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    JSM Living

    2.5 (48 reviews)
    Closed 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

    Services - JSM Living

    Apartments

    Property management

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    Apartments come with amazing smart TVs and beverage coolers
    Rachel T.

    JSM has so far been the best apartment company I have lived in! Compared to others on campus, they are professional, organized, and friendly. The prices are fair and the staff is nice. I lived in JSM my senior year at UIUC and it was my best experience at an apartment and then went to another company for a year but HAD to go back to JSM after that (this year). I currently live with my partner who is a UIUC student and I am a young professional, and JSM certainly caters to both of us! I never thought I would be working full time from home when I signed this lease but believe me I am VERY glad I signed with JSM when that became our reality. I love the gym and VIP card. The maintenance is also always efficient and I've never had any issues! I also have an emotional support animal which JSM was very easy and nice to work with in regards to accommodating this need.

    You can clearly see that it's from a different unit. No matter how you rearrange the furniture, you can't change where the unit is facing

    Renters be warned: if you rent from them, they will try to scam your deposit in any way possible. My advice is take photo evidence on the day you move out.It is absolutely necessary. My roommate and I didn't do this and tried to dispute, and they send us pictures of another apartment saying that we didn't clean enough. I am giving you some examples of this scamming. The living room window is facing a different direction. They also sent us photos of items on the floor, but we did not own these items. The bathroom layout is different. You name it. As students you are so easily taken advantage of. Don't let these scammers do that. We are going through legal process for this.

    Roach traps at 510 E Clark
    Jessica K.

    Most recent update: I got charged $100 for cleaning (not including carpet cleaning). One of the most obvious cases of abuse is the fact that I was charged for the cleaning of 2 desks. Dear JSM, there is only 1 desk that came with my apartment. I was also charged for several items within the apartment that were permanently stained at move-in. I was also charged for furniture that I personally laundered and vacuumed with my own time and money. I was also charged for floor cleaning. I cleaned the floor around the roach traps as best as I could, but I am not touching 1-year old roach traps courtesy of their negligence. There were roach feces in just about every corner of every cabinet and I got rid of them, but I was still charged for dirty cabinets! After I touched roach shit! Just don't rent from JSM. I hope more students see this review and inform their little sophomore friends. If this rating were solely for their manners, JSM would receive 6/5 stars. They are really nice and individually wonderful. But, their buildings have issues and they were not successful in taking care of those issues. TLDR (please read if there's one thing you take away from my reviews): I lived at 510 E Clark, Champaign in 2014-2015. The building is absolutely riddled with roaches. Especially in the bathrooms and kitchens but I've had roaches in my bed as well. They've made homes in my small appliances and pooped all over the cabinets. There were even roaches in my stove. When I turned one on to cook, a roach scurried out from under the stove plate. I almost drank a roach that had crawled into my water boiler. Don't even think about leaving a glass of water out overnight. You forget once and you're asking for trouble. This has been the most disgusting experience of my life. Avoid living here. Combating a roach infestation involves caulking up every crack and injecting gels in crevices and dusting boric acid everywhere-- JSM's pest control involves a cursory spray here and there, sticky traps (which these demon insects deftly sidestep), and roach paste (of which they won't take a single nibble). It has been ineffective. I was reading a guide on Reddit for getting rid of roaches. The author was living in an ancient NYC apartment and was killing "2-5 roaches a day". Two to five? Kid, you have it good. Live at 510 and you can count yourself lucky if you kill two to five roaches a day. I couldn't believe this guy thought he had it bad. That ain't nothing. If you live here, you will have to spend huge amounts of your waking hours combating roaches, and in the weeks leading up to your move out, you will have to fight roaches (juveniles, adults, egg sacs) aggressively so that you don't bring them back to your nice house in the suburbs or your new, better, roach-free apartment. It's a huge waste of time. Don't live here. I just unpacked after I heat- and freeze-treated my belongings (with my own time and money since JSM is impotent). Yes, I have dead roaches falling out of my stuff. Again, don't live here. You'll probably bring egg sacs back, stuck in the seams of your suitcase. The positives: JSM keeps their buildings super clean (I keep my unit sparkling; the roach problem is not from uncleanliness on my or JSM's part). I've seen apartments from a huge variety of landlords and none of them, not even the "better" landlords, keep their common areas so pristine. JSM came to my building WEEKLY to clean the laundry area and hallways. I've never seen any trash or lint lying around. The machines are always super clean. Every common space just looks PRISTINE. I really appreciate that. Another positive that I noted from my experience with other apartments: JSM's landscaping can't be beat. One of the things I watch out for is whether a landlord maintains their grounds. The quality of the lawn says A LOT about the kind of attention you can expect from your landlord and how much they care about their building and image. If your landlord is trimming rose bush thorns-- if your landlord even HAS rose bushes-- every other week, you can expect that they are responsive, detail-focused people. Finally, when I contact JSM through Student Legal Services, they were quick to respond and compensated 37% percent of my monthly rent. JSM was under no legal obligation to do anything, so while I was unable to live in my apartment for a month, this gesture was better than nothing. While I really appreciated these parts of my experience with JSM, unfortunately, pretty peonies and well-kept washers just can't make up for a roach-free, construction-free building. I'd rather live somewhere with a dirty laundry room if it means I won't be booted out of my actual unit nor have to go through the grueling process of destroying egg sacs and cold-treating and spraying and plastic bagging appliances and squishing and sweeping roaches and plucking them out of my bed.

