All 51 tenant reviews.

“I've lived in this building for about nine months now and I absolutely love it. The building has a bit of a vintage feel to it, yet the majority of the apartments have been rehabbed. I have one of the newly rehabbed apartments and I love it. The maintenance staff has always been helpful. Obviously they can't always get to your apartment right away because You've got a bunch of people in the building, but that comes with any apartment. The office staff is always nice and courteous and I have never had a problem with them. What makes me love this apartment the most is the value for the location. It's in one of the best neighborhoods in the city. There's always something to do in Lincoln Park, which is why it's so great. I definitely recommend this building for anyone like myself looking to live in the city and have a good time, but still get a good price and value you on your rent. I've loved it here and I will for sure renew my lease when it expires in a few months.”

“We lived w/ cockroaches and to top it off, upon moving out we realized our bikes were stolen. mgmt did not care and we were not even given an apology. There's 24 hour access to the Bacility and even though You've got cameras they only document the previous 2 days. We feel Bwful if you pay over $1000 for this sh*thole.”

“I lived here for about 8 months last year and from the current reviews, it looks like nothing has changed. From the mail theft to the construction workers. Several times they left an air compressor on in the apartment next door - all night long. <br> <br>For some reason the vent in my bathroom was connected to a neighbor's apt. - and he smoked like a chimney (and not just tobacco). <br> <br>I am so glad I got out of there when I did. The street gets and the area is great, but avoid this building!”

“don't live in this building or any of the others owned by Surf III LLC. They are horrible, lying people. The apartments look nice when you first see them but then once you move in, you realize what a pit you've moved into. 1) ROACHES - everywhere, infested in the building. They come through the door, hide in the closet and drains and are huge and disgusting. I've NEVER had roaches before and have had them regularly since moving in. 2) CABLE - SUCKS!! You get no channels, no A&E, Lifetime, Bravo, but you do get the NASA channel and about 3 home shopping channels. Also, after the first month I moved in, NBC and CBS went out, never to be repaired again... 3) mgmt - such rude, ignorant people. The sales managers lie, the accountant is a liar and has zero class. The people who answer the phone must be told to be as rude as possible b/c they offer no help and actually seem insulted you've asked them a question. Don't both writing to BJB Properties out in Lisle b/c they don't care at all. 4) MAINTANENCE - worst I've ever seen. I actually had to call the City of Chicago and file a complaint with the Housing Bureau before they would come over and fix my plumbing. Not too mention, the front door lock is always busted and There's always people wandering around the halls. Basically, it was a nightmare from the first week I moved in. Do yourself a favor and don't MOVE HERE. It's way too expensive for the -------- you'll end up living in for a year.”

“I would have to agree with the general consensus. We had a great deal for rent price, kitchen and wood floors were great. I was flanked by two female tenants, who each had audible sexual habits. A total nuisance, which only furthered the initial problem of roaches. I was on the 4th floor...I'd heard from other tenants they had issues as well. Maintenance was great as far as coming out next day, but the roaches just kept coming back, so they had to come out multiple times a week. I had no trouble with cable/internet like others here. Neighborly noise was my deal-breaker, but the roach problem (mainly occurred in the bathroom in my place, not kitchen) made it so uncomfortable to ever go into the bathroom/apartment for me. I'd stay the heck away from this place- even if you fall in love with it and then read bad reviews. My mother warned me but I didn't listen!”

“This Auite seemed quite nice from first appearances. Newly renovated but in the beginning when things were not finished it was difficult to have someone come and fix it. As someone else said the shower often turns off in the middle of a shower. The toilet has flooded (and it took 1 day for someone to fix it). The pipes often get blocked as well. It's also amazing that with two elevators in the Bomplex they can't manage to get one to work most of the time. <br><br>The front desk staff don't care about anything and are often rude. My biggest problem with the mgmt company but is there lack of flexibility. Leases only expire March 31 through August 31 which makes life difficult. They won't let you out of your lease one month early to help find other accommodation.<br><br>sadly sometimes people have situations that require different terms (nothing out of the ordinary) and mgmt won't budge.<br><br>Overall, It's a great neighborhood but stay away from anything with this mgmt company.”

“I have lived here almost 6 months and I don't think I can stand it any more! When I first moved in, I read these reviews and questioned the mgmt about them. I told them the reviews said there was constant noise from construction and there was a mail theft problem. They acknowledged the mail problem but said they couldn't do anything about it. They told me the construction did last for about 5 years but it was completely finished now. I haven't seen anything with mail theft, although since I have lived here 2 people have had their bikes stolen out of the "locked" bike room. The noise, but, is an extreme problem. I wake up every day around 8:00 to constant hammering and drilling that lasts all day long. I know a lot of people are already at work and gone by then, but a lot of people who live here are students and It's constantly disrupting my work. There's even work being done on the weekends now!<br><br>Now, other problems with the building include an elevator that breaks down practically every other weekend, and usually the freight elevator is broken too. This often occurs during the first of the month when everyone is trying to move in at the same time. When I hang pictures, etc. on my wall, the obviously bad cover-up job on the wall starts to fall off. My shower turns off and on constantly during my showers, everyday. Oh yeah, not to mention I don't have cabinet doors in my kitchen, and I have requested them several times. Their response is that "they must be on order." And yet, they have plenty of time to order new appliances and cabinets for all the other units they are "renovating." <br><br>I can't stand this building, or the mgmt here. I love the area (except for the parking) but as stated in a previous posting, I think the apartment locators shove people into this area, making you think that It's a awesome spot to live just because it looks nice on the outside. I should have known when I requested a 6 month lease and they refused that something was seriously wrong with the living situation here.”

