Small Time Landlords are the best!
Pros
1.) Exceptional trash/garbage management which makes the stoop and street very pleasant to walk on. 2.) Common areas were vacuumed a reasonable amount. 3.) Landlord lives near and owns just a handful of properties, therefore their response time is exceptional for urgent and non-urgent repairs. If the heat goes out on Christmas, someone from the family will be there to fix it. If the fridge is making a weird noise (something less urgent let's say) they will send someone from the family or a repair man within a week or less. 4.) Landlord was very accommodating of pests. This being an old building means there are crawlies around and mice. If you as a tenant take the time to use steel wool and make sure you are keeping the apartment clean then the landlord was very accommodating and continuously bought us traps and cockroach poison. It was a team effort in being preventative. It's New York - these crawlers are a fact of life and as long as you both are doing the necessary steps to ensure all holes are sealed. 5.) Apartment was given to me extremely clean and I left it extremely clean, therefore I received my full security deposit back after 3 years here ON THE SPOT via check. We even painted a few of the rooms, had hung up shelves, mirrors, etc the usual customizations but nothing out of order (no murals or large installations) so we didn't even caulk or fill in the small holes. I built in a basic closet rack on the wall and they kept it/it was def a value add and was going to save the next tenant $100 at Home Depot. But I believe the landlord and I had a mutual respect. When I built the closet I had a very handy friend helping me and the landlord let me use their electric saw and ladder. 6.) I paid my rent in check, and for the 3.5 years I was there the rent was NEVER raised. Not even a conversation about it! I paid my rent on time, but if I needed to be late (since I paid via dropping a check off at the landlord's house down the block) because I was out of town the landlord was always accommodating.
Cons
1.) This is not a party house. It is a family owned building. We had to keep gatherings to small and ouid use to minimal as there is little ventilation. 2.) The doorbell for the entirety of my lease was broken, which made it incredibly hard to receive/field packages. 3.) There are not many amenities (no washer/dryer, although the laundromat is extremely close), no outdoor space on floors 2 and 3 besides the stoop, so I do believe the rent could be cheaper.
Advice to the owners
none, keep up the great work and thanks for being accommodating!
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