Barrington Lakes Apartments

I have lived in several rentals over the past 5 years, including college town rentals. This is by far the worst apartment complex I’ve lived in. The clubhouse is nice, and the finishing of the overpriced apartments are nice as well. Everything else is not, here are some of the issues I’ve faced in the 9 months I’ve lived here:
— Dirty apartment on initial move in.
— Toilets are crooked and not level (so stuff falls off the lid, maintenance refused to fix it).
— Parking has always been hard, many residents park in visitor spots (so your friends can’t park if they visit). They since added 3 reserved spots outside of each building for $ 50/​month which compounds the issue as only 1 or 2 people are using those spaces and the rest are unused now.
— The hallway smells like sweat and burnt food, there is no airflow in this common space so it just stews for days.
— The walls are thin, I can hear kids running around and also smell my neighbors poor cooking abilities.
— Laundry room has one washer and one dryer which is intended to be shared by 8 apartments which may have 16+ people. Plan on going to the laundromat.
Do yourself a favor and don’t bother with this place. It’s as awful as the other reviews have said.

RUN AND RUN AWAY FAST!!! Unless you like getting locked INSIDE your building and not be able to get out have the water turned off with very little notice a management company that is a bunch of idiots. The rent is ridiculously over priced for how crappy your treated. We picked barrington lakes bc we didn’t want a landlord we thought a management company would have their shit together… Nope they have more incompetent idiots working here than I can count they are uncaring and rude as hell. Shortly after we moved in they left a notice on each door saying they needed to gain access to each apartment to do something w the heat which is all fine I didn’t have a problem w that but I have a dog that doesn’t like people so I called asking if I could set up a time after I got home so I can take my dog for a walk or something while they are there bc I was worried she might bite them out of nervousness and fear they said no problem at all so I thought oh wow great they are really willing to work w us… Nope my fiancé got home a little early to find a notice on our door that they had been in already and he found my dog terrified and shaking in her bed she wouldn’t get out of bed for him he had to sit there w her for an hour to calm her down, I was never told she bit them so my fear is that if she did come at them did they kick her or do something to her to get her away so I called screaming and in tears the management company and they said oh they must not have gotten the memo and gave me a Half ass apology and a gift card and a thing of dog toys and at first that seams like they cared but don’t let that fool you the only reason they did that was so I wouldn’t call and file a complaint with the village. When I emailed the first time about being locked in the building I was late for work told them they need to get a lock smith who could fix it properly bc a few days before I couldn’t open the door w my key from the outside and there response was that it had to be my key… They had just replaced the lock the day before and I have 3 keys to that door none worked but they worked in all the other locks that required that key so you can put two and two together and come to the conclusion it would be the lock. Not the key, after being locked in and emailing them (I was not super nice in my email after being locked inside my building being late and it being 430am) I received the response several days later from someone else not even the person I emailed stating that someone had been skewing w the locks and they don’t know who or why someone is messing with them, but after that it didn’t happen again til this week… This first happened back before Christmas it’s now April so I find it hard to believe that’s why this is happening. I guess I’m a little more concerned now bc on Easter someone down stairs had a grease fire in their apartment and if it were to of spread I wouldn’t have had a second way to get out of the building as I don’t live on the first floor. So look elsewhere if I’m not one to go to this length to get my point across but you DO NOT want to live here you can find Way way better!!! RUN NOW! UPDATE: another fire in my building this time caused by the back stairwells space heater aka my second way out so isopod the have been able to get out of the building if the main entrance door Lock was messed up and the back exit had a fire just saying again runaway don’t sign a lease with this hell hole!