    Tenant Union warning students and other prospective tenants about JSM's clause and business practices.

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    10 months ago

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    3 years ago

    Great people run JSM. Will help with any problem. Service men that I have dealt with have been really nice and get the job done.

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    10 years ago

    They Fix everything in a timely matter, and the apartments are nice.

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    Review Highlights - JSM Living

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    TLT Properties - 603 W. Green, Urbana

    TLT Properties

    (23 reviews)

    Lived at one of Todd's properties for two years and would recommend anyone to rent from him! The…read morespace was perfect, location ideal, and never had any problems. He is super responsive, as is his maintenance team. If I weren't moving out of town, I'd stay at the place longer. Uncomplicated, responsive, and good price -- the trifecta you don't often see!

    I rented from Todd for the 7 years I lived in Champaign at two different TLT properties, and I can…read morehonestly say that my experience in Champaign would not have been as good as it was had I gone with a different landlord/rental company. I signed my lease blind from out of state the very first year and Todd was incredibly accommodating and understanding of the situation, and went out of his way to send me extra pictures of the apartment both inside and out so I knew what I was getting when I signed (this was before video tours were a common thing). When I moved out of that apartment to a bigger one with TLT, Todd happily showed me every unit I had even a little interest in so I could make whatever choice was best and went over the honest pros and cons of each as we went through them. From a renter perspective, TLT is fantastic. Maintenance requests were always taken care of within a few days, and the few times where a very serious issue happened (i.e., pipes bursting) maintenance was there on the same-day to make sure no damage was done to anything inside the apartment. Huge shout out to Jim and Andy for always taking care of things. Any time there was any situation with extenuating circumstances for either me or my roommates over the years Todd was always very understanding and flexible and always genuinely tried to work to help make things work seamlessly. We always had plenty of heads up when our apartment was going to be shown, and there was constant communication in all of the move out / move in processes. I really can't say enough good things about Todd / TLT and the experience I had renting from him. If you have the option to rent from TLT over any other group, do it, you won't regret it.

