I've listed in a Cagan Property in Lakeview for almost four years and it's been great! I know reviews for property management companies are almost always bad but Cagan really deserves five stars. I haven't had any issues with them-- they take payment online, they fix maintenance issues quickly, rent hasn't gone up much, if at all, over the last four years either. The team I work with is great, flexible, and laid back. I also think for the area the rent is a great deal for the amount of space you get, at least in my building. I would continue to live with them if I could! If you're looking for a building in the Lakeview area, I would certainly give them a shot! read more

The building management person, Ed, is quite a specimen. When i came over to check out the apartment before renting it, he led me to the wrong apartment and we walked into an apartment where a person was still living inside of it and it seemed like he had 0 days notice to prepare because he was scared and shirtless. The apartment looked absolutely nothing like the listings online but we still signed the lease (dumb move). Ed has a great landlord special where he paints over a leak in the shower ceiling 3 times in a row without fixing the problem, but he made sure to say that we were causing the problem and that our shower curtain was the issue (No it was not). 2 inch German cockroaches live in the laundry room and yes they do get sprayed with Raid but i have seen them for 2 years in the apartment, so im assuming they also pay rent. The rent gets increased every year and you cannot contest it. Sometimes they do turn off all the water in the building for maintenance but they do not give you a heads up until they already turned it off. The shower water is low pressure and will turn off if the person above or below you turns it on, there were lots of days where water was not available for showering. When we moved out, Cagan just said to get someone to take over the lease and that was all- Ed called us to demand 100 dollars for leaving the apartment a mess (the mess was thumbtack and tv mount holes that we were allowed to do and asked for permission to do so when we moved in) and we did not get a message from Cagan to hand over 100 dollars, so im just guessing the money goes straight into his pocket. Our apartment was the cheapest in the complex at 950 in Lakeview East at 541 West Oakdale Avenue, a very desirable location in Chicago near tons of businesses, restaurants, the lake and lots of greenery, so it was a nice deal at first but once the rent creeped up to 1200 we couldn't justify the price anymore. What was nice was that the utilities were included however there was a lot going on internally and it was ultimately not worth it read more

Cagan And I got off on the wrong foot, I believed the reviews on . I also know other property management companies hate on each other hard. Harder than a good date with viagra. But real talk I am poor man, I come from drug addicted family and raised like scum. Ben Erenberg has been the only person that proved contradictory behavior to the negative reviews that are put down here. He never cared about money he cared about our wellbeing outright. When my lover was going through chemo and we were struggling to pay the bills Ben took major care of us by allowing the lateness of payment for several months. He was more compassionate than the last building owner and management. His staff followed suit when I brought up the situation. We never had issues because I am a handyman/contractor but I mean I never needed to work hard to keep the property livable. Minor things happened and thats normal. Alot of people think that they have a right to demand things but they never understood what it means to own and run a property. 1 landlord owns that home not several, a property manager works on behalf of that owner and its up to the owner to make financial decisions at the end. Cagan will take the bullet of course especially for the bad owners who want to be a wolf in cagans clothing. Ben has been a sweetheart and has a right to defend himself if pushed. I just want to say thank you so much from the top to the bottom of my heart. Because of how he is treating us after more of our badluck he so caring as if we were his family. Im crying as I write this too man because now we have to leave. I fell down the stairs somewhere and banged up my back where I cant work no more. But Ben is still that guy that cares. Hes willing to do more than we asked. So when you look at the reviews look at the integrity. Because most renters dont have any nor know how to behave when it's displayed to them... Thank you Cagan Thank you Ben Erenberg We will work with you again and I recommend this company to owners and renters nationwide. God speed read more

This is a terrible company! Definition of sl*mlords. I'm a current tenant. They do not want to fix anything that actually costs money lol. Please, please, please do NOT rent from Cagan. The reviews are NOT lying. They have been in multiple lawsuits. Please - find a different company. read more

terrible experience as a renter. believe everything people say in the reviews here. they ignore your emails, but most importantly their increase of prices are ridiculous. for real. every lease renewal is like 25%. beware of them. if you can avoid, do not rent their apartments. read more