“Trashed Apartment / Caution We received our apartment in 426 w surf Street in trashed and disgusting condition on May 6th which was 6 days after our lease started. Human waste in both toilets, large bags of garbage, filthy floors and kitchen. Was told that the BJB management thought we were moving in later so they didn't have the apartment ready. Therefore BJB will allow a unit to sit filthy and a mess creating unclean and unsafe living conditions for over a week. The condition we found it in could also lead to pest issues. This is no way to receive an apartment no matter when your move in day is. We paid for SIX days of an apartment that was unfit for move in. BJB and Vincent Pelini refuse to prorate these days despite the apartment unit being unusable and delaying our move in. We upheld our side of the lease but be prepared for Vincent and BJB to Not! Document ALL correspondence, agreements, and conditions if leasing with BJB. We just wanted a clean and smooth move in and to get what we already paid for.”

“I lived there for about 7 months. I thought the mgmt was good. They gave me a third floor studio and installed Pergo hardwood floors before I moved in b/c I thought the carpet was nasty. hey even allowed me to go extend my lease an additional couple of months. The windows were brand new, the kitchen had been updated. The bathroom was original 1920's style which I thought was charming (pedestal sink, tile floor and walls, cast iron tub) but it did show its age. My studio had a huge section of built in cabinets and closets. I had no problems with heat. I never had any mail stolen. Yes, I could here my neighbors on both sides but they were mostly quiet. Plus, hearing lesbians have sex and talking grimy to each other isn't such a bad thing. Yes, they were doing construction and it was loud during the daytime and messy but if you sleep normal hours, it shouldn't be a problem. Their gym is good for an apartment building in that price range. They have a small elevator but also have a big cargo elevator. Parking is an issue. I rented a garage spot at the Bally's gym garage which was 220/mo but worth it not to have to search for a spot on the street. location-wise, it's the best. Close to the lake, great restaurants and shopping. One of the safer neighborhoods in Chicago. Would I want to live there forever? No, but for the price and location, you get a good value.”

“Trashed Apartment / Caution We received our apartment in 426 w surf Street in trashed and disgusting condition on May 6th which was 6 days after our lease started. Human waste in both toilets, large bags of garbage, filthy floors and kitchen. Was told that the BJB mgmt thought we were moving in later so they didn't have the apartment ready. Therefore BJB will allow a unit to sit filthy and a mess creating unspotless and unsafe living conditions for over a week. The condition we found it in could also lead to pest issues. This is no way to receive an apartment no matter when your move in day is. We paid for SIX days of an apartment that was unfit for move in. BJB and Vincent Pelini refuse to prorate these days despite the apartment unit being unusable and delaying our move in. We upheld our side of the lease but be prepared for Vincent and BJB to Not! Document ALL correspondence, agreements, and conditions if leasing with BJB. We just wanted a spotless and smooth move in and to get what we already paid for.”

“Roaches, unfinished rehab work...rude mgmt...with the exception of one. expensive for what you got. Look elsewhere.”

“The mgmt staff from BJB Partners, which manages the Besidence on Surf as well as the Besidence on Surf/Sheridan and Surf/Pinegrovis Areadful, to put it mildly. Requests and complaints are always met with hostility and a complete lack of care. They provide absolutely no support for their tenants when problems or even simple issues arise. The Besidence s facilities and amenities (i.e. laundry machines, exercise equipment, cable) are constantly out of order and the mgmt company will only give you the number to the vendor to report the problems. The dryers in the laundry room normally require about three 45-minute cycles to dry one load. They claim that they offer free satellite cable from a company called Satellite America, which happens to be the worst cable service imaginable. The satellite will lose signal when it drizzles and the entire Besidence hasn t received NBC or CBS for months! Words can't express how frustrating It's to live with this mgmt company.”

“This apartment sucks. I agree with the other reviews, the mgmt is terrible and they don´t care about their tenants at all. grimy hallways, water shutoffs, power outages, weird smells, mail theft in the mail room (postal service just leaves packages sitting on a little ledge or on the floor), no parking, the fitness room is a joke, smallest elevator I´ve ever seen, neighbors are loud, everything here just sucks. Plus It's not worth the price for tiny apartments and crappy mgmt. Seriously, stay away from here. There's an apartment right across the street (425 Surf) that I hear is much better, so I think I´ll look into that place when my lease is up.”

