I do not recommend staying here. HOUSE IS NOT PROPERLY HEATED.
Our stay started off fine. Check-in was fine and the place was clean. We were checking in very late in the night after we attended the basketball game. The temperature inside seemed freezing (keep in mind the temperature outside at this time was below 20 degrees Fahrenheit). We turned the heat up on the thermostat right away, thinking the place would heat up over time, and went to bed. Because of the low temperature, I had to sleep in a complete sweat suit over my layers of clothing, completely under the bed covers. I literally had layers and layers of clothing. I was still unable to stay warm. The following morning I texted Robbie, Brandon's brother who we were supposed to contact for any issues. I texted Robbie that there was no heat and asked how to fix the issue and turn up the thermostat. After no response, I called Brandon and when he returned my call he informed me that his brother is a late sleeper so he wasn't yet available but would call when he wakes up - note that it was 10:27am. He also told me that it's old an house and they have been having issues with the heat. He said they recently had someone look at it (which we later realized was the same HVAC specialist he sent, based on his commentary about having already told Brandon they needed two HVACs).
Eventually, they sent an HVAC specialist who arrived at noon. After ringing the doorbell, he let himself right in without any of us actually answering the door. He said nothing to us and walked directly to the thermostat and then to the HVAC. He checked the temperature downstairs. I told him it feels freezing in here and isn't reflective of whatever his thermostat was saying. In addition, my friends also felt it was freezing. I will note that the HVAC specialist was not at all compassionate and had an attitude even though we were the ones without heat and therefore a reason to be frustrated and upset. He called Brandon and said to Brandon on the phone, "I don't know why you had me come here, I have already told you that you need another HVAC" and then he left.
Brandon's solution was to have Robbie purchase space heaters once he woke up. The space heaters helped a little but still were not adequate. In addition, we were nervous to use the space heaters given they are known for being fire hazards. As a black male from NYC, this was especially disturbing given this was just weeks following the huge fire in the building in the Bronx that killed so many people in my community. That was a building in a lower income neighborhood that wasn't being properly heated and left the tenants, many of which were minorities, neglected and unsafe.
When I expressed my frustration to Robbie after he dropped the space heaters, he said I would be reimbursed for the night. I was grateful of course. I did express that it was still cold downstairs and Robbie's suggestion was to turn on the oven and leave the door open to heat up the kitchen and living room.
Following our stay, I received a $70 reimbursement out of my total $1,166.18 fee for the two night stay. I reached out to Brandon of course because, considering the total cost to me, the $70 reimbursement hardly seemed fair and reasonable. After some back and forth and trying to explain my perspective as the customer, he said the most he could refund us was $175. I assured him that this was inadequate and that he should absolutely under no circumstances be renting out his house in the winter months with only one HVAC unit when he has clearly been advised by the specialist that the house requires two. He cannot expect tenants to use space heaters which are fire hazards nor to use the oven to heat a room. It is unreasonable and disappointing that he would not accommodate us with a full one night reimbursement given the discomfort and stress that it caused my friends and I.