Tenant Reviews for 551 W NORTH AVE

No one could pay me to enough to live here. If there was an option for 0 stars I would have put that. I lived here for 2 years, management has changed at least 5 times. The new manager never updates you to say that they are replacing the old one. That''s happened 5 times. Therefore you never know who to contact. They recently changed ownership which is just as bad as the old one. They took away the doorman that had bad hours and replaced it with no doorman. The manager now "accepts" packages when they are here during weekdays that don't work for anyone with a 9-5 job. They act like they are doing people such a great service...it's literally your job because you took away the doorman. This place is pathetic. Don't let these new renovations fool you, they look cheap as f***. Good luck doing your laundry with 4 washers and 4 dryers for over 50 units. Don't bother talking to management they have been trying to "fix things" for 2 years. What a joke.

I rented at an "affordable" rate studio and moved to another affordable 4 blks. away only because I wanted a 1 bedroom affordable and a 1br affordable had not been available at Reanissance North. These '03 &'04 reviews were nothing I could agree with at all. The staff(Jeff-Mgr, Adam-Lease Agent, Paul-Maitenance. Monroe-night security)are all friendly, accommodating and did their jobs. I started renting as a sublet there and had no problems with that either. Guests and visitors were treated well. My dog & I would have stayed if there had been a 1 br available. I wanted to be available to prospective renters to answer questions, etc. so I went to this site as people don't usually take time to give good credits. I was blown away by these '03-'04 reviews. That was the 1st time I read them. Maybe things are different here in '07-'09 since '03-'04. I can't say because I wasn't there then. I would definitely recommend Renaissance North and anyone can contact me for questions. If you have a dog, this is defintely the place for you. If you want indoor parking, safety, no hassles, this is a great place. I don't take public trans. but it is great if you do.

Wow! This is my first time checking back here in a while... This is crazy that so many people share the same sentiment regarding these people. It truly is unfortunate as this is a rather beautiful building. What a shame that they felt the need to cheapen it by adding so many surveillance cameras...makes you feel really safe doesn't it people! Says a lot about their approval process if they still feel the need to install that many cameras AND have a security guard that they doctor up as a "monitor." What idiots...each of you at the Ranaissance Companies, of course barring the staff over at the main office.<br><br>Okay, let me fill you in on some of the reasons I speak the name Ranaissance Companies with such disgust. These people are in the business of providing affordable housing. That means that pretty much all of their other properties are piss poor and smell of urine... The elevators never work and the bloody carpeting is the cheapest grade berber you can find, akin to that fake grass stuff. In fact, the "former" property manager of Renaissance North once resided in one of these other properties... that being said, how could she have ANY idea how to market OR interact with those capable of paying $2,200 a month for an apartment alone.....not a good mix.<br><br>I recall an incident that that same property manager mentioned to me regarding a fair housing sign that needed to be placed for all to see. Housing had provided 2 copies of the poster; 1 in english and the other in spanish. Well the owner, I believe vice president, did not allow the manager to post the spanish version of the poster and remarked, "This is America. People need to speak english." What??? Mind you, they speak only 1 language themselves and degrade those have a greater grasp of language as a whole than they do... Getting the idea here? Something else that I used too find peculiar is that they could sit on their high conservative (very conservative) horses and ridicule those who were not as great as thou, yet neither the property manager nor leasing director could speak proper english. Do you know how many times this woman would use the term, "irregardless"??? What??? How funny that she opened up to me and confessed that though nobody would think, she was actually white trash.....I think we've figured that out by now, the very moment we met.<br><br>These people definately enter people's homes without notice. PUT EVERYTHING IN WRITING FOLKS...everything. That is illegal for them to do, without giving 48 hours notice unless it's an emergency, and I don't call installing a door knob an emergency!<br><br>I became friends with a receptionist that quit after only a month of employment. She couldn't handle bigots. These are people whose mission is to provide affordable housing, etcetera, etcetera, yet they seem to speak and look at all who walk through the door with such a condescending attitude. <br><br>Oh, and don't try to sublet. You'd better be positive that you will not be moving, in fact as they break the law there too... I know of 2 residents who needed to break their lease as they were very unhappy and management refused to allow them to do so... Both of these residents provided 3 qualified candidates and all were denied. What??? Have you ever heard of an application taking 2 weeks to process? It does take thaqt long at RN... Why? I've since left the property and manage an 1100 unit building in another state and can tell you that I approve leases within 3 hours regularly and have a 97% occupancy rate......<br><br>RN still has yet to fill a measly 59 units...Why can't they fill 59 apartments? Because of piss poor managemnt. <br><br>So why hasn't anyone sued these people yet? Why do they stand for such failure in management? WHY??? Remember the resident who had people walking in and out of her apartment at all hours of the day without notice(she took a shower with her bathroom door locked) as well as had 3 sublets denied? Well she was well on hher way to doing so....She had a couple of lawyers working the case pro bono and they definately had their lawyers involved. Well after holding her up for 2 months that she didn't need to be paying rent, they allowed her out of her lease ONLY AFTER she agreed to sign a statement that she'd never file a lawsuit against them or speak of the incident again... WOW!!! <br><br>Do you want to deal with these kind of people? Take it from the horses mouth...YOU DON'T! Old Town has plenty of new apartments at affordable rates these days...get one of those...<br><br>btw, you can see all of the people to which I am referring on their website. They have all of their photo's there.<br><br><br>Can someone tell

