I found Prairie Interiors through my neighborhood's listserve. They had by far the most and best…read morementions, and now I see why. Evan and his team are total perfectionists (I am, too). They redid my cushions on cheapie chairs, making them look and feel very expensive. I was thrilled with the quality of work, timeliness, and above and beyond customer service. Evan went out of his way to help me, and you can really tell that he loves what he does.

We cannot recommend Prairie Interiors more highly. They have done work for us for 20 years and…read morehave never failed to do a great job for us. I would recommend them to anyone without reservation.

We call him Dean "The Dream" as he really does make your dreams into reality! Plus, YOU CAN'T BEAT…read moreHIS PRICING! Well, maybe you can...BUT they won't be as personable & easy to work with as Dean "The Dream" Mack! Thanks for the beautiful work Dean! And for paying extra attention to the details...YOU ROCK!

Ninjas! These guys are super professional! They painted the entire inside of the house (936 sq…read morefeet, including finished basement) and kitchen cabinets in one and a half days. 4 guys on the first day, 3 on the second. Whatever you'd like done, they will do. They moved and replaced all furniture. Cut walls freehand. No tape, no mistakes! Great Crew, highly recommend!

We hired Dick to do two major projects and felt we were in good hands. First, Dick installed new…read moresupports in our basement and jacked up the house. Amazing perfection and we passed inspections from the city. Next, Dock repaired our interior stairs that were falling away from the wall! He's creative and thorough. We hope to have him out again soon. His prices were reasonable. This guy has skills that are a lost art. He is brilliant.

I hate to even mention Dick Frye's name for fear of raising manfriend's blood pressure…read more We moved into a new house a few months ago and the only way out the back of the house was a sliding glass door, which isn't the most secure option. I'm pretty sure my cats could've jimmied the door open if there was a piece of ham dangling on the other side of it. We looked around and decided on a Thermatru patio door. Lee Lumber sold the door and referred us to Dick Frye. I took a peek at Yelp reviews before Dick came to our house. In hindsight, I should've given the negative ones more weight, but the door distributor referred him, so I thought was a pretty good endorsement. He came out, measured and told us how he'd approach the project; at that point everything sounded good. At that point, we should have asked for references, a certificate of insurance, taken extensive pictures of the state of our back door before anything was done. Instead, what we did was ask him to send us a proposal. I was home the day the door was installed. I don't know much about door installations, but he seemed to take his time and for the most part, the door itself is installed well. There is one noticeable spot that's a bit off; it causes the door hinge to squeak, but again not the end of the world. Again, here's where we should've taken more pictures of the interior and exterior of the door. It's also where things went sideways. Dick asked to come back the next day and put the trim on the inside and make the outside look "like it did before." We didn't stay home for this and that we regret terribly. The outside was a disaster. We were speechless at the quality of the job and that he had the nerve to tell us that's what it looked like before when we called to complain. If you compared the back door to our front door and every window (and there are many), it's clear it is not. No j-channel, exposed wood, and some weird hack at the top of the frame that likely would create ice dams in winter. We had someone come out and he wouldn't even touch it because he had no idea how he did what he did; another two agreed it needed correcting. When we refused to pay the balance until we could get it sorted out, he conceded that it didn't come out as he expected and it was harder than he anticipated. Yet, he got angry that we'd have someone else correct it. Manfriend asked him out to explain what he did, in hopes of having someone else properly fix it. Against his better judgement, manfriend decided to let him come back with a siding person to properly repair the back. It's mostly ok; the siding wasn't cut long enough to properly slide under the j-channel in a few spots, but overall it is a vast improvement over what was originally done. We would never hire Dick Frye to do anything for us after this experience; like I said, his name is almost a dirty word in our house. I feel lucky that manfriend has construction experience because I don't think he was expecting us to push back at all and in the state the outside of our door originally was left, we would've had wood rot and water damage in a few years. I'm only giving two stars because the installation of the overall door itself was fine.

