r/Somerville

I'm going to be homeless in 2 days and I've got nowhere to go.

I have tried reaching out to shelters but most are currently full. My other alternative is sleeping in my car temporarily until I can figure things out and save up for a new apartment.

I've never been homeless so I'm looking for some advice that'll get me better prepared for it.

I was wondering if anyone knows any safe places in sommerville where I can park and sleep in my car overnight? Also where to shower? Any other tips that might be helpful?.

I am 25M and I'm super worried because I've never been in this situation. Any suggestions or advice would be really appreciated.

Sometimes I'll see people just yeet fast food bags out the car window, like wtf? And I find tons and tons of litter all over even where there's trash cans just a few feet away. People who do this suck. How selfish do you have to be to ruin the environment and cause a mess for everyone else to save maybe fifteen seconds of effort?

I’m a homeowner building a backyard cottage/ADU here in Somerville, and I thought I’d share my costs and experience along the way and hopefully answer some questions for anyone considering doing the same.

Somerville already had accessory dwelling units (ADUs) when it overhauled its zoning in 2019, but it calls them “backyard cottages.” Backyard cottages have somewhat more stringent zoning requirements, but in theory you can build up to ~1,500 square feet if you meet all of the setback and other requirements. The state-protected ADU law allows up to 900 square feet with more relaxed requirements. In theory, under state law, you could build both if you have enough room on your lot, although the city is working to close that loophole.

I’m building a ~1,500-square-foot, 3-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom backyard cottage for my aging parents. I expect the final cost to land somewhere around $400k–$500k and about 3-4 months to complete. On average you'd pay a GC 20%-25% to manage this project, in theory by taking on another full time job that is what I am saving. The market value of these cottages are about $1.3mm here: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/16-Hamlet-St-16-Somerville-MA-02143/461573621_zpid/ https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/192-Washington-St-R-Somerville-MA-02143/461740757_zpid/

Some of my thoughts so far:

The permitting process is brutal. I started this process in January and finally got the permit to pour my foundation only last month. Somerville has a two-step process where you have to pour the foundation before you can get the building permit.

The permitting process here is extremely long and arduous, with a lot of red tape, a crazy amount of paperwork, and understaffed departments. My mother is a GC out in the Midwest, and she estimates this entire process would have taken her about a month there.

The design requirements can be overly restrictive. The design standards here can feel very subjective and overly controlling. For example, the acceptable roof designs are fairly limited, which is why you tend to see so many backyard cottages designed with cross-gables like the listings above. They are accepting feed back on it as they are looking to change it due to a group of citizens submitting their own zoning amendments to shring how big you can build an backyard cottage. https://www.facebook.com/BenForWard3Somerville/posts/somerville-was-an-early-adopter-of-the-backyard-cottage-aka-accessory-dwelling-u/1512607274197644/

The electrical requirements are another example. I have to pay Eversource roughly $12k to trench from across the street to my house, and then pay another contractor to trench and install conduit from there to the rear of my property. There’s nothing physically preventing me from keeping the existing aerial electrical connection to my house and running a line through my open basement to the rear of the property, which would save me roughly 75% of the cost.

Finding contractors willing to work in Somerville has been difficult. There is no shortage of contractors in Massachusetts. There is, however, a shortage of contractors who want to work in Somerville. The city has a reputation for being difficult to work in, and I’ve found that reputation to be mostly true especially if you aren’t already familiar with the process.

You can find plenty of threads here on Reddit and in local Facebook groups from people expressing similar frustrations. Once you get past that hurdle, sorting through the contractors who are willing to work here and finding the good ones has been another challenge.

Financing: I’m funding the project with a HELOC on my house. In the end, building the ADU made more financial sense for me than selling my house and buying a new one. Given current interest rates, buying a comparable-size house elsewhere would have meant paying roughly 2–3x my current mortgage.

Massachusetts also has 0% interest loans available for ADU construction, although there are income limits. For Eastern Massachusetts, the limit is around $250k. (https://www.masshousing.com/en/home-ownership/homeowners/adu)

They are digging the hole for the foundation and I will update as my project progresses.

