The Terrace Apartments

Pros
–One of the more affordable places in Philadelphia
–Right in front of the 42 and walking distance to the 21 and the 52 EL stop
–Generous pet deposit policy if you have adoption paperwork to submit
–Most residents are quiet for the most part
–Ability to pay rent, pet fee, and electric online-​credit card has extra fee, no extra fee for paying from bank or savings account
–Extremely cheap electricity
–Heat and water included in rent
Cons
–Building only has one, extremely outdated elevator that is constantly out of order or that won’t work because someone forgot to close it all the way
–Building door to the dumpster does not lock and only has alarm which does not make me feel very safe. The rest of the back and fire escape doors are not accessible from the outside at least. There are several cameras throughout the building but the large one in the lobby is pointed towards the ceiling and it is doubtful that the other ones are operational. There have been incidents of homeless and intoxicated people sneaking into the building, sleeping the the lobby, randomly knocking on people’s doors (this happened to me at 1am in the morning), having sex in the stairwells (the used condom was left in the stairwell for several weeks until maintenance cleaned it up), and squatting in vacant units.
–Roaches get bad in the summer, especially the small German ones. I’ve even seen them in the elevator… The whole building needs to be tented technically but I doubt management is going to pay for that.
–Maintenance is extremely slow to begin with in responding requests and even slower to start or finish services. It’s only gotten worse since Angel left.
–Building management is almost impossible to get a hold of in regards following up on work order requests or questions in general. I understand that they are probably understaffed but a little communication, if only to keep tenants in the loop, would go a long way. If its going to take a couple of days, weeks, or even a one or two months just let us know instead of keeping us hanging!
–Building did a mediocre job of notifying tenets of recycling services (I only saw one sign in the laundry room) when I first moved there. After a while they got rid of the one recycling bin near the dumpster. So now they don’t have any recycling services what so ever even though per city code they’re suppose to.
–People are still leaving their trash in the hallway near the exits and on the ground near the dumpsters. Also, some irresponsible pet owners do not clean up after their pets leaving dog feces in the back and front lawns, hallways, and even the elevator. Signs are posted stating that tenants who do not dispose of their trash properly or clean up after their dogs will be fined but the lack of working cameras makes enforcing this almost impossible.
−09÷23÷2015 As of a week or so ago the weather finally cooled down enough for me to turn off my fan. Lo and behold I can now hear rodents scurrying behind one of the walls in the evenings…
I honestly don’t know why Bradley L’s review was considered not useful since most of his comments are still relevant.

So, I’m not sure why the low ratings for this place. I’ve been here almost a year (and yes, according to my lease and the notice they sent me, the rent is going up 5% this next year… bringing my rent up a whopping $ 35, which is still significantly less than other similar places in the area. I’ve seen anywhere from $ 850 to $ 1200 in University City. Mine is still under $ 800 so I’m happy) and everything has been great.
The most important thing i have come to find in apartment living is the location (and neighbors as well). This location is fantastic, it’s easy to get to a lot of the places in the city and university city is right there.
My neighbors have all been very kind and courteous and keep to themselves for the most part. Yeah, i do smell weed in the hallways every once in a while but this isn’t a dorm. I don’t expect people to put towels under their doors so they can enjoy a bowl in the privacy of their own home. Also that’s been decriminalized in Philly so it’s not even illegal anymore. However, if it is REALLY that big of an issue, fine. I’ll start putting down towels at my front door and open a window.
My maintenance issues were handled promptly. I’ve had no pest issues in the winter or summer months and for the most part I am quite content staying here until I decide to trade up and get a bigger place after school.
I did, however, have one bad experience here. A few months ago I left my pen in the laundry room one night and someone washed it.

Love my apt. Close to public transportation. Really quite place, and all my neighbors are friendly with me. Maintenance always makes a great job. Great time!!! Thanks.

PROS: 42 bus is a plus, maintenance guy is an Angel (literally), pretty quiet neighborhood, lots of food and entertainment options with university city close, rent is cheap but there’s a reason for that (see cons), utilities= electric only, huge studios
CONS: Rent goes up annually but you get nothing more for your money. Old building, has character but it’s kinda gross/​out of date. I have never ever seen, met, heard of the property manager but the leasing manager is clutch. Rodents and bugs. Tenants running amuck– loud, will give you a free high walking down the hall, write on elevator walls or leave trash in elevator/​halls. Elevator is rickety and never works. There’s a homeless (?) man who sits in the park across the street shouting. No central air but there project heat. Two churches around the corner = no parking on Sunday’s. I used the laundry facilities and because someone left a pen in the wash all my work clothes were ruined
Just don’t do it…

Terrible especially if on the top floor, or anything higher than the second floor. They have an ancient rickety elevator that is broken half the time. I fee like every time I really needed it, it was broken. Takes forever for them to fix it. Also it gets really hot, stuffy and smelly up there. It always smelled like rotten shrimp and pot in the hall way. The land lord allows tenants to throw garbage out the emergency exit. This is somewhat convenient but then the alarm keeps going off at all time during the day and night. I could also hear every thing the neighbors were doing from arguing to the opposite. This made for many restless nights.
But that’s not nearly the worst part. They management is incredibly shady and difficult to reach. After months of trying I finally got them to agree to allow me to move out a month early with a 90 day notice. I moved out exactly 90 days from the notice. They then claimed that I left early, owing one more month’s rent. As a result they kept my security deposit. I had written/​dated proof in an email I sent of the 90 day notice. Their argument was that I sent the 90 day notice «a little early». What a ridiculously made up reason! Also it took 3 months after I moved out to find out why they were keeping my security deposit, when I finally got fed up waiting and contacted management. It then took an additional 2 weeks for them to finally explain what they did and give their crappy reason why. Usually a landlord should let you know exactly why they are keeping your security deposit and let you know 30 days after moving out. They’re lucky I don’t have the time or money to sue them because I’ve been told by a lawyer friend of mine that I certainly have reason to sue them.
Do not be tricked by the seemingly nice location (at the edge of the hood, where it starts to get scary) and the somewhat nice lobby. And who cares if Isaac Asimov lived there! I say the neighborhood was scary because there was this guy that lived in the park across the street that would constantly yell loud words and profanities (maybe he had turrets) day and night. And there was this guy who lived in a moving van across the street who constantly begged me for money and hustled me to by old records whenever I went out there to my car. And, I heard that several cars were stolen in the area near the apartment. The guy in the moving van claimed he’d watch my car… I then moved my car very far from his truck. Nothing happened to me, but I sure did not feel safe.
DO NOT MOVE HERE!

Great location, the 42 is right outside on the corner, and it’s walkable to both Baltimore Ave and 40^th Street. The park across the street was restored by a neighborhood effort. The tenants are nice it’s a pretty quiet building, even if you hear noise when you are in the hallway, as soon as you shut the apartment door it’s quiet.
My main complaint since moving here echos others — the management company itself is difficult, they manage a bunch of buildings here in UC and downtown, and clearly are understaffed. The maintenance staff is very good at what they do, but the apartments are in need of updating, they still have patterned plaster walls, and the wood floors are in poor condition. They also have no way to dispose of trash except through the emergency exits on the upper floors, which means the alarm goes off all day long. That said, they are reasonably priced, rent includes heat, the solar powered electric is inexpensive as well.