After resigning from my board after moving, TruHaven continued to include me on emails that…read morecontained highly sensitive financial information about people who were behind, some substantially, on their dues for the association. I had told them multiple times to remove me from the email correspondence, but they kept sending it. That speaks to their lack of attention to detail. It also puts the current board at risk because they are ultimately responsible for the leak should the homeowner find out and sue. Additionally, I paid out of pocket for work to be done (gate remote issues for numer residents) after months of it being in disrepair, and they advocated for me to not get reimnurses (only $200, but it was the principal, especcially after donating considerable time as a member of the board). I also find their communication style to be abrasive.

Great Sales Presentation, Poor Follow-Through The company…read moremade a strong impression during the sales process, led personally by Rachel (the owner), who presented a polished and convincing pitch. Unfortunately, that level of professionalism was not maintained once the contract was signed. After I began setting clear directives and requesting documentation, communication slowed and projects stalled. I also requested to review and approve anything sent to the association's attorney so correspondence accurately reflected board direction. Soon afterward, the company elected to terminate the contract with 60 days' notice during the holiday season rather than continue under that structure. Context Once accountability and follow-through outlined in the management agreement were enforced, responsiveness declined sharply. It became apparent that our smaller community required more attention than Rachel's firm was willing or able to provide, or that larger clients took precedence. Rather than address performance gaps, the company framed the termination as "board conduct," which did not align with the documented record of our communication. Examples * Budgeting: Management proposed 15-20% increases to utilities and insurance without quotes or supporting data, citing that "other HOAs were doing the same," despite the fact that our association does not pay utilities and insurance had already renewed at the same rate. * Funds Transfer: The firm failed to obtain all reserve funds from the prior manager and initially instructed me to handle the transfer myself, even though I had just joined the board and lacked account access. It took over five months and repeated follow-ups to complete the transfer of approximately $34,000. * Counsel Coordination: Management sent a misframed request to the association's attorney using AI-generated meeting notes taken out of context and containing factual inaccuracies. The message incorrectly portrayed me as a sole board member attempting unilateral changes, despite having support from over 50% of the community and intending for all updates to be voted on once vacancies were filled. This resulted in generic legal caution rather than the targeted draft updates requested, delaying straightforward Rules & Regulations changes (clarifying an existing rental-cap policy by allowing one additional rental unit to improve tracking and transparency, adding a 12-month hardship clause, and advisory gutter-extension language). This miscommunication unnecessarily consumed significant time, shifting avoidable work onto me as a volunteer board president. * Meeting Notice & Budget Handling: Maintenance quotes were requested roughly two months before the budget meeting, which was held to review those quotes and finalize the 2026 budget. At the meeting, Rachel questioned why the meeting was being held, citing quorum concerns. A board vacancy was filled to proceed. Despite this, only one maintenance quote was available, the draft budget included unapproved miscellaneous items, and it exceeded projected income by approximately $5,000. No budget approval occurred. A single quote was delivered after the meeting, which did not change the outcome. The budget is now being rebuilt with the incoming management company using competitive bids. * Property Knowledge: Rachel relied on a one-size-fits-all approach to maintenance and vendor selection, often proposing unnecessary or redundant work due to limited understanding of the property's specific layout and history. Conclusion All of these responsibilities were part of the company's paid contractual duties. Instead of executing them, essential tasks were repeatedly pushed onto a volunteer board president, whose role is to provide direction--not perform management's operational work. My actions were consistent with the Declaration, Bylaws, and Illinois law. This experience showed that a strong sales pitch means little without consistent execution, accuracy, and follow-through. I would not recommend Rachel's company to any HOA seeking reliable, accountable management.

We used Frank Mitrick and Real Tek Realty for the recent sale of our mothers Gold Coast / Near…read moreNorth condominium and we could have not been served and represented any better. We were looking for a professional who could assist us with either a sale or the rental and management of our mothers property. Frank is one of the few professionals who provides those services, and does so with a personal touch. Frank was recommended to us by our building manager. We had interviewed several firms and Frank was by far the most interested, informative and empathetic of all those interviewed. His special knowledge of the Gold Coast / Near North areas was pivotal in our decision making. His communications were stellar, keeping us informed and ahead of each move. He and his network of professionals were instrumental in helping to prepare the unit for sale. He himself picked up tools when necessary to help satisfy a nit-picky buyer. His negotiating skills were consummate as he was able to get our mother the best offer in the shortest amount of time. Frank is always there when you need him and always follows up, whether asked to or not. He will do whatever it takes to get the job done in the interest of his clients. The fact the our mothers condo had two offers in two days and sold for cash on day three is a tribute to Frank skill and enterprise. Speaking for our family, we would recommend Frank Mitrick and Real Tek without equivocation.

