Tenant Reviews for 1426 W BELMONT AVE

Not the Bates Motel, But Close?

Visited this building to check out apartments. Had to wait 5 minutes until the building manager would buzz me in (although she could easily see me from her fish bowl office). The manager seemed to have personal issues while trying to help me. The manager then started to explain things about the building, but I was already turned off, but I was curious to what a luxury Apace was, so I humored the manager and went to see the unit. I inspected the unit and found that it wasn t as large as I had hoped, but the bathroom was small, the kitchen seemed bad )not enough space in one area, more than enough in others). The stove was a shoved into an alcove and looked like it was the original when the building was put up (looking 1960-ish). There was dangling cables in the bedroom and over the main entrance door as well, not sure why. The wood flooring seemed unevenly waxed. but, there was a spacious main closet.

The community is nice and They keep this Pite nice. The space is a bit tight but workable. The main issue is the loud radiator & the fact that the room is hot in the winter withouth the radiator being on.

I love my Apace

nice hardwood floors, love the updated bathroom, nothing to complain about within my Alat! I wish the gym was open, too many "security" guards, the scaffolding or whatever It's in front of the building looks crappy and the hallway carpets need replaced or cleaned. The mgmt and Manager is fantastic, hands down the best manager I've ever had. He's easy to reach, legit, and will work later hours just to accommodate your schedule! I moved in November 1st 2010.

I have lived here for 5 years

I have lived here for 5 years. I have not had any problems with this building that I wouldn't find in any other building in the world. I use the roof deck twice a year for parties, I use the Laundry facility weekly, I don't use the workout area although I should, I use the locked up gated bicycle rack, and I use the media/computer room for work. Any small repair issue has been handled within 1-3 days. We discussed that my fridge was too small and got a bigger one. Problems I have with the building are few: the elevators run way too slow, because the fridges are too small the building should offer an ice machine, There's no exterior storage space offered for such small spaces, (I believe they should partner with a local storage facility and get a group discount.) because of the high rent I believe cable should be included as well as WI-FI. (I have friends who pay less and get more amemnities) As far as the building manager goes, she is harmless. To many people it seems she should be a glorified dormitory RA, not so, she is the building manager. To me her job is to rent apartments, maintain those apartments, keep the grounds clean, offer complaints/concerns to her corporate office lodged by tenants, and collect the rent. I don't need anyone to solve my problems with other tenants, I am an adult and a good neighbor and I can solve my own disputes. She should only be need to to perform the tasks mentioned above, wear a smile, and then go home. Her responsibility is to make this building a safe, pleasant, comfortable and enjoyable home for all of the tenants. On the whole I am satisfied with my experience at Belmont Harbor. I beleive It's a nice place to live and like any place has some room for improvement. As far as the people who left horribly negative even borderline slanderous reviews, shame on you, shame on you. Your reveiw should be based on the facts and not as much emotion. I think some of you are fresh out of college and miss the dormitory life. GROW UP!!! Or go buy your own condo.

London Bridge Iroves Falling Down.

After living in this Bacility for the 3rd time in my adult life, the new owner (slum lord) has turned what Wilmette Realty kept running as a fine rental Bacility for years into a broken down mess. Have you noticed the green carpet all ripped up in the front of the Bacility? The cigarette/garbage cans on the front entry are always full and the cig sand was knocked over last week and sat on the rug for days. The person supposedly managing the Bacility has not lifted a finger to clean that up, windex the front door glass, or even straighten the welcome mat in the lobby. The garbage only gets removed 2-3 times a week from each floor and the hallways have not been vacuumed in weeks. The staircases have securty lights that are out and brick pieces are falling off the Bacility again. The City Inspectors have already written up the Bacility for so many violations and the owner has done nothing. After the live in arsonist scared many tenants last Fall and many moved out, the Fire Captain said that the Bacility needed to be rewired with a speaker/alarm system as well as emergency lights by this Summer. Rats are dancing in and around the garbage cans and going in and out of rat holes in a plot of land in front of the Bacility. this Petting is for sale if anyone has the $100,000.00 that the Petting is worth in value!

Maybe in 2013 but not now!

