Been a residence of McGovern house for five years. Have had a wonderful experience here, with Nelly…read moreas our manager and Tim as our superintendent.. Nelly and Tim are extremely responsive, professional, and any concern we may have is addressed immediately. I give McGovern house a five star rating, and would highly recommend it to friends and family.

Donna Johnson at Key Realty Group is a terrific professional and has been a great help to us. She…read moreis helping us with some property management that we never expected we would have to deal with. We are not familiar with the area, but she is an expert. The team at Key Realty Group have all been very friendly and helpful. We will probably end up using them for the sale of the property too. We highly recommend them.

I would not use Picket Fence again, and I do not recommend them. Sue Duchek handled the listing on…read moremy house in Arlington Heights. She gave a pitch that was thorough, and set a price that was higher than other agents'. It took more than two months to get one offer, despite have many showings and getting positive feedback from people who toured the house. The price was lowered repeatedly. And this was when houses were selling super fast during the pandemic (spring-summer 2021). I eventually realized she "bought the listing", as several neighbors had suggested. When I asked her why there were no offers sooner, she mentioned two obstacles (being across from a park, and not having a big backyard); and said she didn't know they would pose problems. Seriously? My house finally sold for more than $60,000 below the original list price. Very dissatisfactory.

Sue Duchek, broker and owner of Pickett Fence Realty, turned the reluctance and anxiety I felt…read moreabout having to use a realtor into gratitude and completely positive feelings about my first time doing so. I had unenthusiastically decided that I would need the help of a realtor to sell a condo I had lived in and owned for 30 years, because I was then living 140 miles away. I was unenthusiastic and reluctant because I am an independent and DIY kind of guy. Nevertheless, my wife and I interviewed several realtors in the Arlington Heights area. We knew in ten minutes we had a match when we met Sue. What impressed us was her calm, mature, friendly, thoughtful, humble and relatable demeanor and the fact that she did not push herself on us despite what we later learned were her manifest qualifications and experience. My point is, Sue is the real deal as a person and you will love working with her. She will tell it like it is and you'll want to hear it. For me, Sue has a great deal of personal credibility and earned my trust early with her nuanced thinking and analysis. She also has a lively sense of humor which, believe me, can serve anyone well in this sometimes fraught and emotional undertaking of real estate sales. Sue guided me through a minefield of difficult decisions in the worst months of the Covid-19 crisis in the spring and summer of 2020. Then she rationally and sympathetically helped me keep the faith through the disappointment of losing two early sales (for reasons beyond our control or influence) until we finally "got our plane on the ground and to the terminal", as our lawyer, Collin Gilbert of Palatine, put it. He was recommended by Sue and turned out to be a great choice. I recommend him as well for his hard work, communications skills and wise advice. I felt that Sue was in the game - my game - with both her head and her heart from the start. I would unconditionally recommend her to anyone seeking a delightful partner and an experienced guide in their real estate journey. If you call her, say "hey" from me.

I selected Marling Management to manage the property. My Property Manager was Karen I. Karen did…read morea fantastic job. She was very responsive, approachable, and helpful. If any issues came up Karen was on top of them. She was very professional with both the tenants and myself. I would highly Marling Management as they did an outstanding job.

Mike Marling of Marling Management helped me sell my commercial property in Lake Villa, Ill.,…read morequickly, efficiently, and with no stress at all. Being a first-time seller, I did not know what to do, but Mike walked me though every step of the process and he kept me updated on his progress finding a buyer. He is so well-connected and resourceful, not to mention one of the nicest people I have ever worked with. I was connected to Mike by a friend who also used him and raved about his passion, professionalism, and perseverance. I wholeheartedly agree. What's more, Mike's negotiation skills are masterful, and he is always looking out for your best interests. I could go on and on, but the bottom line is that working with Mike to sell my property was one of the best decisions I've ever made. He got the job done, and he is absolutely phenomenal.

The Gentleman I dealt with, Dan, was able to find a nice clean and inexpensive apartment for my…read moreelderly Aunt Margie within 2 Days. If you need affordable housing I would definitely recommend Castlewood.

