1150 Lake Shore Drive Building

My wife and I have rented in this building for a little over a year and we would strongly encourage potential renters/​buyers to look elsewhere. Although the lake views are fantastic and listings tend to be cheaper than others in the area, our experiences with the building manager, condo association board, and one landlord (Jean Star) has been a constant source of disappointment and frustration. My wife and I tend to be pretty easy-​going and have lived in multiple apartments in Indianapolis and Chicago without any trouble. That is why we were shocked by the unprofessional and unkind behavior we repeatedly encountered in this building.
Below are a few points to consider from our experiences; however, I want to note that the doormen and other building staff are absolutely wonderful people. Furthermore, our current landlord (we moved units after 1yr) is perfectly pleasant as are some of our neighbors. Our criticisms are only a reflection of the behavior of the property manager, board, and landlord.
1. There is $ 800 in total non-​refundable move in fees, which we were told is to discourage renters. When we moved units, the property manager suggested asking the board in writing to waive some of the $ 500 move-​in/​out elevator fee (renters are not allowed to attend board meetings). We did so and received a reply that our move-​in and move-​out fees would both be reduced 50%, i.e., they were going to charge us $ 1000 to move between units but graciously reduced it to $ 500.
2. Our previous landlord, Jean Star, repeated entered our condo without warning. When she did so when my wife was home she remarked that she thought we would not be home. When she did so again, I called and expressed my concerns. She said she did not understand why we would care if she entered when we weren’t there… She also accused us of damages that she had previously apologized for when we moved in. We hired a lawyer to protect ourselves, but she finally returned the full security deposit.
3. The property manager underquoted fees to both our realtor and me when asked directly about them. When we later expressed our frustrations, he was incredibly dismissive and insulting. We asked if there was anything else to do before moving units and he said «no.» A couple days before the move, my wife was checking over things and he told her we had to schedule time on the moving elevator with one of doormen and it was already booked that morning — I guess me confirming the move date with him and giving him a $ 500 check 3wks in advance was not enough. Ends up he triple booked the moving elevator that day.
I could go on but will leave you with those 3 points so as not to make this review too exhaustive.