Tenant Reviews for 530 W DIVERSEY PKWY

I lived in this building a wile back, it was my first place on my own, it was inexpensive and walking distance to work. I stayed for 3 years saving for a better place, I may have stayed one more year if it was not for what happened my final year. Trust me I got what I payed for, basically a closet off the stairwell, I lived in an "11" unit and the door was not even in the hall way, you have to go in to the stair way to get in. You had to walk out of the kitchen to open the oven door or the refrigerator door. You could sit on the toilet and brush your teeth at the same time. It was a true janitors closet wich is what me friends called that apartment. I had a HUGE problem with ants the first year, but cleared that up on my own, also spiders-- but not as bad as the ants. The longer I lived there the parkay floor was coming up off the floor and I ended up loosing pieces of the floor because it was coming up so bad, the office stated that was not something they could fix until I moved out-- very irritating. The only reason I'm giving a high rating for matenance is because I had a bad flood in the apartment in the middle of the night and they were in early the next morning, and always changed the light bulbs no questions asked. My last year I heard from others in the building they had seen bed bugs, turned out there was an infested room on my floor and the first floor more than one unit. No one alerted the rest of the building. It was not until word got out that they made an attempt to check the whole building and bring in a bed bug dog. They attempted to treat the situation but a person I knew down the hall broke his lease because he had to throw everything away and they offered no compensation-- just more chemical treatments for the bed bugs. MIND YOU, This was before the chicago bed bug ordinance! I felt paranoid in my apartment and decided to not renew. With in the last few months of my lease the leasing office never called before a showing, or if they did it was less than 24 hours notice, which in Chicago they must give 48 hours notice before a showing. I ended up catching them entering with out request when I was home sick one day in bed. When I made a complaint they just told me I was being "difficult". Then told me they were going to be painting in my apartment while I still lived there which is also a break in city ordinance, they have to wait untill a resident vacates the premises. They offered to cover my things with tarps wile they painted, let's just say I did not let them paint! In the end the staff was nasty and rude. I spoke to an attorney friend who represents city of Chicago renters and advised to me turn them in to the better business bureau for there violations. It turns out lakeview associates has had MANY violations and turned in to the BBB on several occasions for unfrivolous accounts for poor coustomer service and violations. After they became aware of my complaints moving beyond there office they stoped showing my apartment, stating they wanted to redo it after I left and then they would show it, I assume then meant the floor falling apart under my feet. Other then that mess-- I never did see a cock roach, yes a regular homeless man slept in the entry way, but he was always nice. Oh, and the price to wash and dry in that laundry room were OUTRAGEOUS! I figured it was standard because it was really my first place, but moving just a few blocks away I realized for a nicer place I payed half as much a load to wash and dry-- also my electric was lower! For a much bigger place then the janitors closet I lived in-- with same electric use habits-- I presume the pushed hallway/stairway electric costs to the units-- ComEd told me that! Move in to this building at your own risk!

I have lived in this apartment a year and dont know why I just signed another lease. I have found three roaches in the past yr. They have sprayed once. I called on a Monday for them to come spray and have yet to show up. Tonight I have had it. I found a roach wrapped around my fiancees tooth brush. I knocked on my neighbors door to see if she had see any roaches and she said she hasnt since she moved in. I feel like they are either coming from the outside or the person above me is living in filth and they are crawling in. My apartment is not dirty at all, I clean every day. I also called last week because my facet in the kitchen leaks. No one has showed up to fix the problem. And this has happened numerous amount of times. When the guy comes to fix it all he does is turn the hot water off. Thats not fixing the issue. One time I asked them to come in before 5pm to fix the faucet. No one ever showed up. The following day I was sleeping til about 11, and a man walked in to fix the facet without ever knocking and I was sleeping in my underwear and totally exposed. How embarassing. Other than that the people in the building are super nice. The manager Lauren is a doll. They have a creepy man clean the building every morning. So its well kept. Rent is reasonable for the area. Great distance from bars and resturants. I personally wouldnt recommend people living here if they cant handle bugs. Its a HUGE issue.