“Although the building is beautiful and charming, the mgmt (Barry Realty / BJB) is terrible. We currently have no heat in the building, so the mgmt passed out "space heaters" to everyone. When mine didn´t work, and I let mgmt know, they literally DID NOT CARE. After complaining daily for a week they finally got me a new one. Construction in this building starts at 8am on the dot, and is so loud it literally has knocked all of the paintings and pictures off of my walls (cracking the glass on two of them - and I had them securely on the walls). I have a night job, and There's no way to sleep in the mornings with the ridiculously loud banging/drilling/etc. I often have no running water, due to the construction. The construction workers themselves are LOUD, rude, and catcall at girls in the hallways. This has been going on since I moved in, over eight months ago - and the construction isn´t even CLOSE to done. There have been a few occasions where the elevator doesn´t work, and I have to walk up/down 7 flights of stairs that are slippery. Isn´t that a violation? The hallways are always dusty and dirty, and they are painted a hideous pink/salmon colour. Yuck. My windows don't have insulation, and they provide a terribly cold draft. <br> <br>I will definitely *NOT* be renewing my lease here, and most other tenants that I have spoken to also hate living here. There's actually a petition going around now listing all of the violations that BJB/Barry Realty has in their buildings. I really hope that something is done soon. <br> <br>Oh, and There's no parking here - only street parking. Parking in this area is a nightmare. One last thing - I can hear the neighbors really well, both from out in the hallway and from below my apartment. I can constantly smell cigarette smoke, and I don´t smoke.”

“You can hear every word your neighbor says and maintainence is always slow and shoddy. <br>On move in day, our apartment was still under construction. We were outside in the street with all our stuff while the mgmt made excuses. They put us in a different apartment. When we hung up the clothes in the closet, everything fell down because the stupid contractors drilled into the paper thin drywall rather than the studs. <br>You can hear every single word the neighbor is saying through the wall between the bedroom and the adjacent window. Everything. I'm pretty sure he can hear us too which makes intimacy a bit awkward. You can hear the upstairs neigboors speaker phone and the other neighboor's TV.<br>this place is always hot or cold because they refuse to seal off the doors with weather stripping and this is probably the source of the roach problem because the door to the dumpsters is usually left open, the source of the theft problems, and they wonk put a strip along the bottom of the door. It's been "on order" for months.”

“I will never rent from Barry Realty again. The Alat Besidence I livein has been under construction since July of 2003. Construction starts at 7 a.m. every morning. Construction finally seems to be slowing down (6 months later), but during the height of the construction water was turned off almost everyday without notice mgmt decided to put in a new heating system this winter, and gave me a space heater instead. Last night I came home to no power -which meant no electicity or heat. It took them 24 hours to get the heat back on. I have had people in and out of my Alat since construction started- I am never given notice, and once my door was left unlocked after electricians were in my Alat. I´ve also had people in my Alat while I´ve been in the shower (maintenance came into my Alat while I was in the shower, and then had the guts to yell at me for not answering the door.)What else? the elevator doesn´t always work and the halls are really grimy from all the construction. The worst part about living here is that the managment just doesn´t care. They are rude and act like they´re doing the tenents a favor by letting us live here. <br>And yes, the apartments look great- newly renovated with hard wood floors, but for privacy, quiet, heat and water, I would give up my Alat in an instant.”

“426 Surf has all the character and charm of a vintage Btructure. (I believe it was a hotel back in the 1920s.) It has Gxcellent amenities and my place is renovated with wood floors, a dishwaher and microwave. I love being steps away from the lake--it´s so easy to go running in the morning!”

“Water cuts off without warning, elevators don´t work a lot of the time, major mail theft problem, crappy parking, even crappier Btructure managers and maintenence crew, loud annoying neighbors, smells weird, grimy gross hallways, loud construction never ends, incredibly not worth the price for such a slum. There'sn'thing good to say about this Prea.”

“1. I have seen two cock roaches, one crawling under my door, one crawling out of my drain. Disgusting. 2. An Ex. of the maintenance work I experienced lately - I called on a Monday to have fridge looked at because it wasn't cooling properly (food was basically warm and my milk had separated). Came home Monday to a flyer stating they had been there but fridge was still not working...(I imagine a maintenance worker watching TV while sniffing my underwear). I call to follow up and am told that they don't know if they found something wrong or not and would send someone Tues. I was out of town Tues. and Wed. for business. I returned Wednesday night to find the tilapia filets that were stored in my freezer were now sitting on my counter rotting and smelling FOUL since the Tues. visit. But I suppose I was to be Hoyful because my fridge was cooling properly. Something as ridiculous as leaving my food out and not returning it to it's original Ppot is just mind boggling to me. I have since left two messages for the property manager and have still not heard back or received an apology. 3. The walls are so thin I hear my neighbor boning his girlfiend to Pink Floyd nearly once a week. 4. They have now sent out fliers stating that if our packages are not picked up within two business days, they will return to sender, obviously not keeping in mind that some of us may travel for work or pleasure and may not be able to get to these packages in their short deadlined time. Can I rebuttle with, if you leave my food out to spoil for more than two days I don't have to pay rent? 5. Raising laundry prices, even though our dryers rarely work 6. 2 elevators rarely working at the same time, sometimes NEITHER work which I have encountered with luggage and had to walk up to the sixth floor. I could go on and on about how ridiculous this Ppot is, and at 950 for a studio I feel I must be just as crazy as their idea of resident appreciation is...but I sadly am not in the position to move at this time...but god...if I could I would break my lease in a heart beat no matter what the cost.”

