The New McDermott

I lived in the New McDermott for 3.5 years. Yup. That long. I moved in late in 2009 when I started going to Seattle U– I needed a place that was close to school, didnt totally break the bank, and was alright with renting to someone who was going to be living on their own for the first time. Dennis and Yvonne are the managers who live on site, and their knowledge and experience managing rental properties is second to my mom– but hey, I may be just a little biased there. Because they live on site, they take a personal interest in making sure the apartment is well maintained, kept clean, and that everyone living there has a good experience living there too.
The pro’s: The McDermott is an apartment where tenants are month to month. Tenants can stay as little or as long as they want, and this also makes it easier for management to have rowdy tenants leave.
–Location was prime. Located between Pike and Pine, this place was ideal for me as I don’t own a car and rely on public transportation to get around.
–Tenants: mostly quiet, a good mix of food service employees and working professionals and the generous handful of students.
–Mostly original fixtures (moulding in apartments, cupboards, ornamental fixtures and touches in hallways and entryways), and the original Otis elevator from when the building was built in the 20’s.
–Maintenance was almost always immediately addressed– Dennis would often come up to my apartment once I reported something needing to be fixed to take an initial look and see what he needed to do to fix it. When I moved in, I gave management permission to come up and check it out immediately as long as I was home, so this was never an issue for me.
The bad: the walls here are THIN. I never expect an apartment to be completely soundproofed. But– I could here my neighbors on either side of me flush their toilets, and if any intimate activity went above a soft moan it was very obvious hat exactly was going on. My studio was directly next to the elevator, and I could hear it run from the first floor all he way to the seventh. Arguments don’t need to be shouted here to be heard, also.
–It took a week for rent checks to be cashed. I don’t know if this is standard everywhere, but it sucks having to be in a weird limbo of not being able to spend money on anything till the rent check went through.
–Single paned windows and no control over the heat: units can get cold, and can get cold QUICK. If you live here, get some wool socks/​blankets and a space heater.
I loved my time here, but it was time for me to move on to something off the Hill. I do recommend people check this place out if they are looking to move into a centrally located, older building.

what a great experience living here! beautiful apartment, with all the original finishings in tact. great price for a spacious, light apartment. to top it off, the managers dennis and yvonne are amazing, so sweet and always there to help. i would still be living here if i did not have to move for a job!