S & M Building Management

I appreciate S&M Management. Having a good landlord makes life a little easier. They are responsive to any maintainence requests and even their workers are polite when they come to fix things. Also, it seems they do a good job of background checks because neighbors are respectful. And it is wonderful that they allow dogs (at 3727 N. Pine Grove) My dog loves the nearby dog park and since many of the tenants have dogs, it adds to the friendly environment of the building.

I’ve rented with S&M for about 3 years and they are awesome. Anytime we have a service request, it is taken care of within a day or two and all of the employees that I have met are really friendly and helpful. Rent is very reasonable as well. Great rental company!

Rented a junior 1BR at 3727 in June 2015 and so far great experiences! Millie has been very kind and helpful in putting in a small bedroom door for my apartment and helping me with service requests. She even is helping me possibly move into one of the larger 1br apartments. I live with my dog and the building is kept clean and organized daily. Everyone is nice enough to leave any extra furniture or appliances downstairs (I found a cute small crockpot that’s perfect for my little kitchen) but the management will remove the items if no one takes them in a day or so. They just re-​did the back walkway which looks great and the laundry room is clean! My first day Millie referred me to a dog walker in the building and he is just excellent with my pup! Hope to stay with S&M for a while!

I rented from the 3727 Pine Grove apartment for a year (2012 — 2013), interacting with landlord Millie Ventura during my stay. Millie was kind and demonstrates a high level of professionalism. I ended up going with a studio at around 350 sq ft, smaller than your average living space but I didn’t need much at the time, plus the price point was too good to pass up. I chose not to go with air conditioning; huge mistake folks, especially when the summer nights heat the place up to 90 degrees so don’t skimp out on a couple hundred for a window unit. There weren’t many issues except for the laundry machine eating my money once and my shower drain getting clogged, which both were handled swiftly (refund and unclogged drain) within 48 hours. Package theft was becoming an issue, but she handled the situation appropriately by installing surveillance cameras by the postage. During the final few months of my stay, I did spot a couple roaches and mentioned this to Millie. She set up some traps in my room, so I came home to a couple dead ones on the floor. Better dead than alive, I suppose, but this was worrisome to me so I decided to end my lease, as I have a major phobia of large bugs. I’ve significantly upgraded since, closing on a couple condos in River North, but overall a positive experience at the Pine Grove residence. From a management perspective, Millie did a wonderful job addressing my needs and turning any outstanding tasks around quickly. Location is prime, only a couple blocks from the lake, with close proximity to Wrigleyville. Thanks again, Millie, hope all is well —
Best,
Charlie

The management actually has the audacity to respond! So the theme is lying. Very fitting. She said, «After contacting their previous landlord and being given a bad reference, I decided to follow up by researching deeper by doing a social media search (I often do this when an application seems iffy).» Actually, after contacting our previous landlord, she did not receive a response at all. I wouldn’t call that a bad reference because that’s out of our control. While waiting for a response, it sounded like she got bored and wanted to dig up some dirt on us, so she decided to do a little 21^st century stalking. During her frantic phone call, she let us know that after «researching», she learned that I have a pit bull and also that no one would call her back from our previous management company. Our previous management company is so franchised they would never reply, and can hardly keep anyone employed long enough for them to know who we are two years later. She did not ask us if we had a pit bull, she enlightened us!
Also, I cannot believe that we are being called liars when she is blatantly lying about everything. This is obviously her defense mechanism. I explained what happened, step-​by-​step, from the second we walked into their office until the entire ordeal was over. I would not even bother wasting my time to make such things up. Unlike her, I don’t have a business that I’m trying to save face for. By the way, she didn’t simply tell us that she would refund our deposit. As I stated in my original review, she argued with my boyfriend for a few minutes, and then finally ended it by threateningly telling him that there was nothing that could be done because she had already refunded the deposit. She was not civil in the slightest.
As for pit bulls, I defy anyone to define what a pit bull is. Are they registered with AKC? I don’t think so. How many breeds are referred to as pit bull breeds? No other breed has such a plethora of sub-​breeds. So which one is mine? The truth of the matter is that, like the boogeyman, there is no such thing. How could I be denied an apartment based on hashtags that I have used on my Instagram anyway? It’s completely absurd. I have also used hashtags for other breeds that my dog looks like. She didn’t care to wonder about that.
She has completely made up incredibly random things that I have never even mentioned on my Instagram. «It was clear they had a pitbull from all the Instagram pictures and comments stating they had a sweet pitbull and that he was a pitbull rescue, etc.» Perhaps my dog’s cut ears (a common problem in Arizona) threw her off, but this is plain fibbing. What she actually said during her last phone call to my boyfriend was, «Your girlfriend said you have a blue nose pit bull.» Hah! A blue nose, huh? Nonsense. As I stated in the original post, I loathe the designation of blue or red nose because of the despicable culture it suggests. It’s funny that we can have an inside look at what her mind suggests when she sees an image so steeped in propaganda. Of course she won’t even bring up that she said «blue nose» now because it’s so far-​fetched.
Finally, the response itself should alert some to their stubborn nature. There is no customer appreciation or listening faculty about this place. They use the necessity of having shelter to help themselves to your money via application fees with no ambition to help others. She was disrespectful in every sense of the word throughout the entire process. From the moment we got there until it was all over, she was completely rude and made us feel alienated.
My suggestion: If you’re going to lie, I guess you’re in the right business.