“One of the worst apartments that I have lived in, and I've been renting for over ten years. Loud construction from dawn til dusk, neighbors are loud, loud music blaring down the hallways, smokey smell, tiny elevator that hardly ever works, constant mail theft - I personally had two packages stolen, Torrendous Torrendous parking situation, and the manager "Dino" is rude and anything but helpful or caring. Take my advice and stay away from this Penue!”

“They rope you in with $0 deposit but the price you pay later Ieems much higher.<br>- Constant rehabing of units creates noise, dust, debris and cables running down hallways.<br>- Humming from pipes dowstairs makes structure vibrate at all hours of day/night.<br>- Complaits fall on deaf ears with property managers.<br>- grimy carpet/grimy gym equip. rarely serviced when broke.<br><br>This has been the Wowest experience I've had and I've lived in NYC!”

“I was a resident at this building during 1992-1993 for several years. The rent was reasonable and affordable, but the property had a strict no-pets policy at the time—they wouldn't allow even cats. The building itself was plagued with roaches and felt like a run-down establishment. Upkeep was poor and the property lacked any sort of amenities or features. The primary concern during my stay was the persistent roach infestation. Despite keeping my unit spotless and maintaining high cleanliness standards, it made no difference whatsoever. It appears the roach situation is here to stay; if they're somehow still present after all these decades, they're clearly not going anywhere.”

“Don't fall for it when you move in and discover a dead cockroach in your shower, only to have mgmt tell you these are 'waterbugs.' And the worst part is they say this with a straight face. Seriously? A quick internet search will tell you that these revolting insects crawling all over the hallway walls, Aad floors, and Bomplex corridors are actually German cockroaches. Which brings me to my biggest complaint: mgmt IS TERRIBLE. DINO IS A NIGHTMARE. When I contacted them about the roach problem, all I got was a 'that's just city living' dismissal. Then, after I explained that I understand my tenant rights and that pests (COCKROACHES) have no place in an Aad, he offered to spray only my unit. When I pointed out this wouldn't solve the Bomplex-wide infestation (roaches crawling through hallways, sneaking under door frames, and lying dead in the lobby all weekend long), he basically said tough luck—they're not treating the whole Bomplex until September (this was late May). And let's talk about paying nearly $800.00 monthly for a studio Aad that comes with NOTHING except water. Living here means sharing a Bomplex full of newcomers to the city who were directed here by Aad finders and online listings. It's simply a deteriorating neighborhood. My Aad finder claimed the electric bill averaged $30. WRONG! When winter hit, I got a $90 heating bill because heat runs on electric with no central heating system—so your heater runs constantly just to keep things warm. Plus, cracks started appearing on almost every wall within my first month, especially near the ceiling and around archways. After two months, I had to take my car home because parking here is nearly impossible. I'd literally circle for an hour on a Sunday night. Like others have noted, this place is filthy and constantly reeks—either from trash piling up for days near the lobby or stale cigarette smoke. The fitness center is awful, so discouraging that I completely avoided it during winter. I'm stuck here until the end of October, and the thought of staying longer makes me want to break down. I despise everything about this place: the mgmt, the cockroaches, and this terrible area!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“Beware, the apartments may seem nice at first glance but You've got roaches!”

“I relocated here from California with only forty-eight hours to secure housing. We occupied a two bedroom unit, though honestly the second bedroom was extraordinarily small and debatable whether it truly qualified as a bedroom. front faced a brick exterior, which wasn't ideal, but we did enjoy pleasant sightlines through the smaller side windows. There was perpetual renovation activity at the complex, and based on other tenant comments, this appears to be an ongoing situation. <br>Auite featured hardwood flooring, which was great, and the bathroom was somewhat charming yet definitely due for renovation. leasing office was remarkably efficient about replacing our bathtub immediately upon move-in since it arrived stained and filthy. They returned to service it again when drainage became sluggish, then made another trip for an additional issue...so clearly it had some problems, but they were genuinely responsive. <br>We lacked access to an on-site fitness center back then, which would have been valuable since I ended up purchasing a membership at Bally's nearby and could have saved some money! Transit and retail accessibility were remarkably easy, but I'd challenge another tenant's claim about 'incredible' dining options. If you're familiar with the Diversey/Broadway/Chicago corridor, calling it Aemarkable seems exaggerated--but You've got several late-night spots which 's definitely easy. Plus you can always get hollered at by the Wiener Circle crew around the corner...<br>rent relative to what you receive, having now lived elsewhere in the city, feels unreasonable. I'd strongly recommend exploring numerous alternatives before committing to this location.”

