Property management · Portland
Property management for east Portland owners
A small Portland team, a flat 8% fee, and a 25-home cap we hold ourselves to. We manage homes across Sellwood, Mt. Tabor, Hawthorne, Alberta, and St. Johns.
Cedar was started by two people who spent years inside larger Portland management companies and got tired of watching the same patterns: maintenance markups buried in monthly statements, vacant units sitting because requirements weren't disclosed, owners treated as accounts and tenants treated as units. We built Cedar to do the opposite. We work with owners who want their property cared for like a home, not extracted like an asset. Here's how that shows up.
8
Years managing properties
8
Services we handle for you
< 24h
Average response time
What we handle
Services we offer in Portland
Everything you need from a property manager — nothing you don't.
- Tenant screening and placement (credit, employment, prior-landlord references)
- 24/7 emergency maintenance line answered live by a person
- Long partnership with Rosewood Trades for plumbing, electric, and carpentry — no markup
- Monthly statements plus IRS-ready year-end tax packages
- Online rent collection with auto-reminders and ACH default
- Annual unit inspections with photo-documented written reports
- Lease compliance and Oregon-compliant notices and renewals
- Detailed turnover scope and walk-through documentation between residents
Why owners pick us
A partner, not a portal
**We take fewer properties on purpose so we can do them right.** We cap at 25 homes. We turn down management contracts that would push us past that or pull us outside our five neighborhoods. The cap is the product.
**We answer the phone.** Owners get a direct cell line to Maren or Theo. Maintenance emergencies go to a 24/7 number answered live by a real person — not a voicemail tree, not a chatbot.
**Vacancy is the enemy.** Average time-to-lease in our portfolio is 11 days because we list with full requirements upfront and price to the actual market. Multnomah County average for unfurnished rentals is 28 days.
**Maintenance is straightforward.** We have an eight-year partnership with Rosewood Trades. They invoice us at their standard rates, we forward those invoices to owners with no markup. You see what we paid.
No surprises
Transparent fees
What we charge, written out plainly. The same fees we'd want as owners ourselves.
**8% of monthly rent.** No leasing fee. No markup on maintenance vendors — we forward the actual invoice. No "administrative fee" stacked on top.
Month-to-month management agreement. Cancel any time with 30 days' notice. We're confident enough in the work that we don't lock owners in for a year.
Owner stories
What property owners say
“I had a Sellwood duplex sitting half-vacant for four months under my previous manager. Cedar got the second unit rented in three weeks and my net cash flow is up substantially even after their fee. The monthly statements are also actually readable.”
“We inherited a four-square in Alberta and didn't know what we were doing. Cedar walked the property with us, gave us a list of what to do before listing, and rented it to a great couple at the price they predicted. Two years in, the residents just renewed.”
“I live in Boise and own a house in Mt. Tabor. Cedar sends me photo updates after every inspection without me asking. The maintenance reports are detailed enough that I can actually understand what was done and why.”
Common questions
Property management in Portland
What size portfolios do you take on?
Anything from a single house up to a six-unit building, as long as we have room under our 25-home cap. Most of our owners have one to three properties.
How do you handle maintenance markups?
We don't add any. Rosewood Trades invoices us at their actual rates, we forward those invoices to owners. Same for the painters, locksmiths, and HVAC techs we use.
Do you require a minimum contract?
No. Month-to-month with 30 days' notice on either side. We don't believe in locking people in for work they aren't sure of yet.
What neighborhoods do you cover?
Sellwood, Mt. Tabor, Hawthorne, the Alberta Arts District, and St. Johns. We turn down properties outside this geography because we know it would dilute the service.
Will you place tenants for owners who self-manage?
Yes — flat $1,000 placement-only fee. Includes the listing, the showings, the screening, and lease prep. The owner handles ongoing management from there.
Do you handle older homes specifically?
Yes — most of what we manage was built before 1935. We know the common issues (knob-and-tube remnants, old galvanized supply lines, original windows) and have vetted vendors who do good work on old buildings without overcharging.
Ready to hand off the day-to-day?
Tell us about your property in Portland — we'll send a quote and a clear next step within one business day.