Tenant Reviews for 5527-39 N. KENMORE

Have lived in two Krenger buildings, with friends in a third, and all were nightmares. Problems at Kenore Courts included: Poorly maintained - front gate, alley, and lobby doors often in a state of disrepair, and standing ajar. NO heat for several extended periods during both the winters of 2009-1010 and 2008-2009; management did not even bother ro return calls to their emergency number. Filthy common areas. Cockroaches! - management refers to them as "Waterbugs". Charming. Google "Krenger and roaches"; one tenant at Krenger's Brittany building at 5528 N. Kenmore even had a blog - with photographs! - about the roaches. Bedbugs! - As if the roaches weren't bad enough, there was also a bedbug infestation in thir Kenmore Courts buiding. One of the most disturbing things, though, was the maintainance man - Emil - who regularly enters apartments illegally and without notice, as noted by other reviews here. He and Martin (Marty) Krenger seem to think they can do whatever they wish, in total disregard of the law. Sadly, these were once nice buildings. Look elsewhere!

We've been very happy here, and I don't know of many that haven't. The reviews here seem to be somewhat lopsided, especially considering all of Krenger's other properties have very high ratings. The staff is eager to please and try to fix problems quickly; the apt is spacious and well-maintained for the price. Parking on the street, however, difficult to find.

i would like to say ,the maintenance man come in your apartment like he pay rent there.if you tell some of the office staff ,that he is doing something he should not be doing. they don't alway listen to you, it goes in one ear in out the other. the gate is broken again so you want get any mail when that happen ,in they don't alway fix right away sometime it could take days before it get fix.the building is not as pestfree as thet say it is.

Kenmore Courts is in a great location and at a great price. Compared to past units I have lived in, for the rent we are paying this is more spacious, with better heating and considerably better insulation. Even in the past few weeks, when we have had sub-zero temperatures, the apartment has never been cold. The living room, dining room, and bedroom all have ceiling fans. The apartment gets tons of light, which is a joy. The kitchen is long with ample working room. We cooked a thanksgiving meal for 14 people in it! When we moved in August we were told by the landlord that the radiator heat doesn't reach our apartment well and, because of this, they have installed window unit (think big window unit, like you'd see in a hotel) to make up for the difference. We pay for it on our electric bill, so in turn they gave us a monthly $50 discount on our rent. What has surprised us is that only one of the radiators seems to not give off much heat, so I don't think it would have been that bad anyway. All of the rooms are plenty warm. Every time we have had an issue (a leak during a really bad rain and a running toilet) they have fixed it quickly enough. The only complaint I have is parking, which the landlord can't exactly control. Parking in the area is a headache at night, and usually a headache during the day. This would be a bigger issue, but the Bryn Mawr red line stop is a block and a half away and the apartment is a block away from restaurants, a small grocery, a chase bank, and two coffee shops.

i would like to say as the build goes .the maintenance staff is not all it crack up to be .if they fix something in your apartment, you would have to call the office two month later. because he didn't fix right the first time. there allway something wrong with the gate. in the summer time you have to worry about bugs, waterbugs. they allway seem to come out around that time. they be come from the laundry room, in they don't turn on the heat like they should .

when i first move into the build 'it was alright.but as the year go on thing seem to fall more in more apart.like they really don't care. maintained don't show up like they should,in then they think day can come in your apartment in fix thing when they want to ,not when are told to.in yes they do come in your apartment illegally.

This is a --------------- Real Estate building... Several of the entryways- 5535 and 5535 1/2 N. Kenmore, specifically - have had ALL mail delivery suspended by the Uptown Post Office, due to the carrier being unable to gain entry without buzzing individual tenants. The carrier recently left a "delivery suspended" notice (USPS form I507) taped on both entrys. One tenant has rented a post office box at the Uptown Post office to ensure receipt of mail. see: ------------------------------------------------- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Very poorly maintained - common areas are filthy dirty, there is an ongoing roach problem (although an exterminator comes monthly) and at least one of the maintainance crew regularly enters apartments illegally. Also, some apartments were recently infested with bedbugs. Common area doors and the front gates are often broken and standing ajar, and one neighbor told me she found used condomm wrappers tossed into her storage locker, as well as empty Snapple juice bottles, which one of the crew can often be seen drinking. When it rains or snow melts, basement areas flood, including storage locker areas. AVOID. You can find MUCH better for the price. Also, see reviews of other ------- buildings on this website - not providing heat seems to be a common complaint. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ------- Realty is also not very evolved: "--- couple charge ------- Realty with bias" Chicago Free Press, April 26, 2006, p. 5 A --- couple is alleging a violation of Chicago's human rights ordinance after a Lakeview real estate company told them their income could be considered together only if they filed a joint federal tax return. The Internal Revenue Service doesn't allow --- couples to file joint returns. The couple--------------------------------------------wanted to lease an apartment from ------- Real Estate and together had more than enough income to meet -------'s requirements. But ------------- is a student and didn't meet -------'s threshold of having a monthly income at least three times the amount of the apartment's rent. Had ------- been applying to rent the apartment as a single or if the couple were married, that wouldn't be a problem--------- allows married couples filing joint returns to have their income considered together, and -------'s income alone exceeds -------'s requirements. ------------- and ------- allege -------'s requirement is discrimination based on sexual orientation, since the company is using a standard it knows --- couples cannot meet. "A business can choose fairness," ------------- said. ------- agent ------------- said, "Sexual orientation doesn't have anything to do with it." ------- said the company is concerned that one member of a couple could move out and leave the other person with a lease burden he couldn't meet. "We're a for-profit company and we have a lot of exposure," she said. ------- said she empathizes with --- couples who can't meet the requirement but said, "They need to take that up with our government officials." Agents with other real estate companies said -------'s requirement isn't the rule, especially for companies that lease apartments in heavily --- North Side neighborhoods such as Lakeview and Edgewater. "That's just not something we'd even consider requiring," said one --- real estate agent.

i moved to kenmore courts in october 2007 and just recently moved out. i had a very nice-sized studio...wood floors, large windows, separate kitchen and dining area, newer fridge, lots of cabinet space, large closet, nice lighting, and "back door" which leads down to the laundry area and trash area. the location is great, just a few blocks away from the bryn mawr red line and also an express bus that goes down michigan ave and the #84 which goes up to target (less than a ten minute ride). when there are maintenance needs, you must call the office and they have always been friendly. the maintenance men were prompt and fixed my problems (which were minimal). the exterminator came once a month which was nice, but i did some exterminating myself with boric acid (as with many city apartments there are some roaches). not many, but they were there. overall, i recommend this place. i had some good times. :o)

Overall, the apartment and grounds are nice. I have no substantial complaints. The major problem with living here is that it is a congested area and parking is a huge pain in the ---. And, police are very enthusiastic with their ticketing. I often have to circle the 4 or so blocks around the building 5 or so times before I catch someone on their way out and I can park. Other than this, I take issue with the fact that maintenance comes into the apartment around once a month to check for insects. They do not spray but put a gel at the bottoms of cabinets. Nonetheless, my apartment smells of insecticide 3 weeks a month. I am moving out soon, but only because of the parking issue. If you work downtown and can take the red line to work, and if you do not mind staff entering your apartment when you are not home, then it is a calm, great place to live within minutes from the lake.

Krenger Realty is cheap & underhanded. problems aren't resolved, but only masked. The apartment in & of itself is nice, but in the warm seasons there are lots of bugs & it's super cold in the winter. no happy medium. nice neighborhood, but as for the apartment complex ---- not so nice.