North East Valley, Dunedin
I found the flat to be a dump; it’s freezing in winter and very poorly maintained. The kitchen is terrible, the shower and bathroom often don’t work, and the toilet is disgusting. The laundry is damp, making it impossible to dry anything, and the lounge only stays warm if you constantly have the fire going, while the rooms can’t be heated at all. I would not recommend this flat to anyone.
The rooms in the flat are decent sized, but the downstairs room gets extremely cold in winter with no heating, making it uncomfortable. The hot water tank struggles to provide enough hot water for more than 2-3 showers, and sometimes there's absolutely none. While the fireplace is great and provides a lot of heat, the lack of insulation and single-glazed windows means the bedrooms can get very cold overnight, with even frozen windows on the coldest nights. Overall, the fireplace is the best feature, but everything else leaves much to be desired.
I had a very disappointing experience with this rental. The house was not up to standard, and I found nothing positive about it. Unfortunately, everything about the place was a letdown.
The house is very cold in winter due to practically no insulation, making it impossible to heat all the rooms effectively. While the master bedroom is fantastic with all-day sun and a beautiful valley view, the downstairs room is unlivable due to the chill. The poorly designed toilet and laundry areas, along with steep and slippery steps, add to the frustrations, and the dampness throughout the property can make you sick. The only real highlight is the sun in the master bedroom, but the overall experience is marred by the cold, damp conditions and an icy property manager.
The house has an awesome garden out back, and the lawn gets a lot of sun in summer. The kitchen is small but has good bench space, and it heats up the living room well. While the first property manager was really good, the new one hasn't done much. The worst part is the tiny hot water cylinder, which means only three people get hot showers.