Location: 5 stars. Downtown Evanston. Close to the train station, NU campus, and groceries. Maintenance: 5 stars. Shout out of George who is exceptionally professional and nice. Apartment condition: 1 star Don't believe their over photoshopped pictures on Zillow if you are renting from out of town. Persistent rat problem (see images of maintenance work orders in winters 2022 and 2023). Our unit is on the 1st floor but the building has a pretty tall basement level. George tried to help by putting rat trap but couldn't really fix it without real effort from the company. Leaking radiators (see images of damaged floor). Triggered my mold allergies. They also appear to be painted with lead paint and are chipping. Also they turn on and off randomly regardless of the actual temperature. Old and super squeaky doors and floors, which might be okay to some people but annoying to light sleepers - you might wake up in the middle of the night when your roommate opens the bedroom door and walks to the bathroom. Dirty/broken windows I don't know when was the last time they cleaned the windows... I tried to do it myself when I just moved in but had to give up cuz the dirt is just too thick and disgusting. Some of the windows/screens must be broken cuz we kept finding huge flies getting inside the apartment while all windows were closed. Managers: 0 stars Unethical and irresponsible liars: BJB agreed to let us sublease our apartment when moving out, we even found tenants to replace us. They then ignored our emails about this to tell us "we have found someone to move in at the end of your lease" - forcing us to pay for the remainder of our lease despite us finding a replacement (which is possibly a lie because that new person conveniently "lives abroad" and signed the lease within a day without even taking a video tour). This is highly indicative of this company. According to Illinois law, landlords are legally required to make a significant effort to find a new tenant as quickly as possible to reduce the amount of rent they lose when current tenants leave early. The BJB team did not market the unit at all, but made a convenient lie so that they can get a month of rent for free, rather than letting me find someone to take over the lease. This is what people call unethical and toxic landlord behavior. When we first moved in, they rented us an indoor parking spot without telling us how challenging it is to park there - the garage is extremely narrow and every car parking there had bad scratches. We had to cancel it immediately and informed them within our first week - but the manager insisted we didn't inform them fast enough and had us pay for an additional month of parking fee. BJB Evanston. I had to confront the upstairs neighbors myself to get a quiet night, many times, because the manager did nothing after promising that they would take action. The upstairs neighbors would play soccer in the living room... There were also unclaimed big packages stuffed in the tiny entrance/mail area for months. I honestly don't know what the managers are up to. I've never met them in person my entire time here (2+ years)...... Rent: Increases at least 4% every year and reaches almost $2000 now for a 2b1b. read more

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When we planned to move from Honolulu, HI to Chicago, we searched for apartments ready to move in. BJB Evanston popped up in the search. We moved in on April 2022 to 6701 N Glenwood Ave. (Mailing address 1347 W Columbia) Decent area. Decent apartment. However, sometimes during the night, we heard someone using our buzzer to get in the building. The scary thing centers around this person aggressively pounding on the main entrance door. We felt the pounding all the way up the 3rd floor. The walls shook. Needless to say, no wonder the person living there prior to us moved out. At times, we could smell the cigarette smoke around the stairs. Granted, we're not supposed to smoke in the building. Once my dog and I heard someone trying to push in the door. Luckily my dog started to bark defensively. That person left. I wonder at times. Management likes to receive money. They hardly return our calls. Nor does management really care about security or safety of their residents. read more

Susan is a very professional and kind manager. I used to have some very bad experience with other agencies (novice foreign Northwestern employees / students are regularly scammed) Susan, on the other hand, was very responsive, kind and supportive. We looked at two apartments and they looked exactly like in the photos. This is very important because several other agencies are doing the trick with Photoshopped images, and awful real apartmants. Also the BJB website and system is the best I've seen here. Pro IT background, booking system and I was able to walk around some apartments in 3D. So if, you are a novice NU student or employee, especially from abroad, EU ... think about who you work with! For this reason, I strongly recommend Susan and the BJB agency. Thanks! read more

