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May 2024 by Veni Corona
Joe Wilcox is awesome. I had an issue and he made sure it would taken care of immediately. He took time to reach out to me even when he has others to handle these issues. Is maintenance person Mike is attentive, very nice and keeps communication open with me. This has been one of my best experiences dealing with a landlord and maintenance person. Thank you so much!!!
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April 2024 by Philip Mancari
1000 dollar move in fee and 100 dollar fee per person for an application. Horribly reviewed agents and vague policies that favor you being charged at the end of your lease for miscellaneous fees. Everything wrong with the current housing market in Chicago these days
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February 2024 by Paul Grego
The Wilcox Company personnel are attentive, diligent, and very experienced at managing properties.
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January 2024 by Paul G.
The Wilcox Company attentively and diligently manages rental properties. The Wilcox Company employees are courteous and responsive and have much experience and excellent judgment.
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September 2023 by MK
Bad business. Very unprofessional
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August 2023 by Hugh Arceneaux
I’m writing as a prospective tenant who recently applied for an apartment managed by Wilcox Company. I cannot speak to their actual management in the duration of a lease.First, the good: the company has generally been responsive to my communications and the leasing agent, Tim, seemed like a nice guy, was courteous, answered my questions, etc.The bad:First of all, the listing for the apartment I considered describes a $500 “security deposit.” After paying for my $50 application and reviewing the lease, it was made abundantly clear that this is in fact a $500, non-refundable, leasing fee. That alone should merit a refund of my application fee.More importantly, the terms of the lease are borderline unconscionable. I understand that these are, in part, down to the property owner; however, this does not mean anyone should present these as reasonable terms, especially after taking someone’s time and application fee.The most problematic terms include:• Barring leaving your pet unattended, ever, for any length of time.• Requiring that a tenant sweep the floors and perform routine maintenance of apartment common areas because they have a pet.• Barring all exercise equipment (no definition provided. Is a yoga mat exercise equipment leading to a breach of lease? Who knows)• Prohibiting furniture and appliances: “Lessee owned dishwasher, washing machines, waterbeds, pool tables, ping pong tables, pinball machines, etc.(???) are not allowed”. There is no definition or clarification as to what is meant by “etc”.• Tenants are responsible for landlord’s legal fees.• Landlord can relet the apartment if a tenant “removes a substantial portion of his personal property” and continue charging the tenant.• There is no limitation on the number of maintenance inspections to be performed or notice required prior to such inspections.• No adhesives of any kind are allowed on any surface.• Lessee shall “return the floors to move-in condition”; no clarification on whether this means paying to redo apartment floors after normal wear and tear.• signs, posters, flags or other decorations cannot be visible from the public street.• Tenants are responsible for installing and uninstalling window AC units and are required to do so seasonally. Tenants are solely responsible for maintenance, repair, and replacement of AC units, without provision for landlord repair for normal wear and tear of landlord property (and, to be clear, there is no central air).Upon responding, within an hour of receiving the lease, that these terms should be amended, my application acceptance was rescinded. And, as noted, despite the misrepresentation of the leasing fee as a security deposit, there has been no refund of my application fee.I've rented apartments for many years. I've reviewed many leases, including for comparable properties in the course of my current apartment search. The terms of this lease are most absurd and onerous I've seen and should be presented up front in the process.
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May 2023 by Catherine Cudahy
I moved into my current apartment in December of 2020 and Wilcox was super helpful. My building is now managed under a new company who doesn’t at all compare—Wilcox waived our security deposit, was responsive and helpful with all issues, and was personable and available. They were also super understanding of tenants moving into units back to back and had the entire unit updated and thoroughly cleaned before we even moved in.
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April 2023 by Dale Bertucci
Fantastic local realtor! Hands on service.
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March 2023 by Cherlyn Robinson
Joe was great, and always prompt maintenance service.
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March 2023 by Bo Smit
Great pizza and they make it in front of you.
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August 2022 by Matt Nardi
NOTE: This review has been updated to address the owners mention of the 2nd gas leak that occurred while I was a tenant. This review refers to a gas leak that occurred the previous year. More info below.
Had an issue with a gas leak that lasted much longer than it should have. Based on how events played out it appears this was a result of The Wilcox Company attempting to have the issue resolved as cheaply as possible (it was not until after arguing with a worker from People's Gas, whom he was trying to get to fix the leak for free, that he finally hired a properly licensed plumber to come out and remedy the issue).
While I understand it is important to keep costs down, Joe Wilcox was very dismissive (saying "its fine, no one was hurt") when we voiced our concern regarding the fact that we spent a significant amount of time breathing in toxic fumes. Additionally, I do not believe a gas leak is an appropriate time to be bargain hunting.
Overall, I felt that Joe Wilcox had a very apathetic attitude towards his tenants. I find this to be an unacceptable attitude in situations where bodily harm/death are a possibility.
UPDATE: In response to the owner, I would like to add some additional factual info. The gas leak I was referring to in my review occurred September 2019. The owner is referring to the 2nd gas leak that occurred during my tenancy (9/11/2020).
