3600 Penn Ave Apartamentos

The apartment itself and garden are very nice, that being said, I would personally not recommend this apartment:

-No modern appliances in kitchen (microwave, dishwasher)

-No laundry on site

-Not great value for money - new loft apartments opposite have onsite laundry, new, indoor parking for the same cost or less.

-INTERNET ISSUES: Historic building status meant no Fios high speed internet because of installation requirements, huge pain. I shopped around for a “high speed” DSL plan from... Verizon. I don’t know if it was the plan or location but the internet cut out a lot (sometimes for as long as a day) and when I bought or rented iTunes movies they were impossible to watch. I ended up just using unlimited data on my phone to watch Netflix.

-BAD INSULATION & BOILING in summer, no central air, window air conditioners not allowed. Portable air conditioner was really expensive and not as effective as window air conditioners. I had mine running A LOT in the summer as the apartment got really hot. I ended up working in coffee shops b/c it was too hot to work even with a $600 air conditioning unit and fans running. BILLS BILLS BILLS.

-DRAFTY WINDOWS, FREEZING in winter. There was always a breeze in the apartment, windows don't close fully. Apartment never warmed up. Included heating was often below temperature [was told heating is "not guaranteed"] I was running a space heater throughout the winter. The heating also happened to break during the coldest part of the winter which really emphasised how drafty the apartment was, so I had to wear my coat/hat/gloves inside for four days. Temp reached 45 degrees indoors!

-CHANGING HOUSE RULES; a lot of house rules to follow (eg email permission for guests in yard), many of which were not in the lease and which I ended up getting charged for out of my security deposit. Clashed with the landlady on what I thought reasonable issues and often felt bullied and harassed. Would have moved out sooner if it wasn't for the deposit/lease. Charged for damage I did not cause.

-If you decide to go for this apartment, I would definitely recommend documenting all correspondence (although this is advice I would now give for anyone renting anywhere). Make sure you take photographs of the apartment when you move in, including any damage, so that you don’t get charged for it when you move out. Also take pictures of everything when you leave, including the lightbulbs to show they are all in working order. Lee mas