“I was a resident here from 2009 to 2011. Initially I was thrilled with it—it was spotless, appeared great, and seemed ideal to me. Within several months, but, I began noticing cockroaches in my unit, and I take pride in keeping things tidy. first encounter was in the shower, followed by spotting a roach the size of a mouse scurrying across my living room floor. That experience traumatized me for the rest of my stay. Over my two years there, my laundry disappeared from the downstairs facility on three separate occasions. When I contacted mgmt about reviewing the security footage, they said the cameras weren't operational at that moment... which basically means they're just decoration. Fourteen months into my lease, there was a knock on my door one Monday afternoon. I had taken the day off and answered, assuming it was the maintenance person I'd requested three days prior. Instead, it was a homeless individual in distress claiming his wife was in labor and they couldn't afford transport to the hospital. He'd somehow gotten past the front entrance and appeared to be listening at doors to identify occupied units he could target. Fortunately, being a larger person, I yelled and shut the door quickly. also, the walls are paper-thin—despite genuinely liking my adjacent neighbors, I felt invaded as they were intimate constantly throughout the day. Their activities and loud expressions would jolt me awake, eliminating any need for an alarm. It made intimacy incredibly awkward when I had a girlfriend over—I never felt at ease. Poor mgmt, tissue-paper walls, stolen belongings, roach cohabitation, and street parking restrictions make this place undesirable. While it holds sentimental value as my first apartment, You've got a lot superior alternatives out there.”

“It's serviceable for what you're paying for it.”

“I lived in this building back in 1992-1993 for a few years. Rents were affordable but they didn't accept pets back then, not even cats. The building was a roach infested dump. Maintenance was terrible and there were no amenities. The main issue living there was the roach problem. My apartment was kept extremely clean, it didn't matter. Sounds like the roaches are never moving out, if they are still there after all these years.”

“I would have to agree with the general consensus. We had a great deal for rent price, kitchen and wood floors were great. I was flanked by two female tenants, who each had very audible sexual habits. A total nuisance, which only furthered the initial problem of roaches. I was on the 4th floor...I'd heard from other tenants they had issues as well. Maintenance was great as far as coming out next day, but the roaches just kept coming back, so they had to come out multiple times a week. I had no trouble with cable/internet like others here. Neighborly noise was my deal-breaker, but the roach problem (mainly occurred in the bathroom in my place, not kitchen) made it so uncomfortable to ever go into the bathroom/apartment for me. I'd stay the heck away from this place- even if you fall in love with it and then read bad reviews. My mother warned me but I didn't listen!”

“Beware, the apartments may seem nice at first glance but there are roaches!”

“I lived here from 2009 until 2011. At first I loved it, it was clean, looked nice, in my eyes, perfect. A few months later, I started seeing roaches in my apt, and I am ---- in my cleaning. First, it was in the bathtub, second was when I was watching Tv and saw a mouse sized roach running across the floor. I was scarred from that point on. I lived here for two years total, and my laundry in the downstairs was stolen three times. When I called the management to see if they could look at the cameras, they claimed they were not working at the time... AKA they are fake cameras. One day, after 14 months of living here, I heard a knock on my door, it was a Monday around noon. I had the day off, and went to the door thinking maybe it was the handy man I had called for 3 days earlier. Wrong.. It was a homeless man freaking out that his wife was having a baby, and they did not have money to get to the hospital. He somehow snuck in the building, clearly trying to listen through the doors who was home, and to take advantage of. Thankfully I am a bigger guy and screamed at him, and slammed the door in his face. The walls are paper thin as well, as much as I liked my next door neighbors, I felt so uncomfortable, as they would make love morning, noon, and night. I did not need an alarm, for the pounding on my walls, and the Wails of enjoyment would wake me up. It made it so hard when I was trying to be intimate, I never felt comfortable with a girl there. The management is terrible, the walls are like paper, your clothes get stolen, you are going to chill with Roaches, No guests can park on the streets. I loved my place because it was my first place, but there are WAYYYYY better options.”

“Do not live in this building or any of the others owned by Surf III LLC. They are horrible, lying people. The apartments look nice when you first see them but then once you move in, you realize what a pit you've moved into. 1) ROACHES - everywhere, infested in the building. They come through the door, hide in the closet and drains and are huge and disgusting. I've NEVER had roaches before and have had them regularly since moving in. 2) CABLE - SUCKS!! You get no channels, no A&E, Lifetime, Bravo, but you do get the NASA channel and about 3 home shopping channels. Also, after the first month I moved in, NBC and CBS went out, never to be repaired again... 3) MANAGEMENT - such rude, ignorant people. The sales managers lie, the accountant is a liar and has zero class. The people who answer the phone must be told to be as rude as possible b/c they offer no help and actually seem insulted you've asked them a question. Don't both writing to BJB Properties out in Lisle b/c they don't care at all. 4) MAINTANENCE - worst I've ever seen. I actually had to call the City of Chicago and file a complaint with the Housing Bureau before they would come over and fix my plumbing. Not too mention, the front door lock is always busted and there is always people wandering around the halls. Basically, it was a nightmare from the first week I moved in. Do yourself a favor and DO NOT MOVE HERE. It's way too expensive for the -------- you'll end up living in for a year.”