If I could give this place negative stars I would. First of all, they control the temperature in the building and it was always 90 degrees or higher in the hallways whether you liked it or not. After many times vehemently complaining, it fell on deaf ears. This translated into super hot temperatures in the actual apartment itself, and you cannot open the windows because the buildings are INFESTED with giant spiders on the windows, basically huge orb weavers and funnel web spiders. Nothing is done about this. The laundry machines are an absolute joke and they leave the HEAT ON in them, and it’s 100 degrees or higher in the laundry room. Often people would leave the apartment buiding doors open because it felt like a sauna in there. The window area conditioners were a joke as well, and super loud.
The outside of the building is neglected in terms of properly salting during the winter, and we fell several times on ice patches, nor was it easy to find parking with giant snow drifts left in lots of spaces on the property. One of the outside door steps was super loose and it took a week of complaining, and a threat to call the village if nothing was done. My daughter almost went into the hospital running down that step with a heavy backpack. We almost fell as well, and it would have been a fall where we could have landed smack down on the cement sidewalk a few steps beneath this one.
Unless you like strong cooking odors permeating your apartment, clothes and all areas of your being, I would not move here. Our neighbors cooked with curry, and it’s not for everyone. Often I had to leave bowls of vinegar in the hallway and my apartment because of this. Between the rotting cooking odors and the steam bath of a hallway, it often smelled so foul, and they would «fix» this by spraying horrible deodorant to cover it up. The walls are very thin, so we could often hear our above neighbor stomping, and our next door neighbors all the time.
The bathrooms are also dilapidated, and could use updating, in particular the toilets, which are low to the ground and hard to clean. The laundry dryer never worked properly and you often had to pay extra to get clothes properly dry. As it’s very small, you would have to do several loads to get it properly done.
Be careful because they use their beautiful field house and amenities to «trap» you into a lease, but, the apartments themselves don’t reflect the field house. There’s some nice amenities, but in my opinion, not worth the trouble of staying in such a noisy, smelly, spider infested, steam bath, outdated, horrible place, that lacks proper maintenance.

Someone was murdered here by a resident. Just let me inform you of that before I begin. This place is full of ex cons and sex offenders looking to prey on children. Oh and you can read about the murder by doing a Google search of «Barrington Lakes Apartments murder» or clicking on this link below;
I just want you to know that they will rent an apartment to anybody regardless of how many kids they molested. I found out my neighbor had molested a six year old girl. And I saw him everyday around the kids in the unit. So what the heck is going on?
Also, this is a nasty, filthy, slimy, dirty, and disgusting apartment complex filled of roaches and mice. Also, it is freezing in the winter because they do not turn the heat on. I once walked in on a couple having sex in the laundry area. I reported it to the office and was told they needed proof. How about the condom they left on the floor full with you know what. Absolutely disgusting! Trust me, you should NOT move here, the 21 page lease is full of all kinds up rules saying they could raise the rent at anytime or charge you for heat and everything else. Please email me at
and get a copy of the lease before you pay them anything. I will gladly send you or anybody else a copy of the lease. So do not pay the application fee until you read the lease.
Also, I just filed a case with the Federal Trade Commission against Barrington Lakes Apartments for their lies and deceptive practice to get people to sign a lease. If we all come together and file a complaint we can get this company hit with a major fine and/​or jail time. So please file your complaint with the FTC by using the link below:
** If you feel this company is deceptive practices to get you to sign a lease than you can file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission against them and force them to pay a heavy penalty and/​or jail time. It is important that everyone here comes together make those who are doing wrong pay for their actions.***

I wanted to write an update to my previous review as I have obviously lived here a bit longer now and have also had a couple of occasions to make use of the maintenance services from management.
As to the level of service from maintenance, on one occasion I had a piece of trim that was coming up on the breakfast bar in my kitchen, and on another the lock on my sliding glass door to my patio was stripped. On both occasions my problems were resolved within a 24 hour time frame, which is fantastic in my book!
The parking situation is still less than pleasant depending on when you arrive back home, but there is not really much that management can do about this. Sometimes you get lucky, and others you are a country mile away. It seems like every time I have lots of items to carry in is the exact time when parking is a total mess. That Murphy guy was an optimist. The security gates at all the entrances are also now operational again, though they are not functional during the heavy traffic times of morning rush hour and evening drive home.
The pool deck is in full swing now that we actually have some decent weather, and unlike many public pools I have been in, this one is not chlorinated to the point that my skin feels like it’s peeling off after jumping in. There is also some great fishing to be had down at the lake if you want to grab your pole and zone out for awhile. I see some huge fish down in the cove adjacent to the pool by my place. The duck population seems to have quadrupled also. When I first moved here there were like 4 – 5 ducks that hung out in my cove, now there are like 20 – 25! They are taking over.
Overall, this is still a very pleasant and comfortable environment to live in. It has a few minor inconveniences of course, but nothing that is too burdensome.

