Ocean Cottage by the Sea Apartments

We moved in a month ago and just love it here. We had been looking for awhile and I fell upon this place on Craig’s list and called. Jenn the manager was wonderful, she held a place for us all weekend to show us because we were going away, when we came back a better place opened up and told us about that place as well. We took it. Each room over looks the ocean. We can hear the waves and the seals barking at night. Because of the renovation listed in the above review, each apartment has brand new windows and sliding glass doors. As cold and as windy as it gets down here at night, our apartment is amazingly insulated. The dog community is wonderful and they just completed a gym and soon a bike room. This is the type of building you walk by on the beach and say I want to live there and it’s surprisingly affordable to do so. We have never been happier.

I moved here a little over a year ago and stayed for 5 months. The entire time I lived here there was a lot of construction being done to the building. This spoiled my experience a little bit because the hammering and drilling would begin bright and early in the morning and last all day and my car was always covered in dirt and saw dust. I am not sure if there is still construction now, but it got really old really fast when it was being done. I might have been okay with it if there was some sort of rent credit or something but there wasn’t.
Management is pretty good. Jen is really nice and seems like a good person. Every now and then things didn’t get done but I had no glaring issues with management. They were actually very accommodating for us, since we were apartment hunting long distance (from Chicago) and were looking to sign a lease without even visiting ahead of time. Jen got all of the paperwork taken care of long distance and gave us a month to month lease.
My apartment was very basic. The biggest issue I had was with the humidity in my unit. It smelled musty and mildewy which made my allergies a nightmare. I only had one window in the bedroom and then a sliding door which did not provide enough air flow. I think if they ripped out the carpet and replaced it with wood or laminate it would get rid of the musty smell. Not all units are equal and I definitely got a lower end one, so this may not be the case for every unit. A neighbor told us that no one stayed in our unit (118) longer than a few months and that it is ‘cursed’. Maybe the curse is just mold.
We had mice. I am really weird and I actually like mice, so I didn’t really mind. They never got into our food or destroyed anything, I would just see one scurry around every now and then. One (maybe more, I don’t know) lived in our stove and would come out of the burners.
Previous tenants were clearly aware of the mouse issue… I found what appeared to be a REALLY old glue mouse trap under our pantry that had what used to be baby mice stuck to it. It was horrifying to say the least. Again, there are different buildings and different units so this might not be a problem everywhere.
The entire building is completely pet friendly with no breed restrictions. I definitely appreciated this and it seems like most of the tenants had dogs. Everyone kept the area clean and it wasn’t too loud.
The proximity to the beach is really nice. The building is literally ON the beach. There is a farmers market (every Thursday? Wednesday? I don’t remember) in the parking lot next door with a lot of great stuff. The boardwalk is also very close. I never really went but it was a nice thing to have close by. MANY stores and restaurants are within walking distance, or at the very least a short drive away.
From what I saw Ocean Cottage apartments has the best price for the location. If you love the beach then it doesn’t get much better than this. There is sand volleyball, a bike path, trails, a park/​playground and a dog park all nearby. It is a great location for someone who is active. You also get an unrivaled view of the sunset every night.
In the end, it is a good deal if you are willing to put up with a few things. It isn’t a palace but it isn’t a pit. Some units are better than others so it is worth checking out.