The good, the bad, and the ugly:
The good-
*this unit is well located just blocks from St. Ed’s university, South Congress, public transportation and a grocery store.
The bad-
*the unit is as small as stated in the write up but what isn’t stated is that is just 2 1970s size bedrooms and a bath separated from the main house by an outside door installed in the hallway so whomever is living in the other side is basically your roommate. Luckily, the guy who was staying there when I was there was very courteous but you can literally hear if they are watching tv, going to the restroom or snoring.
*You’re unit will also fill with what ever smells they have going like cooking.
*The central AC is also controlled by that side -(you’ll have 1 to 2 window units on your side but Garret expects them off when you are out) so your whole house will be hot when you return as there is no common airflow.
*This property has brown painted subfloor as the flooring so you’re constantly getting little paint bits stuck to your feet or socks and if you have to move any furniture the floors have been scuffed beyond recognition below.
*When I arrived the entire space smelled of mold and sweat ( think men’s locker room) and was generally filthy with the exception of clean linens on the bed and a wipes down sink. Even the shower curtain has a fair amount of mildew on it so be prepared to replace some of these things with your own during the stay.
*The unit is on the back side of the property facing 2 abandoned units so the yard and surround are unkept and wild animals wonder through (maybe I should have listed this as a plus).
The ugly-
* Roaches!! So many roaches!! Garret has a small lit sticky trap for the unit but it was no match for the sheer amount there were. Wood roaches, German cockroaches and the likes. I ended up getting another of the lit sticky traps and put down a gel to kill them which did minimize them substantially but be aware they are ever present.
And last but I feel not least..
*Garret...
Overall he seems like a good guy but his way too laid back attitude ends up giving you a less than stellar experience. The property is littered with Garret’s finds.. the carport is basically hoarded with stuff. There are always random objects appearing along the side of the building and Garret himself has said the whole of the underneath is piled full of extra this and that. Garret rarely shows up at the time he has said but he will show up on random dates and times leaving you messages about why your AC is on or why you left the porch light on if you’re away. My final straw with my stay was when Garret let himself into the unit without consulting me first and turned off the AC units and the lights with my pet guinea pigs inside in Austin summer (July) leaving them in the dark and hot over night while I was away and left me climbing the uneven walk and rickety rock step in the dark only to enter a unit I left cool and lit being dark and over 80 degrees. I didn’t stay another night and removed all my belonging the next week because I no longer felt safe in the unit but Garret definitely kept my money for the remaining 2 weeks even though I was long gone.
If you’re looking for a single dude crash pad and don’t care much about cleanliness, quality of goods, noise or safety and have a wad of cash to blow for close proximity to the south Austin laid back vibe then welcome home.