Goldberg and Perl

Okay I read the negative reviews on here and it is such a vastly different experience from the one I am having (current tenant in one of their buildings) that I had to say something.
This is, hands down, the *best* company I have ever rented from.
Has it been perfect living here? No… But my belief is that nothing in life is ever going to be perfect — and the mark of someone is how they respond when things happen. And they have been AWESOME. Every concern I have had has been addressed quickly. The maintenance guy is awesome — he has gone so far above and beyond to help me with special requests I have had. Kristy, Harry Perl’s assistant, is so nice and prompt with replying to any email/​call. Harry himself is great — he’s just like grandfather used to be, a little gruff when you talk to him but he shows how much he cares in his actions, consistently going above and beyond to make someone’s experience at his place as good as it can be.
My apartment is gorgeous — truly the best place I’ve lived in Chicago. And — after my landlord last year where it was like living in hell as things consistently went wrong and there was no response at all — coming to one of Harry’s buildings and having everything be taken care of in a timely way with such a positive attitude and so promptly… I am so, so grateful to have stumbled into having Harry as a landlord, having Kristy as someone I can call, and Jon the maintenance guy. They are awesome!

I really haven’t had any issues with these guys. We have been with them now for about 2 years and so far so good. The apartment we are in is just lovely and they are pretty quick on their feet to address any maintenance requests.
Most of my business is able to be taken care of with the assistant and shes fantastic
There was a hefty rent increase but the landlord was somewhat negotiable and lets face it, it’s Chicago; It’s just how it goes.
Overall these guys are pretty decent. I was previously with Peak Prop which was a complete nightmare, so it was a refreshing transition to make.

Why did I hire Goldberg and Perl to sell my condo? What was I looking for?
I wanted a honest, dependable, experienced, Realtor who was local to the neighborhood. Secondary I was looking for a straight 5% commission without any additional fees tacked on. I use to pass by their office everyday as I walked from the train stop to my condo. So I was familiar with the name. I called up the office and spoken with Harry Perl, after our discussion I met him at his office. I was expecting to see a sprawling agency inside, but there were only two people one broker and one assistant. We drove 2 – 3 blocks from his office to my condo, and signed the listing agreement.
What I got?
I had a tenant at the time, who taken good care of the unit and was very kind. Mr. Perl taken pictures of my unit with his phone and posted them on the MLS. The pictures included stacks of papers on the counter and personnel hygiene items lying around the bathroom. When I requested that he take new pictures with less clutter. He became noticeable upset over the phone and condensing, holding the position that it’s not going to matter. So the pictures remained as is. New pictures were not taken when my tenant left or of the exterior landscaped area (it looks much nicer in the spring\summer when everything is green vs brown\dead. So I taken the pictures myself and emailed them and requested they replace the existing ones posted on the MLS. He also seemed noticeable upset when I asked him to prepare a comparable market analysis.
My tenant informed me that Harry never once shown the unit, while he resided there. Even though he was only 2 – 3 blocks away. Instead he simply relied on a lockbox. I might as well had a real estate agent from Texas.
His assistant receives and responds to emails and text messages. I had very few phone conversations or emails from him, during the duration of our listing agreements. He seemed that he was always out of town or unavailable. His assistant was very nice and helpful. I am sure that Harry is nice in a personnel setting as well. He must be doing something right to be in the business for such a long time.
He did not attend the closing. He did not provide the keys or check for overages over the earnest amount, the buyers agent had to pick it up from Harry’s assistant.
Rather than speaking with the buyers agent and trying to look out for his clients best interest. They would just forward emails back and forth, between the sellers agent and myself. I would get emails sent from the buyers agent. I would email back responses, which in turn my agent would just forward back to buyers agent.
We did not complete the disclosure forms, get the board rules\reg, request a letter from the condo association stating the assessments were paid, etc until we made a counteroffer. Everything was last min and required allot of follow up on my part. I even had to pay for a messenger to get the documents delivered on time.
So what service did I get for an approximately $ 10k commission?
Camera phone photos, limited in person showings, limited communication, limited support.
This was a definitely a learning experience for me. I will invest allot more time in locating a realtor for future real estate transactions. You’re paying the same basic fee, why not select a top performer. In my opinion, if you do not have the time or passion to do the best of your ability, you should consider another line of work or retirement.

