this is a $1000/month basement in the bottom of a house with a busy drug dealer living on the top floor. i have no reason to call him in at this point, and won't so long as i'm not smelling weed, but he couldn't be more fucking obvious. he's got somebody banging on his door every 20 minutes.
for reference, the apartment i just abandoned was $1200/month, on the third floor and somewhat smaller in total footage, but also more finished and came with three other apartments in the building full of potheads that were polluting my air space. the basement i got evicted from in the spring was less than $800/month and discernibly smaller than either. the basement i got evicted from in 2018 was less than $700 when i left (i signed at $650) and about the same size as this one, overall, but far more finished.
i've thought through how i want to do this and have decided that the new space is going to consist of the following rooms or areas:
1) a small but usable bedroom, partly because much of the storage that you expect in a bedroom exists elsewhere in the apartment, but big enough for a stereo system, a study/writing desk and a bedside computer pc typing system
2) a large enough bathroom for substantive shelving, full wall mirrors and a makeup table
3) a walk-in closet off of the bathroom (not the bedroom) with built-in laundry and a dedicated sewing area
4) an eat-in kitchen with expanded counter and shelving space
5) a side entrance with a space for coat and shoe storage
6) a voip phone and zoom (via voip videophone) area off of the kitchen
7) about 150 square feet of studio space
8) a small couch area with a stereo for listening
9) space for an exercise bike off the front entrance
10) a device charging area behind the front door
11) a 150 square foot work and storage area as a functional in-unit garage or actual basement in parallel to the apartment, with functional 2-level storage built in.
12) sufficient wall space for cd and book storage
it's cheap because of the drug dealer and the various problems a drug dealer creates to property values, but i've been told they're getting evicted. the front door, for example, is pretty brutal. i haven't seen the effects of the drugs yet, but i'm sure i will. i have recently seen somebody passed out beside their shopping cart around the corner, because they couldn't make it over the bridge, and i jumped to probably correct conclusions. he just fell over; he might have been technically dead.
it's going to take a few weeks, maybe a few months, to set the apartment up. right now, i'm not sure the furnace works, and i'm waiting for the owner to do some minimal but necessary cosmetic work.
i hope i don't get evicted to raise the rent, again; i'm unfortunately realizing the necessity of planning around it, and want to focus on buying if i have to move again. some small houses in windsor are starting to list under $180K.