I thought it was time for one last update and assessment of Cagan following the unexpected sale of my property earlier this week. (With literally no notice or communication from Cagan, which might be standard, but is nonetheless uncool given the circumstances.) I sent my Cagan property manager a text containing a photo of ceiling paint/water damage in early February, and submitted a maintenance request. I heard nothing for weeks, until finally someone from the management office called me to ask if the property manager had followed up. When I said no, he promised he'd remind him to do so. He contacted me, and his first response "Well, ya know, when it comes to paint we might need to repaint the whole ceiling, because it's hard to match paint..." And I thought "And? So? I've been in this unit for 10 years, I've got water or some weird damage on the ceiling - is this a problem?" We chatted some more and picked a week when I'd be home to do it. By then it was early March. That week came and went - nothing happened. No follow up, no phone call, nothing. Fast forward it's late March and I'm thinking about whether or not I should bother calling for something which is clearly NOT a priority for Cagan, and then on April 1 I receive an email from a new management company & then a note under my door later that evening. Suddenly, the reason nobody bothered to schedule my ceiling repair becomes crystal clear. When I contact my new management company about it I will be sure to make clear that this request was made well before the sale was final. I don't care if it's "standard" - it's bad customer service, and demonstrates a complete lack of care or concern for rent-paying tenants. I'm not sorry to see Cagan go, and if you're looking for apartments in Chicago, I'd suggest that you look at properties managed by someone else. read more

Everything people are saying about Cagan being awful is true. I've been trying to reach someone at the Skokie office and was told someone would call ke back about a commission payment owed to me that is 30 days past due. They expect their tenants to pay on time but they don't hold to the signed agreements to pay agents the commissions owed on time. They give the runaround and honestly their unit sucks. I am glad my friend is having a good experience at on of their locations so far. But it is a crap of a building. Shame on Cagan and shame on Rentlife read more

Reached out to Monica with questions about rent and received a rude and very unprofessional response. As someone who works in the customer service industry, I am not sure how she has gotten away with this before but very disappointed, especially when I was trying to communicate concerns in a respectful manner. read more

Cagen management is so disrespectful at the oakton Skokie location on the phone they lie on the phone they don't connect you to the people you ask to speak to. read more

DAFINA REXHEPI IS A LIAR she told me water,thrash and heat are included in the rent prior to me signing. She lied just to get me to sign. DO NOT RENT WITH THEM. read more

over priced dumps, none of the unit's are updated.. for the insane rent they charge, can find apartments much nicer in lake view.. for less money.. and this Howard Brum is a completely, money hungry sob.. who works his staff like slavers& takes forever to get paid.. stay clear. read more

Cagan Managment group is a joke, they left me in a building with roach's bed bugs black mold dead mice rodent droppings dead mice no heat fridge didn't work for a long time. They left me in the cold; I fell on ice on their porch ended up in the hospital for two weeks couldn't walk. they sold the property knowing that all these conditions exist, then they moved me into a Skokie. A month after leaving that property I got very sick with my lungs from the apartment I use to live at I have been sick all the three years I have spent thousands of dollars on replacing furniture and clothes and medical bills that add up to thousands of dollars. Now I have bacteria all over my lungs from the black mold in the apartment, and now my lungs have showed up cancerous, I have been in the hospital with about 20 times with my lungs with already underlining immune problems and they hold no accountability for their actions, There Rude disrespectful it's always my fault. My neighbors above me the husband has been selling drugs I've had to send letters to the police they never did anything. there babysitting and the child is running back and forth, called and complained several times and it is my fault, I have filed several police reports and two lawsuits against them and when I more there will be another one. They might as well take a bullet and have shot me. all there interested in is collecting section 8 and gouging the ones with rent and can afford it. They do not care about anybody. They use these names like Portfolio manager under their name and have not gone to school. DO NOT RENT FROM THEM its years of headaches stress and of course you are the problem. God forbid u call to tell them and have a concern because you will be treated like S***. they are a joke. if you want to feel less then human, go ahead and rent from them. read more

It will be very helpful if they can upgrade from having tenants pay rent with money orders being sent through mail because it's not trusting to do that and we as the tenants shouldn't be at fault if our rent doesn't get paid in time because of money orders being sent out and not arriving on time. If there's a way we can pay our portion for those who are with CHA or Catholic charities online with a debit/credit card that would be helpful and stress free. read more

