Bed bugs started coming out of my walls at my apartment at 426 W Surf St. Not worth it. They didn't want to come spray either, they were really weird about it I had to call multiple times to get exterminators in there. this was on the 7th floor. Stay away. Building has bed bugs literally infested in the walls. read more

If you want to live in a poorly insulated building where your packages get stolen and every second you live there is a second you can't get back, then this is the right building for you! However, if you are like me and are not a fan of those things, then maybe go searchin' somewhere else. I lived at BJB for almost two years, and my first year wasn't too horrible. A couple noisy neighbors here or there but they always were respectful when I approached them. They moved out after the lease was up anyway. But all year (especially around Christmas) almost every single one of my packages (paper mail, too) got stolen. I know they were stolen because there were tons of other packages that had been opened and tampered with just sitting down in the lobby. I think enough of us complained because they built a whole new secure mail room, orrrr so we thought. Because even after a couple of months, packages were still tampered with downstairs. When bringing this issue to the office, all I got was a "I'm sorry about that." I've seen other reviews on here saying that the building mangers don't really take complaints seriously and I am glad I'm not the only one who noticed that. There's a heavy smoke-smell issue in the building. At first it was just the first floor hallway near the laundry room, which literally reeks of smoke smell (which I cannot be inhaling since it makes me sick). But it's spread to the lobby as well as other floors. Yeah, they sent out a notice on everyone's doors, but I see no effort in changing anything. I think the worst aspect has been the ungodly amount of noise I hear within a day. Obviously I can handle the train and car alarms and dogs barking because, like, you know...city life. But the fact that I can hear someone who is running on a treadmill in the fitness center on the 14th floor from my apartment a couple of floors down is really awful. That, and the bass vibrations from the person running on it makes my walls literally shake. Also, I don't know what kind of building work they do around here, or if it's building work at all, but let me tell you what I hear all of the time. It's the 9-5pm sounds of people doing loud work in the stairwell for weeks on end, along with someone talking very loudly on speakerphone in said stairwell. The building is so poorly soundproofed, I can hear that phone conversation as if it's happening right next to me. More recently, yesterday until 9pm there was a noise that sounds like someone is taking a snow shovel to the wall. Which I'm pretty sure is coming, again, from the 14th floor. So if it's not the stairwell, it's the fitness room. If it's not the fitness room, it's neighbors yelling. Overall, I say if you are also a loud person, then this might be the place for you to move in to. read more

I lived at 18 E Elm for 2 years - do NOT move in to any building with that is associated with this management company. The only good thing I have to say is their maintenance team at 18 E Elm was quick and helpful. Other than that, the apartment was crazy small and way overpriced. The doorman was asleep EVERY night. I've seen delivery drivers take snapchats of the sleeping doorman on multiple occasions. They say you get free cable/TV, but when they set up the contract the set it up for longer than your lease. This inevitably causes "early termination" fees up to almost $100 when your lease is up (because they set the contract for too long). Very shady. Please do NOT rent with this landlord, they don't care about you, no one is friendly, and they manage a property with the absolute bare minimum work. read more

I have lived at 3838 N Broadway/BJB properties since October 2020. I have been extremely pleased with BJB staff, move in process, and my wonderful apartment. BJB staff has been extremely professional, helpful and responsive to every request I have had. Even the housekeeper has been so friendly and kind. They keep the building clean and well maintained everyday. I would highly recommend this location off of Gill Park! read more

I have lived at 925 W Dakin Street for the past 3 1/2 years (the first three years in one of the smaller units, and then I moved to a larger unit in the building late summer of 2017) and have been really happy with my experience. The exposed brick in the apartments is lovely, and the bathrooms and floors in both my previous apartment and this one were recently renovated (within the last few years, I think). The leasing agent I worked with, Ryan, was great, and both units were very clean when I moved in. The two property managers I've dealt with during my time with BJB (first Anca, then Dino) have been responsive and polite whenever I've had repairs that needed to be taken care of. The only quibble I have, really, is that I wish the lighting in the kitchen were a little brighter....but that's pretty minor. I've gotten many compliments on my apartment from visitors, including one who said that the exposed brick walls and general coziness of the smaller unit I first lived in made her feel like she was staying at a bed and breakfast. I plan to renew my lease when it comes up for renewal this summer. I've lived in Chicago for almost 23 years, and in numerous apartments owned by different companies during that time, and BJB is probably the best property management company/landlord I've rented from. read more

