The positives:

I liked the layout of my apartment. Rooms were arranged in a circular format (bedroom, walk-through closet/hall, 1 bath, livingroom and tiny kitchen). Although small, about 500 sq. ft., I found it to be adequate.

They allowed tenants to have two cats.

The rent was cheaper than other comparable apartments in the neighborhood.

There's a bike storage room in the basement.

It's within walking distance of Wrigley Field and all the bars and restaurants in the neighborhood.

There's a roof deck all residents can use.

The apartment building is on a relatively quiet side street.


The negative:

Whatever they used to clean the carpets before I moved in gave me months of allergies.

Management doesn't live on-site, so getting help in case of emergency takes awhile. One morning the sewer backed up into my apartment -- luckily I was home. I called the two phone numbers provided by management right away, but it took them nearly two hours to show up. By the time they arrived, my bathroom was flooded and the water/sewage had started to seep into the rest of the apartment. The woman who lived in the studio below me had many things ruined (couch, computer, TV, stereo, etc). And I had to pay to clean my carpets. It was pretty gross.

Parking in the neighborhood is either expensive (to rent a space in a garage, if you could find one, would be at least $250 per month), or ridiculous (there were times it took me over an hour to find a street parking spot a mile away).

Because the apartment building is located on a street for which a neighborhood parking permit is not required, that means you can't purchase one so you can park on the nearby streets that DO require the permit.

Security deposit was quite high -- a month and a half's rent, plus $200 for each cat. Plus, they were a little slow to return my security deposit after I moved out.

When I moved out and asked for interest on my security deposit, as is due to me by law (the Chicago Residential Landlord and Tenants Ordinance), the landlord became belligerent and refused to send it to me.

I feel that, given the opportunity, the management will take advantage of tenants to the point of illegality. In my case, I moved out two weeks before the end of my lease. With ten days left until the expiration of the lease, my landlord removed my name from my mailbox and changed the lock on my door (I still had belongings in my apartment and was still receiving mail at that address).

Maintenance problems were fairly rapidly addressed, but in my experience, were not fixed properly. The entire two years I lived there I had dirty water and suds back up into my kitchen sink from the laundryroom in the basement. I asked the management to fix the problem, as it presented a health risk, and although they did look into it, it continued to occur several times a week.

The walls are thin enough that the neighbor's TV and conversation would wake me up almost daily.

There's no yard.


Summary:

In summary, I had little or no issues with the building itself, my apartment specifically, or the neighborhood. The biggest problems for me stemmed from the management. In my opinion, they were only interested in doing the bare minimum to keep tenants satisfied, and mainly cared about collecting the rent checks. I'd recommend this apartment building for someone who's not bothered by noise or conditions that aren't quite perfect, who likes the social scene Wrigleyville offers, and who can deal with this kind of management, with one caveat: get eveything in writing and get receipts for everything!

User Responses
From: uts4250	Date: 05/11/2009
The issues this tenant has is due to the owner of the apartment, not the building's management. This is a condo and each unit has an individual owner. The tenant needs to contact a lawyer regarding the interest on the security deposit and changing of the locks. The security deposit must be returned in 30 days with an itemized list of deductions and receipts. The City of Chicago provides for heavy fines and penalties on these landlords.

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