The message in the headline is repeated over and over in 54 Yelp reviews of Beal Properties, and the other names under which Beal allegedly does business.
Liz C at Yelp elaborates:
Please run, don’t walk, from these slumlords. I’m wrapping up a one-year lease with this dump. If you like safety issues (our building’s front and back doors have been broken for the majority of my lease), cockroaches the size of mice in your bathtub, janitors that don’t give a F*#% and neighbors that have the cops called on them weekly then feel free to give Beal a shot. I hope this building is condemned.
What prompted me to look at Beal’s Yelp reviews? Two young ladies I know had their Beal-managed Lake View apartment broken into and expensive items stolen. Their calls to Beal over a 3-day period have not been returned despite the fact that they were reporting a security issue with their apartment.
Beal’s Web site, curiously, lists the sought-after neighborhoods and North Shore suburbs in which it manages property, but doesn’t list the properties.
Does anyone know of landlords who’ve had worse reviews at Yelp than Beal?
Does Beal own and manage their own properties? I tried to call their office to ask a few questions but the line is constantly busy. Also is there a list of their properties anywhere? The Beal website is vague at best.
Wilson,
Beal owns and manages properties. It’s not clear whether they own all of the properties they manage. Management companies typically work for a variety of owners.
I can’t find a list of the properties Beal manages. You could probably assemble a list by looking at the case files of the numerous lawsuits the City of Chicago has filed against Beal over the years.
I lived in one of their properties for 1.5 years at Racine & Wellington. They answer the phone as “the management office” and generally won’t tell you their legal corporate name. I assume this is from the multiple lawsuits (one class-action that I was part of). The name on the building changed a few times while I was living there, but it was always still Beal Properties. Their office is in a location that is near impossible to get to w/o a car, which I guess is by design. And you have to stand in a glass box while in the office and talk through a tiny window. I guess they love their jobs.
brad,
There have been several class action suits filed against Beal. From what I can see all have been dismissed voluntarily or for want of prosecution. What happened with the one you participated in?