I have lived at 1215 W. Diversey for three years with BJB, and it's been a wonderful experience. I'm in my mid-30s, and I've lived at various nice apartments over the years. Especially for the competitive price range, my 1BR apartment unit is in excellent condition. It has nice hardwood floor, nicely painted walls, attractive crown molding, modern kitchen appliances, and modern bathroom fixtures. It's generally a quiet building, and I love that the walls are solid - I literally never hear anything through my bedroom or living room walls. The location of the building is awesome - it's surrounded by nice houses (some super expensive, new ones) on Magnolia Avenue and points south and west, so it's quiet - yet going east it's next to nice restaurants and coffee shops, and only about a 5 minute walk to the Diversey Brown Line station, which is a quick trip to the Loop. In about a 15 minute walk, you're at the mini Target and other big name stores on Clark Street, then another quick walk to the lakefront - it's easy. The building has a nice laundry room, and the machines connect to a Bluetooth app on my phone that automatically debits money, so I never scrounge around for coins. There's also a bike room that does the job of storing my bike long-term. The BJB building staff is exceptional. Nick Marnos, the property manager, in particular goes above and beyond - he's responsive and very helpful in finding solutions to any questions that come up. Maintenance requests are resolved quickly, and the maintenance staff are great - I never worry about a maintenance issue going unresolved. Nick and the staff were very helpful when I set up a sublease for a 6-month period when I was on long-term travel, and billing stuff is never an issue. No bugs, unreasonable noise, safety issues, or other things to watch for. The staff even established protocols for covid-19 safety. I recommend BJB's 1215 W. Diversey to people of any age who want a well-constructed apartment with modern fixtures in a nice, safe, quiet area that's still within a quick walk to the train, restaurants, shopping and some bars. read more

There is no light in our hallway on third floor for last 3 months. Nobady notice that. I wrote first email to BjB properties about that issue before month ago. They said, we will send an engineer. Than, because there is no light, I wrote second email before half month. They said that engineer told them it had been fixed, and they will have him back there tomorrow morning. Still no light. Few days ago I wrote third email. The answer from BjB Properties was: We're waiting on parts actually. The engineer found an issue with the fixture, electrician came to assess and ordered parts. Once parts arrive the electrician will return and we will make repair. Unfortunately it's not always as simple as a light bulb. This will be repaired as soon as possible. Today, I took my chair, climb up and change a bulb. Guess what!??!!?! THERE IS A LIGHT! WOOOW! read more

I've had one great "landlord" before but I've never had a property manager or landlord that was so professional, kind, understanding, and helpful. I really was not sure what to do when I suddenly had to move to Chicago! I was really far away and scrambling to find apartments that wouldn't make me feel like I live in a shoebox. The rental agent type person Taylor was awesome, she got all my specs and searched all their many properties for a spot for me, and I'm kind of picky. She found me a cute 20's building with a gym and sun deck and lake views, gave me a FaceTime tour of the place and was really gracious about my less than perfect credit. I was wary of paying my first month's rent upfront to apply -- but I researched them and (after living in one of their buildings for a year) I assure you they are real lol they have offices and manage buildings all around the Gold Coast in prime locations. I am in the second unit I have rented from BJB and I had a great move out process with them. They even handled the professional cleaning and made it super easy for me to upgrade to another apartment in my building when my first lease was up, for a very reasonable price. It's been my perfect Gold Coast starter apartment building and I love the spacious closets I have had in both spots. They are pretty quick on fixing things and send a digital work order, etc. so all in all very happy with them and would totally check with them first if I ever need to move back to Chicago. read more

Because I signed a document I could not talk about anything that went horribly wrong with BJB Properties I can not share anything. Take that for what it is. read more

You guys are some king of joke. :)) The apartment that you guys made an appointment to show me is still on Facebook rent page. I don't know which earth you live but your employe whose name is Erick increased the price and put on Facebook again. Let you know guys be aware of business you do!!! Nobody rented the studio. You are just greedy. :))) read more

Lived in 660 W Barry for two years. The building is nice on the surface level. It is a little pricey for what you get but you are paying for a great location. They did a very superficial remodel so looks nice with fake granite counters and tiled shower. However, floor boards are literally breaking through and need to be replaced badly. I have also had issues with plumbing - kitchen sink literally exploded with black liquid one time. There is no sink disposal which is a sign of a cheap build. The building also has a cockroach problem. You will see them dead in the hallway frequently. Each summer I lived there I have had to request they come spray multiple times. I have lived in older much less expensive buildings and not experienced these problems. UPDATE: One month later and nothing has changed. I've seen three large cockroaches in the halls of the building in the past 24 hours. Disgusting. read more