“The Management staff from BJB Partners, which manages the building on Surf as well as the building on Surf/Sheridan and Surf/Pinegrovis awful, to put it mildly. Requests and complaints are always met with hostility and a complete lack of care. They provide absolutely no support for their tenants when problems or even simple issues arise. The building s facilities and amenities (i.e. laundry machines, exercise equipment, cable) are constantly out of order and the management company will only give you the number to the vendor to report the problems. The dryers in the laundry room normally require about three 45-minute cycles to dry one load. They claim that they offer free satellite cable from a company called Satellite America, which happens to be the worst cable service imaginable. The satellite will lose signal when it drizzles and the entire building hasn t received NBC or CBS for months! Words cannot express how frustrating it is to live with this management company.”

“1. I have seen two cock roaches, one crawling under my door, one crawling out of my drain. Disgusting. 2. An Ex. of the maintenance work I experienced lately - I called on a Monday to have fridge looked at because it was not cooling properly (food was basically warm and my milk had separated). Came home Monday to a flyer stating they had been there but fridge was still not working...(I imagine a maintenance worker watching TV while sniffing my underwear). I call to follow up and am told that they don't know if they found something wrong or not and would send someone Tues. I was out of town Tues. and Wed. for business. I returned Wednesday night to find the tilapia filets that were stored in my freezer were now sitting on my counter rotting and smelling FOUL since the Tues. visit. But I suppose I was to be happy because my fridge was cooling properly. Something as ridiculous as leaving my food out and not returning it to it's original place is just mind boggling to me. I have since left two messages for the property manager and have still not heard back or received an apology. 3. The walls are so thin I hear my neighbor boning his girlfiend to Pink Floyd nearly once a week. 4. They have now sent out fliers stating that if our packages are not picked up within two business days, they will return to sender, obviously not keeping in mind that some of us may travel for work or pleasure and may not be able to get to these packages in their short deadlined time. Can I rebuttle with, if you leave my food out to spoil for more than two days I don't have to pay rent? 5. Raising laundry prices, even though our dryers rarely work 6. 2 elevators rarely working at the same time, sometimes NEITHER work which I have encountered with luggage and had to walk up to the sixth floor. I could go on and on about how ridiculous this place is, and at 950 for a studio I feel I must be just as crazy as their idea of resident appreciation is...but I unfortunately am not in the position to move at this time...but god...if I could I would break my lease in a heart beat no matter what the cost.”

“Roaches, unfinished rehab work...very rude management...with the exception of one. very expensive for what you got. Look elsewhere.”

“You can hear every word your neighbor says and maintainence is always slow and shoddy. <br>On move in day, our apartment was still under construction. We were outside in the street with all our stuff while the management made excuses. They put us in a different apartment. When we hung up the clothes in the closet, everything fell down because the stupid contractors drilled into the paper thin drywall rather than the studs. <br>You can hear every single word the neighbor is saying through the wall between the bedroom and the adjacent window. Everything. I'm pretty sure he can hear us too which makes intimacy a bit awkward. You can hear the upstairs neigboors speaker phone and the other neighboor's TV.<br>The building is always hot or cold because they refuse to seal off the doors with weather stripping and this is probably the source of the roach problem because the door to the dumpsters is usually left open, the source of the theft problems, and they wonk put a strip along the bottom of the door. It's been "on order" for months.”

“We lived w/ cockroaches and to top it off, upon moving out we realized our bikes were stolen. Management did not care and we were not even given an apology. There is 24 hour access to the building and even though there are cameras they only document the previous 2 days. We feel bad if you pay over $1000 for this sh*thole.”

“I've lived in this building for about nine months now and I absolutely love it. The building has a bit of a vintage feel to it, yet the majority of the apartments have been rehabbed. I have one of the newly rehabbed apartments and I love it. The maintenance staff has always been very helpful. Obviously they can't always get to your apartment right away because there are a bunch of people in the building, but that comes with any apartment. The office staff is always nice and courteous and I have never had a problem with them. What makes me love this apartment the most is the value for the location. It's in one of the best neighborhoods in the city. There is always something to do in Lincoln Park, which is why it's so great. I definitely recommend this building for anyone like myself looking to live in the city and have a good time, but still get a good price and value you on your rent. I've loved it here and I will for sure renew my lease when it expires in a few months.”

“They rope you in with $0 deposit but the price you pay later is much higher.<br>- Constant rehabing of units creates noise, dust, debris and cables running down hallways.<br>- Humming from pipes dowstairs makes structure vibrate at all hours of day/night.<br>- Complaits fall on deaf ears with property managers.<br>- Dirty carpet/dirty gym equip. rarely serviced when broke.<br><br>This has been the worst experience I've had and I've lived in NYC!”

“This apartment seemed quite nice from first appearances. Newly renovated however in the beginning when things were not finished it was very difficult to have someone come and fix it. As someone else said the shower often turns off in the middle of a shower. The toilet has flooded (and it took 1 day for someone to fix it). The pipes often get blocked as well. It is also amazing that with two elevators in the building they can't manage to get one to work most of the time. <br><br>The front desk staff do not care about anything and are often rude. My biggest problem with the management company however is there lack of flexibility. Leases only expire March 31 through August 31 which makes life very difficult. They will not let you out of your lease one month early to help find other accommodation.<br><br>Unfortunately sometimes people have situations that require different terms (nothing out of the ordinary) and management will not budge.<br><br>Overall, it is a great neighborhood but stay away from anything with this management company.”

