I lived at Bromley Hall my freshman and sophomore years. Made some great friends, many of which I…read morestill hangout with... I'm not sure where Chella G. was really staying, but the food at Bromley was (is?) much better than she describes. And, the cafeteria is open at least 3 hours for each meal (I just checked their website). Funny she also mentions the elevators. LOL! Those are some good stories :-) It sure was excellent to have weekly (or was it every other week?) maid service. The private bathrooms made the decision easy for me, did't have to share the shower with the entire floor!

It's actually horrible don't live here , I have so many horror stories from here such as mold,…read morebeing manipulated, the food, the staff

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!

I had a great experience here a few years ago. The rooms are more expensive than standard…read moreuniversity housing, but if you can afford it... the space is worth it. As a freshman and sophomore, this is a great place to meet other students and make friends. You get to know everyone really well -- I made a lot of close friends here that I hang out with even today. The office also helps organize events, so even if you're shy, you'll still get a chance to meet other people.

I am a sophomore living in Illini Tower this year with a group of friends. We are living in a…read morecorner room together, and we could not be happier with our choice. As I understand it, they are under new management as of very recent, which should explain bad reviews from previous years. New furniture has been put in, the amenities are good, employees could not be nicer, and the food is actually great. They even take requests from students for new menu items. In terms of maintenance, whenever we have submitted requests, a maintenance worker has shown up to make the repairs within a day or two, and does so with a smile on their face. The only reason for the four star review is that a large percentage of the students here are international (mostly Chinese, so the dorm actually lacks a bit of diversity), and it also lacks a social scene. I would imagine it would be a bit difficult to find a social circle here as a freshman, though not impossible, as I have met a few great people. It is clear that the management is aware of this, though, as they offer special events and activities fairly frequently. For sophomores and juniors looking to avoid the leasing hassle, and find a happy medium between dorm and apartment life, I'd highly recommend living here (especially if you lease with a group of friends). Just to clarify, I am a student writing this review on my own terms, and have not been asked to do so by any Illini Tower staff members. I just believe that at this point the highly negative reviews from previous years are misleading and irrelevant, due to the new management that has changed this place completely, and made living here quite pleasant.

If I could give zero stars, I would. The management is extremely uncooperative. I had a refund that…read moreshould have been processed at the beginning of my lease, but they refused to issue it and instead told me it would only be refunded after 10 months, at the end of the lease. Holding a tenant's money for the entire lease term is unacceptable and has caused significant frustration. I would not recommend this property.

"PROS": 1. Cheap. On average, lower rates than other landlords…read more 2. Above average at maintanence requests, usually resolves with in the next one or two business days. 3. One of the lowest rate properties which allows pets AND are still within campus range. CONS: 1. With lower rates comes with older buildings. This means if you are expecting a nice looking interior, turn around and find another landlord. The place I lived in looks old from the outside and not at all better from the inside. 2, Tenents, oddly, usually brings devastating damage to the room before they leave and those damages usually won't get fixed until you moved in with suprises.

Don't rent from this place it's not worth it, windows aren't sealed properly so bugs are constantly…read moregetting in your home. They neglected to clean our carpet before moving in but are now trying to force us to pay to get the carpet professionally and to pay them an extra fee for it which makes no sense. None of our furniture was even set up when we moved in and after asking the landlord about that they never did anything so we had to put our dinner table and dressers together ourselves. If you're not renewing your lease the landlord will literally do back to back showings every day so strangers in your home showing up every day and they don't even show at the scheduled times so it's often inconvenient. Maintenance is a joke, it took them forever to do anything when we lost heat during negative degree winter days and all they did was drop off some space heaters. We asked them to come fix our fridge cause the freezer seal wouldn't stay shut and would often open by itself and defrost everything in our freezer, someone came to look at it but never came and that was literally a year ago. Even the people that live in these apartments are rude, I've run into so many rude neighbors it's just not worth it

I lived at 702/704 W Elm St in Urbana for a year. I have no complaints about the management…read more Maintenance requests were always handled quickly, and because my apartment was not the "show apartment," I didn't have to worry about having tons of people in and out of my apartment throughout leasing season. I do, however, understand that it is nice to see the exact apartment you'll be living in. They were fair with returning the security deposit. My roommate and I had been overcharged for "missing furniture," which had been removed by Roland earlier in the year, but there was no trouble getting that money back. Your choices are very limited if you want to live in Urbana, and my apartment itself was hit and miss. I loved the large bedrooms, and because it's a little further from campus, my rent was fairly low. Elm St is really pretty, especially in the fall, and the area was usually very quiet. However, the building only had a window AC unit, which was miserable over the summer. I moved my bed to the living room, right in front of the AC, and still could barely sleep at night. I didn't mind not having a dishwasher, but a garbage disposal would have been nice. There were only two washers and dryers for the building, and it wasn't rare for one set to not be working, so doing laundry was a pain. It was relatively cheap, however. Despite my issues with the building, I almost stayed for a second year. I would definitely recommend living with Roland.

If I could give 901 South First and Roland Realty zero stars, I would. I moved into a studio about…read moresix weeks ago, and the condition of this property has been absolutely disgusting. THERE IS TRASH EVERYWHERE. I've seen used condoms on the floors of the buildings, found cockroaches, and constantly seen trash throughout the property. After submitting multiple requests about the cleanliness, it seemed like the property was only finally cleaned once people started touring apartments. I find that incredibly misleading because it creates a false image for prospective tenants of how the property is actually maintained once you live here. My apartment was filthy when I moved in, and I had to deep clean it before I could even unpack. There are holes in my floor, kitchen cabinets that don't close, an unbelievable amount of rust in the bathroom, and the wall inside my shower is cracking to the point that pieces fall into the bathtub. The laundry situation is also ridiculous. There are only about five washers and six dryers shared between four buildings, and multiple machines have been broken since I moved in. I've literally had to wash clothes in my bathtub because I can't rely on the machines being usable. I have emailed, called, gone into the office, and submitted maintenance requests, yet weeks later, multiple issues still have not been fixed. I repeatedly get told they'll take care of things, but nothing happens. Affordable housing does not mean tenants should have to accept unsanitary conditions and broken facilities. I would never sign a lease here again and strongly recommend looking elsewhere before signing with Roland Realty.

