All 22 tenant reviews.

“location-wise, it's Gxcellent and our monthly rent is quite reasonable given the square footage we're getting. The main issue is that the property manager is Rruly ineffective. She takes forever to address maintenance issues. We've reported a persistent leak coming from beneath our kitchen sink repeatedly over several months, but nothing gets done. also, she's extremely stingy with expenses. When we first moved in, all the appliances were top-of-the-line and current, but she replaced them with discounted floor models that had visible scratches and dents. To cut costs, she scheduled all our window replacements during the coldest part of December with zero advance warning. Right now I'm staying at a friend's place because she's having the boiler swapped out during winter, which means there won't be any heat for a few days straight. The temperature read 58 degrees when I left the unit.”

“Lost 4 packages in the last 2 month. One got opened and lose value immediately. This review is for 510 W Briar. Specifically, the security score of this building is under 0. The building engineer Jasmin is a nice and responsive person though. Funny thing is all of the lost packages are valuable shoes, other packages like plastic spray bottle are totally safe, big packages like have alcohol in it were left in the hall way after delivered in 7 days. It easily makes people think that the theft is most likely living in this building, or at least very familiar with this building. Otherwise who would only target on my packages and only took the valuable stuff? I don't think i'm the only victim from this kinda of situation. After called and emailed the manager, Majda, who told me to file a police report, or don't deliver packages to the building. Honestly, her advices made sense. However, the police don't give a crap of things like this, and you know how much trouble it gonna cause to pick up your packages every time from a far away UPS/Fedex office. If Bealproperty really cares about the residents, they should at least send a warning email to all the people living in the building, all i know is i never got a email about it. If Bealproperty really cares about the residents, they should at least put a sign in the hall way to warn the theft. If Bealproperty really cares about the residents, here is a suggestion. I know that there is a storage room at the first floor, add a digital locker to the door and only the resident knows the passcode. That doesn't really cost much but could be an effective way to prevent further theft issues. If you like to get your valuable packages lost, come live here.”

“This is a great location and out rent is pretty cheap for the amount of space we have. Unfortunately, the property manager is incompetent. She is very slow to resolve problems. We have had a leak under our sink for months that we've asked her to fix multiple times. She's also incredibly cheap. When we moved in all of the appliances were new but she purchased floor models with scratches and dents. To save money, she had all our windows replaced on a freezing cold day in December with no notice. I'm currently at a friend's apartment because she's having the boiler replaced in winter and there's going to be no heat for several days. It was 58 degrees when I left.”

“Lived here for two years. Upon move out we were charged $640 for re-painting pursuant to a verbal agreement we would pay "$80 per room" for them to paint the colors we wanted and repaint at move out to white. Our place has 4 rooms. $320. The "receipt" said "4 rooms, 2 coats each." Hence they calculated that to mean 8 rooms, thus $640. The problem is not just that this is an irrational interpretation of our agreement (we didn't agree to "$80 per coat" as such agreement would be ridiculous). The bigger problem is that George Dee would not discuss the issue. Literally. He stopped returning my emails or taking my call. George Dee is basically a two-faced thief. Nice over the phone, but when he know he's got your money and there's nothing you can do, then he's gone. And I know one answer is to sue in small claims court for my $320, but we moved to California so we would lose more money in travel. George knows this. They know they can steal from people moving out of state with impunity. Thus, my remedy is to inform people about the problem and hopefully the free market will react.”

“I'll give kudos to Jim if I remember his name correctly (wears glasses) he has always addressed my concerns with urgency. but then there is only so much he can do- The women staff are rude useless grumpy and need a life. The laundry room is always dirty and broken; Trash room is the filthiest with rodents the size of cats. Parking lot stinks as people lets their dogs pee all over the place. if you're standing there he dog will even pee on your legs Onsite engineer lucion is a nonsense fellow. talks and talks and talks. leaky toilets that they just couldn't fix mold in ceiling...winter was horrible as the building is old the inside temperture dropped to 50s they had to cover all the windows with sheets walls are so thin that we heard our next door neighbour cheating on her husband all the fricken time. it was unbearable the constant moaning and sex..made it look like a porno house...you always get what you pay for; cheap rent cheap people! good luck!”

“This company manages a lot of buildings. I lived at the southwest corner of sherman and noyes, commonly known as the "castle building". It is an old building, but well-maintained. Storage lockers are in the basement, but on a first-come first-serve basis, so most won't get one. Coin-op laundry is also in the basement, not so close to all the apartments, but in good working condition. Landscaping and snow removal are good. The floors are old and make a lot of noise. Also, the apartments have been painted over so many times over the years that the doors stick. The heat is done by radiators, so it is either on full blast or off. It is usually much too warm to have it full blast all the time. Our kitchen was tiny. It had almost no counter space. I never had any maintenance issues. I cannot comment on the speediness or lack thereof in repair. I received my deposit back less $35 for tub cleaning ($70 split with my roommate), which is fair since I couldn't clean the thing and would have paid that much to have it done anyway.”