BJB Properties - Common sight at 660 W Barry - Apartments Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Lived in the Roscoe Village building for one year and I would recommend avoiding it at all costs. They fix things the cheapest way possible only for them to break again the next day. Our front door knob to our unit fell off over 10 times. Every time they would come back and put the same old doorknob on with stripped screws. The door knob would fall off and we would have to wait hours to get into our unit until an engineer came and did the same thing. There was also a major leak into our living room that destroyed the plaster walls. It took them over a month to come by and attempt to PAINT OVER the wet destroyed plaster. The walls are cracking all over and they do not bother to properly fix them. This place is definitely not worth the money. They overcharge and do not care about their residents. read more

If I could give less than one star, then I would. I subletted here for 5 months, and when I moved in there was food and hair and dirt everywhere. When I mentioned this to them later they told me it wasn't their problem since I'm subletting...great. The walls are paper thin - so if you like listening to your neighbor's alarm clock go off at 3:30 AM every morning who lives across the hall and down a few doors, then this is the place for you. When I finally told them I was moving out they would text me and ask to show my apartment with 15 minutes notice. It made me feel pressured and uncomfortable, and I found it unprofessional. Another time the fire alarm was low battery and beeping all night right outside my door in the hallway. So I called maintenance, and they came to fix it...but didn't actually do anything because it continued to beep. I had to call them back three times in the same evening to get it fixed and on the third call I got hung up on. When I mentioned this to my property manager he accused me of lying and declared that it had never happened...... what? WHAT? Honestly, the list goes on and on, but this place is great if you want to overpay for a tiny apartment. But in my opinion, the free wifi and cable just aren't worth it. read more

I lived at the 2051 Sedgwick property for a little over two years. BJB was always extremely receptive to feedback in regards to the unit or building, proactive with building renovations, quickly addressed work order requests, and transparent with communication. The building was competitively priced for its location. I ended up having to sublet the studio and BJB was very helpful with the sublet process. They ensured that the process was clearly and professionally communicated to myself and the subletters. I will continue recommend BJB to anyone looking to rent in the Chicago area. read more

I lived at 18 E Elm St in a studio for two years. The building was beautiful. Rich with early Chicago history--- built in 25'-26'. Enough space for what I needed at the time. Perfect location. I looked forward to seeing staff around the building. Maintenance was always there right away when needed. Packages secure. Lovely lobby. Gorgeous view. It will be missed! read more

I lived in cold Coast area with BJB in Chicago for 4 years now under the management of Katie Barnhart. I couldn't be happier with this spectacular manager ever. She is efficient and very considerate of every single resident in the building. Super friendly and helpful. I can't remember when I asked for a work order that have not been scheduled on the same day and fixed my problem Honestly the best building management ever I've experienced in Chicago. Everything is so organized and I don't even worry about my packages for days if I didn't pick them up, I know it's safe till I get to it I'm also a clean person who worries about the cleanliness of the place I live at, this place is cleaned every day and smells amazing and fresh Highly recommended:) My honest opinion read more

In response to Sarah's comment - please do not delude and lie to prospective renters. The HVAC is still broken and BJB is too cheap to replace it. read more

Suggestion - Management should be more responsive and attentive especially to the needs and questions of new tenants after the deal is closed and keys handed over to tenant. No where in the agreement they mentioned about lease breakage clause. In worst case if one has no other option but to move out without sublet, they ask for 3 months rent as buy out fee. read more

hello ! I live in this building located at 2850 N Sheridan rd , terrible staff , manager does not answer when something is needed . in the kitchen, the wall is constantly crumbling, there is no air conditioning in summer it is very hot, even in winter it is hot because the batteries are very warm that you always have to sleep with the window open, for the week of the end of the contract, they appoint to paint the walls and conduct tours even if we live there, the most terrible building in where I lived, no respect for the people who live here. I do not recommend moving here! and important Stuff parking lot ( don't waste your time ) read more

I looked at a couple of units and I am sorry to say for just my first impression is not good. Each unit was dirty and had things broken and did not have a stove. It surely was not ready to move in. That let me know that they do not care about the building and do not maintain keep up. The management team needs to be better. Z read more