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Shoutout to Anca and our maintenance engineers! They have been such an asset to this building! Always attentive and respectful. BJB please give them a raise! This is a different topic but I've seen a lot of people always give crappy reviews about the building problems, noises, etc. My opinion is if you know your building is older and needs a little TLC, don't be so quick to judge! A home is a home and should feel like one too yes but that also means you have to accept your building for what it is. Give it a little love! Be more positive people! read more

See previous (four star) review below. Over the 3 years we have lived here, BJB has continued to be an exemplary property management company. Every interaction with Tina, George, Teresa, Dina at 1303 Maple location has been positive. They are quick to respond to maintenance requests. They also were flexible, letting us do a roommate swap when one of us was gone for an internship with no fees besides a credit check for the new roommate. They also have installed our four window AC units for us every year we have lived here. I recommend BJB Evanston to all my friends who go apartment hunting in the area. read more

I'm already in my 4th year of living in BJB Evanston building (1410 Chicago) and I've had very good experience. It feels safe, located close to campus, and has its money-value (though they've been increasing the rent recently). I was lucky enough to get a top floor unit at the corner, with only the bedroom sharing a wall with the neighbors, so it's been quiet with a lot of privacy. However, the walls can be thin so for units sharing several walls with its neighbors, it might be something you'd want to consider. A lot of the units are also facing the buildings right next to us, which might be annoying sometimes. But I'd still consider BJB as one of the best management in Evanston. Leon, our engineer, was also great and always fixed any problems promptly. I know others who also live in 1420 Chicago and 1575 Oak, and they've all had pretty good experiences in those buildings too! read more

I lived at their 1410 chicago ave location for one year. Small place, very basic appliances. Old building The neighbors in the building were not loud but the building next door is a psychiatric rehab, so their patients are always hanging out outside, in the alleys or front of their building so it's always very loud They charge I believe another 100 dollars for designated parking that the building next door employees would use while I was gone. In the winter, the apartment was hot, regardless of turning off the heat. So i always had a window open but no big deal. I never had issues with the apartment so I never had to reach out to maintenance. Also, I think my apt (which I can't remember the #) had a ghost. So if anyone has that experience, let me know. Maybe I was wrong. All in all, this place is definitely over priced read more

I've been living in BJB Evanston (860 Hinman) for almost a year now and I've had a great experience so far. The management team is super helpful and quick to address any of my concerns -- they treat their tenants very well. Their maintenance and handy man is also very effective in dealing with any issues that may pop up (e.g. smoke detector not working etc.). He is trustworthy. I've never had any issues with the internet connection and/or any of the main utilities. Laundry room also works seamlessly. The building is located close to a NU intercampus shuttle stop so it doesn't take long to get to NU's campus. Neighborhood is safe and pleasant to live in. Heating works very well, so it's comfortable even during winter. read more

Zumi is an excellent manager. She's prompt, she's very nice, and she's interested making sure her tenants are happy. I've lived on Davis street for about a year and a half and I've had no real problems. read more

I love my apartment! I am new to Evanston and Illinois I found BJB on the internet. I live in one of the older apartments, before 1960s, the renovation is decent and the price is good. The BJB staff and George, the maintenance person, are fantastic. George is super nice, responsible, and gets the job done. I love it so far. read more

My unit is very nice and I don't think you can find much better value in the EP/PR area. There are very few issues but when these happened Anca responded quickly and Maciej did quality work. They are the only 2 I've talked to and they both are courteous and friendly. It's nice to have parking too, I was concerned about having to park on the street since it's on northwest highway. So I have no real complaints. read more

If I could give these people a 0, I would. Very unresponsive, no respect or loyalty to their tenants (or potential tenants) whatsoever. I called in June 2009 looking for an apartment on Hinman and was told there was one available on August 1. I asked if I could see the property and was told Duncan would get back with me. He never did, despite my repeated phone calls and voicemails. (The place was leased out.) We then hired a realtor (who also turned out to be useless) from Colfax Realty to help us with a unit available on 1 September. She never followed up with us after the walk-thru and within 4 days, the unit was leased out to another renter. To add some context, my boyfriend had already signed a lease for another BJB property and we were trying to move from that location so that we could have a dog and move in together. That didn't seem to matter to BJB - again, they felt no loyalty to us to help us get into a different unit. Duncan's words: "this isn't about loyalty - this is a business." Not a very good one, I'd say!!! read more

