For the price, it was a great deal considering it was kinda last minute and around the New Year's. The positives are:
- very private: separate entrance, the entire basement to yourself, private kitchen and bathroom
- easy entrance (door unlocks when you enter a code), so no need to worry about forgetting the keys
- quiet neighborhood that feels safe
- if you drive, there's Walmart and a supermarket (with lots of great Russian food!) nearby (10-minute drive) as well as Starbucks and a few restaurants
- lots of free street parking right next to the house
- we didn't communicate much with Wynter but when we did, she was very cordial and responded in a timely manner
- washer and dryer were very helpful!
However, there were a few things we were not aware of/did not expect, including:
- the boiler in the basement was loud. My boyfriend and I are not light sleepers but we could only sleep with white noise playing in headphones because it was really loud. Our friend didn't have a problem sleeping though. Basically, if you are a light sleeper, it might not be your best option.
- there was no heater in the space and the AC controls did not make much difference. so we were a bit cold
- the sink in the kitchen did not work so we had to wash dishes in the bathroom sink, which, as you could imagine, was not fun
- the door to the basement has a lock on the handle on the inside that, when it's in the locked state, can be opened from the inside but not from the outside. Meaning, if you forget to unlock the basement door when you leave, you'll be locked out. We got locked out at 1.30 am. It would be great to give the guests a key from that lock - or put it in the open access in the lobby - or put a note next to the basement door reminding to unlock it before leaving.
- location: if you plan to spend lots of time in downtown, the commute will be draining. It took us about an hour to get there, and we had to take a bus to Jefferson Park and then spend about 40 minutes in the subway on the train. Buses stop circulating at some point in the evening and walking from Jefferson Park to the house takes 25 minutes. Basically, we had to go to downtown for the entire day with all our food for the day because going back home to change/eat/rest was not an option - too time-consuming. That wouldn't be as much of a problem in summer but we didn't enjoy this in late December.
Overall, I'd recommend this place if you're okay with a long commute and value privacy and the full-on apartment setup (kitchen, bathroom, lots of sleeping space) for a very reasonable price.