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Well I'm an avid Craigslist user, and so far I've been using that as my main resource for locating apartment units for rent in Midtown.
We were just about to move into a unit at 38th and Central last night right by the CVS on Broadway, and -- needless to say, wow, not what we remembered seeing the first time.
- Dead baby cockroaches in 50-60% of the cabinetry and cupboards in the kitchen. Anyone knows where there's some of those little things, there's thousands and thousands more. After a previous apartment gave me the gift of waking up to a cockroach crawling under my shirt... up my stomach... I'll never do that again.
- A toilet paper roll with a mysterious 'brown smudge' on the top outter edge in one of our kitchen cabinets. Hmm? Sanitary? Very!
- A used toilet seat magically appeared under out kitchen sink. What? Under the kitchen sink? I can't even begin to think of how they would explain that one.
- A gaping hole in the ceiling of the kitchen 'pantry'.. if you even want to call it that. I wouldn't put anything open or perishable in there, God knows what creature comes through that opening in the wee hours of night.
- Multiple door knobs missing, in fact, one of the bedrooms that had two separate doors had NO door knobs whatsoever.
- Every single window in the unit is painted completely shut. We tried for 10 minutes to open one up... probably would have pulled the handle plum off the window frame if we wouldn't have realized what had happened.
- Lights mis-wired and shorts everywhere in the wiring. One bedroom light would come on for 5 minutes, then immediately shut back off.
- The main hallway/stairwell, which had lights the day before, suddenly was pitch black on our MOVE-IN DAY, while we're carrying 200 pound pieces of furniture up wet... pitch black stairs. Lost count of how many times I about fell and busted my noggin' on the ground.
- Mini-blinds didn't come with the apartment, even though in the other units in the building we looked at.. they were provided. Mini-blinds don't come with an apartment? Especially one with steel bars welded over the windows? Great hospitality -- let me tell you.
- There was multiple piles of trash outside in the front lawn the day before and we were assured this would all be picked up immediately the following morning which was our move-in day -- needless to say, that didn't happen either. There actually appeared to be more trash out there. I know some of you will come on here and start your 'don't know how to live in the city' rants, but come on. She even stated to me that some people pulled up to the apartment building to look at it when they saw the ad on Craigslist... and they wouldn't even come in because of the hideous exterior image! They just pulled right back off.
- Multipe things in the bathroom looked like they had a 30 second patch job the evening before our move-in day, then a quick glob of paint thrown on them to call it 'good'. Not to mention the shelves in the corner of the bathroom (I suppose meant for towels or the latter) that would fall off and crush you if you even moved them a centimeter. Also, the towel rack was pretty much just hanging there by a 'thread'.
- The management was some of the sketchiest I've seen yet. The realtor couldn't even get ahold of them all day yesterday (keep in mind -- our damn MOVE-IN DAY), lord knows how they will be 6 months down the road.. especially if you're 'just' a tenant.
This unit is located at 3817-19 Central Street. I wouldn't recommend my DOG to live in this ****hole, so if you are apartment searching, avoid that part of that street, these guys are slumlords at their finest. The realtor's name is Linda, one of the manager's names is Andre, and his brother is a doctor so if you find yourself working with these people, do yourself a favor and back out immediately!
Now that's all out there... I'm looking for suggestions on apartments in the Midtown area. We looked at one at 37th and Wyoming and it was pretty decent -- any information on this area of Midtown/Westport?
Will gladly accept any recommendations any of you have regarding units in this partciular area. We are NOT interested in the Johnson County area -- you couldn't pay me to live in that place.. some of the most snobby and egotistical people I have ever encountered. Bring your noses down folks -- you're not any better than anyone else, regardless of where you live or what you think about it.
Look forward to some responses, hopefully my initial rant about the 38th and Central apartment will help some of you avoid future renting problems! I don't know any of you personally (obviously), but if someone was offering me a $500 reference fee to one of you for that apartment, I still wouldn't recommend it. Those people are out just looking to catch fools, and unfortunately, we were initially fooled but will not be again.
Yea, seems like the 39th corridor between Main and Broadway has really turned a bit ghetto lately. It might be because of all the renewal going on in the rest of Downtown/Midtown and the slumlords have been sort of pushed into that little area.
I don't have any specific recommendations, but I'm sure you will find something in Midtown/Wesport/Downtown/Plaza.
I would love to live on a high floor of 909 Walnut. What an awesome place that would be to live. But I don't know the rates and I think it stays pretty full.
I know cityplace in Westport always seems to have good review too.
Good thing you saw all that before you moved in! I don't have any advice about apartments in that area. I did live on Warwick years ago in a big house divided up into apartments. I don't remember the address, maybe in the 3700 to 3800 block? The apartments were nice but the landlord was a jerk, drove a Ferrari and thought he was someone.
What's at 909 Walnut, kcmo? It that one of the new lofts down there?
Edit - Okay, never mind - I just looked it up. Kansas City Lofts :: 909 Walnut I would love to have a view to the west in a high building like that (so I could watch storms approaching). I love to be up high. I was standing with my kids (all college age) up at the top of the Kansas Union, at the highest point you can go outside, and looking out over everything and told my kids how I loved being up there, and I said "You know I love to be high" - and they thought that was hilarious and now tease me all the time about how I like to be high.
hey mike - i don'y have any specific info on 37th/Wyoming...sorry
my two cents? this isn't THAT close to westport, but go a few blocks west of SW trafficway ... check out the area around terrace/bell streets @ 39th. there are some 6-plexes on Valentine ... or at least there was 3-5 years ago ...?