“I moved to 516 Briar 4 years ago and have continually renewed my lease. Initially, I moved here because of the location, the parking, the size of the unit, and they allow pets. Through the years, I have been up and down about how I feel about living here. This has everything to do with my neighbors that have come and gone. The walls don't insulate sound too well. One year, I had a neighbor that had her alarm set for 7:00 am everyday. Well, this was fine when she was at home and could turn it off but it was hell the weekends she spent away but didn't think to turn off the alarm before she left. Other years, I have had neighbors that are respectful and there was never issues like above. As far as the apartment itself, again I like the size of the unit. Heat is included in rent and it is plenty warm during the winter. The units have large windows so during the warmer seasons, you can get I nice breeze. I occasionally have to use the air conditioners if it gets too hot. There are wall units in the bedroom and in the living room. The water pressure is good and their is ALWAYS enough hot water for long showers. The kitchen is small but well laid out and there is a bar between it and another room. I have a table and chairs in that room so it serves as a pseudo dining room. Some units have the bar area shuttered and use the other room as a second bedroom. While not for me, I could see how that could work. I have had various issues with the apartment facilities throughout the years. Each time, the building engineer has worked around my schedule to get it taken care of. Once, the heat didn't work. The toilet broke a few times. My afore mentioned neighbor got drunk and left her shower on for 8 hours and didn't mention anything to management. Well management spent 3 days drilling holes in walls around the building trying to figure out if a pipe had burst or something. They finally linked the source back to her apartment and she said "oh yeah, I forgot to tell you guys about that." They had to drywall and then repaint the holes in my apartment so it smelled like paint for a while but I can't blame them for her. I have also locked myself out of my apartment 2 dozen or so times. The doors have those locks that you can lock from the inside. Habit has me locking the door all the time and closing it; sometimes without checking if I have keys or not. Each time, I have been able to call Parliament and they have paged the engineer to open my door. I think that has been my biggest sticking point because without an on-site engineer, I'd probably would have paid $100s in locksmith fees or just been SOL sitting outside my apartment. At this point, my neighbors are cool and I haven't had any neighbor related issues in years.”

“Over the course of just one year, we had biting bugs in our bed, leaking windows during rain, washer and dryer units were routinely out of order and water cut off without notice...and the office staff are so incredibly terrible. They are unhelpful, unpolite, and rude. In addition they accused us off not paying our rent 2 weeks before we were going to move out. Fortunately I had a copy of the check they had already cashed. Bottom line: buildings are sub-par and office staff are dis-honest.”

“I did not like living here, neither did my friend, and this is why: 1. Water pressure poor (shower will suddenly get hot and cold) and water beetles frequent the tub 2. Maintenance is not responsive unless you are locked out. A friend of mine had water leaking in from her windows for over a month. Maintenance did not respond until the city cited it for code violations. I did not receive heat in my unit for a month; contacted maintenance multiple times. It was not until I escalated the issue to the manager that change happened. 3. Maintenance will enter your unit without warning. In my old unit, I would receive a call or email stating when someone would enter my unit. This does not happen. 4. Heating poor in the unit. 5. Electrical wiring poor--plug in a hair dryer and the lights will dim. They like students in these units and expect frequent turnover. Therefore, they will not fix or upgrade anything after you've moved in unless the city forces them to. If you get on the bad side of maintenance or the office (i.e. ask them to do something), they will not be responsive in the future. Their attitude is: it's an old building, so deal with it. I shouldn't have signed the lease when my apartment hunter told me to bake maintenance cookies and smile a lot ... but the location was so great. Finally, they charge way too much for the unit quality ( $1,000) for a one bedroom. Other units in south evanston go for $800-$900. Keep looking.”

“The manager is Jewish and he is a jerk. Like most of them he thinks you work for him even though you pay rent. I am sure he has a nepotistic connection with other Jews in the City and that is how he keeps his job. He has no people skills and is just an ignorant, rude son a beach.”

“The place seems great at first...the engineer of jovial and full of life when he shows you the apartment, the view (on the upper levels) is fantastic, but don't be fooled!! Parliament allows people to live in the common stairwells and does not fix serious issues (ie: leaking ceilings in 3 rooms of the apartment when it rains). During my time at 516 W. Briar, I know that every apartment on the top 2 floors had flooding due to leaks in ceilings/walls and the problem went down to at least one apartment on the 10th floor. Each time the leaking occurred Parliament assured it's tenants the problem had been fixed. It had not been fixed as of the day we moved out. They paint over mold that has grown because of all the moisture seeping through the ceilings and walls. It's an unhealthy place to live. The common area with the washer/dryers is frequently flooded and the machines do not always work. When you view the apartment, they will tell you that you get a storage locker, but good luck securing one once you sign on the dotted line and move in. Parking is available in the garage for an extra fee. The spots are small, however, so expect to get dings from your neighbor. I received several blue dings on my new car from the guy in the spot next to me. This management company and this apartment building have been the worst I've encoutered in the city of Chicago as well as any other city...and this includes places I've rented in college towns.”