CONSUMER ALERT: Castlewood Properties Management Practices & Safety Risks (60064)While the units at…read more1236 Park Ave (North Chicago) may look acceptable, local tenant experiences reveal an underlying management philosophy that completely prioritizes corporate insulation over renter safety and accountability.Prospective tenants should be aware of several critical operational patterns:Ownership Negligence: Management has a history of dismissing severe on-site escalations, explicitly telling residents that tenant safety concerns hold "no consequence" to corporate operations.Security & Property Hazards: Ownership routinely allows unvetted, unauthorized non-residents to live on-site and run illegal, unregulated mechanical operations in common areas. This directly creates property theft and vehicle safety risks.Unaddressed Tenant Harassment: Management fails to enforce lease terms regarding a peaceful living environment, allowing persistent stalking, daily property disturbances, and aggressive behavior to go completely unaddressed.Toxic Workplace Culture: Documented correspondence reveals severe internal management conflicts, including senior staff abusing professional authority to pressure subordinates for personal relationships.Financial Oversight Violations: Reports indicate under-the-table cash arrangements with specific tenants on public aid, bypassing fair housing standards and Illinois regulatory oversight.Summary Advice:Do not be fooled by the baseline physical appearance of these units.

Diana Dahlberg, owner of 1 Month Realty was our agent for selling our condo. I felt an instant…read moreconnection to her.at our first meeting. She was very thorough with all the information we needed to put our home on the market. We felt very comfortable letting her handle all the details of our listing. She was always available to answer any questions we had. She took beautiful photos of our home. She had an open house early on and we got a buyer fairly quickly. We have recommended her whenever we get a chance. She is someone you can trust. We would use her again.

Living at 23247 W North Lakewood Lane was one of the worst rental experiences that my husband and I…read morehave ever had. The landlord, Luigui Corral, was consistently unresponsive, dismissive, and unwilling to take responsibility for even basic maintenance on HIS house, leaving us to live in unsafe and unacceptable conditions for three years. Here are just some (not all) of the major issues that we faced: 1. SAFETY HAZARDS IGNORED: There were metal rods sticking out of the concrete in the backyard (from a previous garage demolition) that were left exposed for the entire time we lived there, despite us providing photos and repeated requests for them to be removed. Not only was this dangerous for us, but it was a major hazard for our dog. Nothing was ever done to fix this. 2. HOUSE FALLING APART: The siding around the whole house was falling off with visible holes leading into the house. Again, this was reported early on and never repaired. The gutters were also full of debris, which resulted in water draining improperly and the backyard flooding whenever it rained. Again, nothing was ever done to fix this issue. 3. NONFUNCTIONAL A/C & FURNACE: The AC and furnace were constant issues throughout the entire three years. The furnace continuously short-cycled. Sometimes, it would even stop working all together in the winter. We reported these issues multiple times, and were met with delays, empty promises, and occasional temporary fixes that never addressed the core problem. One winter, Luigui dropped off a space heater instead of addressing the major issue, which was that the furnace NEEDED to be replaced! We also had to ask many times for a return vent to be installed so that the AC could properly move throughout the rest of the house during the warmer months. Still, the temperature was never consistent or comfortable at any point while we lived there. 4. LEAKING WASHER/DRYER NIGHTMARE: The combined washer/dryer that came with the rental was leaking and never worked properly. Despite us arranging repairs, the landlord refused to replace it, stating that a washer/dryer was simply a "convenience" for us and not his responsibility. After months of useless service appointments and scheduling chaos (including FIVE reschedules for one part), we ended up buying our own machine, out of pocket, and were only given a minimal rent deduction of $60 per month. 5. NOT A FENCED-IN BACKYARD: This property was advertised as a "fenced-in backyard", however, the fence surrounding the house was consistently hanging on by a thread. At one point, the fence did fall, and he refused to fix it, stating that the fence didn't belong to him. Most of the fence was being held up by wooden slabs leftover from construction. Also, the gate that was near the front of the house rotted and broke, and we had to remove it ourselves. This was disappointing, because we wanted to utilize the backyard to play with our dog. However, we never really got to do that due to the quality of the fence and the gate falling apart. 6. APPLIANCES & REPAIRS PAID BY TENANTS: We paid for most of the appliance repairs ourselves, including the fridge, A/C, furnace, dishwasher, oven, and even electrical fixes after the landlord's contractor made dangerous mistakes. One time, the tankless water heater clogged because it hadn't been serviced since 2018. We informed Luigui about this, and let him know that it was preventing us from having hot water. He claimed the water heater was our responsibility, leaving us without hot water for days. He finally agreed to have someone come drain it, but only after we offered to pay for half of it ourselves. Even though appliances were strategically put as a "tenant responsibility" in our lease, we would have NEVER signed it if we realized that we were responsible for all of the appliances in a house that we didn't even own. 7. NO CO2 DETECTORS OR FIRE DETECTORS: The house never had CO2 detectors installed! Luigui only purchased them AFTER we were concerned about a CO2 leak and had the fire department come out and check the house. They also let us know while we were there that the fire detectors were dead/expired and doing nothing to protect us from a potential fire. 8. COMMUNICATION FAILURE: Every repair request was met with excuses, long wait times, or outright neglect. Getting anything approved took days, weeks, or months. We never felt like we could reach out to him, because he always responded to us like we were a burden. It was such a relief to move out in June and block his number from our phones for good! Despite everything, we paid rent every month on time. In return, we lived in a property with broken appliances, structural hazards, electrical risks, poor heating and cooling, and minimal concern for our comfort or safety. Do yourself a favor, and find literally anyone else to rent or buy from. Living here was a lesson in how bad things can get when a landlord simply doesn't care.

