Serenity & views tainted by Scrooge-like owners
From:
-Anonymous-
Date posted:
2/15/2007
Years at this apartment:
2005
-
2007
I have lived in San Francisco for 15 years, and for the past 2 years, I have lived here. When I saw the apartment, approximately 800 sq. ft. on the SSE corner of the building, I pretty much fell in love. Spacious and well laid out, I figured this would be my dream place for the next several years, until the time I might be able to get back in to owning. But there have been issues that mitigate all the positives.
First and foremost is the ownership, Hill & Co. To say they are cheap doesn't begin to do them justice. They also own the larger building next door, and when, a year ago, a 4-alarm fire gutted the whole end of that building nearest to mine, the owners refused to let those tenants in afterwards to try and salvage what they could. The company relented only after receiving poor publicity about this on the evening news. This company also is the only one in all my time in SF to annually raise my rent. True, the building is covered by rent control, and true, they do have that right, but it's not the way to keep long-term tenants. (I know there were several vacancies after that next-door fire.) And it takes years of a $25 monthly increase to make up for one month of vacancy from a tenant who gets tired of rent increases and decides to move. Penny wise, pound foolish.
The building itself it relatively cheaply constructed, as I'm told, thrown up some decades back, like the others in the neighborhood, for the gorgeous view. The walls and ceilings aren't paper-thin, but they are not super-insulating either. That said, most day-to-day activity form neighbors doesn't bother me; it's part of the urban experience, and the neighbors that I occasionally meet in the hall or the laundry room are quite nice.
The building is built on the slope of Twin Peaks at the end of the street, with no other buildings immediately adjacent, a rarity in the neighborhood. There is virtually no traffic noise. In fact, most mornings, the loudest noise I hear are birds chirping on the hillside, a hillside that will never be built upon.
The garages are spacious with extra room to store stuff, but there are no secure storage units in the garage. Also, there is no egress from the garage area directly into the building.
The carpets are an ugly orange, but the building itself is kept clean. The resident manager is responsive, and sympathetic when asked to do something that the owners won't do (like but long-lasting fluorescent bulbs for the public areas, instead of the cheap incandescents that last only a month, often leaving dark areas of hallways).
In the 1BR, the kitchen is slightly small with old appliances, including a dishwasher and a slightly small refrigerator. A large living room features a gas fireplace (the owners pay for the gas) and a nice balcony. Speaking of balconies, they were inspected by the city last year, and the owners did minimal required repairs, but they do nothing in terms of regular maintenance on them, such as annual wood preservative to keep them from rotting.
The bedroom is also nicely sized, and my unit has three large closets.
The laundry room has 2 washers and 2 dryers for the 20 units, generally enough. A wash is $1.25 and a 48-minute dry is $1.00, and you can add additional units of 12 minutes for 25 cents.
Last year, the building lost hot water. The owners had the hot water heater fixed by the next day, which was nicely responsive. However, looking at the job done, in the laundry room, even though I'm no expert, it still looks like a jerry rigged job.
More recent issues have included not enough hot water in the mornings.
If it weren't for the poor ownership, this would be a fantastic place to live, especially considering the relatively low rent for the view. But the owners do only minimally required maintenance. Realistically, though, this is the only significant ding, as the neighborhood is good, as are the neighbors.
|
|
I'm the author!
Free estimates on moving trucks
Free quotes on movers