asdf asdf asdf asdf review

I lived here for 6 months from Oct 2012 to march 2013. THIS PLACE HAS COCKROACHES! The very first night I moved in, I discovered a few. The landlord proceeded to tell me that they were "waterbugs" that came in from the pipes. They were indeed roaches. I killed so many of them and the problem was persistant. Yes, rent was cheap for the area (695/mo in lincoln park) but honestly, I'd rather pay more than live with roaches. However, the landlord was responsive everytime I called in for a complaint and they did spray down the whole apartment building but it only lasted a month until I found more roaches in the building and they took this action after 4 months of me noticing infestation. I wouldn't recommend this place to my friends since I'm terribly afraid of raoches but if you're okay with them, the place is alright...

I have been living here while now and while it's not an amazing place, it suits my needs well. The area is fantastic if you're looking to live in the city but still have a decently quiet neighborhood (It can get a little noisy outside but nothing outside of the standard Chicago fare). There's plenty to do and the Brown line is a nice ten minute walk away (I would have preferred it a little closer, but I'm used to living in the loop where there's a stop every two blocks, haha). The building is old but well-kept and the rent is about par for the course for what you're going to get in Chicago. Cats are allowed, which is nice. The other tenants are very quiet. They do have two elevators installed, but I recommend going in the back entrance to avoid the 'rat trap' elevator up front, which is a pain in the butt. One thing to mention is the mail service. Packages are left on the floor in front of the mailbox for anyone who enters the lobby to take. I've had one package missing last spring. I recommend opting for a P.O. box or mailing large packages to a friend. I'm also seeing a lot of people complaining about roaches. Maybe in the 80s, but I've never had a problem with any sort of pest in this apartment. Aside from the packages, the only real complaint I have is management. I've never had a problem with maintenance, but the landlords are a mixed bag. They were not very helpful as I was checking out the place, constantly pushing me to look at it quickly so they could attend to other matters rather than acting professionally and friendly. The male owner has been increasingly friendly once he got my money but he's still someone I'd rather not deal with if I have to. The other landlord is bizarre and very strange and never seems to be on top of things. She was also extremely rude to me in our confrontations prior to me signing the lease. Thankfully these minor annoyances are the only negative anecdotes I have to say about them. All and all, if you can deal with the landlords and be careful with your mail, it's a great place to be.

I attempted to call and gather information from the office and I was told that they were "too busy." Clearly they weren't interested in renting apartments...avoid!

Okay, so I live in 530 W. Diversey now, not 20 years ago. The apartments are well maintainted (can't exactly say the same for the lobby and stairwells...but) I have never seen a spider, millipede, or cockroach for that matter. The rent is high, but reasonable for the neighborhood. If you are looking for convenience, this is a great location and very accessible with about 8 e/w or n/s busses withing walking distance. Plus the Brownline -- which will be out of commission until 2011. Because the apt. was built before the 1940s, it was built with concrete walls and beautiful wood trim. The concrete walls keep sound out really well, which is a bonus. Because of the large windows though, you will get a lot of city sounds -- sirens, occassional drunk, or car alarm. But, keep in mind you live in the city. <br><br>The maitenance staff is good, and always answer issues immediately and do a proper job of fixing a problem. The landlords are responsive too, but I haven't had much reason to contact them since moving in -- that's a good thing.

I lived in Apt. 701 -- the only apartment on 7 -- back in '85-86. I had roaches, even though I kept clean. The ancient, rat-trap cage-style elevator used to break down frequently, as well. 7 flights of stairs with groceries is a blast, let me tell ya. I was frequently disturbed by noisy bar patrons leaving the various bars on Diversey at 2:30-3:00 a.m. -- the sounds of their carrying on would carry all the way up to my window, which of course was only 1/8" thick. Lakeview Associates was horrible management; they didn't seem to care about anything.

This building may show well but BEWARE... it is roach infested. Lakeview Associates has known for years that all of their properties are roach infested. ROACHES ARE ALL OVER LAKEVIEW ASSOCIATES BUILDINGS! Also, homeless people often sleep in the unlocked foyer.