Bil Mar Management

Have lived at their Hamlin Park building for 4 years, just re-​signed for my 5^th.
I’ve dealt with some sh*tty landlords before (anyone remember Beal Properties?), but have to say Bil-​Mar is definitely hands down the best I’ve ever worked with.
Rent is totally reasonable, each year’s rent increase was only like 3% to match inflation.
VERY Responsive when issues come up — I emailed them last Thursday AM about a sink faucet breaking, they had someone in there by Thurs afternoon.
Trisha is great to work with. I wish I could upgrade from a studio into 1BR in the same building, but they always get snatched up too fast.
Allow big dogs with no breed restrictions = HUGE PLUS.

I saw an apartment on farewell in Rogers park that I was very interested in. I was straight up n told the guy showing me the apartment (who was the manager of that particular property) that once they run my application it will say I have a pending eviction on my record, but I have never been evicted. I had legally broken my lease (building code violations) but my former landlord was still trying to sue me. I explained the situation n was told as long as I had the letter from my lawyer n a print out of the court record stating the judge dismissed the case they’d over look the pending eviction, I had papers saying it could take 90 days for the «pending eviction» (not even legit eviction, thank you) to be off my record. So of course I applied as I really did like the apartment n you know needed a place to live as I was currently crashing at friends/​family, n the same man called to tell me that I was denied because I had a pending eviction. Cool, thanks for lying just to get my money n make me waste my time even getting all my info together, including all the court stuff along with pay stubs n app, when you could’ve just said from the beginning I’d be denied. So then as I’m continuing to apartment search, after paying $ 50 to be lied to, an apartment agent brings me to yet another RP building this guys the manager of n he proceeds to pull the guy aside n pretty much trash me to the point that even the agent looked uncomfortable. I feel sorry for this miserable man who feels he needs to 1. Lie to someone who was in a really tough life spot 2. Proceed to trash a 21yr old girl to a random apartment agent after having a 5min conversation with me n apparently judging me (I get it, people can lie about pending evictions n evictions but I had plenty of legal proof about my situation, and besides that if it is an issue even after I explain n give you proof, be straight up with me n the first place n don’t waste any of our times) I hope his life has gotten better n he’s less miserable. Thankfully my then 21yr old self who’s been on my own since 19, working, going to school, n with a good credit score was able to find a bigger, better kept, more updated, n cheaper apartment

Fantastic service from Maurice, from interest, to renting, to upgrading to better apartment, to swift dealing of any problem, like noisy neighbors who were promptly evicted. Love our place and the service provided. Rent only went up by about $ 5 annually.

So far so good in my new apartment. My apt was move in ready once I was accepted through the paperwork. Price for the unit was fair and my neighbors aren’t loud. They also recommended a cable sales representative that worked out well.

I have been a tenant of Bil Mar Management since 2007. First, I lived in their buildings near Hamlin Park and then moved my business into their Lincoln Park/​Kingsbury building.
Bob, Henry, Trish and everyone else I’ve ever dealt with have always been responsive, honest, caring and compassionate. I know what it’s like to move a lot, to have crappy landlords who aren’t available or don’t follow up; not these guys at all.
It’s quite surprising to see poor reviews on them. Perhaps they were poor tenants. My experience is based on paying my rent on time and being a respectable neighbor, which should be the norm anyways.
Great job, Bil Mar! Thank you for taking such great care of me and my biz!

I’m writing this regarding one specific employee, Robert Kuta with Bil-​Mar management. Bob was less than understanding regarding my commute and availability during business hours, he is, and I guess the rest of the team according to him are only there 8:30−5 M-​F, but not always so you’ll have to call. He initially stated he is available on Saturdays by appointment, but I cannot make an appointment. This means, NO one is available on Saturdays which are move in days usually, so if there are any issues, you’re out of luck. His phone skills and attitude are atrocious, he has very poor customer service skills. I hope this is not setting the tone for how the management company operate the rest of the year.

I also live at the The 1029 – 1049 Northshore (at Loyola Beach). I would give the management more credit for being responsive and on time, but I have to say that the «on-​site» manager is really bad. I have had a few major problems with my bathroom, and this guy has missed times we set up for him to come look at it, and then once he does show up to actually fix it, after much threatening and prodding, he does not fix the whole problem, but rather covers it up with a quick fix. Maybe its because when he does show up to fix things, he reeks of booze, even if its 10AM. :(
I love this apartment, but the management seriously needs to get some better help in here.

Really impressed with these guys. It’s not too big, so you know they really have the time and resources to spend on their properties. I moved in, had a few problems, and they handled them ridiculously quickly. Any time I’ve called or went to the office, they were super helpful and professional. I’d recommend these guys to anyone.
Edit: I only have one review bc I never use Unilocal,I actually did think it was worth it to create an account just to give a shout out to these guys. I used to work in property management so I know the business, these guys would be pretty good anywhere, let alone Chicago!

I wrote a very negative review of Bil Mar earlier this year, when I was pretty upset about a toiler-​overflowing situation that I found them to be unhelpful with. In retrospect, i was very passionate at the time so I want to revise my review to be a little more fair to the company. Overall, they do help you fix things, most of the time when you call with an issue they will address it within the next few days, and reliably. While we have had our fair share of problems with our spot, for the most part they have been very fair to us. The only issue i truly have is when there is an emergency situation that occurs outside of business hours, it is very hard to get a hold of them and get the situation resolved.

I have come in contact with a lot of management companies, both as a renter and also because I work in real estate, and this one is the best.
Like others have said, Bob Kuta is very accessible, laid back and no matter how small the request, it is resolved within 24 – 48 hours.

