New post though it's been in need of writing for many years. Bought a condo conversion unit in the Paramount Lofts building back in 2006. New West and Ashland Development-Horrible. They kept our upfront tax dollars and never paid toward our portion for our specific unit-horrible materials and overall slick/politically connected bunch of folks-yeah that is to include you Barb at least your other have lost his aldermanic position recently. Stay away from New West and anyone involved in what was called Ashland Development. read more

Donna Surma is easily one of the worst people I've ever met. She's unprofessional, rude, and has no idea what she's doing. Spare yourself and find another real estate agency to work with. read more

(Dear Yelp: You seriously need to get on a "zero stars" option.) With that said, by "one star" I mean "zero stars" or "5 angry faces." First, let me start by stating that New West Realty is NOT a legit real estate company. It's just a shell organization for the employees to wash their money through. (i.e. If you need to take legal action, New West Realty is not responsible because everyone who works there is a contractor and it'll be a headache to get to them.) Just want to make that clear. When I found a 1 bedroom apt in Little Italy within walking distance from school for $850/mo. I was ELATED!!!! It took a lot of patience and waiting (The leasing agent, Donna Anello-Surma, kept making appointments and forgetting about me.), but I was a walk-in and this was all in one day, so I was happy she was fitting me into her seemingly busy schedule. Once I decided to rent the apartment, she told me she'd call me that night. Forgot, so I had to chase her down again and set up an appointment to sign and pay my security deposit and first month's rent. When I showed up to my appointment Donna was not in the office. Then I went next door to grab a beverage and when I came back she still was not there. Then went for sushi and came back when she had finally arrived. Signed lease, spoke with the owner on the phone (a woman named Pam who calls herself JKN Real Estate Investments) who said she would have the place cleaned up before I moved in. When I went to check measurements for furniture (a few days before moving in), the hallway was a complete MESS!!!!! Spiderwebs and dirt everywhere! (What happened to all that cleaning she was supposed to do before I moved in?) I also learned that I was completely restricted to the gangway to enter my apartment. But, in a time crunch, I was willing to work around it. Then, I noticed the carpet had been ripped up by the previous tenant's dog. (He had furniture and his belongings all over the floor when I first visited, so I did not get a good look at the floor.) I asked Pam if she would replace the carpet and she refused. But not in a nice way, in a very rude snappy way and she'd rather just give me my money back and slam the door behind me on my way back. She left me with "I will tell Donna to return your money." I spoke to Donna who then tried to convince me that there was something in my lease that states that I could not get my money back. I read the lease over and over and there is nothing regarding forfeiting my security deposit and rent for an apartment I've never moved into. Donna, who had received her commission, told me "Well, it's not my problem, that's between you and Pam. If you want your money back, go get it from her." (Didn't Pam just tell me to get my money from Donna?) After that game of "pass the buck" Donna and Pam decided that they were going to try to sucker me out of my money and Pam called me from a blocked number trying to blackmail me into keeping the lease claiming that my $1700 was hers to keep anyway. Which it was not, but obviously these two people in the real estate renting biz know absolutely nothing about how that business works. Oh, and JKN Real Estate Investments is not a legit company either. Then followed an hours long bully session between Donna Anello-Surma and Pam. I finally realized that they were really fighting over Donna's commission (Donna wanted to keep it, Pam wanted it back) and figured they could just sucker it out of me. Fortunately, I have a real estate lawyer friend and was able to solve that problem with a "Cc:" in a letter (sent certified mail for my records)- followed by a little more back and forth and smart (and by smart, I mean "passive aggressive") words from Donna. DO NOT RENT FROM THESE PEOPLE!!!!!! (Also, check out the ratings from their other location. 1.5 stars. Similar shenanigans.) I'm just glad I wasn't buying. The other reviews from buyers sound like complete nightmares! read more

Okay so it's been 2 years since I've closed on my unit. I still do not have a working security gate. Since I'm the only buyer in the building so far, NW still has to pay assessments for the other 2 units in my building. Since they turned over the association last year, it's been my job to keep up with maintenance and repairs. New West refuses to pay any of the assessments for important repairs to the security fence. It also took them over a year from my closing to repair punchlist items. This developer has proven to be greedy and selfish. I've tried working out arrangements with them, but it seems they have no interest in maintaining the buildings. They sole interest is to sell off crappy construction as fast as possible. At this point, we have to get lawyers involved just so I can get them to pay for their share of repairs to things I think are vital. Because security fences have NEVER worked, I've had expensive lawn ornaments stolen, bike, and neighbors have had break ins in the first floor units. read more