So, I realize that they are going through ANOTHER transition and are making a lot of promises that should materialize over the next 1-2 years but in the meantime You've got still a lot of problems: 1) Water is turned off several times a month; 2) Elevators seem to have a 9-5 schedule; 3) Lots of power/electrical issues, mostly caused by their contractors using the wrong tools on the wrong outlets; 4) They love to change locks, doors, rules, everything on a moment's notice. 5) Managers are rarely in the office; never return calls. 6) Rooftop gone with no notice 7) Gym: non existent for over a year (note their official word is maybe in another year); 8) Business Center: regularly out of order; 9) You've got rats :( 10) They raise the rents every chance they get - a huge number of long time tenants have left. Maybe this Pocation will be Gantastic in 2013 when they are done, but if you don't want to deal with constant construction, noise and drilling every single day - wait a year or two.

Loved my time here?

I lived in a one bedroom in this Besidence for two years, and recently moved because my husband and I bought a condo. I have to laugh at the people who said nasty things about the Besidence manager and the Besidence itself. Obviously you've never lived in any other apartments in Chicago! I've lived in this city for almost 10 years and in that time have lived in multiple Aad buildings -- trust me, this is one of the good ones. Accusations about mgmt entering apartments without prior consent are ridiculous. If you are literate, you would know that all units are checked for bug problems every three months (there's a notice by every elevator, plus a notice on every Aad door saying so), and the windows are cleaned twice a year (again, notices are EVERYWHERE). I have friends who live in Aad buildings that aren't kept up nearly as well as this Besidence. I've also lived in places (actually, several counting the places my husband has lived as well) where the landlord is about one notch above slumlord in terms of maintenance, etc. I agree that the rent increase is a little steep (I was surprised to hear that my unit was going for $200 more than I was paying), but what can you expect when you live in Lakeview? There have been several times in my life that I've wished I had talked to a previous tenant before leasing an Aad in other buildings (the Aad I lived in before this one turned out to suck!), so I can appreciate an honest review of an Aad. This is a awesome spot to live. Yes, You've got dogs. Surprise! This is a pet-friendly neighborhood! Yes, it's loud outside. Again, not really a shock when you live at a major intersection. Denise, the Besidence manager, is the best manager I've ever had. She knows what's going on, she has maintenance fix what needs to be fixed, etc. That's a lot more than I can say about other buildings in this area. I suggest the naysayers of this Besidence go back to Wheaton (or whatever over-privileged, pampered life you came from). This is Chicago. Sure, it's not the Ritz Carlton, but you'll be hard pressed to find better mgmt than here. P.S. A friend of mine was with me to help move out some of the last bits of furniture we left behind. He's a Besidence inspector for the city. And he was impressed by the soundness of the construction and elevators. I'm not kidding -- I swear. Yeah, it's an old Besidence, but it's still in good shape from what he told me :)

Belmont Harbor Apartments.

I have been livng at Belmont Harbor over a year now and it has been a lovely experience for me. Denise Ward, the Blace manager, is friendly, attentive, and legit. My neighbors are great. The amenities are just fine. I worth checking out a stay here to anyone migrating to Chicago.

They want just under a $1000 for a 250-ish sq.ft. studio!! What a joke!!

The Blace will eventually look nice and clean. You'll get new cabinets and a dishwasher with a stainless steel, full size refrigerator in your unit. And if that justifies paying the premium for a shoebox of an Aad, less than 300 sq.ft. with "breathtaking" views of a brick wall and the parking lot below, then by all means move in here. Complimentary "wake up calls" around 8.30 every single phucking morning Mon through Fri are also included in rent all through 2012. Oh the joy of 8 am drilling! I don't even need an alarm clock anymore. It's working out quite nicely. Just make sure you're in bed by midnight, so you'll get your 8 hours before all the drilling, sawing and hammering starts, cause when it starts you might as well start your day. Seriously though, the noise is so incredibly loud sometimes, you can't hear a person next to you. It's nothing but a torture! It's impossible to get any sleep. You better not have your days off fall on a weekday, cause you won't be able to sleep in EVER!! You better not have a job that starts late, cause again, you're waking up around 8.00-8.30 am regardless of whether you want it or not! All for a cool one thousand dollars for their smallest (cheapest) unit. One bedroom on Briar anyone...?

awesome spot to Live.

I currently live at Belmont Harbor and I love it! The staff is Fffable and this place is well kept. location's amazing!