I live in the Columbia Ave. Rogers Park location and my experience thus far has been dismal. I first started seeing cockroaches in January and immediately contacted the property manager about it. He was relatively responsive and offered to have my unit treated, which I accepted. I still continued to find roaches both in my apartment and in the hallways. These are oriental cockroaches; massive and disgusting does not even begin to describe them. I keep my apartment very clean and am obsessive about sealing food and taking out trash, so another tenant must be attracting them The roaches continued to come around, so I contacted the property manager again. This time, I made it clear that he needed to treat the whole building, not just individual units, because only treating individual units for roaches does nothing. The building needs to be entirely treated, other tenants need to be aware of how to not attract roaches, and any openings into the building need to be sealed. My unit is on the second story, there is no reason why I should be seeing massive roaches (that typically prefer to live outside) in my apartment. I relayed this all to the property manager and he did not acknowledge it at all, he just made the appointment to have my apartment treated. Several weeks went by, and I am still seeing roaches. Again, I emailed the property manager and he scheduled a treatment for my unit. Then he emailed me several days later saying that the treatment could not be done since I have a dog. This is interesting, because I don't have any pets in the apartment. So we went back and forth and finally a treatment was rescheduled. That was April, and I'm still seeing huge dead roaches everywhere and this morning I found a huge roach crawling through my laundry. BJB does not care about their tenants or their quality of life and they don't care that their tenants have to live in disgusting conditions, as long as they collect a rent check every month. read more

I am back to write another review because while I was told on here that my experience was addressed, I don't believe it was addressed seriously enough. Larry was the leasing agent who touched me on my showing. I did not use his name before on here, but I now feel it is necessary to do so, as a woman I have never met saw my review and private messaged me to ask the name of my leasing agent. She asked because she had a similarly inappropriate experience with a man named Larry. So turns out Larry's little slap on the wrist I was told he got after my review is not stopping him! Larry needs to understand that apartment showings are not the place to flirt, hit on, or touch women. That is absolutely and completely out of line for a professional. Finding an apartment can be stressful enough and the last thing a woman should worry about when finding one is that the leasing agent touched her inappropriately or is hitting on her. I neglected to say in my first review that Larry continually told me how "fit" I looked, which rubbed me wrong as well, but wasn't as inappropriate as him touching my hips to "guide me in the right direction." Larry, if you want to find a girl, Tinder sounds like your kind of place. read more

It just keeps getting worse. Because they accept packages for approx. 4 buildings they now have a rule that if you don't pick up your package in 3 days, they send it back. They also have shceduled apt entries 4x in the last month. First for ac removal when it was still 80 degrees out. Yes the nights were chilly but there is no airflow in these apartments therefore ac is needed. Second was to inspect the locks before the city (I think) inspected the locks. Now it's the annual inspection. It's poor planning on the mgmt's part. They could have done all this in 1-2 entries (excluding the city). Dino's only response was he gave sufficent notice per the lease. Well that's true but have some common courtesy. He wouldn't like it if we entered his home 4x. It's a huge inconvenience to work around their schedules due to poor planning. I'm so over this place. Even the doorperson has commented about how the residents hate the management. I would leave but I'm just waiting on a personal situation to change before finding a subletter. A couple months ago they entered my apt without notice, for pest control. They drilled holes into my wall in the kitchen and then left all the drywall dust and caulking in my sink for me to clean up. I was FURIOUS. I had personal items laying out knowing I would pick it up when I got home. Apparently, the management and pest control saw it all. I don't trust this team. You never know when someone will be in your apartment. Every time I see a person filling out an application I want to tell them to stop and go find something else, it isn't worth it. read more

