SGJ Property Management

They’re absolutely terrible! They keep screwing up the books, claiming I hadn’t paid my assessments when I had, and not getting around to noting it in the records when I send proof of payment. They ignored at least a dozen messages I left trying to straighten it out, and kept adding late charges. After a few months, our Board, noting unauthorized charges to the Association and being unable to resolve the financial problems with them, fired them.

I feel its only fair to update my review because this company took a turn for the worst and we had to find another management company to replace them. We were customers for over 5 years and one of their very first buildings her business had. The last 10 months working with them were brutal, but given we had worked with them for so long, we were «trying» to make it work. We eventually gave up.
We had several property managers after Caroline left. They were not responsive or quite frankly good. When we brought in Sarah (the owner) to help rectify, she assured us things would change and get better. Unfortunately, it never did.
Hoping the SGJ has been able to rectify their issues, because at one time, we were very pleased with the service we received from them. We are happy with our new company and it has been several months.
ORIGINAL
I’ve been condo president for 4 years and the entire time our building has worked with SGJ and have been pleased.
I currently work with Caroline who is very pleasant and easy to work with. She is detailed and thorough and addresses my inquiries in a timely manor. When calling the emergency line, she has always answered, which is reassuring that someone is there to help when needed.
We have not had any issues with using them and our bills get paid and property is well maintained. No complaints!
I also think their rates are priced fairly, as the board all works and doesn’t have time to deal with all the buildings needs. The cost is well worth it as they are experienced and know what they are doing.
Thanks for all you do… I appreciate not having the stress and headache that often comes with trying to manage your own building when its not your area of expertise! :)

As a member of the HOA board, I can say that our experience with SGJ was terrible. In our first (and only year) with SGJ, we had 4 property managers (plus Sarah managing in the interims)!
By the end, we weren’t even receiving responses to emails. If we did, it would be to tell us we’d have an answer by end of week (cue follow up a week later, repeat, repeat).
Additionally, getting any sort of maintenance/​repairs done was like pulling teeth. It took the better part of 6 months to get bids and have simple door repairs done.
We’ve since switched companies and have already seen our bills for general cleaning, etc reduced. And the snow removal contact we signed with our new company saved us close to $ 1,000 over SGJs cheapest bid.
Building residents often complained to the board that they weren’t receiving responses or getting the help needed.
Overall, I was thrilled to say good riddance to SGJ — the difference in our new company already has been astounding! One star is one too many… I’m amazed they’re still in business…

I do not recommend SGJ Property Management for condominium management services.
At the time my medium sized condominium association hired this company I was the board president and personally lead the search for our community management. After extensive searching and interviews, we made the decision to hire SGJ because we believed using a smaller company with an office closer to our Wicker Park location would result in the best partnership for our community.
We made a mistake in hiring SGJ and terminated our agreement a couple months ago after approximately one year.
We made the decision to move on for various reasons, including:
— They failed to perform certain of their most fundamental duties. Our 2014 budget draft was delivered in April after much prodding by me, and it was deficient to say the least. A condo management company should have your budget prepared and delivered without being asked for it and on time.
— We had three different community managers in less than a year’s time. Employee turnover is a bad sign for any company and was truly disruptive for our community and the board.
— They were generally ineffective and inefficient. Over time, SGJ’s mode of operations for our condo shifted from the community manager meeting contractors onsite to resolve work orders and analyzing problems to SGJ hiring a handyman company (for $ 100 – 200 per visit) to make the initial visit and meet a contractor. Thus, as an example, an issue with our intercom resulted in our association paying twice — once for the intercom repair company and once for SGJ’s preferred handyman service.
— Needless dishonesty. When our second community manager quit working at SGJ, we learned about it from SGJ’s handyman, not from the owner or an incumbent manager. When we asked the owner of the company about this she was plainly dishonest about when said community manager resigned. There was no reason to be dishonest about this event and it destroyed any trust that remained between us.
— Communication and customer service broke down. Over time SGJ’s responsiveness declined to the point where our board was unsure what we were actually paying for.
I will note that SGJ’s website has removed all mention of any of the employees who worked there when we signed on with them, so our experience over the past year may be attributable to some kind of restructuring or other change in management or ownership. Whatever the reason for our experience with them, I believe there currently are far better alternatives for condo management in Chicago.

Feeling a little better since we have a new property manager. They called a week ago. I’m programed in the call box.

We have been working with SGJ Property Management as the management company for our association for a little over a year and have found it to be a very positive experience. Our manager, Mike, is personable, knowledgeable and proactive. Mike and Sarah, the owner of the company, helped us handle the developer turnover process and were instrumental in facilitating communication between the developer and his attorney during the transition. Now Mike is helping us refine our budget for next year so that we can plan effectively for all of our expenses, both expected and unexpected. The web portal they offer is very convenient and allows the Board up to date access to financials at all time. We always get a timely response to any questions we might have. I would recommend SGJ Property Management to any Board looking for a management company for their association.

SGJ Property Management is a fantastic Condo Management Company. I was the president of my association for 2 years and I was fed up. I got a lot of bids for management companies and Sarah at SGJ gave us the best price and her services are fantastic. She handles only small to mid condo buildings. She also offers online access for all documents and issues. We’ve been very happy with her. Thanks Sarah!