My husband has lived here for 2 years. I have just been here for almost 3 weeks and feel at home already. You can walk, jog, play with your dog, or just sit and relax around the pond. The facilities are always clean. I always feel safe and they keep maintaining well. The water is fresh and the air is clean. A good place for a family with kids or pets.

We started our lease out almost a year ago, signing for an apartment with hardwood floor and stainless steel. We were called before moving in saying it all of a sudden was going to be occupied another few months and no longer available, all that is left was carpeted and black appliances. We didn’t have any other choice so we had to move in to a place we did not desire.
They try and sell this place in being a «gated» community. Yeah that was a year ago they told us by July 2014 the gates would be ready. It is now approaching June 2015, gates still are not in use. So don’t think you are really moving into a gated community.
What everyone says about the parking and towing is true. The parking here is TERRIBLE. If you come home anytime after 6pm good luck finding a spot close to your apartment. We are constantly parking very far away. As a girl, walking at night a far distance from home is unsafe, especially in a NON gated apartment complex. They also do tow your car at the drop of a hat. No warning or anything. My friend who was a visitor had parked in a visitor spot but we forgot by 10pm to put the pass on the car. Her car was not there by morning. I understand we did not put the pass on the car but a warning would be nicer than a $ 175 ticket and giving Barrington Lakes a bad name and no one wanting to come visit. Visitor spots are never even available because everyone who lives here takes them up anyway. They even wanted to charge me an extra $ 25 because I had bought a new car therefore needed a new sticker for my car. I refused to pay $ 25 because I bought a new car and the old sticker wouldn’t come off!
We obviously will not be renewing, so every complex has to do a move out inspection. No email, no letters in our mailbox or at our door, I just woke up to people in my apartment while I was sleeping and not appropriately dressed. They said they knocked and that was the warning. I’m sorry but I was sleeping and not expecting it so I didn’t hear it! It was also a month and half before we were moving out! I am so afraid now every time I am sleeping I will wake up to someone in my apartment. This is completely unacceptable.
To top everything off we had family over for Memorial Day. We told everyone to bring their suits to go swimming and go in the hottub. POOL AREA CLOSED ON MEMORIAL DAY! Memorial Day is when all pools are to open! You would think in a community of over 750 apartments they would have their pool open for summer holidays. Complete disappointment, to the whole community. We went for a walk later in the evening and others were upset by this too. I am thankful we will be out before July 4^th…
We were fooled by being shown the club house and model room and that was it. They drove us around the complex and around the lake, which shows well. If they were have taken us INSIDE one of the building we would have seen its nothing like the model rooms. Hallways and staircases are old, smelly, hot, and just ugly! I wouldn’t recommend this place. We used to live at the Treehouse in schaumburg which is 10x better.

I’ve been here just about 3 months now, and generally I am very disappointed. Management is apathetic at best.
My 1^st issue is the constant stomping, jumping and music from the people upstairs. I’ve had to call the police 6 times so far for their obnoxious music at 3 AM during the week days. Half the time I have to sleep in the living room because the noise is a little less in there. When I spoke to the management office they said to just call the police, which is what I have been doing, but it doesn’t seem to help!
The heating was not working properly. It was stuck on a permanent ON setting, which admittedly is a better problem to have than no heat during the winter but all the same an inconvenience. Took them weeks to attend to the issue, by which time I was a master of figuring out how much I need to open the window to try and achieve an acceptable temperature.
Every month they have charged me the wrong amount, an extra $ 60 and I’ve had to call in order for them to make the adjustment. Again another sign of the poor care of their residents.
The last straw that prompted me to write this review is a parking issue. I had a car accident, my car was totaled and I was taken to a hospital. I took my mother’s car as she no longer drives and didn’t need it. When I went to the office to get a parking sticker I was made a fool for their entertainment.
They asked for proof that my old car was actually in an accident. Then wanted proof that I was not in a condition or able to take the old sticker from it and at the end they told me that I can’t have another sticker because the car is not registered on my name.
I went over the lease letter by letter, and nowhere is it mentioned that a car has to be registered on a lease holder’s name.
They just point blank refused under any circumstances to give me a new sticker. I have no idea what I’m going to do with parking, I’m expecting my car to be towed at any time now.
Besides my Unilocal review, I will complain to the BBB for this and get in touch with my family lawyer to see if I can get out of this horrid place and hopefully make them accountable for their actions. I have no intention to spend the next 9 months with no parking because of «reasons».