A couple of months ago, I signed a lease for a BJB Evanston apartment, and so far I've had an absolutely wonderful experience. My leasing agent, Jennifer was a pleasure-- she is knowledgeable, flexible, and friendly-- and she made the whole apartment hunting and lease-signing process a breeze. Thanks to her, I saw nearly all of the BJB Evanston properties, and while they're a little pricey, they all seemed to be in good condition and well maintained. You get what you pay for. I'm writing this review because when I saw that BJB Evanston had such a low Yelp rating, I had to step in and give my two cents! Don't be put off by the low reviews-- many of them were written a number of years ago, and whatever wasn't working within the company before seems to have been fixed. I can't wait to move into my new BJB apartment! read more

This is one unethical company!!! I saw an ad on Craigslist for an apartment and made an appointment to see the apartment in July (I would not have been able to move in until August). I fell in love with the apartment and paid the application fee and left a check for the move in fee on the same day. A day and a half went by and I noticed that they cashed both checks and I never received a phone call from the Sarah, my leasing agent who in my opinion is incredibly lazy and shady as well. I called Sarah and she said that I had been approved for the apartment and that Dina the property manager was drawing up the lease. A week went by and my move in date was drawing closer but I had yet to sign the lease. I called Sarah and she told me that I didn't get the apartment. I said how in the world could that happen and why didn't you tell me. She said that she didn't know and tried emailing me that I didn't get it and that a denial letter was mailed to me (this was a lie-to this date I have never received a denial letter!). I worry about a company that feels that this is they type of news you would leave to email...Plus, why would you cash the check clearly labeled move in fee?! I believe that what happened is that they were able to get someone in their in July and was keeping me as a "back up" in case that person didn't work out. I am further under the impression that this is what happened because when I contacted their accounting department to get my refund check (which I don't believe I would have ever received because Sarah didn't have the decency to contact me) stated that she had just received the paperwork that I hadn't gotten the apartment (this mysteriously happened after my phone call with Sarah), despite the fact they had cashed the checks the week beforehand. She had no explanation as to why I was denied. I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason because I ended up getting a beautiful, cheaper apartment closer to the lakefront. No thanks to BJB Evanston. My advice is to stay clear of this company because they obviously have not mastered the art of communication! read more

Very good location, near to the university, supermarkets and Metra. Our experience with BJB Staff was great and our stay could not have been better. The apartment is very confortable and modern, also they have the best prices in Evanston. read more

I have been living at the 914 Chicago Ave managed by BJB Evanston for a year now. I have to say I am extremely pleased with my experience. Nathan and Dina at the management office are diligent and polite about addressing any issue. I have always been able to get through to them during office hours, and when I've called outside the regular schedule and left a voice mail, my call was returned the next day. Oscar, their maintenance and handy man, is courteous, trustworthy and efficient about addressing any problems with the building. My apartment is an extremely comfortable property. Heating in the winter was not a problem. That said, there are some cons: there have been some aspects of the apartment that have needed frequent repairs: the grout in the kitchen tiles is not the best quality and crumbles, the sink clogs easily. However, whenever these problems popped up, I reported them and had repairs within a day of my report (sometimes the same day). All in all, I would recommend renting with this management company! read more

So far so good. I signed my lease before reading the Yelp reviews for BJB (didn't really know property managers had them), so after reading these I've become pretty worried. Luckily, I haven't run into any problems so far. I've gotten paperwork in and the staff have answered all questions I've had promptly with the utmost respect. What I'm really worried about is that weird heater temperature gauge problem during the winter. I'm a California boy, so if that goes bonkers, I'm toast. read more

The worst experience ever.... After I saw a few ads on Craigslist, we decided to check the apartments. We called asking for the right address and they hanged on us we gave a second chance and we found the office where they don't even say good morning or afternoon. They looked on us from up and down and they ask : "what do you want?" We said we want to look your apartments to rent. After that the lady doesn't even say take I seat. Or even worse take the time to look on her computer to check the apartment for us. She looked to our puppy. She said:"we DONT HAVE ANYTHING AVAILABLE!" I said: really? We just saw your ad? And she replied saying: "none of your apartment accept dogs" If I was the owner of the company I would fire her (obviously I don't like when people lose their jobs) but blockbusting us completely illegal!!! I would give a CERO to this company if I could. This company doesn't deserve to be on business. read more