    The Electrum Group - Near North at sunset

    The Electrum Group

    (11 reviews)

    Lived here for two years while I finished my degree, and it was the best leasing experience I have…read morehad in my decade of renting. I used to work for a larger student housing company on campus, and the level of care, respect, and attentiveness given to tenants at Electrum is night and day compared to the other options on/around campus. The very few issues I did encounter over the two years I lived in my unit were always instantly addressed. I typically heard back from any emails I'd send in a matter of hours, and would come home from work the next day to find the problem completely resolved. They were very careful and accommodating to me as a pet owner as well, making sure my cat did not escape outside whenever work was done. You receive very clear and concise policies in the lease, and the move-out guide was equally as easy to follow. Unlike larger companies, I was not nickel and dimed on the security deposit and actually received all of it back. I highly recommend leasing with Electrum Group! Fairly priced rent, easy renewal process, good maintenance, and excellent communication.

    I *highly* recommend 212 S 1st St, Unit B (apt above the Yoga Studio). The apartment is a an…read moreawesome find (nice bathrooms, newer appliances, homey feel, right next to a bus stop) and Weiss / Electrum Group is the best landlord I've ever had. He was always very responsive, fixed any issues we had quickly, and gave us an amazing rate on the apartment. He also gave us our full security deposit back! It's great for students at University of Illinois (all of my classes were a 10 minute bus ride away). You can also experience downtown Champaign which is about a 5 minute walk away. Lease from Electrum Group if you get the chance!

    Royse & Brinkmeyer Apartments - Royse + Brinkmeyer.  Sixteen locations, one goal--making residents happy!  Love where you live.  Live where you're loved.

    Royse & Brinkmeyer Apartments

    (39 reviews)

    The worst! Called my 80 year old mother and lied to her…read moremultiple times I was sexually harassed by my neighbor they did nothing!!!! Then charged me a thousand dollars over my deposit for "cleaning fees" when me and my friends and family had cleaned. Some fees were 150 dollars to reclean an oven and 125 dollars to reclean a frig. DO NOT RENT FROM THESE CONARTIST!!! They are lawyers so you can't even sue or fight them for anything ridiculous that they do. I am emotionally scared and hit financially from these greedy pigs!!!

    I'll start by saying that renting in Champaign-Urbana is difficult. I've rented in several places…read moreall over town, and this place is full of predatory landlords and slumlords taking advantage of students and working class folks. You can do A LOT worse than Royse Brinkmeyer (and I have). That said, you can also do a lot better. From the start, my experience renting with Royse and Brinkmeyer was riddled with incompetency, clerical errors, and frankly some insulting assumptions on their part. For those who don't want to read the forthcoming novel, here's the short list: -R&B made several clerical errors/mistakes during my lease signing process, which prevented me from accessing my tenant portal and paying my first month's rent and security deposit (a mistake which they initially blamed me for). -R&B threatened to fine me for not complying with things that were NOT in my lease such as renter's insurance and providing my dog's DNA samples (this happened at least twice). -R&B maintenance, while quick to respond, did not provide me any notice that they were coming when I filed a request. -R&B management is extremely inconsiderate and callous when it comes to respecting tenant's privacy when showing a unit for future renters. -Excessive move-out fines/taking tenants security deposits. There are some good, kind people who work for R&B. My issues are with the company's policies and procedures. There's something particularly grating about a company like R&B, who are basically high-end slumlords who have a lot of window dressing and flowery language to make you think that they are courteous and professional towards their tenants. When it comes down to their bottom line, R&B won't hesitate to remind you that you are ultimately no more than a landless peasant, always subservient to a feudal lord. Receipts: First, I signed a lease with them early in 2024 to begin in Fall 2024-2025. They sent me a lease with the wrong dates,--it said 2025-2026. This meant that my tenant portal didn't properly activate for me to pay my deposit, rent, etc. They kept telling me to pay my deposit to finalize my lease, but the portal wouldn't allow me to. The person I corresponded with was rather rude and seemed to imply that my technological ineptitude was the problem, rather than a simple clerical error on their part. I also apparently signed my lease just before R&B overhauled the language in their lease agreements. So, having signed before this, I was NOT subject to some of the new stipulations in their leases, which included mandatory renter's insurance and providing the DNA of your dogs if you're a pet owner (I have two dogs). They do this to identify tenants who don't pick up their pet waste and fine them. I always have baggies for my dog's poop and pick up after them. I didn't even allow them to poop in my complex's courtyard area, so I wasn't worried about being affected by this anyways. Despite not being subject to these clauses in the lease, I received emails and phone calls demanding that I comply, and they threatened to fine me if I did not do so. I then had to explain back to them their own lease agreement so they would stop pestering me. They still requested that I provide my dog's DNA samples as a courtesy to them, but I politely declined. I've frankly seen too many landlords exploit or discriminate against tenants based on their dog's breed, and some of the dog DNA tests aren't very accurate. So they seemed annoyed by that but left me alone for awhile. Fast forward a couple months and I start getting calls again from Tari Christians in R&B management, saying that she received "multiple complaints" from my neighbors about the dog poop in the courtyard (turns out it was another one of my neighbors with two dogs who wasn't picking up after them). I politely said that she was mistaken, and that I am a very conscientious and polite neighbor when it comes to picking up after my pets. She did not believe me, and spoke to me in the most condescending and patronizing manner--again threatening to fine me if I did not provide my dog's DNA samples to PROVE that I wasn't the culprit. I was absolutely infuriated by this, but I agreed to do this as a courtesy to finally put the matter to rest. Tari said she would drop off the DNA kits the next day. She never did that. I got harassed, accused of being a liar, and threatened with excessive fines, and basically coerced into complying with something that was NOT in my lease agreement. And then they didn't even follow through on giving me the DNA kits. I eventually had to go speak to my neighbor who wasn't picking up his dog's waste directly. I didn't want him to be subject to the same type of harassment, so I just asked him to be more mindful about picking up his dog's poop. He apologized and rectified the issue. After all that I decided I was definitely not going to be resigning with R&B. So they began showing my apartment. In Champaign, renters have considerably less rights

