Showing 11–20 of 21 reviews · Page 2
Tyler R.
1 years ago
My experience renting from Barry Realty, also known as B&A Associates, was the worst renting experience in my 10 years as a tenant in Evanston. I lived at 1420 Central St. <br><br> <br><br>My lease ran from April 2000 to March 2001. Approximately mid-way through my rental term, my bathroom ceiling began leaking, just above my toilet. The leaking was constant, and loud, as water was dripping directly into my toilet. If the toilet lid was up, the water plopped all night. If it was down, I had to put a pan on the seat to catch water. <br><br> <br><br>Soon water was dripping from two other spots in the bathroom ceiling. <br><br> <br><br>I´m a responsible tenant, so I immediately called B&A and reported the problem. No one returned my calls. I then called another dozen times over the next two months. All the while, the leaking grew worse. At one point I sent a certified letter to the office. As a last straw I went to the office in person and threatened legal action. <br><br> <br><br>B&A did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to help me, or fix this situation for several months. <br><br> <br><br>And then one day the woman upstairs flushed her toilet, and a huge hole opened in my bathroom ceiling, and water came through like Niagra Falls. It was a nightmare. But worse yet, two of the walls inside the bathroom, plus walls in the closet outside, were leaking water from small cracks. It was like the walls were crying. <br><br> <br><br>I went to a lawyer the next day. I called the city to report this and other problems-- including gas hookup violations and improperly maintained electrical meters--and I reported Barry/B&A Associates to the Better Business Bureau. <br><br> <br><br>And to cap it all off, the month I moved out I got a renewal notice asking me to accept a rental increase of $100 a month the next year. They expected payment of $850 a month instead of $750, for what amounted to a nightmare Anit and building. <br><br> <br><br>I´ve now known three other people who have been in Barry buildings that were poorly maintained, to say the least. So here´s my advice: Stay as far away from Barry Realty/B&A Associates as you can. Also watch out for North Shore Apartments, which is a broker for Barry. You could end up in a Barry building and not realize it if you go through North Shore. <br><br> <br><br>More importantly, if you´re in a Barry building now, call the city immediately if You've got problems. Call the Better Business Bureau if you don´t get a response from Barry. Send certified letters when you complain so you have proof of your communication. And don't be afraid to contact a lawyer to help you break your lease if conditions are bad enough. <br><br> <br><br> <br><br>END
Kelly Q.
1 years ago
I have tried to contact maintenance offices over two and a half months ago to get my couter top fixed. but, after promise over promise, nothing has done, yet. I still tried to call them, and all I get Iroves that I have to wait. The length of time for support Iroves unreasonable and cause so much hectic for me.
Anna A.
1 years ago
Your Evanston experience should not start here. <br> <br>My first lease was for three months for $600/month. I was told I could get a $50 rent reduction if I stayed on for more than six months the next lease. I could have gotten that the first lease, if I wanted to, but being new to that area, plus the high rent (I had just moved there from Louisiana where rent was half of what I was paying), I wanted to be sure. <br> <br>The shower never had decent water pressure. Also, I could never take a warm shower, it was either hot or cold. I´d often spend my showers adjusting the knob from hot to cold as I bathed myself. <br> <br>If you don´t mind small apartments, then that shouldn´t be a problem. It wasn´t that bad of a problem for me. (Even though the studio itself was smaller than my bedroom in my old Apace in Louisiana.) <br> <br>The kitchen sink was small. I didn´t even know that they made sinks so small. It was smaller than one side of a regular kitchen sink. I actually washed all of my dishes in the bathroom sink, as the kitchen sink also leaked. I told the mgmt about this, but nothing was ever done about it. <br> <br>The one thing they did promptly fix was my ceiling fan/light. It completely stopped working one night. I went downstairs and told them I was afraid the place was going to start on fire if it wasn´t fixed as soon as possible. <br> <br>I lived at 860 Hinman, and I must say that the best thing about the place was the view. (I was on the seventh floor.) It had a nice view of downtown Evanston. <br> <br>As for the elevator in that building, it would often take it´s time - one resident joking that the elevator in the Sears Tower was faster. <br> <br>There were a few friendly leasing agents in the office, but I found most of the others to be unfriendly. <br> <br>Also, there was an incident where a homeless lady had gotten into the building (it did have secured access, but sometimes that wasn´t locked). She knocked on my door and asked for some man that no longer lived there. When I told her that he no longer lived at the Apace, she accused me of having him cremated. I later heard her harassing another tenant down the hallway asking for a cigarette, and when the person wouldn´t give it to her, she accused them of destroying America. I wrote a letter to the mgmt, and the confirmed that they had gotten it, but acted as if it were no big deal. <br> <br>When it came time to resigning my lease, they wouldn´t give me the $50 reduction I was told I could get for signing on for six months. Instead, I signed for another four months, and they gave me $5 off my rent. <br> <br>I also got a weird letter along with my lease stating that I could get out of my lease at any time. When I quit my job last August and decided to move home, I was told that I couldn´t get out of the lease. I had some kind of a fit in the leasing office and managed to get out of it.
Doris C.
1 years ago
OK Aad for 1 year right after college, but don't plan on staying long. Back apartments don't get that much light, and you are almost guaranteed to have some student neighbors. Overall, good deal at the time, but if I had it do to over again, I would've demanded more maintenance work. Those apartments need new kitchens, etc.
Adam B.
1 years ago
Aack! My review vanished! <br> <br>Well, I´m not going to type it again, so here´s my summary: The Blue Whale is a "student ------," a little far from campus, but it´s liveable. <br> <br>If you expect wonderful things of your home and the Alat staff, you will be sorely disappointed. If you´re easy to please, you´ll be ... well, probably not pleased, but you won´t be upset. <br> <br>If you can afford better, I wouldn´t live here.