I would recommend the company.
Renting a place was stress free, no pressure sales, and was accomplished quickly.
Lived at 1100 W. Roscoe. Building was old and kind of crappy, but was priced properly (cheaply).
Whenever there was maintenance needed, the building manager, Bob Kuda, hopped on it and it was fixed within a day or so. Also, there were no issues whatsoever with the security deposit. It issued right and reached me by mail in about two weeks.
I would recommend the building and company.

I lived at the Wellington building, across from Hamlin park, for 4 years. The building itself was kind of crappy. Our living room ceiling almost caved in, the radiators were very temperamental, and the stairwell frequently smelled like there was something dead in the wall or under the stairs. However, the service was consistently great. Bob was always easy to reach, and no matter how minor the problem, he always had someone out within 2 days max to fix it. And they always fixed it properly the first time, except for once when it took a while to figure out what was wrong (that was the living room ceiling situation). Our rent was late a few times and he never nagged us about it. The rent was great, especially for such a large apartment which allowed dogs (1050 for 1,000 square feet). The rent never went up in 4 years. When we left, he gave us our entire security back, no quibbling. Not the friendliest guy, but totally straightforward, reliable, and responsible.

Living in the Orchard & Willow location:
They have been absolutely great! A few months in to our lease the management of our apartment building switched over from one person to another and it was seamless. Every maintenance request has been fixed in a timely manner and every time I call they are very friendly and understanding. The laundry in the building kind of sucks but that’s really the only complaint I have!
They gave me a great landlord reference for my new apartment, so they get a great tenant reference on Unilocal!from me!!!

I live in one of their properties way up in Rogers Park (North Shore and Ashland) and feel like I really lucked out. Great price for a 1 bedroom and the place has clearly been remodeled in the last 5 years.
Even though management is far away there are never any problems. The few times I’ve called with an issue or repair they have someone out within 48 hours (usually less). The property manager, Bob, is easy to get a hold of and responds to messages, but doesn’t bug me for anything. That might be a different story if I didn’t pay the rent on time or something.
The one downside would have to be the loose tenant standards. Generally I like and feel safe with my neighbors, but there have been a few crazies in the bunch. Also, the laundry machines like to eat quarters, but neither of those were deal breakers when I resigned my lease.

The 1029 – 1049 Northshore (at Loyola Beach) building is HORRIBLE!!! The management has been neglectful the whole time I’ve been here, the building is a typical unrenovated, neglected 1920s courtyard building with very loud, squeaky floors, and some of the tenants here are ABSOLUTELY THE LOUDEST, TRASHIEST LOYOLA STUDENTS you could ever imagine!!! They are totally loud, base and disrespectful to the their neighbors. If you want to pay $ 900+ for a one bedroom apartment in such a miserable courtyard building as this with VERY LOUD, TRASHY Loyola students who act like they never graduated from junior high school, then that’s your problem.

I lived at their Dearborn and Maple property. Overall I had a good experience here. A rating of 4.5 would probably be my true representation, with a .5 star minor deduction for stuff described below.
When I first met my main Bil-​Mar contact, Bob, I thought he was an ass. He flipped out when I wrote some notes on the front page of the lease so that I would not be liable for damages that were already present in the apartment when I moved in (he subsequently got them fixed about a week later). Then an angry tenant walked into the office and they started screaming at each other because she had bounced a check and didn’t like the new payment options, or something to that matter. So this was my first impression of the guy. This changed in my later dealings with him. I talked to him on the phone about a few issues, which I will explain shortly, but wanted to mention that he was polite and nice thereafter.
The maintenance guy, John, was great. I had quite few conversations with him because he was at the building every Saturday vacuuming the main hall ways. He is a nice guy and took care of requests expediently.
The property was clean, and looked like a nice hotel on the interior (the building is old and is really ugly on the outside though — you’ll know which building it is if you happen across Maple and Dearborn). The apartment itself had a luxury feel to it with updated hardwood floors and granite counter tops.
The only issue that I had was a maintenance issue (broken A/​C). I called the maintenance guy and he said he would take care of it. After a week rolled by I called him again and apparently someone had dropped the ball somewhere and it was forgotten about. It took about another 2 weeks to get a new A/​C because the old one was toast and a new one had to be ordered. This was mostly a minor inconvenience because it was a cool summer and my apartment didn’t get too warm because it was shaded all day long. But I get cranky when trying to sleep with an 80 degree F temp.
There is only one washer and dryer ($ 1.25 each), but overall it wasn’t a major hassle with only about 10 people in the building.
So here is probably the most important point of my dealings with the management: I wanted to sublet my apartment, but I only had 2 weeks remaining on my lease. I found a person who agreed to sublet my portion and re-​new for a year. When I referred her to the management, she tried to cut me out of the deal and just wanted to start a new lease at the end of my lease term. Bob could have easily agreed to this and I couldn’t have done anything about it. But instead, he told her that he wouldn’t think that it would be right since she came through me and it would be immoral. So he decided to split the remaining portion of the lease with her so that it would be a win-​win for everybody. I confirmed all this information with the new tenant as well. That, right there, fully redeemed any negative thoughts about my initial dealings with Bob and is what I think makes a fair and honest landlord.
Furthermore, I had no problem getting 100% of my deposit money back (I did spend 5 hours cleaning the place before I left). I know that this is an important issue to mention as many landlords will try to nickel and dime it away for extra cash.
I would definitely rent from Bil-​Mar again.

I lived in their building on Fremont and Daiken for several years. Overall I didn’t have any complaints. The rent was reasonable for the size and the management was fairly quick to respond to any maintenance problems. The only drawback is the ratio of washers/​dryers to apartments is too small and that some residents treat the courtyard like a dog park (although Bil-​Mar can’t really control that).