Knights Management

I have to say, after my roommate and I signed our lease (not before!) we checked Knights’ Unilocal reviews and panicked. There were a few, and they were all terrible.
This must be outdated information. Sue and Richard’s attention to our needs over the course of the year was excellent. Whenever there was an issue, they were in contact with a solution and it was taken care of immediately. Even when there was a minor problem of a faucet we were not wild about, it was replaced quickly.
I understand with family and friends in the industry that tenants don’t always know what to expect of their property management company. There was regular wear and tear on the apartment. Our unit was lovely and it was taken care of appropriately. We received our security deposit back without issue and overall had an excellent experience.

I’m a real estate agent who has worked closely with Knights managment over the past two years. I’ve rented 20+ apartments for Sue and Richard, owners who take great care and pride in their properties.
I’d like to point out that there are 6 negative reviews going back 8 years. Over the course of those 8 years there must have been over 500 tenants who have resided in one of the Lake View and Lincoln Park properties owned and managed by Knights Management. When people have a good experience with their landlord, at the end of their stay they tend to just be thankful and move out without issue and without feeling the need to Unilocal about it.
Then there are the 1% who have a problem and hit the internet to vent their frustration. I don’t know the specific details of the reviews here on Unilocal,but I can say I am constantly in touch with tenants who are clients of mine moving in, and tenants who live in (are moving out of) apartments I show for Richard and Sue and the vast majority seem very pleased with their experience with Richard and Sue. They especially like how there is a full time maintenance person on staff ready to tend to repairs should they be needed. I don’t know of any other landlords who re-​caulk all the tubs, clear all drains, and do paint touchups between each and every tenant. Richard and Sue also allow their tenants to text them anytime; they care about their properties and want to be in close touch with their tenants.
6 poor reviews in 8 years is what I call a great customer service success. As a landlord myself I strive for such a track record with my own tenants. I plan to start reminding my clients at the Knights buildings to express their satisfaction online in the future.

Came back just to see what other experiences people had. I really love that there are now some five star reviews all of which seem to be clumped around the same dates. Additionally, two of those five star reviewers have never written a Unilocal review before, ever. Seems a bit too convenient.
I also love the disdain Karen K. has for the people who wrote negative reviews? Yes, I guess being subjected to a slumlord is a good reason for us to GROW UP and move in with mommy and daddy, right Sue? Ahem, I mean Karen.
I still think Sue Dodge is a terrible landlord and a self-​absorbed arrogant human being. Do not rent from her.

The apartment I lived in for a year was a good experience. Living with two other roommates, we found the apartment to be priced fairly and accommodated all of our necessities. When a problem or issue arose, Richard was quick to help or offer assistance. Some appliances like the stove or oven are a little on the old side but still work relatively fine. Overall, it was a great year in the apartment.

Beautiful apartment with lovely amenities. Sue Dodge is pleasant, professional and responsive. I don’t understand these other reviews. Perhaps these people trashed their apartments and rightfully had their security deposits withheld or maybe their checks bounced and they were charged a fee. People GROW UP and read and abide by the lease you signed or go back home and live with Mommy and Daddy. Knights Management has a full time maintenance person who is friendly, knowledgeable and timely. We never had any issues living in one of their apartments and would highly recommend them to others.

What can I say that already hasn’t been said? I guess I can say a few things from a real state agent’s and landlords perspective. I’ve been a landlord for over a year now and although I just recently got my real estate broker’s license I feel like I know something about how to be a landlord and broker. Sue Dodge is not someone you want to work with or have your clients rent from. Although she may come across as nice at first if you don’t do things her way you’re screwed. She’s condescending, telling you that you’re doing everything wrong and well just not a great person in general.
My clients who are also my friends were looking to rent a unit in the building on 4018 N. Ashland. Sue Dodge and I talked over the phone and set up an appointment. It went well. The showing went well and my clients wanted to take the unit. Unfortunately that’s the only thing that went well as everything went down hill from there. One of the tenants was on vacation and couldn’t come to the showing. That didn’t matter to my clients as they all liked the apartment. Once I got all the information on how to proceed with the lease and everything I came away bothered by the fact that Sue kept insisting that she get everything the next day! The security deposit, the credit application, and the rental application. As a landlord myself I understand that it’s first come first serve. But once I said it’ll be a few days to get everything in order, Sue flipped out on me and said «well I need everything no later than Saturday as I can’t hold the unit for them.» Look I understand not holding the unit for them but I don’t understand is how she expects two people with full time jobs and another on vacation to get the necessary paperwork done the next day. I told her she’d have it after the weekend when everyone would be in town. Still wasn’t good enough. Every time I was talking on the phone with Sue I felt like she thought she was better than me. Trust me she’s not. I told my clients to make the security check out to Knight’s Management. Ok fine. Here’s the problem though. Sue wanted my clients to write her a check for almost 3 grand to the company without having a signed lease. If you want to be a great landlord and an honest one at that the landlord gets the security deposit once the tenant (s) and I sign the lease. It’s simple and easy. That’s not how Sue works. Thanks to one of my clients, she came across this page to discover that Knight’s Management is just terrible. As a broker and landlord I cannot recommend working with this company. Trust me there are better options out there. Always try to find a place where the unit is not maintained by a company but usually rather by a family or person who is often times around fixing things helping make the property a better place to live.