I interacted with Cagan twice, the first time in a rent, and the second time when I bought my apartment. Both in Skokie, IL. One of their employee used the company money for some repairs in her own personal apartment which was rented for me. The second time, i had a bad luck to meet Cagan again when I bought my apartment. They never helped with main broken pipes, never cooperated regarding noises when neighbors had parties all night long. They never replaced the unfunctional and unestetic back door from the building. The mutual washer machines were old and always broken. Our monthly fee was very expansive but they always said there are not money for anything . But, surprise! their board members don't have to pay the assesment fee like the board neighbor from the second floor never did. However, because of the bad management, I had to sell my apartment. For sure the CEO doesn't have any idea what some of their employees do. If you rent or buy any properties having them as a management, you should read all the reviews from different websites and make a conclusion. Cagan had enough money to buy electric cars for ,,work purpose" but it wasn't possible to replace the back door from our building or to replace an antique broken washing machine. read more

This property manager is like 90% of the PMs you've ever interacted with in Chicago: Any maintenance request that isn't an absolute emergency or gaping liability will disappear into a black hole forever, and if you do ever hear from the maintenance techs--who I will grant are probably overworked and understaffed--you will get MAJOR attitude for any repair less serious than a collapsed ceiling. I will grant that when I complained repeatedly about recurring power outages in my unit this past summer, they DID send an electrician to inspect my unit, but when he informed the onsite PM and I that the entire unit would need new wiring, the PM literally laughed in my face and said, "Yeah, we're not spending that kind of money." *Sigh* Cagan isn't much worse than any other scuzzy slumlord in this town, but the garbage customer service and complete indifference from their corporate office--the one to whom you slide a quarter of your paycheck on over to every month--causes all of their tenants utterly pointless stress. The only decent multi-site landlord in this town is Silver, IMO. If you can't find a unit with them or at an owner-occupied rental property, my advice is head to the suburbs. Happy Hunting. read more

They have been responsive and resolved issues as they come up. Overall, a positive experience with Cagan.

Had a really good experience working with Joseff to find what I can now call my new apartment. He was responsive, concise, and answered all my questions to this point! The process of applying was swift - and so far it's been clear! Looking forward to the transition and appreciate the help. read more

I have a big open hole in my living room from the ceiling leaking. I came home water was everywhere . CAGAN is using a handyman instead of a professional roofer. Please Do Not Move Here. This company is starting to be a Slum Lord. read more

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To follow-up from my previous review: my leaking ceiling was repaired around 5 weeks after the emergency maintenance reports were filed. Angela stepped in to coordinate the repair and at least a she was much friendlier than Mike. I additionally asked for a couple floorboards to be repaired since they had come up (it had cut my foot once). I was told the initial construction put in padding even though it was not recommended with the floor type which is why that was happening. Anyways for a simple floorboard replacement, I came home to find my entire living space under construction as they re-did the entire floor, cutting tiles in my apartment and covering all my things in vinyl dust (without covering on putting away your personal items). After mopping and dusting ~5 times, I am still finding gray debris on my clothes, furniture, and all the nooks and crannies. Initially it was hard to breathe, and I had to wear a mask until I could vacuum up most of the debris. Very frustrating that they did not tell me actual construction would be done because I would have said not to do it (would rather lived with the broken floorboards than have dealt with that fiasco). Needless to say, I am moving out in 2.5 months. Maybe that's why they wanted to do construction. Fix the place up for showings (at my expense) hahaha. read more

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Update from my last post-- Got a message response from Cagan Yelp asking for me to message them. No. I already notified Cagan, MANY times. Things have only gotten worse since AND-the Cagan rep I talked to SHOUTED at me on the phone. When I called him out for shouting at me, he said I wasn't being professional. Let's not pretend you weren't aware. K, thanks. read more

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Without a refrigerator for several months. The only thing that works is the freezer but if you can't have food that can stay cold and not freeze, what's the point. They won't answer calls or emails. Someone might come out but then they say they need to have someone else come out to look at it. How can you live without a fridge? read more

I liked renting from them. Fast maintenance and easy to work with.