Terrible place, visited a resident parked in the «Visitor parking» section got towed, and extorted out of $ 172. At no place does it say u cannot park!
If u have friends NOT A GOOD PLACE TO LIVE!!!‘
Oh it is unsafe elevators creek and pop, stairs not to code, so if u have kids hold on to them while going up and down stairs!
Terrible

I loved living here. The only reason I moved was I had the opportunity to purchase a home (sometimes I wonder if I should have stayed, but that’s another story).
Beautiful views (as long as you avert your gaze from the highway), never had an issue with management, never had an issue with maintenance, TONS of recreational opportunities with volleyball courts, workout room, an indoor/​outdoor pool, a billiards room, party room, organized activities, etc!
The only issue I did have was due to my work schedule and could hardly be blamed on the complex itself (by the time I arrived home most of the parking spaces near my building were taken by people who work nine-​to-​five jobs).
Typical day; Open the blinds, enjoy the sunlight rippling off the lake, make coffee, walk down to the dock by my patio, enjoy the morning air, discreetly watch my fellow apartment dwellers sunbathing around the lake … oops, TMI … What’s not to love?
Oy, one problem: Cost. Wowza. It’ll kill ya.
Oy, another problem: Kids broke into my storage locker and stole some sentimental items. I’ll get you you little rat ^%#%$!

We stayed here for two years. Both my children were born while living in these apartments. When we first started there, the rent was a great price for a 2 bdrm, but then once we decided re-​up they jacked up the price by $ 400 a month! Yes the amenities are nice in the clubhouse, but the noise from other neighbors are terrible you can hear music from the people below you and every step from the people above you. Not to mention the worst part we had bedbugs and were displaced from our home for 7 weeks with my brand new two week old daughter, as our first child. At first when I brought one down to show them the assured me it wasn’t a bedbug and sent the maintenance guy to come caulk the hole in the ceiling they were coming from. Which would have been the attic/​roof area because we lived on the third floor. When I called them the next day to say we were finding more of them, they sent in a exterminator to evaluate and we had to leave the house we were told. So as we sat there in the parking lot all of management came up on their golf carts and went in to our apartment without our consent nor prior knowledge. So I went I and in my bedroom they are all standing with my less than 6month old mattress flipped up examining it. They then told me we had bed bugs bad! We were then given garbage bags and said we could grab a few items and wash them immediately. But that didn’t do any good for all of my daughters things including her bassinet, blankets, diapers. Etc. They were nice enough to let us stay in one of their empty apartments while they tired to get rid of the bed bugs which were told was only going to take a week at the maximum. It ended up for 7 weeks all because they wouldn’t use the most accurate technique of the heat treatment instead. They then proceeded to tell us that it had to of come from us because they only move side to side. But they were coming out of the ceiling. We had to throw our mattress out and pillows and blankets and most things that were not washable or they could have laid eggs. We were lucky they found no signs if them in our daughters room, but since they would not release any information about the chemicals they used to spray we had to get rid of any opened diapers wipe everything down from top to bottom.
Also another thing that happened is that these apartments are so old that instead of them spending the money to fix then structurally instead of just internal cosmetics. Our daughters room before she was born thankfully started to have ceiling piece fall from it because the nail studs were popping through, mind this was just after we had gotten it all painted and all the furniture was in. They came in and patched up the holes and painted it the first time. Well about less than a week alters even more started to come down. So they literally had to jack up the entire ceiling to be able to fix it. I thank god this did not happen while my daughter was already in there.
The maintenance guy walked in to my apartment unannounced and unauthorized while I was sleeping. Let me tell you that’s scary being 8 months pregnant and some strange man walks in to your bedroom! I got no apology for it at all.
I have ranted enough, unfortunately we had a horrible experience there but people should know some serious issues they have there.

Awesome place except the highway noise and apts are not noise proof.
Pros: Lake, club house, good management, ontime service when needed even after 6pm.
cons: highway noise, appts are not noise proof — I stay in 2^nd floor and hear even when someone walks in the apt above in the third floor.

Amenities are country club worthy! Prices are reasonable