After renting for years in NY and in Chicago, I’m lucky to be in a building with pleasant and responsive and management. Repair requests are addressed within 24 hours and the maintenance staff is consciousness about cleaning up any mess. The units are older and little attention is paid to maintaining aesthetics, but everything works and they quickly evict the few problem tenants they have had.
I highly recommend renting from this company.

I had a great experience renting with S and M Management.
I rented with them Aug 2012 — Dec 2013, and if I wasn’t moving in with someone I’m sure I would’ve stayed longer. The main reasons I’ve been happy:
— They were very quick to fix all problems. I had a few small things in the bathroom and kitchen that needed to be fixed, and they replaced them within a day at no charge.
— The building is generally nicely maintained. Over the year and a half I lived there, they redid the laundry room and the back entrance
— The rent was very reasonable, and I only saw a very small increase after my first year. I had a studio at 656 W Oakdale. The apartment itself was actually a great deal, and had a separate kitchen and walk-​in closet.
— They were very accommodating when I told them I had to move, even though it was the middle of winter. We quickly found someone to take over my lease and everything went smoothly!
Overall I highly recommend them if you’re looking to live in Lakeview/​Lincoln Park!
UPDATE: one more reason to be happy. I received my security deposit refund quickly and easily, within days of moving out.

Rented from S&M again in 2009 – 2011 and could not be more pleased. Another pleasant rental experience. Clean apartment, received service needed for any repairs in 1 day or less and received my entire security deposit in full when I moved out. Sad to leave such a great management company.
I did however get a bike stolen out of the the downstairs bike rack. My bike was locked by the tire and the tire remained. Make sure you lock your bike by the frame! The was my only bad experience.

Thanks to Rihanna, I can’t even write a check to S&M anymore without singing «Nah-​nah-​nah, come on!» as I sign my name.
I’ve been living in one of their buildings for two years and it’s been an uneventful, but positive experience. Millie is great… I’ve never met Scott. I couldn’t pick Scott out of a line up, even if he had a «hi my name is Scott» nametag on. But Millie has been wonderful from the beginning.
As long as you’re paying your rent and aren’t calling them for anything, you’re likely not to hear from them. Which is fine. I am fortunate enough to have never had anything break down, so I can’t say much about their maintenance crew. They did come in to install my window AC and seemed nice enough.
Other than the occasional spider and centipede that like to show up when it gets warmer out, never ever had a pest/​bug problem. I only recall them actually coming into my apartment once to spray around. So I don’t know exactly what they do to keep pests at bay, but it works.
Now don’t go thinking that if you rent with them, your apartment will be all modern and über fancy. No, it will not. But you are going to get a decent space of a decent size for a reasonable price.
Speaking of price, I’d say their rent rates are pretty on par with what you’d expect in whichever area you’re living in. The building next door currently has a 1 bedroom available for about $ 250 more than what I pay here, so take that as you will.
I am about to move out and trust me, it was no easy decision. But S&M is definitely a company I’d have no reservations about renting from again in the future.
Nah-​nah-​nah, come on!

As predicted, they jumped up to 5 stars. Super easy to deal with, expedient, and friendly. I am looking to move out of my studio now, but I really want to stay with an S&M Management bldg — no hassles!

Scott & Millie are the best. I love my apartment and if I leave this neighborhood, I hope to find another property they own!
There was a small problem with my older stove, and rather than repair it, they just put in a new stove! They also make sure to help me with advice on utilities (phone, internet, etc.) to help me save money and find the best deal.
I lived across the street for $ 300 more a month and moved into a much better building, with MUCH better management for less money. When I decided to rent, Millie even gave me a ride to the management office!
They promptly return phone calls, take care of issues and are friendly to boot.
Five stars! Five stars! Yay for S&M!

S&M = peace of mind. We’ve been in our apartment for 3 months now and we have nothing but good things to say about S&M so I’ve updated from 4 to 5 stars!
Millie helped us find a 1-​bedroom in a beautiful courtyard building in a great location for $ 250 less than what we had been paying for a similar apartment in the same neighborhood managed by Planned Property. Millie went above and beyond by negotiating a deal between us and the last tenant, at our request, so that we could move in mid-​month. In addition to the more reasonable rent & better customer service, so far S&M has outdone all of our past landlords (been renting for 10 years now) when it comes to the amount of care they put into apartment and building upkeep. S&M re-​painted our apartment, put in 2 brand-​new ceiling fans, sanded down and re-​finished the floors, and thoroughly cleaned our apartment before we moved in. Then, a few mornings ago I called the office to request maintenance work on a few small things that came to our attention in the months since we moved in. Lo-​and-​behold, the repairs were done by noon that same day– it doesn’t get better than that!

I have rented with S&M for the past 2 years, in two different buildings. They are the absolute best landlords I have ever worked with. They are easy to deal with, and extremely helpful, they respond to requests timely, and they are extremely reasonable in terms of lease terms/​rent amounts.
I would recommend them to anyone in the area, and if I wasn’t moving out of the city, I would continue to rent with them for years!

They are a great management company. All problems are dealt with quickly. They’re very flexible and want you to be a happy tenant.

This is the best management company I ever rented from. Scott and Millie are the people in charge and they are great to work with. Maintence requests were always dealt with quickly, I needed a new stove one time and they brought it in 24 hours. I rented from them for 2 years and I would love to go with them again. They have a lot a properties in good locations.