There's good and there's bad. The location, especially if you are a Vanderbilt student or work at Vanderbilt Medical Center or Baptist Hospital, is unbeatable. But the neighborhood can be a bit dicey: frequent encounters with homeless, some of whom can be frightening, all of whom will ask you for money on a daily basis; noisy helicopters that some will get used to and others will be annoyed by; depending on which side of the building you live on, the noise from The End and The Exit/In can be a problem. A major consideration is whether or not you are up to climbing stairs: the elevators are very, very old, break frequently, and often stay broken for five days to a week at a time. People have to carry big dogs up the stairs or deal with getting to the second floor with a walker, and something as basic as coming home with groceries can turn into a nightmare. Simply put, know that you are moving into a walk-up and try to get on a low floor. Maintenance is extremely slow, not due to incompetence but because there is only one maintenance man for three or four buildings. It can take weeks and weeks. Only four washers and dryers for the entire building, and the washers often break. Frequently the water is shut off without warning, and often at very inconvenient times. New owners are trying to be competitive -- renovations include new cabinets and stainless appliances -- but renters have no control over when the heat is turned on and often it gets very, very cold before the main office (which is in California, I believe) decides to give the okay to heat. And then it can be like a blast furnace: walk by the building in January and note how many air conditioners are on. Heat is dry and unhealthy. Buy a vaporizer or humidifier. And the grounds, especially in front of the building, are disgusting, although a lot of that has more to due with tenants than management: people throw their junk mail on the ground even though a trash can is provided, and a lot of people don't clean up after their dogs even though a pet station is conveniently located. (To well-heeled Vandy students this is a slum, and they treat it, and their neighbors, with no respect.) Besides the location, plusses include incredible storage space: the apartments have lots of closets. Units are good sized. Building is fairly quiet. Rent is high considering the age of the building. Given the competitiveness of the rental market -- and that you can get into one of the new high-rises for under $1500 a month -- I'm surprised that this building still charges so much, but then I think about the location and it makes sense. Other posts have commented on insects, etc. but I have never had any problem. But I would think about it: if you're above the third floor you'll have days-weeks when you rue the day you ever saw the place. And some units have more problems than others, none of which will be solved in any kind of timely fashion. (The problems some people have with leaking radiators from above are notorious.) You take the bad with the good. Or you leave. (But don't even think about breaking your lease.) But there's enough bad to go with the good that you really should think about what you're getting into. Overall, yes. But guardedly.

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