Could be so much better...
Pros
Large apartments. Good plumbing. Decent heat. Fairly modern windows. Mostly quiet neighbors inside building (except superintendent). Morning sun in master bedroom. New steel doors for all units. Electronic intercom with camera doorbell buzzer. Recently installed inner lobby door is nice.
Cons
Current superintendent does as little as possible and it’s not enough. Trash is often overflowing. Owner won’t buy more garbage cans. Landlord won’t pay for an exterminator. Poor landlord/tenant communication. No clear rules for superintendent or occupants leads to problem areas. Basement, backyard, side alley (all under the care of superintendent) are like a garbage dump. It’s like no one cares. The superintendent gets lower rent so that the rest of us can look out our windows at a trashy backyard, trip over trash when trying to navigate the basement or alleyway. There might be an opossum living in our basement. The basement floods when it rains. The super mops the first floor landing, and nothing else. There are four floors and landings in the building that are neglected. The building looks like a construction project that was interrupted. Hallway walls have primer but no paint. Stairs and landings have very old linoleum. Poor security. Front door is often propped open with no one in sight. Sometimes the main door doesn’t latch shut. Fire doors in basement are never closed - FIRE HAZARD. Basement doors are often unlocked.
Advice to the owners
Get your superintendent to sign a contract with clear obligations of what you expect them to do in order to qualify for their discounted rent. Include things like sweeping and mopping the hallways and stairs in the ENTIRE building, not just the first floor where they live. Also include cleaning the backyard, sweeping the sidewalks, shoveling snow, cleaning up junk from everywhere. When the superintendent is the filthiest tenant in the building, the whole building ends up being an eyesore. If they don’t live up to the terms of their contract, their rent goes up to market rates. If they can’t afford it, they can leave and you can get a superintendent that will actually CARE for the building and make it a nicer place to live.
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