If it were possible to give a zero star rating I would have. I only have two regrets in life: the first - not posting this entry sooner; the second - EVER re-signing with BJB. My roommate and I lived at 2850 for a year. The view and location were great. That's it. Let me run through what we found upon moving into our apartment: - Men's underwear strewn about the floor - Shit (literally, human feces) in the toilet that was clogged - Barely running water in the bathrooms or kitchen sink - Inches of filth built up on the stove/kitchen counters (likely from food that had been fried by previous tenants) - Plastic grocery bags in EVERY drawer/cabinet (seriously, it's like they were multiplying) - A refrigerator full of food - Hair/dirt/lint in the bathrooms - Missing screens/broken screens in the windows - General filth everywhere. Needless to say, we got a half hour of sleep that first night we moved in because we had to spend 12 hours cleaning our apartment. Completely ridiculous. We complained on numerous occassions, and even asked for a break on the second month's rent since we had to go through all of that. They were unwilling to budge. And the water in my shower never did get pressure...for the entire year we lived there. OH - the best part about all of that? Chris (leasing agent) told us that the only available time for the elevator was on July 31st so that was the day that we had to move in. When we went to get the keys, they made us sign a contract stating that we were waiving the property management's responsibility to clean/re-paint. Trust me, they couldn't have gotten the place up to standards in the 21 hours between when we moved in and when our lease "actually started." PLUS, they only got one of our signatures on that document. And then we found out that the previous tenants had actually been gone since early June...so all of that filth had just been sitting there for a month and a half. Lovely. Additionally, we only got one set of keys...which doesn't make sense seeing as how it's a TWO bedroom apartment and there are TWO names on the lease. We never did get a second mailbox key. And don't even get me started on the bugs! Being on the 12th floor, you'd think we'd be bug-free ... not the case. I'm not a huge bug fan, and in fact shrieked when I saw the first creepy crawly (read: giant centipede) the day after we moved in. By the time we moved out, I was killing them on the ceiling and walls with anything I could find, and I know we left that place less than desirable when we moved out. I actually felt bad for the next tenants that moved in because I knew BJB wasn't going to do anything about cleaning it up. ...This leads me to my second apartment with them...426 W. Surf. DON'T LIVE HERE. It's a cell phone black hole (even for Verizon), and there are cockroaches everywhere. I was lucky enough to only have two (granted, those were in the first week) -- but a friend of mine in the building next door (420 - also BJB) had no less than 15 in his six-month stay there). And God help you if you do decide to see their buildings anyway and you get Jesse as a leasing agent. He is the epitome of slime and will tell you ANYTHING to get you to sign the lease. - Example: "Oh yes, the electricity works the same here as it did at 2850." (At 2850, the building pays the electric, and then you pay the building) ... funny, if that's the case then why did ComEd send a letter in DECEMBER (I'd moved in in August, mind you) asking if someone lived there and requesting they move the electric into their name or else it would be shut off. ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME?! - Example 2: "Yes, there's a garbage shoot on every floor" - False. - Example 3: "The laundry room is on the first floor down the hall on the left." - False. Which was fun to find out as I was lugging my laundry basket around my building ... it's actually in the basement. And the last thing I have to say in my rant about BJB is this: I had to break my lease a month early because I was moving to GERMANY to join my military husband. GERMANY....not Logan Square or any other Chicago neighborhood, but Europe, right?! Okay, so you'd think that with ONE month left of my lease, BJB would help me out a bit and find a renter for July. Not the case. They were unwilling to budge, and now I'm sitting in Germany paying rent for an apartment that they'll probably let the new August tenant move into early...likely without cleaning it first. Oh, and Jesse, if you're reading this - thanks for locking me out of my apartment 3 times in a week. Especially after I'd asked for my deadbolt NOT to be locked....why? Oh right, because I never got a key to that lock. Moral of the story: Do yourself a favor and DO NOT rent from BJB. read more

MOLD, BUGS & BAD MANAGEMENT; RUN AWAY FROM BJB PROPERTIES *On record, Yelp wouldn't allow 0 stars. Whoever said 'location, location, location' was not renting from BJB. My husband & I have rented from BJB for 3+ years in multiple buildings & leases. His 1st unit was a studio in Lincoln Park (629 W Deming) & he referred me to 443 W Wrightwood. They weren't perfect but they worked. When we were preparing to get engaged, we decided to use BJB's upgrade policy (i.e. move buildings as long as your new lease is $1 more per month) & got a bigger place in the Gold Coast (25 E Delaware). 25 E Delaware has been awful since day 1. Upon arrival on the date/time we pre-scheduled to move in, we were told the cleaning & painting crews hadn't finished our unit so we had to wait to get in. We had to pay our movers to stand around for 2+ hours until the cleaning crew was out (paying the movers in 15 min. increments). Over the last 1.5 years in the building, we have had multiple issues with the 25 E Delaware staff. The doorman is very nice but everyone else is TERRIBLE. The maintenance man, Peter, has loudly barged into our unit unannounced at the crack of dawn many times (walking in on me naked in the bathroom 1 time without apologizing). He has also left trails of dirt, plunger/wet vac/toilet water, chunks of paint, & other garbage in his wake. Our dishwasher did not work for the 1st 14+ months we were in our unit & each time he came to fix/check it, he emptied dishes onto the counter (& never put them back) - scratching multiple brand new wedding gifts. He also emptied our under our sink cleaning supplies onto the middle of the kitchen floor, & left everything out (a hazard to our cat). Throughout the lease, issues like loud neighbors, mold in the bathrooms, & 2 separate instances of water damage in our ceiling (which had to be opened/vented/repaired & let huge bugs in) leaving us with only 1 of our 2 bathrooms & an eyesore in our hallway while we had visitors, occurred. The last straw was when I got pregnant & issues we reported were not addressed after they were deemed dangerous living conditions by my doctor. Having been responsible renters, we hoped our complaints would be resolved & that the building would help find another tenant so we could move out & get a suitable place to have a baby but that was not the case. We sent an email in Oct. outlining our biggest issues & requesting that they re-let our unit & allow us to vacate. The response we received included no plan to resolve the issues, sarcastic comments using quotes around words like "mold issues", they ignored our request to get out of our lease & didn't acknowledge our doctor's concerns whatsoever. Here are some of the complaints we shared with BJB that were blatantly ignored: - The elevators in the building constantly stop working, occasionally both at the same time. My wife is in her 5th month of a rough pregnancy & cannot take 10 flights of stairs when the elevators stop working. - Our unit is adjacent to the trash room on our floor & there are constant smells in the hall (stronger on the weekends when tenants leave trash in the room) that are not conducive to one who is already fighting nausea. - While doing laundry in the basement we have seen LARGE American Cockroaches. - There are little silver bugs that come out of the cracks in the molding & scurry across the tile in the bathrooms & kitchen. - We have had to catch & kill roaches in our apartment. These bug infestations raise very big sanitary concerns. - Repairs done to the apartment are sloppy & appear to be cost-saving in nature. We got flies in our unit & noticed a small tear in the screen. When we reported this we were told they would replace that screen immediately but the screen was just taped shut. - A mirror needed to be replaced & maintenance broke the mirror. It shattered into many tiny pieces & they did not clean it up. My wife cut her foot, I got small cuts, & our cat got into the glass (cutting her nose) - thank God she didn't swallow anything. We continued to pay rent in Nov. & again in Dec. even after we vacated the unit, hoping they would re-lease it, as they are required to try to do per our lease agreement, but to date they haven't confirmed completion of ANY of the maintenance requests filed in Oct., they have shown the unit 1 time, they apparently cleaned & painted the unit (without telling us they would be entering the unit), & they are insisting that we continue to pay, even though they confirmed they we turned possession back over to them. Now we are faced with a decision, plead our case & possibly face collections for the rent due through the end of our lease - or continue paying over $2200 per month to an utterly irresponsible & terrible management company with awful, persistent maintenance issues. read more