Obviously selling a home can be a difficult and sometimes challenging process but fortunately I had one of the best real estate agents in the city working for me, Bill Altier. Throughout the entire process, Bill exceeded expectations. Bill is an expert agent whose experience and knowledge of sales, marketing, and real estate laws is superb. He is also a great communicator. He responds quickly, clearly, and decisively, and his advice is always useful, practical, effective, and ethical. Bill works with a great time of photographers, home stagers, and he knows many of the agents in the city, home inspectors, and real estate attorneys. Bill provided us with VIP service. He was present at all of the showings, home inspections, property appraisal, and closing--always advocating for the best possible outcome for me during these sometimes stressful or tense situations. Most importantly, Bill is a master sales strategist. He was able to sell my home within 5 days after it was listed. There were multiple offers on the property most of which were above asking and Bill helped me to select the best offer. I cannot say enough positive things about Bill and I will always go to him for all of my real estate needs. He is hard working, responsive, highly competent, and best of all he is honest and very trustworthy. read more

This place does not even deserve a star. If you ever think that realtors rapacious and do malicious business, Frank Mauro at this place redefines how rapacious and unethical a realtor can be. He said all he cared about was that the rent was paid at time in full amount. He meant it. He cared about NOTHING else. When I told him my room had a leaking problem (btw, their properties are old, outdated,... simply suck), he said he would send someone to repair it immediately. When he said "immediately," he actually meant three weeks. Three weeks later, someone went to fix the problem without my presence and without telling me forehand. Even worse, he did not protect my belongings when repairing and dust was all over my desk, computer, bedsheet, etc. My worst experience with Frank Mauro happened after the end of the lease. When returning deposits to tenants (I co-leased the place with two other people with three of us on the contract), he wrote one check with the full amount of deposit payable to the other two, leaving me out. It took me quite a while to get the money back. Never do business with Frank Mauro unless you want to examine the bottom line of realtors. He will deceive you and throw you around. read more

PLEASE read this review, I'm not making things up and all I want from this is for people to not get the services from Donna Surma and to save them a lot of future stress and suffering. I had to find a sublease for my southside Chicago apartment in Canaryville due to me losing my job and money (and divorce) during the peak of the pandemic and I couldn't afford it anymore, so I had to contact her again to help me out and give advice with that quickly or else I was going to be homeless. Donna LITERALLY told me over the phone aggressively "so when you're looking for someone to sublease, you know what neighborhood you're in and they don't want minorities there if you know what I mean...so when you make a listing just put on the description that the tenant has to have a credit score of 630 or better, and no families with children, only white couples or 2 people" I WAS SHOCKED. I'm Mexican myself but she was nice to me in the beginning only because my husband at the time was a white cop and HE loved that neighborhood of Canaryville, but once Donna found out we we divorcing and he moved out of that apartment, she treated me like shit. But she certainly made it clear that she didn't want African Americans which was horrible. I had to leave that month and find a place to stay ASAP so she made it super difficult for me to find a subleaser based on those strict conditions, and she kept trying to trick me adding different conditions that have nothing to do with our leasing contract and purposefully just adding unnecessary stress, like I was crying every single day thinking this lady is going to make it impossible for me to move out and giving petty threats, especially when she abruptly called me one random day while I was packing up saying I owed her $600 something which was NEVER mentioned before or stated on the contract, and I seriously panicked because I was very broke and helpless, but fortunately my ex husband paid for it since he's also on the lease. I luckily subleased to a young, single white woman just in the nick of time, and Donna HAPPILY accepted. I know it's a lot to read, but that's just the half of it and I still have the texts to prove it. Donna quite literally made my last month a living hell and she knew what she was doing which was the sick part, especially during the tough time I was going through during COVID. I seriously couldn't believe someone could be that cruel and greedy, and I couldn't say any of this before because I was literally afraid that she would do something to prevent me from leaving that apartment that I couldn't pay for, so I waited until the coast was clear to say this. Overall, PLEASE I URGE YOU don't have her as a realtor, she's extremely racist wanting me to purposefully reject apartment requests from minorities and literally telling me off over the phone for no reason other than she's a bigot. I know it's all business, but no one should treat anyone the way I was treated by that woman. There's no need to call clients rudely and aggressively to hassle them, insult them, trick them, threaten them, and just be plain nasty and racist because she did ALL OF THAT. If this is not going to show on Yelp, I will post this somewhere else because I want to prevent others from going through what I went through and I'm hoping Yelp would want to do the same. I hope there's a way she can be reported for every petty thing she does because I'm not sure if that's even legal. Thank you all for reading this. read more

Zero stars. Donna Anello-Surma is full of shit. All she wants is her commission. She does not care about you or if you are having issues with the apartment after you have signed the lease. She is very aggressive with her words and she can be hard to get a hold of. Zero sense of professionalism and ethics. For all you UIC students reading this, the proximity of the rental units may be great, but trust me, it is not worth it!! read more