BJB Evanston is the best management company I've ever had! The property manager Zumi always responds to my work order requests right away and when my refrigerator was having issues they replaced it within a few days! It's crazy the difference a great, responsive management team can make! I def recommend renting with BJB!! read more

I have lived at 860 Hinman for 1 year now and just recently signed my lease to stay another year in a new unit. The units are modern, clean and freshly painted when you move in. The building used to be an old hotel so the walls are extremely soundproof and I can never hear my neighbors. The system for receiving packages in the mail is my biggest complaint, but overall this is an excellent place to live with an excellent location and kind staff who are willing to help read more

I've rented from BJB at the 25 E Delaware location and 3 of their locations in the park ridge/Edison park area. Since relocating to Park Ridge for a quieter way of life, I have been delighted with the head engineer Maceij and Anca the property manager. I experienced a lot of problems with a neighbor at the Northwest highway location. Legal issues that extend beyond the control of property management and are truly rare. (From my 15 years of renting in different cities, I can say that it is truly a rare situation.) Nonetheless, Anca and Maceij responded within hours of the problems happening. They took immediate action to help remedy the situations, they formulated a long term action plan with me, and all the while treated me with kindness and compassion during this very difficult time. A lot of what they did went above and beyond what I would expect from a landlord. Beyond the tenant issue at the Northwest highway building, it was a great property to live at with beautiful floorplans and views. If not for the neighbor issue, I definitely would not have moved. It was important to me to live at one of Anca and Maceij's properties because I knew if anything ever happened again (big or small) they would be there to help remedy the issue. Which I think speaks volumes to how they manage the properties. After several months of living at the Greenwood building, I can honestly say is a fantastic property to live at. It is a very friendly and safe community that I would recommend to my friends. Anca and Maceij keep all of the properties in Park Ridge very clean and up to date. Snow is always shoveled right away and the lawns are kept manicured. They are a very responsive and helpful team. BJB has gotten some pretty harsh reviews on here. While I can't speak to the other areas, I can say that the Park Ridge properties are very well taken care of and come with an incredible management team, should you ever need them. read more

Sean Boswell at BJB Evanston goes out of his way to ensure that you have the apartment you want and that all your questions are answered. He is friendly, courteous, thorough. BJB has a wide inventory across town so you should find a unit you like. read more

I lived in 1420 Chicago Ave from July 2013 to July 2014. I read the reviews before I moved in and I was terrified. However, everything turned out fine for me. They don't always answer the phone when you call the management line. However, after leaving a voicemail my issues were taken care of within 24 hours. On Easter, the sink started filling up. I called the emergency line and someone was there within the hour. I read bad things about the WiFi before moving in, but I never had an issue with it. I was able to stream Netflix, Skype, Google hangouts, etc. I think I may have reset the router a couple times throughout the year, but that is standard with any WiFi. I was worried I would be cold in the winter, but it was actually quite the opposite. My unit was heated to the point where I didn't need to use my extra-thick comforter I bought specifically for Chicago winters. They were flexible with me wanting to move out on a Sunday and completed my inspection the day before. Everything was straight-forward. Overall, I would prefer a management company to answer my calls during their business hours, but everything was well-maintained and I had no major issues. read more

I've been renting with BJB at the Northwest Highway building and it's been a pleasant experience. Anca the property manager and the head engineer Maceij are really nice and very attentive. I haven't had many issues with the apartment, but on the few times I have, my e-mails or phone calls have been responded to promplty and the issues fixed right away. I noticed that some of the reviews on here are negative, but this has not been my situation. Anca is very professional, kind and helpfull when I have questions or a problem. I hope to keep renting from them in the future. The area is really nice, it is noisey, but when you live on a busy street, that is expected. Whenever people ask if I know of any properties for rent, I always tell them about BJB. read more

I love this management company! They are friendly, responsible and their goal is to please. If you call for a repair, they are there almost immediately. I love the location!!!! Close to everything!! Great company!! I've been with them 7 years. read more

