DLM Management Darlene Aurbach Sue Happy Slum Lord Hinsdale, Illinois

Warning:  Do not rent from this woman!  She is the perfect definition of a slum lord.  I rented from her for 3 plus years and my experience was frustrating to say the least. 

I initially looked at an apartment she had available a few years ago.  The guy who showed me it said he was "the building manager" and he seemed nice enough but I had no idea what I would have to endure.  He showed me the apratment and right away I see there was no screen door to the balcony and there was a tear in carpet in the entry from the kitchen to the living room.  There were also various little things like small burns in the carpet in a couple of places and there was glass on the kitchen window sill from a window that had been since replaced before we moved in.  Outside was a fence that was rotting and half had fell over.  I was in desparate need to find a place to live that would accept pets and was interested but was concerned some things were a little beat up around the place.  The guy said he would get us a screen door and fix everything that was wrong by the time we moved in.  What a joke?  The "building manager" is a guy who is an out of work painter that has a vague idea of how to fixed basic handy man problems but you will find he is drunk and stoned most of the time so just about everything he fixes is done half assed.  I moved in and see there is no screen door.  I asked him to get me one and he kept saying "no problem, I'll have it that the end of the week". 3 weeks later still no screen door.  Eventually by week 5 the tenant below me was evicted and the manager told me to give him a call and he would go down and get that person's screen door.  I called him the next day w/ no response.  I went and got the door myself and installed it.  I asked him to fix or replace the carpet and his response was to ask the owner Darlene to replace the carpet and he was sure she would only raise the rent $25 or so.  What? The carpet is damaged and in order to get it fixed I have to pay more for rent.  Eventually we put a runner over it (out of sight, out of mind). 
I found over time that they don't care what your background is, they will still rent to you.  These are one bedroom apartments and some tenants would have as many as 7 people living in them.  Typically there is garbage laying around from other tenants not caring and I found myself picking up the excess trash because I don't want to live in filth and I knew the building manager won't pick it up.  There are security doors to the building that are always propped open because not everyone living there has keys to get in the building. 
There was a month that I put the rent in the mail on Saturday (the 1st was Sunday) and I missed the last mail pickup I guess.  I get a notice from the owner Darlene 2 months later saying she has charged me a dollar a day for 2 months for not paying a late fee.  "Late Fee?  Was I late?  I never got a notice from you until now."  Anytime you argue she says it it's in the lease.  She has a reputation for suing a large amount of tenants for damages.  In my case damages were in  the apartment when I got there. 
I had a dog and I told them from the beginning I had a dog and after 2 yrs she sends a notice saying we owe a pet deposit.  I had been there 2 yrs.  I figured I had paid it to move in but she charges me another $250. I did not want to have to get a lawyer so I just gave her $250 to get her off my back.  She once sent me a late notice for rent on a garage.  I have never ever rented a gararge from her. 
There was a flood in the lower level of our building and I understand that it will take time to do clean up of people's belongings and what not that were thrown out of the units.  Someone threw a whole couch out their back door and after 6 months it was still sitting out behind the building in front of that unit.  When the lower level was repaired it was not completed by a professional, it was the building manager and a buddy that redid all of the dry wall and even after 2 yrs it still reeks of mildew and mold. 
The manager plows the driveway when it snows and because he is usually drunk and/or stoned he knock over a fence post once and hit the side of the garage so hard with his plow that the integrity of the structure has been compromised.  You can actually see where he hit it and all the masonry is crumbling and the outer wall has actually buckled.
When i finally decided i had enough I was ready to buy a house and indicated to the owner it will be a short sale and I am not sure of the closing date she agreed to extend the lease.  I paid her for 1 month past the end of the lease.  Then we called and told her we need another month.  the short sale was not approved yet.  Her response was "Ok no problem just send me a letter indicating your intentions to stay another month".   We did that and when we found out going into the next month that it still was not approved we sent a letter asking for 1 more month.  She waited until there were 3 days left in the month to tell us we had until the 30th to get out.  My attorney says I have 30 days.  Everyone i know in this type of industry says I have 30 days but she wants us out now so she can rent it to someone who wants a year lease.  I assume she will sue us over that too.  I'm assuming she will try to keep the security deposit since that is what she does to every person that I have heard who has ever rented from her. 
There are many more things that have happened that I could bring up but the bottom line is save yourself frustration DO NOT RENT FROM HER!!  I assure you you will regret it if you do.