    Baytowne Apartments - Baytowne's clubhouse

    Baytowne Apartments

    (7 reviews)

    Overpriced joke. Act like their high end "resort living but its just broke down buildings with…read moresiding falling off next to the highway. A neighbers a/c was broken for a week when it was like over 100 degrees out and all they did was give him a couple fans! Want to live where you can hear the highway day and night? Look no further! Goose crap like all around the lake - I mean bugs swarming, trashy stinky retention pond - ick. Moving out when my lease is up

    I have nothing but wonderful things to say about this complex. When I was planning where I was…read moregoing to live while going to law school, I knew that I wanted some place that not only had great amenities but was away from the parties and mayhem that is Green street. From a community standpoint - they have everything. The neighbors are quiet and conscientious which I cannot stress how amazing that has been as a student trying to study the last 3 years of my doctorate. The guards at the gate are kind and wave to you everyday as you come home. You feel safe knowing that someone is making sure that intruders stay out. Meanwhile, the club house has a racket ball court, a restaurant, an A+ gym, and the most wonderful pool to relax by on a hot summer day. The grounds are impeccably kept. Between all of the beautiful trees and green grass and the truly stunning lake that sits in the middle of the complex - I feel like I'm returning to my hotel everyday instead of my apartment. The apartments - the apartments are very well priced for the area and their size. They're on the higher end but they're reasonable. They are truly beautiful from the crown molding to the details in arched pass-throughs or fireplaces. The heating and cooling system is individually controlled so you always can have your home the temperature that you would like. The tall ceilings make you feel like you're living in a mansion. The best part about living at Baytowne however, are the people in charge of the property. This is something I NEVER thought I would have the pleasure of saying about a leasing office. When you call - they answer and they respond. I always felt like my voice was heard, I always knew that I had someone I could ask questions to who would be more than happy to chat with me. Additionally, any time I had a maintenance issue they were on it immediately. You can find an apartment anywhere - but only here can you find your home . If I had to do it all over again I'd grab my pen to sign the lease now.

    JSM Living - apartments - Updated July 2026

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