Cagan manages my condo association where I've lived for almost 5 years now, and I've never had any complaints. I don't want to be overly specific and reveal to all the strangers on the internet what building I live in, but I'll say that they've been very responsive - Angela and Bryan have been the primary folks I've worked with, and are great. When I have had random things pop up, they're quick to resolve it, and they're great about notifying residents of upcoming maintenance that may impact our routines so we can plan accordingly. When I've had questions, they've always been courteous and helpful. Our building engineer is fantastic as well, and the companies the association hires to maintain our property have been professional and personable. I've had a great experience, and if/when I move to another condo, I would be happy to have it be a Cagan managed property. read more

I wish I could give more than 2-stars, but the frequent customer service issues and general "lack of access" for their tenants has become a major issue of late that I can no longer ignore.. Their saving-grace is/has always been their price point (Though, that's assuming there won't be any attempts to increase rent by an exhorbinant amount at renewal time)..... Butt the good news is that EVERY human is ALWAYS capable of change should they truly desire it. read more

The fact that you have no idea which property it is based on the pictures just proves my point. You responded that you are doing your spring cleaning. Well I live next door and no one ever showed. It is sad that you take care of the properties based on seasons. Piles and piles of garbage and no one ever responded to complains. Again very sorry for people who live there and even more for the owners who actually signed year or more long contract and have to stay with your company. read more

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If I could give zero stars I would. They don't care about their tenants only about getting their rent. The homes are garbage too. Get it tf together cagan read more

Disrespectful company. I applied for an apartment and was met with unjustified resistance. I've been renting since 2001. Never been late or missed a rent check. But I was supposed to move across the country in March of 2020 when you know what happened. It threw everything off and I was forced to stay with family while I worked remote and tried to figure out the best move for my future. I explained all of this to them and provided references including a past landlord whom I rented from for eight years. Did they bother to follow up or do their jobs in any capacity? No. Instead, they were condescending and disrespectful. I can only imagine what living in one of their properties would be like. They have one job and they're incompetent at it. What a joke. read more

I lived in a Cagan building in Lakeview for 2 1/2 years. The property management team was always very responsive when issues came up. Then emailed regular updates during a renovation project. They also provided support during the lockdown period. The apartments are a good value and the buildings are generally well maintained. read more

Poor management. Unsure if it's cagan as a whole or our reps. (Lydia and Suzette) Emails frequently are unanswered. When they are answered I've found the responses to be untrue (Cagan claimed to reach out to Board, but when I checked with Board on the issue they confirmed they never heard from Cagan). I've lived previously in both managed and self managed residences and this building managed by Cagan is extremely poorly run. Limited communication. No clear follow-up to action items from Board meeting. Association website is not up to date. Last year it took 3 emails and a week and half to have our main lobby light replaced after it went dark. read more

-Horrible plumbing issues, my water is shut off every few days along with the whole building. -I left the fob to the elevator in my apartment while doing laundry. Was not able to access the elevator or staircase and was told there was no solution but to wait for another resident of the building to use the elevator or staircase -consistent issues with washing machines and driers -Very unresponsive management read more

Cagan has been managing our building for many years, and even though we went through a few different managers, I feel they have all done a great job. We moved out of state, and are now renting out our unit. Even though we're not able to physically be there, Anastasia is always very responsive, and we are confident that whatever issues we may have arise in the unit, she will be there to assist us. read more

The property we are living in is a good value for the size and location. Come to find out the reason is they don't take care of the place. We have had to put in service requests 3 different times for the same leak in the same spot coming from the ceiling. Every time it's like they just put a temporary bandaid on so it stops leaking for a little while and then comes back again and again. Same thing with another area that leaks from the sky light. If it had been truly fixed the first or even second time my rating may be different, but at this point I just don't trust that anything they say they fixed is actually fixed. read more

Cagan Management Group, Inc. - Property Management Near Me - Skokie, Illinois

The worst company ever even after putting my review. I sent an email as I asked in the reply and they communicated with me by phone after a week but they didn't help and even though, send me a a balance due with extra charges out of my lease agreement period and terms. I brought multiple potential tenants to them to take over my lease or start a new lease. They took 3 weeks to run am application to only one tenant and then said her application is denied. Can you imagine 3 weeks to run an application. And they refused to run multiple applications at one time saying only once at a time. Do not rent from them. The worst ever. Look at other reviews, they have 2/5 from 200 reviews. Be careful guys. read more

Our realtor Christian Smith was great. Not only was he very responsive and professional, he ended up finding the perfect place for our family. Christian had great knowledge about the area and even gave information about the local school. I would recommend Christian to anyone who is looking to move read more