I have lived in a studio apt (#525) at the 860 Hinman Bldg for 14 months. Overall very pleased and highly recommend. Big plus is property manager Dina and her staff who are located in building on first floor. Dina has an open door policy and reacts quickly to any bldg issues or maintenance requests. Apartment (#525) has brand new wood flooring and bathroom has new tile throughout. Although a bit small, two large windows provided great views to the North. Hallway carpet was steamed cleaned and vacuumed on a regular basis. Two elevators made exit/entry a little quicker than other buildings I have lived in. Located above Brothers coffee and across street from Starbucks . Purple line and Metra one block away. Laundry room has 12 machines-I don't recall ever having to wait. Fitness center was adequate, but I joined gym for more extensive training. Only negative was street parking in neighborhood. The Evanston parking ticket police team are waiting in the bushes for you to forget what side of street you parked on. Due to new job had to move out 4/30 and Dina subleased my unit in under 10 days.... read more

I had the worst experience with an agent EVER with BJB evanston. I saw a few ads on Craigslist for apartments that looked nice and were within my price range, so I gave them a call. The agent's name was Tom I think (this was a while ago, I hope that he has been fired by now). We set up a time to view the apartment the next day. I was staying in the city, and had to take a 45 minute trip on the train to get to the apartment. I get there for our scheduled viewing, and he isn't there. I wait 10 minutes, and he is still not there. At 15 minutes, I give his phone number a call - no answer. I leave a message, thinking maybe there had been a mixup/confusion of the time or something. After leaving the message I wait for another 15 minutes until it became clear that he probably wasn't coming, and left. Later that night, he calls and apologizes - said he was running late and was sorry. I really wanted to see this apartment so I gave it another chance. We schedule ANOTHER viewing for the next day. This time, I take the usual train trip up for the viewing and get there on time. He calls me right on the dot of when we are supposed to meet to let me know that he can't show the apartment today, but would be glad to show it the next day. At this point I was like WTF why did you schedule this showing if you can't show the apartment, and why wait until the showtime to call me and waste my time? Stupidly, I agreed to see the apartment the next day, but it didn't matter because the exact same thing happened - he waited until just before the scheduled showtime to call me to say I wouldn't be able to see it. Made up some story about how the current tenants needed to be evicted or something and he wouldn't be allowed to show it until later in the week. I am 100% certain that he was just an incredibly unprofessional and unbelievably incompetent agent and he just made that up to avoid having to acknowledge that it was completely his fault that I had wasted my time with these "showings". I do not know how this guy had a job at all. Fortunately, I am glad that I only wasted my time and never gave any money to these people. Long story short - I wasted my time scheduling 3 showings for the SAME APARTMENT that the agent never bothered to come to. read more