“This company will screw you over BIG TIME. They are nasty slumlords and incredibly rude. They do not maintain their buildings and treat the tenants like ----. They do not exterminate either. Watch out for Parliament. Rent with someone else. My friend had an apartment with them and was completely screwed over.”

“Very unsafe place. We had people solliciting and trying to get in our apartment. My car got broken into and towed by the building towing company despite proper display of the sticker. Half of the lights in the parking lot have been out for a while, making it dark and unsafe. Overall cleaningness of the building is really poor. I had to clean for 24 hours when we moved in. The apartment was really filthy. It seems to be a constant anyhow as the laundry room is filthy too! Hasn't been cleaned in months. You have to watch out not to dirty the clothes you just washed... when the washers and dryers are working. We were told there was a bike room in the building. There is none. What is called the bike room is the hallway going to the laundry room. It doesn't lock and your bike is exposed to anyone.There is not even a rail where you can secure it! Did I mention also the trash chute that gets backed up as it is not emptied often enough and sends very undesirable smell all over the floors.”

“Great neighborhood but I had to do a lot of extra cleaning of my unit when I moved in. There is a serious problem with the cleanliness in the elevators particularly and sometimes the front walkway. It's sad because about 90% of the people in the building do not contribute to the problems but they need to get rid of the few tenants who do not clean up after their dogs or just throw random trash in the elevators! If they occassionally shampooed the hallway rugs, got rid of the problem tenants and maybe painted the lobby a lighter color this would be a really nice building and the neighborhood is absolutely fantastic.”

“I'm with another reviewer - the neighborhood keeps me here. That and I have a parking spot for $80/month. In this neighborhood that's a steal. The apartment itself is OK and pretty big for the rent, but the building itself is disgusting. There are lights out on the stairwells, and the first floor stairwell has had an empty cola bottle, and paint can, and a dirty shirt sitting in it for at least two months. The laundry room is always filthy. The trash chute has something spilled on the outside and it's been there for months. The door to the trash chute has a fire extinguisher sign on the outside, but the fire extinguisher is kept in a locked room. The only way I get maintenance requests taken care of is to threaten to withhold rent based on the tenant's ordinance. I will be contacting the Metropolitan Tenants Organization about this building.”

“This building is located near "everything".<br>The neighborhood is full of life, which make it very attractive. As a trade of, I must say that the cleaningless and security of the building could surely be improved (video monitoring of the entrance and parking lot for example are inexistant. It seems that the engineer, despite of being extremely friendly, can be a bit elusive in case of emergency! Other than that, the appartment are spacious and quiet. Kitchens have been newly remodeled and bedrooms are very large! <br>”

“One neighbor who is some bigshot in the leathe community never takes off his boots. When I suggested he remove them so as not to disturb others, he said OK and then began stomping louder. Management will not do anything. Between the stomping at all hours and the dirty laundry room, I had to move out.”

“This apartment building is a bit of a trade-off. The apartments themselves are really rather large 1 bedroom/bath especially considering the price. Not only that, but they are currently remodeling apts. If you get one of the remodeled ones, very nice indeed. <br>Management is very slow and hard to deal with though. Minor issues never get fixed, even after repeated calls. On-site matainance, so seeing him in the hall or wherever and just saying "Hey..." gets things fixed a lot quicker. <br>Never had any real issues with the apt., but then everything in it from the light fixtures to the kitchen appliances were brand new.”

“I've lived here for 2 years and have mixed feelings about this apartment building. The neighborhood and location are great and the view of downtown on the upper floors is very nice for the price. The building stays pretty warm during the winter without having to crank up the heat. However, the walls are hardly sound-proof. Any music or noise flows through them like tissue paper between the units on the same floor. I never use the laundry room because the units are OLD and can ruin your clothes. They also advertise their units as "two-bedroom" but they are actually "one-bedroom"s with a dinning room that can be converted into a second bedroom. This building is WAY overpriced for what you get.”

“In the 2 and a half years we have lived here we have seen alot of disturbing things, we have only stayed because of the great neighborhood. The leasing company tells you that this is a secure building but I can tell you that it is NOT. We have had our storage unit broken into, clothes stollen from out of the laundry room, and items stollen from right outside our door. The hallways, stairwells, and laundry room are rarely cleaned. The elevators and washing machines are always out of service and only repaired after several days of tenants calling.”

“I was lucky enough to get one of the units on the side of the building that did not flood. It took a few months of complaining to get new carpeting when I first moved in but after that, I was ok with the overall experience. <br> <br>They have a tendency to take in alot of riff-raff so check out the neighbors on your floor first.”

“In 1 and 1/2 years of living here I have had major flooding in my apartment on multiple occasions because they won´t spend money to fix anything correctly. When it does flood the response is slow and insufficient. I would strongly recommend you live somewhere else since it is not worth the trouble to live in a place that is so poorly maintained.”