If you are in the round lake beach community or surrounding area- avoid renting with Luigui Corrals…read moreTeam. I rented a home from him for over 6 years and it was a horrible experience the last few years. When I first moved in the house was beautiful it had been re-done. I quickly noticed that it was done in a hurry and very cheaply. There was no washer and dryer in the house, nothing in the closets, no blinds. I put two units in, added blinds and curtains at my own cost, added shelving to the closets so I could actually use them. There were other weird things like there was nothing in the bathroom, no mirror, no shower curtain or bar to hang the curtain. He needed a renter and clearly fast. As I started living there the house started falling apart. The foundation was bad, they left large open holes under the house until an inspector came and told them they had to fix it and the shed that was literally missing the sides of the unit. He had someone come in and put boards around the house and fix the shed. Not nicely but to make sure they couldn't come back and say it wasn't done. The windows on the house never locked. The house was shifting due to the foundation being cracked and broken. Which also caused the doors to now lock properly. The house was literally tilted to the back side and sinking. Soon the floors started cracking, the ceiling, the walls. The storm door rusted and fell off. The mailbox was too short and they stopped delivering my mail. I notified him and his team multiple times about the conditions and they did nothing. I eventually replaced the mailbox myself, was never reimbursed and then found a solution to lock the windows myself with something I purchased on Amazon, my step dad came and changed the locks for me and I added other security measures to the home so I could lock the doors. The house did not have central AC so I had to get window units. He did supply a few when I first moved in but they were black, dusty, gross and looked like they had mold growing on them. I never used them for fear I would get sick. Again I shared the units were not in usable order and he said to move them into the shed with no other solution. Soon winter came the heat went out frequently. Often times he left me without heat because he refused to pay for a new furnace even though he had been told many times that it needed to be replaced. Years into my stay the house developed a leak in the roof in the laundry room that leaked everytime it rained. I sent pictures and vidoes of the steady water leaking into the house and never got a response back. Soon the critters started coming into the room in the roof/ attic. They were in the walls etc. the house had mice, that got inside through the damage. Never fixed anything or responded to me. There were a series of other issues that happened when I was living there but if you're still reading. Stay away from him and his team. They do not take care of their properties, they do not take care of their tenants and he's a horrible person to deal with. If you need a place to stay do not rent from him. He will take advantage of you, blame you for things around the property that are his negligence. Trying to save people the headache and experience I went through.

We had a fantastic experience working with Susan. She brought so much expertise, professionalism,…read moreand positive energy to the table. She listened, answered every question, gave great advice, guided us through every step of the transaction, and made sure everything went smoothly. We couldn't be happier with the outcome and highly recommend her to anyone looking to buy or sell!

With how crazy the real estate market is, especially in the North Shore, it really goes a long way…read moreto have an excellent realtor. Susan was beyond exceptional. We were so fortunate to have first met her while wandering through one of her warmly staged open houses. While most seller's agents we met at open houses tended to stay disengaged, Susan was welcoming and clearly was there to advocate for her client. Even though we didn't go with her open house listing, the true reward was getting connected to her for the rest of our new home search. While some realtors are just there to open the door and send you automated listings, Susan blew us away with her vigilant and thoughtful procurement of potential homes. When seemingly perfect listings popped up, we'd quickly hop onto our email to ask Susan for a showing only to find an email already in our inbox from her asking if we'd be free later that afternoon to see that exact listing. With each potential home, we were greeted by her kind smile and thorough data on not only the home but also the neighborhood and market. Her local roots and connections to the North Shore gave us the confidence in understanding and making the decisions needed to submit offers in an area where homes were receiving 10+ offers, tens of thousands over listing price. Susan provided constant communication and support. We never felt pressured, uncomfortable, or alone while working with her. I honestly have no idea how she has so little reviews online and feel like we really lucked out to have gotten her as our agent before more people catch onto the exceptional quality and service she delivers. If you're in the market for a home in the North Shore, you need to at least give her a call to experience what an exceptional realtor truly looks like. Oh... and she helped us close on our new home at the price point we had hoped for. Exceptional quality, service, and results - yes, she's that good.