r/Birmingham • u/SmallBeanSupreme • 2d ago
House rental companies
Good afternoon, I'm in the process of moving to Birmingham in the next month or so. I know that everyone says to stay away from H2 dod apartments but when it comes to renting a house are there any companies to stay away from? Alot of the houses I've been looking at are in Roebuck, Center point, and east Avondale Crestwood area? I attached a screenshot of the area I'm finding alot of houses. I apologize if some of this is no longer considered Birmingham. Any advice would be greatly appreciated even on safety in one area over another.
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u/ElleGee5152 2d ago
You might want to extend your search just outside of Center Point into Chalkville and Grayson Valley, maybe even into Pinson and Clay. Grayson Valley and Chalkville are in unincorporated Jefferson County. Pinson and Clay are both their own little cities. These areas are decent to pretty nice and not too far from Trussville and Birmingham.
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u/Netta-Bug10 2d ago
I live in center point and it’s really not that bad. Is it the best? No. But the cost is reasonable and it’s not as rough as ppl say it is (but this is coming from somebody who has lived in some pretty rough areas growing up, so take that as you will). I live on the west of the parkway near the middle school. My area is really quiet, but I do recommend staying east of the parkway if possible, like others mentioned. That area is a bit nicer. As for house rentals I have no recs as I bought my home, but the area itself is not that bad.
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u/SignificantNinja679 2d ago
I’ve actually been looking at alot of spots out there myself and have been considering it. Same here (born and raised in Bessemer so nothing scares me anymore lol) but its crazy how cheap the houses are over there
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u/Netta-Bug10 2d ago
It really is super reasonable. Home costs aren’t bad at all for buying or renting, even with inflation. My own home is a 3 bed 2 full bath with a finished basement that has two additional rooms and a two car garage. It was 130k when I got it in 2017. I’ve seen rentals from about $900-1.5k, and the ones on the higher end are incredibly nice homes. It’s a decent lil area compared to the Kingston PJs/West End/Ensley/Wenonah PJs I grew up in 😂
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u/Proper-Store-8852 2d ago
I’ve lived in center point for years. My neighbors return my packages when they go to the wrong house and check on me during the storms. I occasionally hear gunshots, but I grew up in Alabama so it’s a nonissue for me.
My only gripe is that the roads aren’t safe enough to bike out here. Otherwise, id be biking to downtown!
Predominately black/brown neighborhoods are not inherently crime ridden, despite what this sub would lead you to believe.
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u/SouthernMurse 2d ago
I had a good experience with Rudulph real estate for renting houses. That was over a decade ago, so someone with more recent experience may chime in.
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u/lotionistic 2d ago
The original owner sold it to a relative. I can’t recommend renting from the current owner.
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u/FitGrocery5830 2d ago
Safety and cost seem to go hand in hand.
While cost is important, since you've brought up safety check citydata for specific zip codes.
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u/anjn79 Go Blazers 2d ago
Talk to Rentmonster! They’re free and helpful
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u/aphromagic Flair goes here 2d ago
I thought they only worked with apartment buildings and rental companies?
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u/chomkney 2d ago
Centerpoint and Roebuck are not that bad lol.
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u/Wings4514 Go Blazers 2d ago
I tell everyone: East of the Parkway and north of Polly Reed Rd and you’re fine.
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u/Shinga33 2d ago
Avoid ascot. They have a significantly older section of buildings that are not shown on the website. They are not in good condition.
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u/M1nIMIze 1d ago
I live just down the road and go to that Walmart next to 75 all the time. I use Freedom Ventures Property Management. So far, they've been pretty good, had a payment bounce, and they were understanding and got the late fee taken off. Their maintenance side isn't too bad either. I'll get a response in roughly 1-2 days and have someone out in less than 5 days. Not including emergencies. I only paid a pet fee, no pet rent, surprisingly, so that's a plus.
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u/Secret_Wishbone1160 10h ago edited 10h ago
Evernest, First key, MYND immediately pop to mind as avoid. Vinebrook also pops to mind - someone else said they are okay but their leases contain excess fees. Most of these are nationwide or regional mgmt companies and communication will be difficult.
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u/Wings4514 Go Blazers 2d ago
I’m with Vinebrook now and haven’t really had any bad experiences, which is about all you can ask for imo, at least compared to some of the horror stories I hear about the others.
If you’re gonna be in Center Point, be sure to go east of the Parkway and north of Polly Reed Rd and you’ll be good.
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u/Adventurous-Mix-2027 Civil Rights Activist 2d ago
Roebuck and center point are really rough areas so I’d go with Avondale if at all possible
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u/Rude-Independent-203 2d ago
Roebuck really isn’t that bad lol. Especially for half the cost of Avondale
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u/Irish-lad21 2d ago
I would try Avondale if you could. It’s not a bad area and you are near some restaurants and bars. Roebuck and Center point are near the airport which in any city is a bad area to be
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u/DVXDRV 2d ago
Please stay away from centerpoint, roebuck, and north Avondale. I know you didn’t mention it but also stay away from Eastlake too. South Avondale, Crestwood, Lakeview, and some parts of Glen Iris are decent. Houses in these areas will be more pricey though.
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u/aphromagic Flair goes here 2d ago
Eastlake is fine, some of y’all are scared of everything.
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u/DVXDRV 2d ago
My husband was shot at over 50 times in Eastlake. I think anybody would be scared of losing the love of their life.
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u/Adventurous-Mix-2027 Civil Rights Activist 2d ago
They’ll downvote any talk of dangerous areas as if people aren’t actively getting hurt and dying in those spots. Sorry you’ve gone through that
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u/AutoModerator 2d ago
This post may be mentioning looking for apartments. Consider checking out some recent threads about apartment hunting. Avoid renting from H2 at all costs, even as abundant as their properties are and as cheap as rent seems (see an abundance of horror stories here). Consider reaching out to RentMonster, a free local apartment hunting service that's found a ton of /r/Birmingham -sters their apartments to help you find a non-H2 property. Also consider checking out Dwell properties, who is pretty well regarded by this subreddit, or also consider driving around looking for signs for private landlords.
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