Pros:
When it comes to communication, Chris excels and responds with lightning speed. He was very nice and even informed me when exterior pest control was coming as it may affect my lungs since I am immunocompromised.
The neighborhood is nice and it's safe to park on the street.
There is an exterior patio which is difficult to find in the area.
I was able to book last minute and Chris let me know the unit was available longer than I initially requested.
The wifi was fast.
Lots of outlets and hangers available, even some office supplies.
Hot water was never an issue in the kitchen or bathroom.
Cons:
The washer and dryer are not in-unit but rather around the back of the six-unit property and it cost $2 for a wash in quarters. I knew it wasn't in-unit but didn't realize I had to pay in quarters each time I used the shared laundry room. Not a big deal as it could be worse, but it was a pain for me to carry my laundry around the back of the house next door to get to the laundry room. It isn't a pain for the other units as their patios open to the back where the laundry room is located. Same with the trash and recycling.
The grassy area in front is shared so it can get noisy with no sound proofing and old windows.
The kitchen is tiny and there really is nowhere to put larger non-perishables and nowhere to chop anything or put anything while doing dishes. I felt it was very cramped. It is also ancient and in dire need of updating. The porcelain sink was chipped and stained and looked like someone tried to paint it but did a poor job. The mini fridge was too small for my needs and the extra mini fridge outside didn't seem to get cold so I never used it.
The walls throughout were stained and the old skylights seemed to allow mosquitoes in -- couldn't figure out where else they could be coming in from but they were everywhere including on the bathroom ceiling as someone clearly killed them and left them there. A thorough cleaning and a fresh coat of paint is needed.
Before pest control came, there was an issue with what looked like termites dropping from the ceiling. Not surprising considering there is wood throughout on the ceiling.
When I stripped the bed, I could see there was a huge stain on the mattress cover and stains all over the pillows. I used my own pillowcase but was a bit grossed out when I saw this. New pillows and mattress cover are definitely needed.
The ceiling in the bedroom is wood as are the walls and it attracts bugs but also heat with the raised ceiling and unfortunately there was no way to cool it off.
The portable ac that can only be used in the living room turned on but didn't work in the space because normal windows that open up and down were needed to get the hot air from the compressor out and with the louver windows in the living room, that wasn't possible not to mention the couch was in the way. So I was there for three heatwaves and this became problematic for me though I imagine in the winter, it's great. For the first two heatwaves, I left and went to a hotel with proper air conditioning. For the third I had a severe asthma attack due to the extreme heat and had to check out early. Chris was very nice about it though to his credit.
The rugs were in bad shape and heavily stained and used. There was what appeared to be dried dog poop or something that looked like it on one of the rugs that I was able to remove with soap and water. The other two rugs really weren't even necessary and should probably be thrown away as they just collect dirt and don't look very good plus the parkay floors are lovely and should be shown off. The one feature of an older property that holds up.
There was no proper vacuum, only an old Dust buster style vacuum that didn't work well and no mop so I had to wipe the floors on my hands and knees. The place didn't seem very clean, was very dusty, and the blinds in the bedroom were broken. Also at the top of the bedroom window, there was no covering which is actually really nice to view the trees but not great for early sunrises.
Overall Chris is a great host but the property needs work.