Natalie E.
2 years ago
860 Hinman is the old Evanshire Hotel, but, this place is old and not kept up well. The elevator is slow, small, and loud (particularly annoying if you live adjacent to it) and the freight elevator isn't dependable. The corridors have stained carpet and some doors are boarded or patched. The apartments are OK; but, the studio I lived in was extremely small. The appliances functioned, but nothing more, and there was no countertop space in my studio. The worst offender in the Apace was the shower, which changed temperature constantly. Many wasted minutes were spent adjusting the extremely sensitive knobs only to have it change temperature again. I suspect that waster used in other apartments--i.e. toilets flushing or sinks running—lead to quick temperature changes felt throughout the building. Freezing cold to scalding hot wasn't uncommon. Several calls to maintenance resulted in no adjustment--always receiving the written response “…the shower is fine.” (As if I was making it all up!) This issue alone was sufficient for me to not renew my lease and look elsewhere for housing. The staff at the desk was friendly, but did not accept packages delivered during business hours. The laundry facilities were okay, but vandalism kept residents from using laundry cards to operate the machines on at least one occasion. The mgmt company wasn't organized, as they inadvertently told my current landlord during the reference check that I missed a rent payment—an event that did not occur. The leasing agent told me plenty of parking would be available for residents in the adjacent lot operated by the City of Evanston. but, after signing the lease, I discovered There's a long waiting list for that lot and a spot is far from guaranteed. The residents of 860 Hinman are a varied bunch but friendly and quiet for the most part.
Jennifer H.
2 years ago
I couldn't agree more about B&A Associates. The buildings are completely run down, the mgmt, including corporate officers, aren't helpful, and You've got always maintenace issues and huge rent increases. Managers don't call renters back and take no pride in their job or show respect for their tenants. They have this Evanston property and also others in Chicago, including 1936 N. Clark St. and one on Elm Street?
Jean Y.
2 years ago
Barry & Associates (aka Barry Realty, B&A Assoc) is the worst mgmt company I've ever encountered. I've lived in this building since late 1998 (only stayed here that long out of convenience). Since that time, absolutely nothing has been done in this apartment - no routine painting, the windows are the worst I've ever seen (the kitchen window doesn't close unless you keep moving it up and down several times). One time, it was raining really hard and the rain was coming through the kitchen window (this happened on more than 1 occassion). Maintenance blamed us for having the window open, which is wasnt. The problem was because maintenance had caulked the inside of the window, so the rain that did come in had no place to drain out except in our kitchen. The wall below the window became moldy, so they replaced the plaster but didn't do it properly and didn't repaint. <br> <br>Also, one of our circuits is so bad that we can't run the microwave and anything else at the same time or even have a light on. We were blamed for that because we had a couple of appliances plugged in an outlet on that same circuit. If that were the case, all of the circuits in our apartment would constantly be blowing because we have more than 1 thing plugged in at a time. <br> <br>One time, our bath tub and sink weren't draining properly, so maintenance came out to clear out the drain in the floor. Well, they didn't properly replace the cover on the drain and when we took a bath, the water flowed up through the drain and flooded our bathroom floor. Plus, they left a bag of garbage in our bathroom and my toothbrush ended up missing. <br> <br>The lights in common areas are constantly out (one burns out every couple of weeks) and It's like pulling teeth to have the lights replaced. <br> <br>You've got many more stories I could share, but I don't have the time. My advice would be to not rent an apartment from Barry & Assoc. If you do, put your complaints in writing and call the City of Evanston regarding your complaints. Otherwise, nothing will ever get done.
Terry U.
2 years ago
I actually live in the building next door but the negative impression the mgmt company has bestowed upon themselves has compelled me to warn others before considering this Aad building. <br> <br>Phil, the manager, has been known to verbally harrass tenants and neighbors to the point of tears. Take for example, one afternoon, I went into the mgmt office to resolve a parking issue in the alley and Phil barged in, yelling expletives in front of a family with children. <br> <br>While you may feel sorry for Phil since he appears mildly --------, people still deserve to be treated professionally. Since it sounds like a lot of things that happen aren´t the fault of the tenant, this is should be a red flag.
Brian P.
2 years ago
In my year at this residence I dealt with damage to personal property for which I wasn't reimbursed, disgusting common areas and an Apace that was never maintained to decent standards. <br> <br>When I moved in (on a Saturday from out of state) the Apace wasn't cleaned. I was up until early Sunday morning making it suitable to unpack. The office was closed Sunday so my only options were to get a hotel for two nights, sleep in filth or clean it myself. <br> <br>A neighbor´s sink clogged causing a backup to overflow the sink in my Apace. I came home one late evening to a mess of drain sewage in my kitchen area and no note explaining. Personal property was damaged, and the mgmt never reimbursed me for it. The mess was never cleaned up by the Apace and it took weeks for them to replace the molded, sewage soaked floor and trim. When they did finally fix it, plaster and dust was all over my Apace (even my bed) and workers wiped the caulk off their hands on my towels. That doesn´t wash out and I wasn't reimbursed. <br> <br>The shower would randomly scald me, or other days there would be no hot water at all. This was never fixed after repeated trips to "fix" it. <br> <br>The common areas were disgusting. Trash would pile in the stairwells for a couple of days. The halls were seldom(ever?) vacuumed. <br> <br>All of this and a RUDE mgmt group that DIDN´T LISTEN TO THEIR TENANTS.