Residents of the Yacht Club, a Moscow apartment complex, can look out their window and clearly see the University of Idaho campus.
“You can’t get much closer than this,” said Chuck Bond, owner of the apartments at 403 College Ave. “You’re basically on Greek Row.”
The apartments stand between the Bruce Pitman Center and the SMART Transit Center.
Bond, who owns the 20 apartments in the Yacht Club and about 70 more in Moscow, said he takes good care of his tenants.
“My phone is never off. I’m never without it,” Bond said. “If something is wrong, I’ll be there immediately.”
One of Bond’s tenants, Brad Morris, said after location, Bond’s meticulous care of the apartments is one of the best parts of living there.
“Chuck’s super cool,” Morris said. “Seems kind of military in his actions, but that’s how he keeps everything nice. He instills a little bit of fear into the people who live there and that keeps it better. It never really gets dirty. Chuck and his guys are around a lot.”
Bond said he expects his tenants to keep clean and quiet, and in return he takes good care of them, including getting repairs done quickly and plowing snow.
“You may not be able to get onto a city street, but you’ll be able to get in and out of my parking lot,” Bond said.
Bond said he built the Yacht Club in 1996. The apartments are somewhat dated and without certain amenities, but Morris said his home fits his needs well.
“It’s been maintained pretty well, but it’s a little dated,” Morris said. “Carpets and linoleum are getting old. No dishwasher. But every apartment though has its own full-size water heater, so you never run out of water.”
He said he uses the apartment complex’s coin operated laundry machines — $2 per load.
Cole Swanson, Morris’ roommate, said he and his roommates regularly have friends over for low-key entertainment.
“We’ve had game night sometimes, like True American or Guitar Hero. It’s not a party place as much as other ones, which is nice, so it stays clean,” Swanson said. “If you can’t hear it and can’t see it, he’s pretty much good.”
Swanson said he asks his roommates to keep the noise down most nights, and his roomates respect his request.
Morris said he has a good relationship with Bond. He said a previous roommate of his accidentally damaged a wall, but Bond was understanding.
“I think he was a little nervous to tell Chuck at first but ended out telling him the whole story,” Morris said. “He told him the truth about how his girlfriend played a prank on him. Chuck laughed and was cool with it and came and fixed it. I think he appreciated the honesty.”
Swanson said he had a similar situation in which he accidentally covered the laundry room floor in water, but Bond responded quickly and was understanding.
“He gets a reputation as the best landlord in Moscow,” Swanson said. “I can see why.”
Bond said he has worked hard to earn a good reputation for his apartments.
“I do very little advertising. It’s all pretty much word of mouth,” Bond said.
He said the last vacancy he had lasted only one month, so future tenants should act quickly.
“I suppose my philosophy is I keep my apartments in better condition than others,” Bond said. “And I keep my rent lower.”
Nishant Mohan can be reached at [email protected]