avem blog

A lot of Portland landlords never set out to be one. You bought a place, life changed (a new job, a move, a relationship, an upgrade) and instead of selling the old house, you decided to rent it out. It’s a smart way to hold onto an appreciating asset and cover the mortgage. But renting out a home in Portland is not as simple as handing over keys and collecting a check, and the accidental landlords who learn that the hard way pay for it.

Screening tenants used to be simple: run a credit check, glance at income, pick the applicant you liked best. In Portland, those days are over. The city’s FAIR Ordinance, in effect since 2020, rewrote the rules on how landlords evaluate applicants, and the penalties for getting it wrong are real. A single screening violation can trigger a $250 penalty per violation, plus actual damages and attorney fees.

Hiring the right property manager in SE Portland can be the difference between a rental that quietly funds your future and one that eats your evenings with maintenance calls and compliance worries. The hard part is that most management companies look the same on...

Every Portland landlord eventually hits the same crossroads: keep self-managing your rental, or hand it off to a professional. It's usually triggered by a moment — a 2 a.m. plumbing call, a problem tenant, a vacancy that drags on, or just the realization that managing...

Walk through nearly any well-managed rental property in Portland and you'll notice something consistent: the paint looks fresh. It's not an accident. Savvy landlords understand that interior paint is one of the highest-leverage cosmetic investments they can make in a...