Read This First Before You Rent:

Here are some things you won't learn until you get here:

1. The 'shared kitchen' is the only entry way to the upstairs units. So when they arrive home drunk at 3 am, you are sure to hear them. (I did, 3 times.)

2. The "private" bathroom is actually two phone-booth-sized rooms off the kitchen. So you have to walk thru a public space to get to the toilet or the shower. Hope you're wearing pants.

3. The toilet is so tiny you can't actually sit on the john the way you normally would. You have to sit at a 45-degree angle. This can't possibly be up to code.

4. The similarly teensy shower has about 15 inches of room between the curtain and the door -- not enough room to get dressed before you enter the shared kitchen. So you either have to walk thru this semi-public space in a towel or put your clothes on in the shower itself.

5. This unit is advertised as an "entire home" on Airbnb, but given those above facts, it really shouldn't be. The only thing that's private about the bathroom is the faded handwritten sign that says "please don't use this unless you're staying in the studio." So this is more like a room in a townhouse.

6. Also: The shower smells bad. The water is musty and sulpherous. Is water supposed to have a smell? I think not.

7. There are paint cans and other stuff on top of the fridge in the shared kitchen and elsewhere. It's more like a storage/work room than something you'd think about cooking in.

8. The bed is advertised as a queen. If so, it's the smallest queen I've ever slept on. I think it's actually a full or a double.

9. The ad claims the unit can sleep 4. Maybe if you're part of a traveling troupe of circus midgets. There's the alleged queen bed and a standard couch -- not a fold out. Also an un-inflated air mattress on top of a dresser.

10. The unit is advertised on Airbnb at $99 a night. My rate was closer to $200 with all fees etc. And I couldn't find a night over the next three months available for less than $139, plus fees. I don't know why Airbnb lets them get away with this.

Finally: The neighborhood is OK. The unit is a block away from St. Mark's Place, which is certainly fun and lively. But that means it's also not quiet. You'll hear cop cars and ambulances zooming by on 2nd, and drunks on the street.

If all you're looking for is an affordable place to crash after partying and you don't care about anything else, then maybe. But I'm never going back. As one of my upstairs neighbors said when I asked what she thought about her unit, "It served its purpose." That's about the best I could say.