My apartment was without gas for about 13 days in early September of 2019. During this 13 day period (before the leak had been properly fixed), the gas was at one point turned back on for the better part of the day while myself and my then girlfriend's dog were home.
While I do not speak for my ex-girlfriend or my fellow tenants, I am also quite sure the owner has not asked for their thoughts and has no way of knowing if they do or do not share the opinions of this review. This is based on the fact that the owner's response was posted only an hour after the review went up.
I felt it best to wait until my tenancy was complete to provide an accurate review.
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March 2022 by Ashley Godfrey
We used the Wilcox Company to help us find out first home in fall of 2021. Joe helped us personally and we really loved working with him. Joe was very responsive and worked hard to help us find the perfect first home! He was always there when we had a question and worked quickly to help us get everything done during closing. We would recommend The Wilcox company highly for all of your home rental and buying needs.
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March 2022 by Morgan Murphy
Moving is a stressful experience and unfortunately The Wilcox Company made the experience even more stressful. We worked with a leasing agent from a different company (which was SO helpful and responsive) to find an apartment to rent, which is also somehow partially managed by The Wilcox Company. A person from The Wilcox Company met us at the space at the time we had an appointment to show us the apartment (they said only one time would work for them on this particular Sunday) and the space was relatively clean but had many random items scattered around the space from the previous renters. We overlooked this detail, as the space is beautiful and well-kept and we’re generally both very understanding and patient. It was just strange that they were adamant about a particular time for us to come yet the space wasn’t entirely cleaned out. A piece of feedback is to buffer in more time to ensure it’s clear of those items before showing it, especially if you are in control of when potential renters see it.It was clear that our monthly rental payments would go directly to the landlord, which we are fine with. We applied, paid the application fee, received approval, and received the lease quite quickly, which deserves a star. It was never clear how The Wilcox Company is involved, aside from somewhat managing the space or sub-managing it somehow. Anyway, despite the lack of clarity of how they’re involved, they let us know that we would need to pay the second month’s rent to them in full, then the first month (prorated) to the landlord the next month. We were also quite directly and rudely informed that the payment of the move-in fee would go to the landlord. We are happy to pay the correct people the correct amounts and suggest the feedback of using bullets to clearly state the person, amount, and potential method for making the proper payments. It was all moremiscommunicated than it needed to be and when we asked clarifying questions they were met with short and rude responses. Once understanding the payments to be made, we were unable to use their only suggests online payment option of PayPal. Despite calling PayPal customer service, unlinking and relinking our bank accounts (we both use different banks), saving the Wilcox company as a contact, using the website and the phone app, and setting up a new PayPal account, it was unable to process the payment without incurring additional fees. They made it very clear that we would pay any fees incurred from using cards so we reached out for guidance on how to best forward and check if this was a problem others had faced and if there were other digital options. We even suggested a few digital payment options that might have provided a solution. We were told a money order or cashiers check were the only options, despite the Wilcox company having an online subscription with AppFolio. It’s possible that they are unable to set up a one-month “lease” for us to pay rent through the app, but I’m doubtful that it’s a tech issue and think it’s more of a customer service issue wherein they don’t want to take the time to set it up, despite that it would make one-time payments like ours more accessible.Despite myself and my partner suggesting solutions that allow online payments (especially in the midst of the pandemic and icy conditions and despite the person we worked with knowing we do not have a car), I had to physically go to a bank, pay for a cashier’s check, and then walk to their office to deliver it within their business hours. As I’m recovering from COVID, I feel very frustrated and saddened that this company would make this process less accessible than it could be, and more stressful & difficult than it needs to be.I give a 2-star review because, although the person we worked with (Mary Beth) was responsive in a timely manner, they made things more confusing than they needed to be, did not provide helpful solutions, spoke in a non-friendly tone, and made us feel bad for asking clarifying questions. Hope this feedback can help them do better and be better!
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February 2022 by Joe D.
Wilcox Company managed one of my buildings for 4 years and did an incredible job on a challenging (old) building. Their responsiveness is excellent and transparent. Wilcox also leased my building up. Joe filled the building with quality tenets and the original tenants are still there, no turnover! Finally, Wilcox also sold my building and did a superb job there as well. Very happy seller here. Joe Wilcox is from the neighborhood and acts like it in the quality work that he and his team do. I would highly recommend The Wilcox Company for any of your real estate needs. They are top tier, to say the least.
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November 2021 by Martin O.
I've worked with The Wilcox Company since 2011. While going through an unforeseen situation in my life, I sought out The Wilcox Company for assistance with managing my rental property. My attention was diverted to handling personal issues and unfortunately my property started showing minor neglect. THANKFULLY, Joe stepped in and addressed all the property issues. Joe counseled me on the direction of the neighborhood and expected rental income. Joe drew up a plan and put it in motion. My property is now a gem on the block generating income I never expected. Joe and The Wilcox Company are VERY PROFESSIONAL, RESPECTABLE and HONEST. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Thank you Wilcox Company!!!