DO NOT RENT FROM THIS COMPANY! This company is horribly miss managed. There is a major book keeping problem that will eventually leave you responsible for picking up the slack. Harry is irresponsible and ill informed about how his company is run. He will give you the run around and refuses to take responsibility for his insufficiencies. All I have to say for those who choose not to take this advice, make sure they give you receipts for any money you ever give them. Demand receipts!

My wife and young daughter and I rented a 2 bedroom apartment from Harry Perl in Lakeview. Overall we had a great experience. The rental price was reasonable. The unit was clean. We never had any major maintenance problems. We never had any problems with pests/​mice, etc.
Harry was always very responsive to any issues or concerns we did have throughout the 2 years we rented from him. Any issues that required maintenance were addressed and resolved in a timely and convenient manner.
Overall, I had a great experience with Harry and his group. He was always reasonable and fair with us. I think that is all you can ask for in a landlord when living in the city.

I have been a tenant in a Goldberg and Perl Lakeview building for about ten years. It is an old building, so of course there will be issues from time to time. However, every time I’ve needed attention in my unit, the problem is fixed quickly and efficiently. Most recently, some of the tiles in the shower were coming loose. I brought this to the attention of John, the truly nice and capable maintenance man. A short time later, I returned from work to find boxes of brand new tiles stacked neatly against the wall in my kitchen. I received a call from John the next day. He informed me that, after speaking with Harry (the landlord), they had decided to retile the whole shower. After agreeing on a day to start the job that was convenient for me, the work began. When I returned that night, there was a new sink and fixtures waiting to be installed as well. Once again, everything was done quickly and efficiently. I now have, essentially, a brand new bathroom! It looks terrific and I couldn’t be happier. Thanks guys.

I have had nothing but a positive experience while living in the southport/​Cornelia apartments. Mr. Perl has been generous, kind, and willing to work with us since the moment we looked at our current apartment. it’s been 6 months and any issue that has arose (which have been minor, i.e. the toilet running or the clicking of a ceiling fan) has been taken care of immediately. new ceiling fans were installed upon us moving in and the apartment is in great shape!
This company has taken good care of us and I would definitely encourage others to rent from them,

DO NOT EVER RENT FROM THIS COMPANY!
I have been a tenant of a property in Lincoln Park for 3 years. You may ask why I’ve stayed… the location and the burden of moving have not been something that I have been interested in doing. Do I regret it? Absolutely! Do I cringe knowing that I have spent thousands of dollars renting from a slum lord? Absolutely!
Upon moving in to this unit there was a smell of a dead animal or something rotten for the first 6 months I lived there. I couldn’t have guests other than family and, when family did visit, they commented on the smell. When I asked for resolution or investigation of this problem I was told that it was all in my head.
Fast forward a year… It was July and suddenly when the hot water was being used there was an overwhelming smell of sewage gas. I asked for someone to come out and look at it and was AGAIN told that this was in my head. This problem persisted for 6 months and included carbon monoxide detectors going off. We would have to sleep with the windows open just in case. We had the gas company come out as well as the heating people. FINALLY an outside vendor smelled the sewage gas and told Mr. Perl that this was, indeed, a problem. It ended up being a huge problem with clogged pipes that have been overlooked for years and had tree vines and other things clogging the pipes and backing things up into the apartment. The floors had to be ripped up and then the courtyard did as well.
The «hardwood» floor has spots that have rotten due to water damage from the pipes. When I brought it to Mr. Perl’s attention he informed me that «it was the wood settling.» When he finally acknowledged the problem he said that that portion of the floor would be replaced while we were gone on vacation. In fact, we got home and they had just sanded the floor and not replaced it.
And now, for the best part… The property is currently infested with RATS. The sanitation department came out and were APPALLED by the number of rat holes and the condition of the courtyard. They indicated that we rented from slumlords and I happen to agree. Understandably, this summer has been brutal for rats; however, we have them running underneath our floor boards and can see them running around outside our windos. This has been brought to Mr. Perl’s attention SEVERAL times and his solution was to just set out some rat traps in the courtyard and tell me that there is absolutely nothing he can do and that this «happens when you live in the city.» No kidding. I understand there will be rats. However, the amount and the lack of a solution are absolutely not ok.
There is never any solution from him that addresses the problem. He just sends his «maintenance man» out to put a bandaid on a gaping wound.