99 Salem St Unit #1
APARTMENT AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT WARNING
I wanted to provide fair warning to anyone currently apartment hunting. I have lived in this Unit for 2 years and strongly suggest anyone considering to look elsewhere.
I have included a short summary below of pros and cons and anyone considering the apartment can read further!
Pros:
Location - In the heart of North End. Tons of restaurants, bars, shops, and stations nearby.
Price - $4200 is a steal for the size of the kitchen and 2 out of 3 of the rooms are great. One is big room, other has great sunlight, 3rd room is a shoebox.
Cons:
Cockroaches infestation - we’ve consistently caught 100+ cockroaches on sticky traps year round. They are everywhere all the time.
Mouse infestation - Mouse droplets all over counters and food prep stations. Will see them running around when you come home from work. When you turn stove on or open dishwasher they will scurry out. I witnessed one the size of a football (not really) but it had to of been pregnant or a rat that snuck in through a bigger hole.
Inexperienced Property Management and Landlord - Property was purchased from a local about 2 years ago. Little to no renovation was done and then was just slapped on the market. She has no idea what she’s doing which is nice at times because it’s simple with little to no rules but a nightmare when things go wrong.
Sushi Odor - It doesn’t sound bad at first, but picture yourself hungover on the weekend or getting ready for work on Monday and overwhelming raw fish odor hits you in the face in your 82 degree bathroom.
Grimy - It’s just a gross unit. We’ve had 4-5 mouse die in our apartment one stained our rug, one decomposed inside my bedroom wall and I had to find somewhere to live for 2 weeks while it dried out because the landlord refused to remove it. We’ve had 3 failed health inspections, cockroaches and bugs dead in the lightbulb casings, and trash/fish smell 24/7.
Explanations:
Pest issues are common in the North End, but working with this property management group and landlord makes it so much worse.
We have had consistent cockroach and mouse activity in our unit throughout the 2 years. Over a dozen pest control visits and no resolution.
Although the landlord does send pest control companies which has been her only effort - they are inexperienced and unable to fully do there job. Many of the exterminators said they can’t reach behind stove fridge or dishwasher due to liability concerns and our landlord has not given them the opportunity to fully inspect and exterminate.
She is new to residential properties and is very inexperienced. She is looking for the cheapest possible way to do everything and after about 3-4 months it starts to personally affect your wellbeing at home.
The unit is located right above North End Sushi, so consistent fish odor through apartment (horrible at 7am)
The Kitchen has no windows except 1 false window which goes to enclosed exterior room. Little to no airflow or sunlight.
Plumbing is a major headache. Drains clogged left and right and toilet repairs 3-4x throughout 2 years.
No Central AC isn’t horrible but in this unit/building it is. The insulation is brutal. Any air you bring in goes right back out.