Cheap - but expect nothing
Pros
Rent never went up and was very reasonable. The space was actually large for NYC. The landlord kept more of our deposit than he should have ($500 of $4500), but returned most within a month - with a lot of pushing and follow up. Arguably he could have made life even more difficult and never returned any of it until we went to court. He was also reasonable allowing us to reduce rent during the pandemic for a few months (though deducting it from our deposit).
Cons
The window closings were inexistent in half the house, making one of the rooms impossible to live in during the winter because of the cold. The landlord refused to put the heating on in the building until we threatened to sue him. Would take ages for him to fix anything, and would only fix things that were very evidently a absolutely necessary (eg a window cracked!). Building was very poorly kept - everywhere from the entrance to stairs were filthy. Cockroach could appear anytime, we used silicone to close the gaps all around the house so they would have a hard time popping out. The building is actually tilted / falling to pieces and probably a security hazard. But it’s NYC and rent is expensive and quality is rubbish - so you live with it.
Advice to the owners
Fix the building. Install a doorbell. Spray for cockroaches and mice.
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