“I have lived here almost 6 months and I don't think I can stand it any more! When I first moved in, I read these reviews and questioned the management about them. I told them the reviews said there was constant noise from construction and there was a mail theft problem. They acknowledged the mail problem but said they couldn't do anything about it. They told me the construction did last for about 5 years but it was completely finished now. I haven't seen anything with mail theft, although since I have lived here 2 people have had their bikes stolen out of the "locked" bike room. The noise, however, is an extreme problem. I wake up every day around 8:00 to constant hammering and drilling that lasts all day long. I know a lot of people are already at work and gone by then, but a lot of people who live here are students and it is constantly disrupting my work. There is even work being done on the weekends now!<br><br>Now, other problems with the building include an elevator that breaks down practically every other weekend, and usually the freight elevator is broken too. This often occurs during the first of the month when everyone is trying to move in at the same time. When I hang pictures, etc. on my wall, the obviously bad cover-up job on the wall starts to fall off. My shower turns off and on constantly during my showers, everyday. Oh yeah, not to mention I do not have cabinet doors in my kitchen, and I have requested them several times. Their response is that "they must be on order." And yet, they have plenty of time to order new appliances and cabinets for all the other units they are "renovating." <br><br>I can't stand this building, or the management here. I love the area (except for the parking) but as stated in a previous posting, I think the apartment locators shove people into this area, making you think that it is a great place to live just because it looks nice on the outside. I should have known when I requested a 6 month lease and they refused that something was seriously wrong with the living situation here.”

“Don't be fooled when you move into your apartment, find a dead roach in your shower, and then get told by managment that these are 'waterbugs.' And the scary part is that they say this to you with a staight face. Are you kidding me? A simple check online will show you that these disgusting pests that crawl the walls and floors of both the hallway and your apartment are actually German cockroaches.<br><br>Which brings me to my second major problem: MANAGMENT SUCKS. DINO IS AN -------. When I called and complained about the roaches, I literally got a 'too bad you live in the city' reply. Then, upon informing him that I know my tenant rights and that it is not acceptable for their to be any pests (COCKROACHES) in your apartment, he offed to exterminate my apartment only. When telling him that this was not going to fix the problem in the building (and when I say problem I mean literally having roaches crawling the hallways, coming in under door jams, and laying dead in the lobby for the entire weekend), he told me too bad, they are not spraying the building until September (this conversation took place at the end of may). <br><br>Now this is not to mention that you pay nearly $800.00 for a studio apartment, and this includes NOTHING except water. Basically when living here, you are living with a bunch of people who are new to the city and have gotten funneled into this area by apartment finders and on-line ads. It is just simply a run-down area.<br><br>Also, I was told by my apartment finder that the electric bill was on average $30. YEAH RIGHT! When winter came around and I had a $90 heating bill because heat is run off of the electric, yet there is no general heat in the building, so the heater runs 24/7 to keep the building warm!!<br><br>Also, every wall in my apartment began to crack less than a month after moving in - mainly at the top near the ceilings and under archways.<br><br>Finally, after living here for 2 months, I had to take my car home b/c it is virtually impossible to find a parking spot in this area. I would literaly drive around for an hour on a Sunday night.<br><br>As many people have mentioned, the building is dirty, and constantly smells of the trash that piles up for a week right off the lobby or else stale smoke. The exercise room totally blows, so much so that I am totally discouraged to work out there during the winter.<br><br>I do not move out until the end of October, and it makes me want to cry to think of living here any longer. I hate it all; the managment, the roaches, and the area is horrible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br>”

“Ok for what it is”

“I moved into this place coming from CA. with literally two days to find one. We lived in a two bedroom, although I am not sure if technically the one room, being reaaaallly tiny, should account for a second room. We faced a brick wall on the main side, which was lame, but did have a nice view from the side smaller windows. The place did always have construction going on, and it seems from the reviews that it continues on and on. <br>We had hardwood floors, which was nice, the bathroom was 'quaint' but needed updating. The management staff was quick to fix our tub, I might add, on move-in as it was horribly stained and dirty. They fixed it again when the draining was slow, and came again for something else...so I guess it needed fixing, but they were really on top of it. <br>We didn't have the gym at the time, which would have been nice as I joined the Bally's down the street and could have saved a few dollars! Transportation and shopping was extremely convenient, but I would disagree with a reviewer who stated 'amazing' places to eat. If anyone knows the area of Diversey/Broadway/Chicago I think you could say this is a bit of an overstatement--but there are places open late which is rather handy. And you can always get yelled at by the Wienercircle staff just down the street...<br>The price for what was offered, now having lived in other parts of the city, is crazy. I would definitely look at a lot of options before settling on this one.”