The summer of 2013, I was in the midst of trying to find an apartment for the upcoming year. After finally giving up, I found Donna's rental advertisement on the west campus. I immediately noticed I had also seen her name on the east campus side. I thought to myself she is quite popular as a person who is able to have name all over the university area and must know what she is doing must be doing a great job with it. I called and setup an appointment to see the apartments available. She was very professional and asked for my budget and told me she would be able to show me available apartments on the day we meet. So, we finally met she was there even before time. She had told me she was quite a busy person and after realizing that she rents so many properties both on east and west campus , I was thankful to that she took the time out of her schedule and showed us several apartments. She even let me take pictures of the apartment to show to my potential roommates because they were not able to make it. What I liked about her was that she was straightforward, funny, honest, and very upfront about everything. I was told that when I will get the apartment, it will be cleaned and that is why I won't be able to get the apartment on the earlier date because it was getting professionally cleaned. That is exactly what I got. I was aware that once I give the deposit and sign the lease, if I decide not to move in , I will lose that ( ITS COMMON SENSE) Unlike the other person below I am not sure what happened. But I finally moved in to the apartment and I have been living here for more than a year. Anytime my friend or family is looking for a place , I call Donna to see what available units does she have. If you are to rent in CHICAGO, DONNA IS THE BEST REALTOR EVER. P.S I am not getting paid to do this review. I just love her and I think she is the best!!!!! She can tell you exactly where I live if anyone looking to use Donna as a realtor and have questions. I would love to answer them. read more

I think the realty is like lots of others out here in this economy now, trying to fill up condos which just won't sale. I think it is a good idea, however when the other units have racist tenants it makes it hard to enjoy suitable living. Just because individuals are on government subsidy programs it doesn't dare define whom they are. In fact some are very hard working and don't deserve to be discrimated against. I also have experienced a rash of events from my car being broken into while moving into the unit, neighbors lying, stashing dog poop in bags near my front door, evil looks because of my race. You people need to grow up this is the world we live in. I am also bothered by seedy behavior in the neighborhood my daughter was jumped at my front gate due to "being nerdy" by the other girls in the neighborhood. I think it is what is, we all just need to make the best of the situation. read more

I'd like to add to my last review since it appears "a.M." is ignorant to the "Affordable Housing" program with the City of Chicago. This is a city mortgage subsidy. The city subsidizes the buyer with a $60,000 grant that the seller receives. The seller does NOT lose money on the deal. It's a City of Chicago program and the buyer is contractually obligated to live in the unit and not sell for a certain number of years. I suggest you do some homework before posting ignorant yelps. read more

Do not use this realty service they are a scam, they took me for $3,300 and wouldn't give it back after I refused to sign the lease. STAY AWAY read more

