The Building Group

Great company when they actually do the job. I have been trying to obtain an extra set of the lobby entrance keys for more than a month. Have no response at all after sending 5 emails and leaving 2 voice messages

After finding an apartment in the South Loop, we informed the agents showing the apartment that we would like to apply for the apartment and finalize the lease signing and payments. We were trying to close on a space quickly as my future roommate flew out to Chicago from California for a few days to find apartments and we were looking to move by July. We viewed the apartment on Wednesday and we told them we wanted to get the ball rolling on getting this place secured. They said they would get us all the application materials before Friday as my cousin was flying out next day Thursday. They waited until Friday evening to get us the application materials, and it wasn’t even all of it. They still did not send us building application, but sent us the lease agreement, radon disclosure, and lead paint disclosure. My cousin signed and sent in the a signed lease agreement, but held off on the radon and lead disclosure until our signing meeting as they did not give us any radon or lead reports that the document said the company would be providing. It seemed sensible if there was a possibility of being poisoned and effected by radioactive materials, we would like to see the reports. We sent the lease agreement to them and asked them to send us the application ASAP. We also confirmed with them over email, text, and by phone that they are 100% willing to go forward with our application and ready to have a meeting to finalize the lease signing, payments, and application that coming weekend. We also asked them when this meeting will take place multiple times in order to secure an appointment. They said they would look into it and get back to us Friday night. We got no response until Saturday night that they decided to back out despite our multiple forms of confirmation that we will be meeting up over the weekend. They effectively wasted the four days my future roommate spent to fly out here to look for apartments, the other apartments that we were considering are now mostly claimed and we’re back at square 1 with less than a week and half away from July. This company completely screwed us in the most unprofessional matter I have ever experienced. They are unapologetic, unresponsive, and shady.

These reviews do not surprise me. We had Ronald as our building manager for many years. He just recently retired. Our experience has been very negative. When we first put an offer on our unit to purchase, we were informed by the management company that our dogs were not approved. Our lawyer had to threaten legal action, since we were already out of attorney review, only to find that the association has no breed or weight restrictions so the management company had zero business. The wording regarding pets was ambiguous so we called the management company for clarification. Mistake. I have only once needed a repair to my unit. Too bad it took NINE MONTHS for Ronald to have it completed. Ronald set the appointment. I was told somebody had to be at the property when the repairman came. Day of appointment my hired employee is waiting at the unit ffor the repairman. After waiting an hour we call the repairman only to find that Ronald changed the date of the repairs yet failed to notify me, the unit owner. Probably wouldn’t be such a big deal if it hadn’t taken Ronald NINE MONTHS to get the repairs identified and addressed. Absolutely ridiculous. I partially blame the board for the incompetence of the Building Group because they contain to retain them.

I lived at Flats on La Salle for a few months prior to moving to Austin, TX. Erik and William made the transition real easy. There was no funny business in finding a sublessee and I was able to move out exactly as scheduled. As for the apartment itself, these guys made sure it was running as needed. They do a great job. Recommended.

I live at the Flats on LaSalle, and have been very impressed by my experience with The Building Group. Specifically, Erik Howard and William Plaza have been incredibly helpful and responsive. I came from St. Louis, and Erik was extremely helpful in helping me choose a unit and coordinate logistics for the move-​in – which may not seem like a lot, for a single woman who has never moved to a bigger city alone, it really is. William Plaza was kind enough to honor a rental promotion that had technically expired by the time I got to Chicago and physically signed my lease. Overall, I am more than impressed with their professionalism.

