Don’t be fooled
Pros
Pretty street, close to F/G trains, large windowed bathroom
Cons
Garbage/recycling negligence, no privacy, landlord family on first floor and VERY nosy and inappropriate. I thought i could deal with it but am looking to break my lease even though i have a below-market rate. (In 20 years of renting, I have never broken a lease and never had contentious relationships w landlords)
Advice to the owners
For God’s sake, you are renting a space, not “letting a guest” stay in “your home”. Maybe don’t be a landlord of you can’t get good w that.
Landlord is not worth the stress
Pros
Lovely neighborhood, nice pre-war charms, wood floors, floor-through units, small building (three full units; one per floor)
Cons
LANDLORD SHARED ENTRANCE - owner lives with family on first floor and keeps tabs on who comes and goes. Insists that tenants alert her personally ahead of time when they will have guests over. The owners were new to having tenants when I moved in, and managed me out when my (now wife) moved in and we had a child. Beware of lease riders - includes things such as where to put rugs in the apartment, what color and style of blinds to maintain in windows, excludes any items from being stored on fire escape (including plants) and notes that hallway on the floor-through apartment is not part of the rented space, although we are pretty certain the electricity for the hallway and hall closet lights were tenant responsibility. Husband/owner is very nice.
Advice to the owners
We were disappointed to have been managed out by the demands and micro-management from the landlord who lives on the first floor. We were recently in touch with current tenants, who describe anxiety and difficulties similar to our experience - advice would be to get comfortable with other people renting space in the building, or do not be a landlord. Probably best to not live where you rent, as it seems to cause a lot of stress for all parties.