Recently I thought I'd check out some of the reviews for my former landlord, BJB Evanston, and was shocked with much of what I read. A lot of the reviews were completely the opposite of my experience with this company. I was a tenant of their 1303-11 Maple building for almost 8 years (July 2006-May 2014), and my experience was very positive! I would definitely recommend these apartments to anyone looking to move to Evanston. As most realtors will tell you, when choosing a place to live, it's about location, location, location. This is the main reason I chose the apartment I did several years ago. BJB Evanston's 1303-11 building is two blocks from the train (Purple line, Dempster stop), two blocks from several bus routes (Dempster and Ridge), and about 4 blocks from the Metra (Evanston-Davis stop) making travel to the city easy. It's also about 1.5 miles from Northwestern University (I could walk there everyday) and just a few blocks from the shops and restaurants of downtown Evanston. Additionally, there are 3 grocery stores within a 5-10 minute walk. Regardless, if you're looking for other things close by, BJB Evanston has many buildings in the area from which to choose. The rent can be a bit pricey, especially if you're from a smaller real estate market, but it's on-par with other units in the Evanston area. Despite location being my primary consideration, I was very pleased to discover, in my time renting from BJB Evanston, that their employees are very helpful, courteous, and knowledgeable. They were usually pretty easy to get a hold of during business hours, but, with so many buildings to manage, occasionally I'd have to call a couple times to actually speak to someone about an issue. I'd be remiss if I didn't highlight here that the most helpful, hard-working employee I interacted with was Zumi. Whenever I had a problem that I really wanted a quick solution to, she was the person I knew I could count on to get the job done. I placed many maintenance calls during my time with BJB Evanston. (Hey, 8 years and things are bound to go wrong at some point, right?) I can't think of any time that it took longer than 48 hours for my problem to be fixed. Most of the time my request was actually completed within 24 hours, the exceptions being right after major snowfalls (when maintenance had to clear sidewalks) or over the weekend (when less people were working). These repairs included the mundane to the more complex: unclogging a drain, fixing a broken toilet paper dispenser, replacing a light bulb (after I couldn't find the right kind anywhere!), a leaking faucet, a leaking, and a broken dishwasher. I did have a bit of an infestation my first year, but within a couple days, the exterminator had been called and maintenance sealed up every hole and crack in the place. I was pest-free my last 7 years with the exception of an occasional spider. During my time with BJB Evanston, they also made many building improvements (at least to 1303-11 Maple), some of which were driven changing regulations, others by tenant surveys. (They actually listen to their tenants!) These include: adding trash cans in common areas, adding security gates to the stairwells behind the building, adding grips to the back stairs to improve traction, replacing pipes, resurfacing bathtubs, installing carbon monoxide detectors, improving TV and Internet connections, and replacing washers and dryers in the laundry area. There were times where management went a bit out of their way to help me as well. For example, before I even moved in, I received a call from BJB Evanston the day I was going to look at an apartment telling me it had just been rented. However, they showed me another and worked with the current tenant at the time to ensure that I could move in a bit earlier than the unit would have otherwise been available. At the end of my stay, I ended up having to relocate for a new job before my lease was up. Not only did BJB Evanston find someone to sublet, they found someone who could start that sublease within a week of me moving out! To summarize, my 8 years renting from BJB Evanston was overwhelmingly positive, and I would definitely recommend them if you're looking for an apartment in North Chicagoland! read more

Subletted an apartment for the summer at 860 Hinman. Building is beautiful and clean and met all my needs! Most importantly though, Dina the property manager was absolutely amazing and was so helpful in answering all my questions promptly and thoroughly. I always felt like I was in good hands and if I had any issues they would be fixed. Great building! read more

I am moving out after living in an apartment located in Noyes and Ridge for 31 months. I felt that this company deserved a great review before I leave and I was surprised to read certain bad comments. My experience was totally different. What I can tell is that any time I had an issue it was solved right away. I just e-mail Zumi, the property manager, and I got an answer usually within 30 minutes. When I moved in we did not have the tools to install our TV. We asked Senedín, the manteinance person if we could borrow the tools from him. What did he do? He came and spent like an hour helping us to install the TV. We wanted to pay him and he said: No, I am here to help if I can. This is my job. Just to give some examples: my oven wasn't heating well and within a day they installed another one. I broke a blind curtain and they replaced with no charge. One wood tile in my apartment floor was broken and they took the time to replaced, which is not easy. During one weekend my bathtub was clogged and the emergency people did not considered that an emergency. I sent an e-mail to Zumi on Saturday night explaining why we needed to solve the problem fast and on Sunday morning Senedín came to solve the problem. There are many other things that were solved in the same manner. I can not remember any time that a request was not satisfied My central air is checked every year by a technician. Senedín also replace the central air's filter periodicly and we do not need to ask for that. They also come at least once a year to change the batteries of the carbon monoxide alarms and as a plus they change the bulb lights that are burned. The garden is taken care of. The snow is removed in a timely manner. The common areas are cleaned weekly (except for the back door stairs). The storage units are very very spacious. On the other hand, I have noticed that many times people is just lazy to report problems. Anytime we waited for somebody else to report something that happend in the common areas like a burnt light, or a dryer machine not working well the problem was not solved because it is just not reported. I think it is no fair to get mad because something is not solved if you do not take the time to send a short e-mail to the property manager. In this building, if you report something is fixed very soon. To finish, I must say that any time I went to the office I was very welcome by the property manager and she even tries to entertain my children with something. Senedín, the mantaince guy is very available, responsible and friendly. read more