Frank looked after my condo exceedingly well for a whole 14 years after I moved away to Europe. In…read morethose 14 years, there was barely a month my apartment was empty, and when rented, there was never a month of missed rent. Frank was on top of tenant renewals and fixed any issue inside the apartment quickly and to the full satisfaction of my tenants. When I decided to eventually sell, Frank organised and supervised the rehab to make my place market-ready and then successfully sold the unit. I could not have continued to own the place for so long, living so far away, without Frank. Frank was always available and very quick to respond to questions, no matter what time of day. He provided fantastic service in my eyes for a very reasonable cost. Simply put, Frank is someone you can trust to get the job done. Thanks, Frank.

This past summer we endeavored to find our first home. Karen Gorz was an obvious choice as my…read moreparents worked with her in the past for their home in Glen Ellyn and loved her. From the beginning, she not only provided expertise that we desperately needed as first-time-buyers, but she clearly gave us honest advice with our best interest in mind. She listened to exactly what we wanted and found us home options quickly and efficiently. She worked hard and fast when negotiations began on the first home we were interested in buying. She also gave us great insight and advice when we lost that first home in a bidding war--it ended up being for the best! Karen left for a trip this summer and made sure to provide us with another realtor within The Gorz Group, Julie Witte. We appreciated that she provided us someone, even though we felt we didn't actually need someone for the short time she was out of town--we were wrong. We ended up finding our dream home and called Julie as we wanted to make an offer the first day it came on the market. It was a Sunday and Julie worked diligently to write up an offer letter and gave us the best advice in order to win the sale. Turns out there were 4 offers within the first 24 hours on the market and Julie was amazing with us during that stressful time. We ended up getting our dream home and couldn't have been more thankful to Julie's hard work and to Karen's proactiveness in for providing someone while she was away. Between the acceptance on our offer and the day of closing, Julie answered all of our questions, provided recommendations on inspectors and lawyers, and helped us as we navigated this new home buying process. After we moved into the home, we received a lovely gift from Karen, Julie, and The Gorz Group family. They also sent us a thoughtful Christmas gift and important information and advice for our 2018 tax filings as new home owners. We are forever thankful to Karen, Julie, and The Gorz Group for all they did and continue to do for us. We our happy as ever in our new home and will always recommend them to buyers and sellers in the Western Chicago Suburbs. Thank you all so much!! Shelby and Alex Krause

As a former realtor in another market, I truly believe Josh did a phenomenal job in helping me…read morepurchase and close my new property. He did a great job of helping to set expectations and explaining the challenges of buying in the Chicago market. Not to mention, he was always very patient and professional, even though we submitted and subsequently were outbid on, more than 10 properties. Even when I was ready to give up, Josh did not! His enthusiasm and continued insight kept me engaged in the process. Josh's network of professionals also allowed me to stay focused on house hunting while they did all the behind-the-scenes work of home inspections, mortgage, and attorney review. Thanks, again, Josh for all your hard work to find me a property.

Woohoo! As good as it gets!…read more I have a rental property on the north side where a terrible, icky tenant was making my life miserable. Josh talked me down off the ceiling and, after I got rid of the deadbeat slob, helped me find new tenants that are at the absolute opposite end of the spectrum - wonderful people who pay their rent on time, have actual grown up furniture, and cherish their rental as if they own it. Josh did all the heavy lifting and found them for me. More importantly, he did an exceptional job vetting them. I'm thrilled, thrilled, thrilled.