I hated UIUC with a passion, however, as time has passed, I've begun to realize that UIUC made me…read morewhat I am today. It gave me all the necessary tools to succeed. It is truly my Alma Mater. I was an international undergraduate student at UIUC, which has a great support system for international students. We had special counselors and staff to help us get adjusted to the American way of life. I majored in electrical engineering and minored in chemistry, and took my stay here extremely seriously. The fact that my family was paying three times the fees local students pay, failure wasn't an option for me. I never partied during my stay here. My review is only concerning the College of Engineering. UIUC has very high standards. Every ECE course is like an honors course. No matter how impressive your ACT or SAT scores are or how smart you think you are, there will always be someone better than you are at UIUC. I learned this the hard way. Don't despair; befriend those people and study with them. They'll help you survive. Our ECE department is one of the best in the country; our instructors are the very best in the industry and graduates of top schools - whether local or international. For example, many of my professors and TAs were graduates of the Indian Institute of Technology - considered one of the best institution and most selective in the world. They seemed weird and aloof at times, but they were very approachable and were always available for additional help. I had professors who were graduates of MIT, Yale and CalTech. The university also hosted various international speakers of high caliber - like Bill Gates and Ravi Zacharias. It was great to see these men in person and hear them speak. UIUC also had great worship nights for Christians. The university also hosted various international events like Diwali nights and Indian dance competitions. Here are five tips for surviving the College of Engineering: 1. Get into a study group with people who are smarter than you. This will help you work in a team. 2. Do your homework - yourself. Only get help if you get stuck. 3. Do the old exams in your study group. 4. Sleep at night. 5. In additional to your studies, do an extra project or thesis in order to make your resume more impressive. After four years of broken hearts, failed exams, and sleepless nights, I successfully graduated from ECE. I can proudly say that I studied with the brightest people in the world. I actually miss those days and can think of so many things I would have done differently if given a second chance. Rahul G (BSEE)

My husband and I came to Champaign for a wedding. Being an alum, my husband was excited to show me…read morethe University of Illinois campus. This was my first time visiting the University of Illinois in many years. He took me around to the Alma Mater Sculpture, the Illini Union, and then we walked around the quad outside of the Illini Union. It is a very nice campus. There were many students and we saw many prospective students going on tours. If you're visiting the Champaign/Urbana area, I recommend taking a scenic walk around the University of Illinois campus.

My husband and I came to Champaign for a wedding. Being an alum, my husband was excited to show me…read morethe University of Illinois campus. This was my first time visiting the University of Illinois in many years. He took me around to the Alma Mater Sculpture, the Illini Union, and then we walked around the quad outside of the Illini Union. It is a very nice campus. There were many students and we saw many prospective students going on tours. If you're visiting the Champaign/Urbana area, I recommend taking a scenic walk around the University of Illinois campus.

I graduated from UIUC in 2005 for undergrad. I'm still nostalgic about U of I and occasionally go…read moreback to visit. They really beautified the older buildings and there are more chain restaurants and newer apartment buildings. But the English Building, where I had most of my classes, still seems to remain the armpit of campus, despite its new floors and classroom computers/projectors. UIUC is world reknown for its services and access for students with disabilities. I've attended two other higher ed institutions and I had to struggle advocating for myself, which was very different from UIUC. The campus was very wheelchair accessible. There was one Anthropology Professor's office I couldn't access; I can't remember the name of the building. There are a few classrooms that are not wheelchair accessible, but DRES (the Disability Resources and Educational Services for students with disabilities) relocates classes if necessary. Here's the DRES website: http://disability.illinois.edu. They offer various services to students with disabilities, even temporary ones. UIUC also has a dorm for students with disabilities who need personal care services. It was called Beckwith Hall and used to be on John Street. But they moved it to Nugent Hall, which is a part of the undergrad dorms. Here's their website: http://housing.illinois.edu/nugent. It's a new building with state of the art technology in the Ikenberry Commons North community. The first floor is home to the Beckwith Residential Support Services program for students with physical disabilities requiring personal care. Floors 3 and 4 houses the new Honors Living-Learning Community. Although there are accessible units in the graduate dorms, there doesn't seems to be anything comparable in terms of assistance with personal care services for graduate students. I did have difficulty finding wheelchair accessible apartments while I was a student outside of Beckwith Hall. Overall, I had a great experience with outstanding faculty and classmates. Of course, there were a few exceptions.

Their maintainance guys are really great at their jobs. They get here in a timely fashion and have…read morealways been helpful. I'm living at Greg Towers again. They're pretty clear about the cleaning and carpet fees they take out of the security deposit so that's not really going to be a surprise . Sure it sucks to lose out on that money but it is an inexpensive apartment for the academic year and it feels worth it. Especially since it's 10 mins from the quad and like 5 mins from the BIF. Overall, don't expect anything fancy.

Terrible leasing company, water pipe broke three times! AC broke and two week later it's still…read morenot fixed! We called Champaign housing inspector, he found the fire alarms were broken! UIUC is aware of this leasing group and steers students away from them. It's been a nightmare of repairs, they have been unresponsive. We've had 72 maintenance requests with them. Beware of them!!!! There are much better places to lease an apartment from.