I'm not surprised by the overwhelmingly poor reviews. They completely blew me off for a showing without so much as an explanation, let alone an apology. I can only assume their disregard for prospective tenants is a reflection of how they treat their actual tenants. read more

I've lived in one of Cagan's apartment rentals for over 4 years and loved every minute of it. Every time there as has been a leak, light out or sink issue they have always been extremely quick to get to the problem. Working with Angela from the start she always emails my roommate and I to keep us in the loop. John and Alex are always so polite and can fix anything! I used to work for Yelp, so I could never write a review for Cagan, but I'm glad that I finally have the opportunity to! read more

What does it take to get a response from Cagan? I submitted an application for a house (paid $70) and was approved earlier October. The house is being completely remodeled and supposed to be ready by December 1st 2015. After several attempts to contact them in November I received the lease contract stating that there should be a walk through 2 weeks before the moving date, the contract was signed by Cristina V. and the lease was to begin in December 1st 2015. So far, I been trying to contact them for the past 2 weeks via voicemail, email, and their secretary. Unfortunately no one has replied or called back. This is a very frustrating situation, you would expect them to be more professional. My current lease expires December 1st which gives me only 2 days to move out, and so far no date and time for getting the keys and walk thru. Very frustrating! read more

Cagan Management Group, Inc. - Pending Lease, 2 days for "move in" and haven't been contacted by Cagan for the keys - Property Management Near Me - Skokie, Illinois

Terrible management. They had no idea we were moving in on the date we were supposed to even though they cashed our check for rent. They are horrible people and really difficult to deal with. For the last 2 months of our lease they have been bringing potential renters into our home EVERY DAY with less than 24 hours notice. Obviously they can't seem to get anyone to rent the apartment because of how dirty and gross the building is, but it's insanely disrespectful and unprofessional. read more

BEWARE! BEWARE! BEWARE! Do not rent from Cagan! They are a complete sham and their employees aren't any better. I lived in a property on Eastwood in Lincoln Square and it was a nightmare. I already had issues with the property management before it was sold to Cagan in May 2019. When Cagan took over the building was infested with rat, mice, and roaches and it was not just one here and there. They would literally come out during the day and run across the counter tops or over our bed. It was completely disgusting finding feces on our belongings and in our couch and bed. Other neighbors had stopped me and told me they had the same issues and could hear them screeching when they would get stuck in the glue traps. Not only rats and mice, then we started to see roaches! I called the city and they wrote fines to them and I am sure it was just swept under the table but it was never rectified. This was my last straw, not to mention the leaking in the kitchen and the bathroom in the middle of night for no reason. I emailed Ben at Cagan and sent multiple letters letting him know that I could not live in these conditions and a list of codes with the violations and he never responded (of course). We had to move out in June of 2019 last minute because rat and mouse dander and feces in my apartment is not good for my health since I have a chronic condition that was causing me to have have reactions on my skin. I gave him a 30 day notice of my intent to vacate and sent certified letters and never heard ANYTHING from Cagan! Even when I dropped of the keys and told them the conditions and that no one had communicated to me regarding my issues. Now in October of 2020 I am getting a collections letter (after not hearing anything from Cagan or a collection agency) asking for $1564.62 and I called the collection agency and they told me I was being charged for admin fees from March, April, May when I already paid the rent to the previous management company WHAT?!?!? WHY?!?!. I have called them multiple times(left messages for John from accounts payable at Cagan and the receptionist doesn't even pick up my calls anymore) this past week and I am not getting any return calls and I am assuming I will have to find a lawyer, which I am in the process of now. Please I beg you don't rent from this company the staff and their responsiveness is disgraceful they should be ashamed of themselves! They are modern day slum lords. The pictures I am attaching are the damage to our property and the floor boards under our unit where the rodents were getting in. We had to get rid of brand new furniture that we purchased just for this apartment and I lost a box of pictures and memories that cant be replaced that were damaged by rat urine. I really didn't want to do this, but maybe Cagan will finally respond. read more

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As a Realtor, we work with many Management Companies and Cagan Management, specifically Lidia, are absolutely the best. It's always a relief when we see them listed on a contract, as I am confident we will have all the Condo Docs, Paid Assessment Letters, 22.1, etc back in an orderly and timely manner. She is also very responsive and helpful. This is an incredibly important factor in getting our Closings done on time. read more