Pros:
relatively cheap, units are pretty spacious, owner will eventually fix things if you bring it up but it may take time, great light, 4 bed unit has a spare room and a dishwasher, which is a huge plus. the day to day of living here was really not bad and I was grateful that the majority of time I lived here the basics were in working order, or working well enough that it was tenable
Cons:
it’s just poorly maintained, which makes any proposed rent increase feel like robbery. the landlord prides himself on being mom-and-pop but also “manages over 30 properties” what this seems to mean in practice is that he doesn’t have the kind of professional setup to take care of the building regularly. if you complain, he’ll send someone to address the issues, but this means you are CONSTANTLY scheduling with maintenance people because something is always wrong, and he hands off all communication with the contractors to you. no regular super you can contact. hallways and doorways get dirty, unclaimed mail piles up, won’t treat for pests until you complain, and within the unit simple things have clearly not been fixed (improperly closing widows, doorknobs all messed up, water pressure comes and goes, cracks in the floor/walls, refrigerator missing a handle and produce bins, etc.)
Advice to owner:
the building needs to be updated and basic things need to be fixed.