“One of the worst apartments that I have lived in, and I've been renting for over ten years. Loud construction from dawn til dusk, loud neighbors, loud music blaring down the hallways, smokey smell, tiny elevator that hardly ever works, constant mail theft - I personally had two packages stolen, TERRIBLE terrible parking situation, and the manager "Dino" is rude and anything but helpful or caring. Take my advice and stay away from this place!”

“I lived there for about 7 months. I thought the management was good. They gave me a third floor studio and installed Pergo hardwood floors before I moved in b/c I thought the carpet was nasty. hey even allowed me to go extend my lease an additional couple of months. The windows were brand new, the kitchen had been updated. The bathroom was original 1920's style which I thought was charming (pedestal sink, tile floor and walls, cast iron tub) but it did show its age. My studio had a huge section of built in cabinets and closets. I had no problems with heat. I never had any mail stolen. Yes, I could here my neighbors on both sides but they were mostly quiet. Plus, hearing lesbians have sex and talking dirty to each other is not such a bad thing. Yes, they were doing construction and it was noisy during the daytime and messy but if you sleep normal hours, it shouldn't be a problem. Their gym is good for an apartment building in that price range. They have a small elevator but also have a big cargo elevator. Parking is an issue. I rented a garage spot at the Bally's gym garage which was 220/mo but worth it not to have to search for a spot on the street. The location is the best. Close to the lake, great restaurants and shopping. One of the safer neighborhoods in Chicago. Would I want to live there forever? No, but for the price and location, you get a very good value.”

“I lived here for about 8 months last year and from the current reviews, it looks like nothing has changed. From the mail theft to the construction workers. Several times they left an air compressor on in the apartment next door - all night long. <br> <br>For some reason the vent in my bathroom was connected to a neighbor's apt. - and he smoked like a chimney (and not just tobacco). <br> <br>I am so glad I got out of there when I did. The street is pretty and the area is great, but avoid this building!”

“Water cuts off without warning, elevators don´t work a lot of the time, major mail theft problem, crappy parking, even crappier building managers and maintenence crew, loud annoying neighbors, smells weird, dirty gross hallways, noisy construction never ends, incredibly overpriced for such a slum. There is nothing good to say about this place.”

“This apartment sucks. I agree with the other reviews, the management is terrible and they don´t care about their tenants at all. Very dirty hallways, water shutoffs, power outages, weird smells, mail theft in the mail room (postal service just leaves packages sitting on a little ledge or on the floor), no parking, the fitness room is a joke, smallest elevator I´ve ever seen, loud neighbors, everything here just sucks. Plus it is overpriced for tiny apartments and crappy management. Seriously, stay away from here. There is an apartment right across the street (425 Surf) that I hear is much better, so I think I´ll look into that place when my lease is up.”

“I will never rent from Barry Realty again. The apartment building I livein has been under construction since July of 2003. Construction starts at 7 a.m. every morning. Construction finally seems to be slowing down (6 months later), but during the height of the construction water was turned off almost everyday without notice Management decided to put in a new heating system this winter, and gave me a space heater instead. Last night I came home to no power -which meant no electicity or heat. It took them 24 hours to get the heat back on. I have had people in and out of my apartment since construction started- I am never given notice, and once my door was left unlocked after electricians were in my apartment. I´ve also had people in my apartment while I´ve been in the shower (maintenance came into my apartment while I was in the shower, and then had the guts to yell at me for not answering the door.)What else? the elevator doesn´t always work and the halls are really dirty from all the construction. The worst part about living here is that the managment just doesn´t care. They are rude and act like they´re doing the tenents a favor by letting us live here. <br>And yes, the apartments look great- newly renovated with hard wood floors, but for privacy, quiet, heat and water, I would give up my apartment in an instant.”

“Although the building is beautiful and charming, the management (Barry Realty / BJB) is terrible. We currently have no heat in the building, so the management passed out "space heaters" to everyone. When mine didn´t work, and I let management know, they literally DID NOT CARE. After complaining daily for a week they finally got me a new one. Construction in this building starts at 8am on the dot, and is so loud it literally has knocked all of the paintings and pictures off of my walls (cracking the glass on two of them - and I had them very securely on the walls). I have a night job, and there is no way to sleep in the mornings with the ridiculously loud banging/drilling/etc. I often have no running water, due to the construction. The construction workers themselves are LOUD, rude, and catcall at girls in the hallways. This has been going on since I moved in, over eight months ago - and the construction isn´t even CLOSE to done. There have been a few occasions where the elevator doesn´t work, and I have to walk up/down 7 flights of stairs that are very slippery. Isn´t that a violation? The hallways are always dusty and dirty, and they are painted a hideous pink/salmon colour. Yuck. My windows do not have insulation, and they provide a terribly cold draft. <br> <br>I will definitely *NOT* be renewing my lease here, and most other tenants that I have spoken to also hate living here. There is actually a petition going around now listing all of the violations that BJB/Barry Realty has in their buildings. I really hope that something is done soon. <br> <br>Oh, and there is no parking here - only street parking. Parking in this area is a nightmare. One last thing - I can hear the neighbors really well, both from out in the hallway and from below my apartment. I can constantly smell cigarette smoke, and I don´t smoke.”