I was the owner of a street-facing condo here from 2001 to 2021. About 21 years. I lived at this condo when I was a student at Georgia Tech. Afterwards, I rented the condo out.
With 401 West Tenth being right across the street from Georgia Tech, it's only natural to attract homeowners and tenants related to Georgia Tech in some way. For example, parents of students, students, employees of the school, etc. However, 401 West Tenth is also in a great location in general. Technically part of the Home Park neighborhood, 401 West Tenth is convenient to Atlanta's Westside (West Midtown), Atlantic Station, Midtown, and Downtown, and it's only about 20 minutes away from the airport if traffic isn't bad. There is a MARTA bus stop across the street, but you'll have to walk a little ways to get to the closest train station, Midtown. It's on the same street, though.
Below is a quick breakdown of the pros and cons of 401 West Tenth, in my opinion, having been a longtime homeowner here.
Pros:
* Relatively-low HOA dues per square foot. Because the property isn't big and doesn't have amenities like a pool, gym, and on-site property manager or concierge, the dues at 401 West Tenth are low compared to other condominiums in Midtown Atlanta.
* Covered parking and storage rooms. All units, including one-bedroom units, each have two gated and covered assigned parking spaces and storage rooms. These aren't givens with intown Atlanta condos and I consider it a significant advantage of 401 West Tenth.
* Because of the smaller size of the property (37 total units, IIRC), there is more of a community feel here, especially if you participate in the annual homeowners association meetings, introduce yourself, and get to know other homeowners. There's a useful Facebook group for the community too.
Cons:
* The floor insulation is not good / non-existent. For those living in the one-bedroom units below, pretty much every step can be heard on the hardwood floors above. Hardwood floors were standard in every unit at 401 West Tenth when the buildings were originally built in 2001.
* All outdoor HVAC equipment (e.g. heat pumps) are located on the roofs. This isn't a problem if you happen to own/live in one of the townhome end-units. However, for all others, access is a problem. In my experience, accessing the roof was always an inconvenience and had to be dealt with in one-off, case-by-case instances. At the time I sold my unit in 2021, this was still an issue and the HOA Board was aware.
* 10th St NW can be noisy. With all the bumps and potholes and trucks rolling by, you get used to the noise. For whatever reason, this stretch of 10th St NW goes bad quick after each City of Atlanta repaving.
* Constant property manager turnover. After 15 years with Bauman & Company, who left the residential property management business, 401 West Tenth started using Community Management Associates (https://bit.ly/3BCRrSv) for property management beginning in June 2016. My experience with CMA was satisfactory. My only real concern with CMA was the turnover. During the time I owned a condo here under CMA management, the property manager changed at least once a year. In contrast, where I live in Atlanta now (another Midtown condominium except managed by FirstService Residential), we've had the same property manager since September 2015. While not a big deal, it's just nice to be able to build a relationship with a property manager and have some consistency/continuity.
* I believe visitor parking has become more of an issue in recent years, perhaps because people are "abusing" the spots. If no visitor spots are available, you have to street-park in Home Park, several sections of which are permit-only during the day.
The vehicular gate, specifically the main one on 10th St NW (there's another gate on Tumlin St NW, but it's just for mew-level access for the west buildings), breaks a lot. Again based on my experience, apartment/condo vehicular gates breaking is a common occurrence. I don't think it's a problem exclusive to 401 West Tenth or that the gate breaks at an above-average rate here. It's "normal" wear and tear.
As far as safety, I never felt this property was unsafe, not when I lived here and not when I rented out my unit. None of my numerous tenants ever had any complaints or concerns about their safety while living here. So, I'd say the property is safe. There have been no home break-ins / burglaries that I've been aware of. However, this is Atlanta, so car break-ins have occurred. I don't think anywhere in the city is completely immune from car break-ins and car/wheel thefts. It's been an Atlanta problem for decades.
The "generations" of HOA Boards I've met and worked with at 401 West Tenth have been good to great. Good people have bought and live here. It's a great place to live. It's not perfect, but you'll be hard-pressed to find that in the city in a location as great as this and at a reasonable value. read more