This company is the worst Property Management I’ve ever dealt with and I would recommend avoiding them at all costs and would encourage condo associations to look elsewhere. The staff is completely unprofessional and unhelpful. I’ve emailed them 5 times in the past two weeks and left 3 different voicemails regarding not being on the intercom system. They don’t even respond. I could handle being told there would be a delay if someone would respond to me and explain the situation, but they don’t respond at all. I called again today and was told they wouldn’t be able to help me because I’m, «just the renter.» My landlord has also emailed them twice to no resolution. When we first moved into the building we paid the move-​in fee for the elevator usage and they wouldn’t even give us sole access to the elevator. They told us that (despite paying the fee and there being two elevators for a 5 story building) that we had to let other tenants use the elevator while the movers were loading our things. It was horrible and since then we’ve seen other people moving in with full access to the elevator. My only guess is they were too lazy to come out to the building to give us the elevator key. When I originally moved in to the building it was with the intention of scoping it out and hopefully buying a unit in the near future, but there is no way I would ever buy something in a building that used The Building Group as a property management team. Specifically, William Plaza and Kathy Kussman are the representatives that we are supposed to work with, but they don’t answer their phones or respond to voicemails/​emails.

I recently bought one of the condo units developed and managed by the Building Group in the south loop. Being a new owner and I am distant in CA most of the time, I was happy that they have a on-​site management! I walked into their on-​site office several times past two month and tried to get some help on information about my unit and renting my place out. One of their on-​site manager, Edward Tasciotti, really spent the time and effort down to help me on my concerns. And he gave me a referral to one of their rental agent as well. His warmth and professional attitude really help me to ease the situation I had at that time. He even came to my unit with me and help me on some suggestion what I should watch out for renting.
If all the management person are as patient and helpful as Ed, I am sure your management group will be a success! Keep going! We want our buildings to be well managed!

In October, my wife & I will be signing on for our 2^nd year at an apartment managed by The Building Group and Ryan Blair. The place is a great value and we have not had any issues with them. Before leaving, the previous tenants of our apartment said much the same.
Our building’s Super, Eli, is very responsive, friendly and honest — a real good guy, who is really on the ball. The Building Group office is easy to reach via the Red Line — maybe a minute or two walk from the Lawrence stop at most — and their receptionist is always nice, despite how busy the management company is.
In my experience, renting can be a crazy game of musical chairs. Moving into our place last year went smoothly, with little hassle, and no deposit — just a move-​in fee. We look forward to our 2^nd year as tenants.

If I could give them zero stars, I absolutely would.
I have never encountered someone with less professionalism than Ryan Blair with the Building Group.
After falling in love with the apartment of my dreams, and loving the building manager, and the current tenant, it’s unfortunate (understatement) that Ryan, whose voicemail box is almost always full, was in charge of leasing this unit.
I viewed the apartment Thursday, (Ryan was nowhere to be seen)
had my application in Friday morning (with bells on).
After telling me he would get back to me that evening, he did not.
I contacted him friday evening, and saturday morning. no response.
Finally, after all banks have closed, as it is a SATURDAY, he responds via text telling me I have the unit, and he’d «like to sign the lease today.»
I AM OVERJOYED!
I tell him I am available, but the banks have closed for the day (WHY I WAS TRYING TO GET IN TOUCH WITH HIM FRIDAY, and SATURDAY MORNING, so I could plan accordingly to stop by the bank in between my very busy work schedule.)
I tell him I will stop by the bank first thing monday morning, and will make time, any time he is available, to sign the lease.
…he proceeds to NEVER respond back to my calls, text messages, and voicemails left at his office. I speak with the building manager, who is excited I have the unit, and has also not heard from ryan. (does this man exist?)
it is now Thursday evening of the following week, and still no word from this man.
I found out the unit has been rented to someone else, after I phone the current tenant I had been in contact with.
I am heartbroken.
Silver Lining, who would EVER want to deal with this man on a monthly basis?
How does he even hold down his job?
I have never encountered a flakier, less responsive, unprofessional agent in my adult life. disgusted. and heartbroken.
If Ryan is representative of how the Building Group conducts business, i would absolutely steer clear of doing business with them.
…unless you fall in love with an apartment, but you’ve been warned.

As a member of my condo association board, I’ve worked with employees of The Building Group over the past two year. The Building Group has provided us with excellent service and expertise regarding association/​director obligations, our recently conducted reserve study and many projects that needed to be completed around the building. Specifically, I’ve worked with William Plaza at The Building Group over the past six months and he has been an absolute blessing. He is always willing to take my calls and is very responsive to emails. William and The Building Group have provided us with excellent service at a reasonable rate. I highly recommend their services.

