Atlas Realty Slumlords with a Smile Chicago, Illinois

Dear Anonymous, I am not sure how you can state any of the facts you wrote unless you have actual proof. Saying that a company spent your reserve fund and you are not sure where it went means that either you do not attend any meetings or do not understand how your assessments are to be used. I live in the building and I understood where the money because they gave us a full report at the meeting last year that you probably did not attend. I think it is very unprofessional and immature to portray a company negatively as you did based on personal feelings as opposed to looking at it from a professional standpoint. I think they were doing a great job with the building and the consensus is the same with most of the tenants here. Hence the fact that they still manage our building. Maybe its a personal problem you have with someone or something and should look into resolving it other ways, perhaps working out or yoga, as opposed to taking your aggression out on a great company that has done more for us than the others in the past. I am pleased with them and just feel a personal experience can sometimes be blown out of proportion due to certain circumstances in someone's personal life.

Thank you atlas for your wonderful work. You guys are all great and helpful.

Atlas Realty also manages a Condo building with only 1 elevator.  During the annual pressure test for the elevator in January, the cylinder blew, it's now the end of March, and the elevator still is not fixed, not even a contract for the repairs has been sign to authorize the repairs.

Apparently, Atlas Realty spent the reserve fund, as there is nothing left in the account.  They won't even sign a contract to have the elevator fixed until ALL the funds needed to fix the elevator (at least $35,000) are paid by the Condo Owners and then after that it will take at least 4-6 weeks to have the company manufacture the part for the elevator and then another couple of weeks to install it.

Isn't there any laws or codes that need to be followed on a 5 story condo building.  This is a building where there has been problems in the past few years with the elevator going out for weeks on end, and now it's going to be out for months, all because the money was spent on things that could have waiting, such as resurfacing the parking lot and some easement lawsuit involving the parking lot.

What about the people who can't walk up and down the stairs, they are stuck in their units and are depending on others from the outside for food and necessities for the next few months.

*I* also assumed 311 was like Chicago's use of it all over the US. (It's also for non-emergency police.)

I wish that he had given me two months (or more)! 33 days is all I got. The worse part is that I lost my job in November (just 3 months ago). I told NO ONE, not my slumlord nor any of my fellow tenants, lest my slumlord come up with some lame excuse to evict me. He did anyway! (I still manage somehow to pay my rent.) I have no family or friends to turn to for help. I'll soon be homeless. No landlord will rent to someone who's unemployed.

I just want the truth to come out instead of other people they screwed over to keep quiet. Keeping silent solves nothing.

Thanks for the tip about tenant.org!

  In some cities 311 is used as a non-emergency police number.  I see it's not the same everywhere.

   I assumed a lease termination, rather than an eviction because they gave you two months notice instead of the customary 30 days.   If you are actually being evicted, you have to be given a reason.  Eviction is a legal process and a court will not sign off on one unless there is a valid reason.    They do not need a reason to decide not to renew your lease when it expires.

  Giving you a notice to be out in two months doesn't constitute an eviction, unlike  eviction papers from the court that are served either by the sherrif or by mail.  Assuming you really still want to live there, you should check out the Illinois Tenants Union at www.tenant.org to find out what your rights are.

Good luck.

I have always been a responsible tenant and I expect my landlord to be the same.

I never called the *police* (911) to complain about my slumlord; that would be stupid. Calling 311 is the nonemergency number for the City of Chicago to complain about problems with landlords, as well as as other info related to Chicago. I first contact the landlord with a problem. If it's not taken care of within a reasonable amount of time, I complain again. I do not expect them to drop what their doing just because I have a problem. But a responsible landlord would correct/fix any problem soon, not make the tenant wait months or even years.

And, yes, I am being evicted. If they had any problem with me, it should have been brought to my attention. Nothing was ever said to me, verbally or in writing.

My purpose for bringing all this up is to warn prospective tenants about their practises. Find a landlord who is ethical and responsible; stay away from Atlas Realty. That is all.

  I'm guessing that they've decided not to renew your lease (not the same as being evicted).  If this is still a mystery to you, ask yourself what you would do with a tenant that calls the police for a leaky faucet or not enough heat.  The landlord probably feels he can get a tenant that is much less trouble.