As a homeowner for almost 11 years and a commercial property manager in downtown Chicago for 14 years, the business practices of this place from what I have experienced, seem very unethical.
I started looking for a rental because with the foreclosures that have taken place in my condo, we are now getting random owners who are renting to just anyone. With that is now coming the smell of weed in my house (I am not a smoker)...multiple kids over my head on hardwood floors up all hours of the night running, yelling, playing, etc.. People constantly in and out of the building or hanging (the building is only 8 units) on the balconies, something is always broken, etc.... hence me ready to just let it go and move on since I no longer have peace of mind in my own home.
Being from the north side (my condo is in south shore) I decided I wanted to go back to highrise living and was either going back to Edgewater or give Hyde Park a try. I found a unit I thought was okay, Mac contacted me literally probably 2 minutes after I sent my initial email. Made an appointment to see the unit on Saturday March 5. The agent was new so he didn't really know much about the building (I actually had to tell him some things) but I was okay with that. I thought the building was very dated, but the units had been remodeled and were okay. This unit was $1439 (I wanted a 2bed but that was over $2k). To me this was very overpriced for a one bedroom, despite it having two bathrooms. Just an FYI, my mortgage and assessments only add up to 1150 for a 2bed/2bath with 1400+sqft and a parking spot, EVEN THOUGH the building was dated and the unit was overpriced, there was stil something about it that I liked, however I wanted to proceed with caution. On Sunday March 6, the agent sent me an email stating what was needed and said that he already sent me an email for the pre-app (that didn't happen.) I sent an email right back stating that I never recieved it and asked that he re-send it. I never got a response.
Sunday, March 13 I reached out again and this time got a response. I decided to pay the pre app fee ($50) and asked for a second showing as I was still unclear about wanting to pay the $1439. Upon the 2nd showing (on Monday the 14th), the woman at the concierge desk turned out to be a member from church who serves on a couple of ministries with me, Talking to her about the building, definitely made me feel better and more at ease and seeing the units for a second time, confirmed for me that I wanted the unit.
The next day, Tuesday March 14, I informed the agent I wanted to continue with the process. He sent me an invoice and as I was going to pay it (Thursday March 17), I looked at the unit again online and noticed that the rent had increased $80. So now the already over priced unit is now $1519 in less than two weeks, which basically includes nothing but the rent, Needless to say, I was confused and hesistant to pay it. I contacted the agent again and informed him of the change. He said that there had been an increase and will probably be another one in the summer. I had just accepted the 1439, now its 1519. It took me a few days to try and digest this pill, but I decided to suck it up and just pay the extra $80. So yesterday (March 20) I went ahead and paid the invoice. TODAY I get a "Welcome to .." letter and was very excited until I saw the monthly rent. This same rent that was 1519 ONE DAY BEFORE, they are now wanting to charge me 1564! REALLY???? So now overnight, the rent increases AGAIN to an extra $45???? So I again go to the agent and ask what the deal was. I get no answer. I get the whole "congratulations your new address is....you can pick up your keys at....your lease starts April 1 (so there is no need to prorate it although that was an excuse in the email that was used) After receiving all of the fluff, I responded by stating "this doesn't answer my question on why there was another increase..." From my first viewing 3/5 to 3/21 there has been three different rents with the total increase being $125. The demand is NOT that high as the same units are STILL available. While I understand an increase when the season changes, I don't understand how while being in the middle of the process it can change 3x??? With no real reasonable or logical explanation.
The building itself is nicely located and I heard pretty decent things about it, but MAC has a horrible reputation (as I have read by the reviews) and am now experiencing. For the record, I can rent a one bedroom condo in Edgewater, on the lake in a fully amenity building (pool, cleaners, party room, tennis court, store...) for less than 1500. I liked the unit because of the extra bathroom. I thought if I'm going to lose 600 sq ft and a bedroom, I can at least have a second bathroom. However, the increase in rent twice in two weeks, while I was already in the middle of continuing the process, seems very unethical and unfair... read more