I signed a lease with BJB in September 2016. So far, we have had a very positive experience. The agent we were working with was prompt and responsive to our inquiry. She was flexible with showing us the property. When it was move in time, the check in process with the office was quick and clear. The apartment was newly painted and cleaned prior to my move in as well. Whenever an issue arose, I was able to email the property manager, get a response the same day and have the issues resolved or given attention with a a day or two. They have taken care of all our concerns. Website to pay rent is a little slow but that was soon updated and very easy to navigate. When the office was closed, the emergency line people were glad to help and usually had a resolution right away. Our apartment has updated appliances with heat/gas included! Tough to find nowadays. Building is well kept during winter months. The on-site engineer is very kind and leaves notes when he has fixed an issue so we are aware when he's in the apartment and what's being taken care of. No complaints whatsoever! Would definitely recommend BJB to fellow renters! :) read more

I wouldn't recommend BJB to anyone! The worst experience I've ever had with renting an apartment. First, the apartment was filthy when we moved in. The place had clearly had not been cleaned after the last tenants moved out: the bathroom was disgusting (the shower and toilet were both tainted brown), food was left in the kitchen from the previous tenants, and some of our utilities were broken. We've had random water leaking from the ceiling, mice, and drafty windows (which is not pleasant when it is below zero during the winter). Communication is pretty terrible with the management, and things take forever to get fixed. Really, stay far far away. read more

Very friendly, helpful staff! I enjoyed living here very much- was just a little too expensive. read more

I've lived in this location (945 Chicago Ave) for over a year now and I love to be able to walk everywhere for groceries and restaurants. But the thing I love the most is the friendly customer service from Dina and her staff. I would highly recommend apartment living here as they will make you feel right at home. read more

Was satisfied with the service. They were flexible and reasonable when I needed to sublease and also quick to make any repairs when I first moved in. Granted the apartment wasn't the nicest but was very price competitive. I dealt with Zumi, so if you get her, you should be fine. read more

MY OPINION after a year---Good location. That's about it. * The freei internet and satellite tv are nice to have. Unfortunately, the internet is slow and the satellite TV goes out of service whenever there is a thunderstorm * Property Manager is professional, nice, and genuinely cares. She seems busy so she is hard to reach. * The exercise room is a joke. The carpet is mildewed and rotting. The treadmills are out of service a lot . The faux universal/weight equipment is antiquated and not easy to use. * The halls are dark and painted a gloomy dark orange with matching carpet. * During heavy rains, the basement floods and water backs up all the way to the first floor !!! * No hot water for washers and some of the dryers out of order often. * Mailboxes are too small to hold magazines or more than a few days of regular mail * The maintenance guy lives across the street. He doesn't seem very capable of doing much more than changing light builbs or clearing blocked toilets. A bit of a language barrier. Personal hygiiene is also a very big issue.... someone should send a case of Dial Soap to BJB. Overall, a building with a lot of potential that will remain unreleazed until BJB makes some servious investments .in the property instead of always cutting corners............ read more

