Dexter House Apartments

I just completed over 10 years in this building. Living at this building poses challenges but with a little effort you can get a good apartment at a rate far less than the market. It's an excellent place to live if you are a recent graduate working in downtown and need to be close and are short on cash. The building is in a superb location with a bus stop 200ft away w/service until 1am or later. There is quick access to I5 and plenty of lot parking, though street parking is tight and getting... more so with time. The decks and views on this building are indeed amazing! For the 1BR units focus on the #04 units, they have a double sized deck and slightly larger floor space. All units have decent sized floor plans with lots of room, I had full size couch, dining table, large desk, tv center etc with lots of room left over. You can negotiate leases with the building owner directly. Water, garbage are included.

And now the bad. This building's design has serious security issues with many open and accessible walkways and decks. Additionally the exterior doors are not reliably closed and locked and due to high turnover there is no tenant community, so no one is watching. The owner is milking the property for as much income as they can and does not understand their legal obligations as a landlord. Be prepared to push with them to get the things you need done to your unit such as fixing a leaky faucet. As English is their second language communication can be challenging, so get everything, even minor things in writing, do not rely on verbal agreements.

As this is an older building it has baseboard heat and single pane windows, winter electric bills can be as much as $100 /month. The kitchen layouts are dated and poor, not a good place if you like to cook. The finish work in units is poor quality, remodeling is inconsistent and some units are still vintage 60s. This building has iron pipes and water can be discolored initially if you are gone for a week . There are no amenities beyond coin-op laundry despite space for it on the ground floor and the common area furnishing is dated and "institutional". The building has a small, old and slow elevator, you cannot fit some standard sized furniture in it which can make moving in and out hard. There have been 2 minor fires in the last 10 years, both caused by tenants, a draw back of lower rent, young tenants and turnover. Read More