I believe no one is perfect, but cornerstone is going to try to be. I have had an amazing…read moreprivilege of working closely with one of the owners who isn't afraid to do any work. He would get right in their with his employees and scrub the floor if he needed to. I think that's a true sign of a leader. You don't ask people to do things you wouldn't do. But he's also not afraid to delegate and give directions.

My assc, was with Cornerstone since they were Summit. They kept getting worse and worse. Their…read morecustomer service was beyond horrific. They treated our homeowners disrespectful . Carl, the owner was so full of himself he did nothing but pass the buck and blame everyone else for his companies problems. I tried to give them every chance to fix their issues but they just failed. They couldn't even reserve rooms for meetings. Notices never went out in time. Garage sale notices were never sent out. They would talk bad about homeowners and call them liars to their faces (via email) never apologize. Even when they were flat out WRONG they would weasel their way out of it. In the entire time my company did business with them I never EVEN MET Carl. He would say "ya ill be at your next meeting" and never show up. He never respected any business. He just expected it. Never a thank you. The worse part is, they held our money for ransom and acted as if it was their own. Any time WE would spend OUR MONEY with OUR approval they would accuse us of stealing. When we would see invoices with charges that were outrageous they would question why we would QUESTION their spending of OUR money. Their services arm was ridiculous. Over priced and unprofessional. We started to buy product and do work on our own. Reimbursement took forever, and I asked for charges to paid back to my credit card. RECIEPTS were given for work being done. THEY accused us of stealing. Never mind the entire board was tired of of their costs and felt they were raking us over the coals. All charges we made were legit, approved, and had receipts. The property manager confirmed that they would pay my CC directly to avoid any delay in payment. The final straw was them questioning us in our own buying of holiday decorations and decorating of our community sign. They didn't understand WHY we didn't hire them at nearly 100 dollars an hour to do it? After this credit card issue they decided to cut ties with us, which was fine. The month before the board started searching for a new management company and we were biding our time before we could fire them anyhow. Our relationship was very much strained. We couldn't even trust them to send out a notice for a garage sale and book a room? Nevermind we were being nickeled and dimed for anything they could get their hands on and take weeks for a response to do anything. Violations would go unfollowed up. I have issues going on for years (like torn window screens) that they would never follow up with and then ask us why we had an issue with it? Homeowners are breaking rules and regulations? Disabled cars in the driveways. Nothing done about it. Drug dealer in the neighborhood. Nothing done about it. Work that homeowners were to reimburse us for and they never followed up on it. Signed contracts we never approved, BUT THEY SIGNED THEM ANYWAY. We would go to bid and they always brought the same vendors. EVERY SINGLE TIME. No vendor diversity. Were they getting kick backs? This brings us to the transition. I was promised by Brian (another owner) a smooth transition. They ignored several emails for information. I had to get our attorneys involved inorder to get our information to our new management company. It was a horrible experience. What's worse? Is our AR is a disaster. And guess who they blame for that? The B.o.D. They never own up for anything. It's always everyone else's fault. Never, ever, in the time I was their have they ever said. "We made a mistake, I am sorry" They never ONCE thanked us for our business. Their mantra is pass the buck. I do not understand how they are still in business and I hope people come to realization that they need to go elsewhere. I personally think our association had Stockholm Syndrome. We didn't know what to do. We thought all management companies were like this. We were wrong. Once we started interviewing we found Associa. They have been an absolute GOD SENT. They have busted their humps to make the transition as smooth as possible and are working on YEAR OLD ISSUES and have already solved so many problems we have. We had begged Cornerstone to help us improve our landscaping and they would never listen and leverage their business to get landscaper to listen to us. Within two weeks Associa was already on top of the Landscapers. Cornerstone sat on for YEARS. We had them being proactive fixing collection messes. Putting together resolutions that should have been in place for years. They already in the first month put every single board member thru training. We have online systems in place where we can APPROVE our own invioices and deny ones that are questionable. Online portals for homeowners. We can actually see our own money. Something Cornerstone hated when it came to them pissing our money. I know their will be a rebuttal. Cornerstone will not own up to anything. Pass the buck back. Contact me directly and I will tell you our whole story.