NEVER NEVER NEVER rent from New West Realty. It was the worst experience ever!! The property was 716 s Ada st. (3 bedroom house) First off, never sign a lease with them to a place under renovations unless the they sign some kind of agreement with a timeline for all the specified work to be completed. In our case we took them by their word..BIG MISTAKE. As soon as we signed the lease all the work stopped. We had broken garden view windows (which were also considered the emergency exit). Upstairs bay doors that didn't close properly and didn't lock. (we had to tie them closed with a rope, and hope no one tried to break in) A washing machine that didn't work. Closet doors that didn't close. Kitchen cabinets with holes in them. There were countless smaller things such as light switched not working, gate not working properly..and on and on. Some of the major stuff was eventually fixed. A new (old, but new to the place) washer was put in 2 months later. New doors were put in 3 to 4 months after moving in. Basement emergency exit was fixed months after moving in. This was all done with delays, lies, and harsh attitudes from them. One great example of how New West works. The owner of the company, Theodore (Ted) Mazola, and his wife lived across the street from us. When we moved in we thought this was going to be a good thing, quick fixes and what not... well we were wrong. One day (a few months after we moved in) his wife came over and started to complain about our blinds. She said that it is ridiculous that we cannot keep them straight. And it was a huge eye-sore to her and everyone that walks by. After she was done berating us for creating this eye-sore, I informed her that it was not a problem we could fix. That we have been asking for months that the broken blinds be fixed. Some how it was still out faults. Should have seen this as a sign of what was to come... After about 4 months we just conceded that some things wern't going to be fixed and we could live it for the 7 or 8 more months left...AND THEN IT ALL WENT TO HELL. Right around December 20th I left for holiday (Kansas City) My roommates went back to the suburbs for a couple days. My roommate returned on December 24th to stay the night. At that time the hot water was not working. He called our realtor and informed him. The realtor said not to worry he would be over in the morning and check on it. We later found out that never happened. December 26th or 27th (cannot remember which day) I got a call from that same roommate. He had returned to find out the place had flooded. The garden view area which consisted of my bed room, bathroom, and laundry area had over 3 inches of standing water. Needless to say much of my stuff was ruined. including all my past college school work and art (being i'm a design major, it was a lot of irreplaceable sketches and school work.) First thing I though to do was call Ted (the before mentioned owner and neighbor.) My thought process was that he was a neighbor, he could help my roommate move some of my stuff to safety, and figure out what was wrong. Heres how the phone conversation started.. Joe: Ted, we have a problem. Ted: What? Joe: Our basement has flooded, a lot. Ted: [now screaming into the phone] WHAT THE F*CK DID YOU DO? ..I TOLD YOU NOT TO SHUT THE AIR OFF.. (which I assure you we did not)..YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO PAY FOR ALL THE DAMAGE...I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU F*CKING DID THIS... This continued for a few minutes. I tried to explain we called about the water not working and we were told it would be fixed, and that we never shut he air off. After a few minutes of being screamed at and cussed at I was asked, and I quote "DO YOU HAVE SH*T FOR BRAINS?" I told him not to talk to me that way. I was then told "THIS IS HOW I F*CKING TALK, IF YOU CANNOT DEAL WITH IT THEN HANG UP." Which I did. I called to warn my roommate he was on his way over and to brace himself. I was later told that my roommate got just the same treatment from Ted. ok, I'll shorten the ending, I'm getting angry just looking back and writing this. We were blamed for the whole thing, saying we left on vacation and turned the air off. (which was a complete lie) The basement was a complete uninhabitable work site for roughly 3 months. The day I moved some of my stuff back into my room (around march) The place FLOODED AGAIN! And then subsequently every-time it rained. Their numerous "atempts" to fix the problem failed. Finally since I did not have a bedroom we asked if we could just end our lease and move out, We were told NO. Finally we convince them to let me out of the lease and my roommates would stay on, and they reduced the rent to 2/3rds for the final month. In the end, after much pressure, we had some minor rent adjustments for the last few months that we had lived there, but this even came back to haunt us, when were denied ALL OF OUR deposit. ALL $2,200 of it. We were told this was to cover the damage we caused..which was a lie read more

It's amazing how many reviews there are for restaurants, and how few for realtors. You'd think, in terms of importance to your every day life, it should be the other way around. You have to sign your life away for a year! And it's terrifying since all the reviews are scathing. You'd think people were trapped in hell. That's what I thought reading these reviews, anyway. But I'm an adult (if not for my maturity, then at least legally speaking), and I can form my own opinions. So, retaining a healthy degree of skepticism, I decided to look at their apartments. They had a few nice ones, at very reasonable prices. And I really liked Frank Mauro, the realtor/building manager. There are a couple reviews that say otherwise, but I found Frank to be very upfront about the properties: the biggest complaints people had, things that needed fixing, etc. In his emails, he comes across as laconic and, at times, curt, but in person he's the most outgoing and friendly person you'll ever meet. There was one apartment I was leaning toward, and he let me in several times so that I could look it over again, and take measurements (I'm a very indecisive person). The apartment wasn't 5-star amazing, but it easily made up for its defects in terms of its value. And it's not like things didn't go wrong. There was a problem with the stove, and the dryer in the basement a couple times. But I found Frank to be very receptive to these issues. He'd email me back promptly, and promise to get it fixed immediately, which always seemed to be the case. My experience this past year (9 months, actually), living in Little Italy, has been phenomenal. It definitely surpassed my expectations - which, granted, after living in a boarding house for a year, weren't high. If I were to stay in Chicago next year, I would definitely renew my lease with New West, and Frank. read more

Donna Surma is one of the most honest Realtors I have known in this business. I've worked with her on a deal since last year. Since I have met her she has always been available to answer any questions I have. She has offered me support and advise which meant a lot to me since I am new in the business. read more

I agree with & can relate to Adri B.'s review. I couldn't believe how unprofessional donna annello was. She was a pushy, bully. fortunately my boyfriend saw thru this behaviour & we went elsewhere. It was our 1st experience in the city & we were so happy to find another realtor up north that was respectable & caring about our concerns. didn't try to talk us into an unclean, dirty apts. that keep recycling tenants every year. read more

I LOVE NW Realty, and specifically Donna Surma. She is THE BEST realtor. I rented an apartment last year from NW Realty and Donna did everything she could to make the process as least stressful as possible. Even when there were issues with the owner etc., Donna was always a phone call or a text message away. She did whatever she could to fix the issue, and was constantly available when I needed her. I am going to move again this year and I knew the second I decided to move that I was going to go to Donna. After taking me out to look one time for about one hour she showed me exactly what I was looking for. She is kind, smart, available, and really listens to what you are looking for (ex. budget, amenities, etc.). I will continue to use her for all of my moving needs, and always recommend her to friends and family! read more