I have rented 3 different times between 40-42nd and Main-Warwick (my nomad years - i even stayed in a house divided up into apts! funny!) and on 40th/Walnut ... everything is drafty/expensive to heat and needs updating!! (and I'm being KIND).
sorry but if on warwick i wouldn't go N of 41st! man things change QUICK!!!!
there is a bldg right behind the QT at 44th/Main - sounds bad but the bldg looks nice. not sure if it is condos or apts.
here's 2 more cents: the only place I've had any luck renting that was N of 39th was a 6-plex on 2830 Harrison. yes that is a block off troost. Clean bldg - 2br w/basement coin laundry, street parking, pets and balcony for $495 (this was 4 yrs ago) landlord Jack was super nice. stayed there for 2 1/2 years!
37th and Wyoming is a great area. I've always enjoyed the West 39th restaurants, shops, etc. I would recommend it.
I haven't scoped out the Craigslist scene in KC for a while, but it always seemed a bit lackluster - like KC was slower to take on CL than other cities. You may not want to be looking exclusively on CL, checkout the Pitch and the Star classifieds.
As far as the apartment on 38th and Central - I lived in that area for 4 years and never had any problems. I know that specific area has a bad rep in some circles, and I guess I there are some parts that can be shady at times - but I wouldn't mind living there again.
Thanks for all the input. We ended up taking the apartment at 1600 W 37th Street and I'm not sure if we could have came across a more laid back, kind landlord. The apartments have also gone recent renovations and are very good quality. The units hold sound well, are not difficult to heat (granted our third floor location assists that) and all of our neighbors that we've met so far have been great.
The apartments I was bashing in my initial post are the 'Central Plaza' units, at least I believe that's what they are called.
KCMO: Thanks for answering as best as you could. Asking for an apartment in Midtown is a pretty broad question as they are EVERYWHERE, so thanks for giving me what you could. Agree with you about the 909 Walnut comment.
d4kc: I know the area you're speaking about (40-42nd Warwick) and yes, you are correct, some of the units on that particular stretch of town REALLY, REALLY need some updating. But then again, a lot of them are 2 br/$550 so I guess you get what you pay for. The unit we just moved into at 1602 W 37th is 2 br/$695 and I would much rather just pay the difference for the comfort and confidence that I have a decent place to call home.
WiseOwlSaysHoot: I understand what you mean regarding your opinion on the 37th and Wyoming area. It's a very comfortable area in my opinion (my friend lives in a different building literally about 150-200 feet away so I have a good idea on the overall 'status' of the area) and for the few days that we have been in the unit so far, we have loved it.
It wasn't really the area that turned us off from the unit at 38th and Central, it was the slumlords disguised as landlords trying to rent half-assed apartments to people. Hell, the lights wouldn't even turn on when we went in for our first viewing, after we returned the second time to view again and possibly put down a deposit... needless to say, we couldn't have gotten out of that place any faster.
Anyways, we are happy with our decision and I believe we will have no regrets and no problem staying here for the duration of our lease, and possibly even longer. Thanks for all the help.. talk to you guys soon.
I have rented 3 different times between 40-42nd and Main-Warwick (my nomad years - i even stayed in a house divided up into apts! funny!) and on 40th/Walnut ... everything is drafty/expensive to heat and needs updating!! (and I'm being KIND).
!
Actually after I posted that I lived in a house at 37-38th and Warwick divided up into apartments, I looked at a map. It was actually between 40th and 42nd, just like you say. I don't remember the exact address but I'd say it was somewhere in the middle, probably closer to the 42nd side than the 40th side. We might have lived in the same house! The one I lived in had a large parking lot or driveway to the south of the house. Again, I don't remember the address. I do remember the slumlord who owned it!
[quote=MikeJonesKC;7317691]Thanks for all the input. We ended up taking the apartment at 1600 W 37th Street and I'm not sure if we could have came across a more laid back, kind landlord. The apartments have also gone recent renovations and are very good quality. The units hold sound well, are not difficult to heat (granted our third floor location assists that) and all of our neighbors that we've met so far have been great.
Hi MikeJonesKC. Could you tell me the name of the apartments at 1600 W 37th? They sound good. Thanks!
I had the misfortune of living in Kansas City, Missouri.....
Ever since you said this, I have never really had much respect for anything you have said about KCMO. Actually, I pretty much cringe every time I see a thread with one of your posts in it.
This person “wants” to live in KCMO, as do most of the threads started here. Not only KCMO, but Midtown KCMO.
Can you even comprehend that? How could somebody choose to live in such a place?
I had the misfortune of living in Kansas City, Missouri.....
Ever since you said this, I have never really had much respect for anything you have said about KCMO. Actually, I pretty much cringe every time I see a thread with one of your posts in it.
This person “wants” to live in KCMO, as do most of the threads started here. Not only KCMO, but Midtown KCMO.
Can you even comprehend that? How could somebody choose to live in such a place?
Um....did I tell this person not to live in Kansas City Missouri/midtown? No, I didn't. I said that I lived in midtown at one time and my apartment there was decent. You REALLY have a chip on your shoulder that you need to lose.
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