Its A Good Life

Flaws:
— The owner cares more about the outside impression people have of things — the front of the building is immaculately clean, but the back and rooms have major problems that are not death with in a timely manner:
— Not many people use the kitchen at regular hours, so it’s not competitive, but those who do use the kitchen tend to leave quite a mess — their parent’s didn’t teach them good habits. Professional cleaners only come once every two weeks, which is not nearly enough. Food has been known to disappear from the communal fridge, as have pans left in the kitchen cupboards. Do yourself a favor and actually look in the cupboards and fridge if you’re thinking of renting. The owner cleans the kitchen carpet and countertop himself before showing it to potential renters, but that’s not usually how it looks. Also, the garbage can fills up as no one throws it out and even some people throw their room trash out in the kitchen rather than taking it a few feet further to the bin outside. The owner just shrugs at these problems off as if there were nothing he could do and the kitchen leaves a lot to be desired. I’ve uploaded photos of maggot infestations that have taken a few days for him to take care of and other kitchen disasters.
— There are leaks in some locations when it rains heavily, but the owner doesn’t think that happens often enough to worry about.
— The walls are very thin
— Air conditioning can be a problem as it is uneven — some rooms are cold, others are hot; same for heating. Several people moved out because this was not addressed in a timely manner.
— Microwaves in the rooms is convenient, but when used with the fridge OFTEN trips the breaker, which shuts off the lights in most rooms; this is frequent enough to be very annoying. Breaker box does not label circuits.
— Mail is often not delivered in a timely manner — things are delivered to the office, then the owner delivers them to each individual mailbox which is inside. The owner is often not in the office for days at a time (though he will tell you that he is almost always there), so urgent packages might not reach you. FedEx and UPS supposedly have keys and will deliver inside to your door, but in reality this has been a problem when staff at these companies change and don’t pass along the key. The owner shrugs and doesn’t think this is not his problem.
— The post office will NOT forward your mail after you have moved from this address, because it is officially registered as a business. There are a bunch of semi-​sketchy things going on here — the owner only changes something when it threatens his bottom line. Carbon-​monoxide detectors were finally installed and operable windows on all north facing apartments, despite the fact that not having operable windows (escape routes) was illegal and dangerous.
— Note: half of apartments (south side) come with beds, ceiling fans, built-​in closets and wi-​fi, but north side has none of these things (ethernet available, supply your own wi-​fi). I don’t know if there is a price differential.
— There are quite a few smokers — while they are not allowed to smoke in the building, they smoke on the patio, which is illegal according to San Jose ordinance as of June 2014. The owner knows about this but does not care.
— You will pay at least $ 85 dollars (of your deposit) when moving out for the owner to vacuum and shampoo carpets himself, regardless of your length of stay.
— If you lock yourself out, it costs $ 50 each time to get a locksmith to come open it for you. The owner is not available and usually will not respond to any problems on weekends, unless he has already planned to be there. You are likely to lock yourself out at least once — it seems to happen to everyone here.
— 2 washing machines ($ 1.50 per load)/ 2 dryers for 40 units
Advantages:
— Month-​to-​month
— Utilities are all-​included in the price
— Couples are allowed, probably for the same price as one person, making the price reasonable; roommates may be possible
— Price used to be more reasonable, but has been increasing. Still, price is good for San Jose, if the location is convenient for you and flexibility (no lease) is important.
— Rooms are generally big enough, and come mostly furnished (closet, tv, microwave, internet, cable, small fridge) and with full bath
— Off-​street parking is sufficient for all and included in rent (for 1 car)
— Bicycle parking is locked and gate (but crowded)
— Close to a few nice parks; close to SJSU
— Neighborhood is generally safe, but a few blocks away has some gang activity — I never had any problems, but there are a lot of homeless people on the street and special housing nearby. This can feel kind of creepy, but I never had any problems and i used to walk and jog everywhere.
— Some of the residents here are older, longer term and very nice. Others are young professionals, some are college students. You are unlikely to see people very often; they don’t hang out here in the common areas.
— Nice patio