I am so glad to finally be out of the clutches of this mis-​management company. They have rules for everything. Most of their policy has a price tag. Fees for a second bike, full-​year pet fees even when moving in half way through the year. Should have been a clue of what was to come. The worst was when they botched up our move-​out schedule and I had to pay movers to do nothing for four hours and without the decency to call me. I wrote a letter to TBG President even copying the move out request showing the date requested was correct. No response ever received to my letter. And i still had to pay a «moving fee» of hundreds and $ 500 moving deposit. What excuse for poor service. Do yourself a favor– stay away from any TBG-​managed condo.

Just as expected… Jim Stoller finds time nearly three years later to comment on the review. Funny thing… he was THE DEVELOPER of the property and also the management company. So either way, he was responsible. Just look at all the reviews, minus ONE and everyone says the same thing… poor service, coupled with a lack of responsibility by the company. The overall ratings say it all. TBG, clean up your act and quit sitting on Unilocal attempting to do damage control

I’ve had first hand experience with the property managers at this organization and they are slow to respond to calls. They usually try to convince the unit owners that any problem in the buildings they manage is the owner’s problem and they refuse to respond. When the staff actually answers the calls they receive, they are rude and ignorant of the rules in the buildings they manage. Giving this organization 1 star is generous.

We recently had Property Manager Ryan Blair from the building group help us find a renter for our apartment and from the onset he was on top of things, professional and pleasant so no complaints here. Looking forward to having him manage our unit.

How does one spell relief? * * * L.E.A.S.E.D! * * * …in record time.
Since the passing of my beloved mother, I haven’t been on Unilocal much except to take a peak every so often, but knew I had to come out of «hiding» after my recent experience with The Building Group and its Property Manager, Ryan Blair.
I’m a high-​end unit owner in the Gold Coast and had been a little concerned at having to rent my condo in February, in what is considered – at least for me – a «horror» month to find a tenant. Thanks to Ryan, I can breathe a sigh of relief after having rented my place just after a weekend showing. The paperwork went smoothly, followups were over the top and needless to say, I am one very *happy* client.
Get your Calendar ready, Ryan – referrals are coming your way.

Again, I’d give them zero stars if I could… their service has continued to get worse and for the past three months they’ve charged me a late fee (despite the fact that I paid my assessments on time). Do NOT hire them.

This management company is horrible!
The senior manager acts as if you are inconveniencing her, which is horrible because they are paid to manage buildings.
Moving into one of their buildings is quite the task, they treat you horribly. Save your time, and deal with another company.

I am not a tenant, rather a person on the apartment hunt.
But, down to brass tacks: This place is weird. I sent this agent an email Wednesday asking for more information. I did not hear back for 24 hours, got no further information on the property (as requested), then was given a window to choose to see the property. I chose within the window a few hours later, then get an email that I can’t see the property then, choose another time within a new window. Then I am again told to make my schedule more convenient around her very busy schedule.
Is this a high pressure sales tactic? It sure feels like it. I’ll go with a different property owner, thanks.

I am a condo owner of a building that TBG manages. Without going into too many details, there were financial discrepancies and instead of actually contacting me to resolve them, I received a summons to appear in court from an attorney. After all was said and done, I was left with an attorney’s fee to pay for something that was entirely unnecessary if they had only made an attempt to contact me.
Beyond that, their tone on email is rude and uncooperative.
Unfortunately, my condo association has selected this group, so there is little I can do other than revealing them here.

THE WORST
They are simply the worst management company in Chicago. I cannot recommend against them strongly enough. They are CROOKS!!! They seem to make all of their money off of fees and fines. So they will charge you a fee for whatever they can come up with, and they will levie a fine against you for anything they can dream up. They can charge you for whatever they like, and yet nothing is their responsibility. The hire incompetent people, and provide absolutely no service or value.
Seriously… STAY CLEAR!!!