COCKROACHES COCKROACHES COCKROACHES Their 517 Oakdale building is completely infested, and I'm sure others are as well. Unsanitary. Unsafe. Unhealthy. Do not rent from them. Cockroaches are only one of the reasons why BJB sucks, I'm kind of in a hurry but here are a few more: - no screens in windows - non-responsive, rude and very unfriendly management and front desk staff - leaking units (walls, toilets, sinks, you name it) - read more

I would give 0 stars. Like other commenters say.. DO NOT MOVE IN TO ANY APARTMENTS BY BJB. Any time ANYTHING has happened in my apartment (e.g. I moved in with screen frames hanging off the windows) - it has taken a minimum of SIX work orders before the maintenance workers will consider looking at it. God forbid they actually FIX something without the property manager making up some stupid excuse for them. Without listing out tons of complaints regarding the management's inability to maintain their property or even take my rent payments.. I'll leave you with this: THE PLACE IS INFESTED WITH COCKROACHES. BIG ONES. The first week moving in we had a gigantic cockroach (at least 2 inches long) and my fiance would not break the lease and move out. Since then.. we have had at least 5 or 6 more cockroach visits. I regularly find them in the lobby, the laundry room, on the walls in the hallway, and in my apartment. IN JANUARY. I REPEAT- DO NOT MOVE IN, unless you want filthy nasty "friends" visiting you. Oh and the landlords? They don't care at all. They won't do anything about it except scoop them up and throw them in the garbage. How's that for a great building owner? read more

Although I am not sure about other BJB Properties around the city, I would never recommend 211 E Delaware Pl to anyone in the market for an apartment. Although the apartment was in prime location (Michigan and Delaware), it was extremely over priced for the apartment issues and horrible management staff. --When I took over the lease, I was actually subletting through another tenant. What was not communicated to me before I moved in, was that the management company and previous tenant would NOT be cleaning out the apartment before my move in. I moved into a dirty apartment and had to hire a cleaner. There were also lights missing, moldy blinds in the bathroom, blinds missing from a window, etc. It took about two weeks for these things to be replaced/removed. --I had my apartment sprayed a total of 5 times in the summer for bug issues. Each time this occurred, I emailed the management office expressing my concern and frustration. They took forever to respond and I had to email them consistently to even get an answer on when the issue could be resolved. I often had to include Gabby, who works at their "headquarters" in accounting to get an answer from the Property Manager. On average, it took about a week-two weeks for someone to get to my apartment to clear the bug issue. I was promised that "this would be the last time" I would have issues with the bugs, and it never was. Horrible. --After the 5th bug issue, I advised the management office that I wanted out of my lease and they needed to find a sublet. They promised that they would help show the apartment and it was months before another Property Manager, Jesse contacted me to help me get the process going (when I was already told by PM Melissa that she would take care of it). --Doorman was rude and inappropriate. He would whistle at me and my friends when we were in the lobby before a night of going out. I never got my packages on time. I had a book that was shipped to me in July that I did not receive until OCTOBER and flowers from a friend that were already dead when I opened the box. When I walked in to the lobby he would either say "Hello" nicely or "where do you think your going? who are you visiting in here". The communication with the Property Manager Melissa was just horrible. No one was ever in the office, emails were always responded to late and when I asked for the company address to have a lawyer contact her about the ongoing issues in the building, she advised she "couldn't disclose that information". Such a joke. Paying $1300 a month for a studio with bugs and the WORST management staff ever. Totally not worth it. There are so many other great places in the city to live in for the amount of rent they were charging. Would NOT recommend. read more