Item	Budget	Actual	Under/(Over)
Survey	$2,000	$1,850	+$150
Permit fee	$1,000	$600	+$400
Civil Engineering	$5,000	$3,600	+$1,400
HERS Rater	$2,000	$1,850	+$150
Architect	$25,000	$30,000	-$5,000
Sewer Video & Jetting	$0	$700	-$700
Foundation Permit	$500	$580	-$80
Lumber Order	$12,000	$12,140	-$140
Excavation	$15,000	$20,000	-$5,000
Total	$62,500	$71,320	-$8,820

I've lived on the second floor of a triple decker since 2023. Every summer, without fail, one bedroom starts smelling strongly of maple syrup. Not faint — everyone I bring into the house comments on it unprompted. It fades when the weather cools and comes back when it warms up. When it's winter and the heat is on, I keep it at 65. The summers here are 80 - 95 degrees.

What I've ruled out:

• Not the neighbors' AC. The upstairs unit doesn't run a window unit above that room (antifreeze can smell like this)
• Not spreading. The adjacent rooms smell completely normal. It's that one room.
• Not a live hive. I've listened to the walls and hear no buzzing — and it doesn't smell like honey or wax anyway.
• Not a building-wide thing. None of the other units have it, and nobody remembers the previous tenant ever mentioning it. He's since passed, so I can't ask him.

The room itself: baseboard heat, old pine floors, horsehair plaster walls hidden behind vinyl fake-wood paneling, drop tile ceiling. The only thing I've come up with is old adhesive behind the paneling off-gassing harder as the room warms, but that's a guess.

Has anyone tracked down a seasonal smell like this? Mainly I want to know if there's a way to localize it short of opening a wall. What kind of service would I even call to figure it out?

To the person on wheatland st who owns the grey and white cat, you own a fucking demon. My dog went to sniff it a year ago and now that thing keeps attacking my dog. This morning it was dark and it lunged at my dog scratching him, my dog ran away. No matter which way we walk we always cross paths. Idk what to do at this point, highly doubt the owner is on Reddit but it’s worth a shot

The letter on the front door says it’s permanent. I loved that place!

Anybody happen to know why? Rent too high?

Hi! I’m moving to Somerville from an hour-ish away and selling my car as soon as I’m done using it to move (fuck cars). I’m hoping I won’t own it past October and am planning to just rent a space in my driveway for the month of September. Do you think I can avoid paying the annual registration fee if it’s just in a driveway, street parked with a friend’s guest pass while I use it to help said friend move down the block from me, and otherwise not being used/truly just tucked away in the driveway til it sells in a couple weeks?

Thanks! I’m excited to finally live here after visiting/enjoying it here for so long

Just went to a 6 month cleaning and cavity filling at Alpha Dental, right in Ball Sq. What I experienced was the least professional and downright scary dental cleaning ever. I posted a 1 star google review right after leaving. The whole cleaning took about 25 minutes, where the dentist, yes DENTIST, did the cleaning at such a breakneck speed that I felt like my enamel was at risk. I have no idea why no oral hygenist was doing the cleaning, but the dentist reassured me after I told her to slow down and take her time, that "everyone likes her cleanings and always feel fresh". She barely flurorided and flossed, didnt clean any of my back molars, and continously worked fast and loose, hardly getting into any areas of my mouth that needed attention. When she asked me if I felt clean afterwards, I told her no, and asked if she could go back towards my wisdom teeth she refused saying they were too far in the back of my mouth to clean... I told them there was no way in hell I would be making a follow up appointment and they really didnt even seem that surprised. They also said I had no cavity, even tho I had a dentist 6 months ago say I did. I stupidly did not get it filled then.

I have never had a cleaning so bad, uncomfy, rushed, and unprofessional. DO NOT GO.

Currently flabbergasted as to how this place is allowed to operate as a dental practice, and on the phone with my insurance to see if they can invalidate the cleaning so I can go somewhere else.

If you are moving in or moving out you should know your rights as they apply to your security deposit. So many landlords blatantly ignore the law and their failure to follow the law can result in any of the following; forfeit any right to withhold any of the deposit, force them to immediately return the deposit to you (at beginning of lease no need to wait to the end) and even award you triple damages and attorney fees.

For those moving in or renewing a lease you will be able to demand the return of your deposit thirty days after your lease is signed if landlord fails to put in escrow and supply account info (wouldn't do this if you want to renew next year : ) Also can demand return if they include clauses in lease that contradict the law.