I couldn't be more disappointed, upset, and infuriated with BJB Evanston. I have stayed at 1575 Oak Ave for 8 months since September 2017 and experienced MULTIPLE incidents of being repeatedly locked out from my unit due to door lock malfunction. The engineer came over many times to diagnose the problem but failed to solve the fundamental issue as the problem recurred throughout my time living at this property. The first incident dates back to the very first day of moving into the unit when I had picked up my card key (the entire building uses a card key system), all while the movers were on their way to the building with my furniture and other belongings. It was clear that the door lock itself was malfunctioning (as opposed to the card key) since the engineer himself couldn't use his master card key to open the door. He eventually let me into the unit using a physical master key and told me that he'd be replacing the battery to the lock the next day, although it was evident that the battery wasn't dead (the door lights indicated that the battery was still running). However, the problem repeated itself one month later and the engineer came over to re-diagnose the problem. He said that it was the door latch that was somehow causing a jam that led to the door lock malfunction. Once again, he said that he'd fix it the next day. The management claims that the door lock was replaced, so I believed that this would solve the problem. Unfortunately and frustratingly, the problem repeated itself THREE times recently in April 2018 -- in fact all within a single week. After letting my wife into the unit during the first incident of this time period, the engineer said that he would come back the next day to replace the lock. When the engineer came over the next day, he inspected the lock and said that it was functioning perfectly fine, so he left without replacing anything. That very evening, my wife and I were locked out from our unit once again because the door lock wouldn't work. We had to wait outside our unit for more than 2 hours until midnight with our bags of groceries left in the hallway. The next day, the engineer came over to re-program the entire lock. Much to my disappointment, the door lock malfunctioned again after a week. This was during the daytime so I ran into the building engineer while exiting the building, and he was able to let me in using a physical key on the spot. I brought this to the management's attention immediately. The property manager (Zumi Topic) told me that she would bring in a lock expert to inspect the issue. For all the inconvenience that was caused, I demanded an early lease termination to the management, but the response I heard from them was "Sorry, that cannot be done." All they offered me was issuing a one-time inconvenience fee in the form of a rent credit towards one month's rent, since all the problems fell under the same category of "lock issue." The management claims that they promptly responded to all my calls regarding the lockout and did everything they can to fix the issue. Well, these words don't mean anything if the exact same problem arises 5 times repeatedly. For those who are considering BJB Evanston apartments, please do yourself a favor and stay away from their properties. read more

I have never been treated so bad. Dina in the office is not nice at all. She gives you paper work that is not evan law abiding according to the City of Evanston. Be ware of what you sign. Apartment was all filth, I had to pay someone to clean it. If I was not in a tight spot for a month I would have gone else ware!! I will never rent, lease, or sublease from these people. read more

I have stayed at BJB Evanston's 860 Hinman property for two years, first at unit 525 and then at unit 702. I can say that the experience has been really nice, smooth and comfortable. There are many pros - I describe them below. The only complaint someone might have is that the units are small, but in my opinion, that is not a problem at all. Anyway, the pros are numerous. First, the building is very well maintained, and fitted with new appliances (oven, fridge etc). The windows in each unit are big letting in a ton of sunlight and air and giving the apartment a fresh feel at all points in time. The floors are strong and wooden and the walls clean and freshly painted at the time of move in. There are a lot of washers and dryers in the basement so I have never had to wait for laundry. There is also a gym, which albeit small, is great for a decent workout, especially on lazier days when I did not want to get out. Second, the area is great. Its safe, lots of families and quiet, yet very well connected - the Purple line and the Metra are a block away, the CTA bus and the Northwestern Shuttle also less than 3 min walk away. Theres a good coffeehouse (Brothers K) downstairs and Starbucks across the street. There are also a couple of restaurants right across the street often ideal for pick up. Finally and most importantly, the management staff are very efficient, polite and very well-mannered. The property manager, Dina, the leasing consultant, Jennifer who sits in the building's office as well as the building's engineer, Oscar are people I have frequently interacted with and sought help from and each and every time they have been excellent. I would definitely recommend this building and would move back in if I am ever looking to rent in Evanston again! Thanks for a great experience! read more

I moved into an Evanston building not originally owned by BJB, but they purchased it 3 months into my lease and immediately started renovations. BJB never gave ANY paperwork or official statements about our rent, or our leases, considering we signed with the previous management, I"ve been living in their building without an official lease or any letter or notice at all for months. The construction crews were noisy (as to be expected) BUT they left the building a mess, and there is no onsite engineer to care. They repeatedly turn off water sometimes with notice and sometimes not., this also requiring them to enter my unit during the day like twice a week, which doesn't make me happy. Renovations are also "taking longer than expected," the building manager shrugs off any complaints because she's "too busy with all the construction." There are always workers in the halls and locking the elevator (and leaving it locked overnight) and every time I see them they have this look "oh, people actually still live here?" No one ever answers the phone at the office, and the "manager" works AT the office - not useful. the renovated units are nice, but horrible management totally not worth the experience or the price. There used to be an acceptable bike storage area, which is now a small rack outside the building not even nailed to the ground, its a joke. Thankfully I have plans to move out of this building anyway - otherwise I would loathe to stay any longer. I really do think that anyone in a management position at BJB forgot that people actually still live in my building. read more