My stories of Knight Mgt always bring a laugh when sharing my apartment rental experiences, so I thought I’d check back to see if anything has changed in the past 4 years. Looks like not. I say «bring a laugh» but at the time was extremely disappointed w/​the property and the management, especially, Sue.
My roommate and I lost so much money in that apartment rental with repairs we were forced to pay out of our pocket (hundreds of dollars). With water overflowing in both the bathroom and kitchen, living in the Ashland property was pure hell. What a joke this company is, especially to have so many negative reviews. Sorry to all who have had to deal with the headaches and rude-​ness of this company. I hope people stop renting from these theives.

What a terrible company. I’ve been a renter for about 10 years and have moved quite a few times, so I’ve dealt with my share of landlords/​management companies, and never really had a strong opinion about any of them until this. I have had so many headaches dealing with Sue Dodge that I felt I had to warn people.
The first bad sign was right at the begininng when she made signing the lease and moving in a huge hassle. We didn’t live in Chicago at the time (which we had explained at the aprtment showing, but she tried to insist that we come sign the lease in person. When we finally convinced her to fax the lease to us, she faxed 30 pages (which we had to pay for by the page) to our local FedEx Office. The 30 pages included all kinds of ridiculous nit-​picky rules and an article from Martha Stewart on how to properly care for granite (and the countertops are not even granite, they are some kind of cheap granite-​veneer tile). Then she tried to insist that we pick up the key from her office in person on a Monday-​Thursday because she is always on vacation on the weekends. After again explaining that we didn’t live in Chicago (we were moving from out of state) she finally said she could mail them to us. When we arrived to move in, the building maintenance person had come in in the morning and turned on the air conditioning, so I don’t know why he couldn’t have just given us the keys then but whatever.
Anyway, once we were actually moved in things only got worse. I could go on, but I think some of the previous reviewers have probably already given you a pretty good idea.
I really didn’t think what kind of landlord I had could possibly have that big an impact on my life, but dealing with Sue really made my year at 4018 N Ashland pretty miserable. Coming home everyday and not knowing if a realtor or a random repair man is going to be in your home is pretty unsettling. I won’t be so naïve in the future.

Knight’s Management is a pitiful company.
Sue (who heads up the day to day operations) was an awful landlord. In the year I lived in her building she did the bare minimum when there were problems. These weren’t little problems either — my bedroom ceiling leaked water three separate times.
The management company and particularly Sue were disorganized. They made several errors on the paperwork, including the lease. They didn’t bill correctly. There is no way to pay rent online or to wire it to them, they only take physical checks.
It became clear in my time in the apartment that Sue no longer wants to work, and this is particularly directed at her as she is really the only one you will deal with (the company is just her and her husband). She was difficult to get in contact with, rarely at the office, had poor response time. She made it clear that she was smarter than me and all of her tenants. That she was more experienced and understood all the problems with She had no concern for our satisfaction with the apartment; instead she preferred to stay on vacation as much as possible.
the apartment even though she never stopped by to see them… even went so far as to accuse me of lying about them.
The problems we had were dealt with by Knights via threats. Threatening to hurt my credit, give me bad references, and keep my security deposit… When I pointed out the mistakes they made, they chose to berate me or hang up the phone.
If you want to have the experience of renting a cheap apartment that appears nice (clean) but comes with maintenance problems and an awful landlord then go with Knights. If you want a well maintained apartment with a professional management company then look elsewhere.

I have never actually been bothered enough (or happy enough) with any sort of service that it has prompted me to waste a part of my day writing an online review. Until this morning. I have never been so appalled by the immaturity and flat out discourtesy of any company that claims to provide a service. In attempting to rent an apartment that was supposedly available, I was yelled at, berated for calling to inquire about it, spoken to in a ridiculously sarcastic manner, and then hung up on when. I am shocked and if I could, I would report who ever the hell this awful woman is to the BBB. I wouldn’t recommend even THINKING about using this company to do anything. I have had the absolute worst experience and hope to dear God that no one else will have to deal with this bullshit. I wouldn’t even give it one star, but this website makes you.