AI generated:
Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 186, Section 15B, landlords immediately forfeit the right to retain a security deposit if they fail to properly escrow funds, document damages with sworn statements, include illegal lease terms, or transfer deposits upon property sale. Mandatory triple damages are triggered when a landlord violates statutory obligations regarding escrow, property transfers, or fails to return the deposit within 30 days of lease termination. Read the full text of the statute at malegislature.gov.

I think sections 3,6, and 7 are most relevant.
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/mass-general-laws-c186-ss-15b

Anyone see two guys on a moped getting chased by cop cars? They just flew through ball square and wondering what the deal was..

I moved into a newly renovated place (in an old house though) in May. In the first couple months I spotted a mouse at night in the kitchen, so I told the landlord. He assured me they had pest control come annually and they’d just come in February, and gave me some traps.

I put probably 10 traps around the kitchen where I saw him traveling, with chocolate and PB, and left them for about a month with no results. I saw no signs of the mouse so I gave up. Granted I still keep my place SUPER clean, literally my entire pantry is in zip lock bags and I take the trash out every other day. There is no food for them at all.

Anyway, a couple days ago I’m sitting on the couch and he comes running through the living room straight under me on the couch. There’s no food or anything outside of the kitchen so I’m shocked that he would come that way, and worried that might indicate a big mouse problem at this point. That said I don’t ever hear them squeaking or moving in the walls even at night so I also don’t think it’s a full infestation.. yet.

I texted my landlord more sternly asking about pest control because there are some openings (behind washer/dryer mainly) where I can see droppings and have seen him travel along.

I’m so stuck because everything online says if you place a few traps you usually can get them within a day or two and I’ve never even seen them come out when I have traps down, despite definitely coming out otherwise. And my landlord seems stubborn to not spend more money on pest control despite it being his responsibility.

Any tips? Should i pester my landlord more or try more DIY solutions? Thanks!

My wife and I are looking for a solid local DJ for a 70s themed joint birthday party in the Somerville/Cambridge area. It'll be in a house/condo so preferably a smaller setup is ideal and will be around 25-35 people (all late twenties/early thirties crowd). We're going all-in on the 70s vibe so disco/funk would be dope along with some modern songs mixed in, especially as the night progresses.

We would love to have someone local and preferably female. If anyone is interested or can point us in the right direction to find someone that would be so appreciated, we have sort of struck out with some of the "DJ finders" online since they're more oriented towards weddings and such, so hoping Reddit can come to the rescue.

Thanks!

I’m a tenant in the Somerville area and I recently figured out why my electric bill has been so high. My neighbor’s outdoor AC condenser is wired to my electric meter, so I’ve been paying for their air conditioning on my own bill for months.
I have been keeping the switch off of course and these past few weeks my meter is running regularly but the landlord never believed me and I had to figure this out in my own. After my neighbors complaint here is what happened:
• A technician who came out found the miswiring.
• My neighbor confirmed to me (in writing) that it’s his AC.
• I made an unedited, continuous video showing that when I flip a specific breaker in my own panel, the outdoor condenser turns on and off — while my own AC (a window unit) stays off the whole time. So it’s clearly his equipment on my meter.
• I have my electric billing history showing the pattern.
What’s frustrating: the landlord is denying there’s any problem and told me that if I’m unhappy I should “look for another place.” I’ve already flipped the breaker off (and taped a note on it) so I’m not bleeding money going forward, and I’ve filed a complaint with the local inspection/health department.
I also have a consultation booked with a tenant lawyer.
My questions:
1. What’s the smartest order of steps from here to actually get reimbursed for what I’ve already overpaid?
2. Has anyone actually recovered money for something like this — through the utility billing process, small claims, or a consumer-protection (93A) claim? What did it realistically look like (amount, timeline)?
3. Is a lawyer worth it for this, or is small claims something people handle themselves? These claims can shift attorney’s fees to the landlord if I win — does that change the math?
4. Anything I should be careful about or documenting that I might be missing?
5. Given the “look for another place” comment after I complained — how seriously do people take retaliation here, and does it change how I should approach this?
I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s dealt with cross-metering or utility overbilling as a tenant. Thanks in advance.