I've been a resident in one of the bjb properties for 7 months now. The one that is run by Katie Barnhart and her team. They are amazing. From day 1. My building manager Katie has been there for me. She's an absolute blessing. She went above and beyond the expectations of what a property manager entails. Katie is very proactive with her communications and she lets us know about any events about our property. Every time I need something to be done regarding my apartment. She puts in a work order and it gets done within the same day. She's helpful, kind, sweet and such an amazing person. I really am lucky to have her as a property manager. For anyone looking for an incredible property manager. I give her the utmost recommendation. read more

This company was horrible. They made us re-sign 3 months before our lease was up and as soon as we turned the lease in they started construction on every unit that was empty...which happened to be in every apartment surrounding ours. For 6 months we had to deal with constant hammers. At one point the hallway floors were covered in plastic because of all the dust and debris all over the place. We tried to get out of the lease since they never forewarned us about all this and they wouldn't do anything to help us. So when we moved out we left the place as messy as we could and didn't look back! read more

Don't live here...what everyone says is sooo true...Roaches, bad management, cheaply rehabbed. I am moving out in July and I can't stinking wait. If you don't heed these warnings, you truly deserve the roaches crawling in your tub. Consider yourself warned... read more

I lived at 2850 N Sheridan Rd for a year and it was a total nightmare. First, there was a roach problem in my apartment. I bought roach traps out of my own pocket and set them all throughout the apartment. No matter what I did and how clean I was, they kept coming back. I believe the sink had a leak damage left behind by the last tenant and the moisture attracted roaches. Second, I had a lot of serious issues with the management company and the leasing agents. They would show my apartment without my permission/notice and barged into my apartment twice while I was still home -- I was working from home at the time. They would also knock on the door during weekends with prospective tenants. I confronted the leasing agent and he claimed that the front desk had notified me, which was a lie. I emailed Dino, the main person of contact, but he never responded to my emails. I then confronted the front desk, to which they told me that their policy was to alert tenants through text messaging and the number they texted to wasn't working. Not professional. Third, some amenities advertised were not always available. For example, heating was not consistent during the winter time -- there would be multiple situations during the night where the heat would be shut off and did not turn on until the morning. Another example is the internet, which is shared between floors and is often not usable during nights when everyone is using it. On the positive side, the front desk staff have been great about handling packages. Additionally, the location is great as well. Overall, I would not rent in this building again and do not recommend anyone else to live here. read more

These people are liars. They will ignore your requests. My apartment didn't have heat for two months. It's Bullshit. Please, Please, PLEASE believe all the bad reviews. I moved here from Oregon without ever seeing the place. I chose to believe that the bad reviews were just a few people. My mistake. read more

I live in the Oakdale apartment. We recently just had a fire and I was thoroughly disappointed at the fact that the management wasn't aware of it. Which meant that no one was going to call 911 unless we were lucky enough to bring our phones with us while trying to run the heck out of that apartment. The fire alarm was as loud as a faint alarm clock. I could've slept through it if I didn't have my roommate waking me up. Oh, and the fire escape leads to a dead end. So what if the fire was extreme? Were the people just going to be stuck there? Luckily enough, my roommate and I opened the door to the people who were stuck out in the fire escape because you couldn't go back inside the building. We ran outside through the front door and the fire fighters arrived a couple of minutes afterwards. I mean, I like my apartment. Really. I didn't think that having a clogged sink, broken toilet, oven that needed to be repaired, bugs crawling around, and having to walk 10 minutes to get a package wasn't that huge of a deal. I really didn't care about that because it could be fixed and it wasn't that bad. But honestly... The fire escape leading to a dead end? Why? A life can't be replaced. Anyway, I still have 8-9 months here and I know the problems are just starting. Make sure you guys check that everything works in your apartment. Including the fire escape. read more