I've lived in the building for over a year. The only reason my roommate and I stayed is because we moved the past two years and didn't want to deal with the hassle of searching for a new place again. I don't even have time to explain all the problems we've had but here are a few. They come into our apartment all the time without notice, the security guard is never around at night (half the time he sits in the dark board room and doesn't monitor the cameras), the parking lot is half empty yet they still want to charge everone $150 per spot plus more for a reserved spot, and the building manager just walked out without any notice. That has to tell you something. I would definitely not recommend this place and as you can see...many others agree by the reviews here.

We have lived in Renaissance North for a little over a month now. The building is great. Everyone is very friendly. The building is well secured and we feel safe. Parking is ample and the neighborhood is fun as well. I can get downtown to work in a matter of minutes (one block from Red Line i.e. North and Clyborne and one block from Brown Line Sedgwick), and we are only a short distance from many restaurants and bars.

I have never been spoken to by any management like this before.... They were so rude and disrespectful that I can't imagine that anyone would want to live in a place like this. They feel like the building is the only nice thing that Chicago has going for it. Get over yourselves!!!! The worst experience in my life.....

My lease just expired hereand I got out! I initially agreed with the other person's comments about management and the staff, even the corporate people were around all the time making me feel good. But then things started to change and I began feeling more and more like big brother was watching, and less and less safe. <br> <br>Why are there so many controls if they are confident in who they are leasing to and approving? <br> <br>Parking is good. Maintenance is good. But I just can't get past the suspicious Manager...she can't even speak proper english! Maybe I'd like leasing at some of their other properties, but I don't think they're as nice. <br> <br>Note to management: relax a bit and trust and respect your residents!

Has it ever been so obvious? Come on...

The following is an excerpt from a letter I wrote to management in September of 2003: <br><br> <br>Dear Renaissance North Management: <br><br>I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for approving myself to live at Renaissance North. I cannot even begin to express my gratitude. <br><br>The building is absoloutely beautiful from the laundry room to the parking garage. My apartment is so big that I walk a mile just to answer the telephone. My last apartment was so small, I could reach to the left or the right. I am not worried about the winter snow now that I have a garage. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!!! <br><br>Lisa Patterson is doing an outstanding job as is Paul, the maintenance attendant. They go the extra mile to meet the needs of the tenants. <br><br>I hope my residency has satisfied you in the kind of tenant I am. I take great pride in my new home and anticipate delightful memories here. <br><br>I have now decided to work 5 days a week (no more 6) and enjoy my home as well as my life. <br><br>This opportunity opens up many possibilities in my future and again, I have the Renaissance North management to thank. <br><br>THANK YOU!!!!!

Until I found this site. What are these people thinking?? I cannot wait for my lease to expire so I can leave this prison...thats exactly what it is... Why does every single inch of this place have a camera on it? I´m not trying to get away with anything, but what kind of message is that supposed to send? <br> <br>The building is a very nice one, but there are just a number of things that I shouldn´t have to deal with if I´m going to pay this much to live here... <br> <br>A growing number of residents are becoming angy at management for entering apartments without giving notice. I´m all for speedy repair, and repairs have been made in a timely manner, but tell me before you´re going to walk into my place! <br> <br>I also don´t feel so respected by the staff...management at least. The engineer is very nice, but whenever I contact the leasing office, they make me feel as though I´m bothering them...and I don´t even call that much... <br> <br>I moved in here 3 months after they "completed" the building and can understand what these other people said about the property and its staff. A lot of that was because it was a new property though. You´ll find some of that at any new place you decide to move to...but a lot of it was unwarranted as well. I just don´t know why they leased to me if there was so much left to be done to MY apartment... <br> <br>I wouldn´t describe this place as hell, as one of the others did, but if you´re looking for a place where you can enjoy your home without looking over your shoulder to see if someone is watching, you may want to look elsewhere. I pay my rent early every month yet feel like the management company thinks we´re all trying to get away with omething...give us a break!