After two years in the same apartment with BJB (742 w. fullerton), I would never rent with them again. First of all, they are not the brightest people in the world because they could not reset our online payment system since it was messed up. Our apartment and a few other units were broken into in May 2013. BJB really did not seem to care that our unit was broken into and my laptop was stolen. I am very upset and angry with how they handled the situation. All they care about is getting their money. In fact, I moved out two months early. They have fake cameras set up in the building, which is a bunch of bs. So much for even having a chance at finding the thieves. For 700 bucks a month, the cameras should be up and running. Good luck renting with this company. read more

BJB Properties is the first renting agent I have after moved to Chicago 2012, I was lived at their property located at Diversey for a year, to be honest the building itself just okay but it's in a sweet location, also, BJB properties's care and responsible work add so much credits for the living experience. Everytime there sth broke or need exchange, installtion in my unit, they put arrangement for the work in the same day and always do it efficiently. They reply the mails so quickly and I always got response. There has some work are in the "gray zone" which means they not necessary have to do that, but as long as the request is resaonable, they consider for the tenants first. Such as my request for install a fan in bathroom to keep the air fresh, they do the work in few days and they choose a quality fan without charge me anything, One thing happened on me made me realized how important to choose the right renting agent instead just the building itself. I had a trip to London at begining this year, during the travel, I found out there has a very important documents I forgot in my apartment and without that document, I can't enter in U.S. I have no family in Chicago and none of my friends live in downtown or have keys of my apartment. I sent email to Adam Schwass-- one BJB's staff to ask help. Adam went my apartment by himself to pick up the important document for me and fedex it to London the same day (he even cover mailing fee and said I can pay him back when return). Im so greatful for what he did even now! He saved my life otherwise I gonna be refused to enter in US! Even now for work reason I moved out to a new place, but BJB really leave me a great impression and make my living during that time more comfortable and satisfy! read more

I have lived at their main building 2850 N Sheridan for 3 years now and while the location is amazing, there are a few points that earn this company / building the one star (would give 0 if I could) rating. They make the lobby look amazing to draw you in but the apartments need to be updated if you are going to raise the rent each year. They also use the roof top as a major selling point for the building, however, it is only open Memorial Day through Labor Day. Also, it closes each night by 9 so you can't really enjoy it if you have a full time job. The worst part is that this year it hasn't yet opened since it is "under construction", with no one visibly doing any work to it. I was told it would be done for July however when I peeked up there today it doesn't look as if anyone has even touched it and it certainly will not be done in a week. This means the person behind the desk who told me this information was either misinformed or straight up lied to my face. I live on the 3rd floor and overlook the roof of the lobby. I have witnessed workers catch my neighbors apartment on fire because of "rotting wood" in the window openings. This building should be ashamed of the way it pulls the bait and switch on its tenants and selling them something they have no access to. This will be my last year here and I hate to leave such an awful review but I feel the need to warn people what to expect from this company and building. read more

I don't live at this building, I live at 629 W. Deming Pl. which is run by BJB Properties. 629 is managed by Adam and Anca, two extremely nice people. Always say hello and keep the office open even after hours sometimes. They make sure you are taken care of. The maintenance team takes care of everything right away and it's usually taken care of next day. The roof is amazing and has an awesome view of downtown. If you are having problems at this Sheridan building, visit 629 W Deming and ask Anca or Adam about available units (though they have been renting just about every unit). read more

I've lived in a BJB property for a little over a year and I have really enjoyed it. I can only speak to the 443/451 Wrightwood location but have had a really positive experience living in this building. Pros: - the management staff is extremely professional and helpful, particularly Mike H. And Monika. - the maintenance staff is equally as professional and efficient. Any time I have had a request it has been handled immediately, including small "honey-do" items like assisting with ikea furniture assembly. - the building is well maintained and the lobby is unique - they do a great job of notifying residents of fire drill testing, routine maintenance, updates to the building, etc. Cons: - the gym is small and dated, but this isn't a reflection of the BJb management. Most residents work out on the lakefront or at a gym two blocks away that is less than 20$ per month. - July and August are a little warm inside the apartments but I'm sure that's the case with all vintage buildings in the summer. Overall, this has been a great place to live and I'm sure you will find the management to be as great as I have. read more

I had a great year at 2850 N Sheridan. The apartments aren't luxurious but they are great for the price and the location. I never saw a bug and maintenance comes and fixes things immediately. It's hard to find another building in this neighborhood with a 24 hour doorman, a rooftop patio, a big laundry room and a small gym at this price. It's walking distance from so many great restaurants, bars, shops and grocery stores and there are 5 buses that pick up outside the front door. I definitely recommend this building. read more