Take into consideration also how cold it will be in winter and snow. Overall a good choice to save money. But if it's 1.8k for a garden unit you are being robbed. There should be more affordable with same perks.
Personally, I avoid garden units. I’ve lived in a couple, and my experiences with them have been lots of ants during the warmer months, random flooding during heavy downpours, snow blocking the windows, unappealing views through said windows, and worrying about break-ins being easier. This is not a *universal* experience, it’s just been mine, and as you said - plenty of people do have good stories about them.
I think all you can do is tour the unit, see how you feel, ask plenty of questions. I feel like it’s kind of hard to know what will or won’t happen until you live there, unfortunately.
I’ve lived in a garden unit once for 2 years. Experienced sewage backup one time that was quickly resolved by property manager. I’ve never had a better property manager than her though so I think I got lucky there. Winter was extra cold, I had to get a space heater. But my main concern was the security. Our gate didn’t have one of those spring mechanisms that would automatically close behind you. You had to manually close it, and not all residents did. I closed my blinds most of the time, which made it feel more isolated. Also, 1.8K for a garden unit? How many bedrooms?
This sub doesn't allow photo attachments, but if I could I'd show you a photo of the garden unit duplex I rented for one year only...it flooded during every heavy summer rain and in the photos you can see at least two inches of water. I'd been assured by property management that it never flooded before I signed the lease. I literally broke a sweat every time it rained and kept sandbags on hand.
As an aside, I was also recovering from a running injury and remember one particularly rain-soaked Sunday where I didn't get downstairs quickly enough and heard the rush of water pouring down the stairs into the living area. Never fucking again.
My friends have had a garden unit for the last five years and have had no issues. I think any property will have issues depending on the landlord. The biggest thing I’d look at is how well maintained the property is while showing it to you. I ignored some stuff in my first two places and regretted it.
This is now my fourth yr living in a garden unit in Andersonville/Ravenswood I pay less than 1200 all in minus internet. Pro rent is cheap, it still has a ton of sunlight streaming in for my berm, living room and kitchen. It stays on the cooler side in the summer and I don’t have sewage back up, thankfully. However the noise between units is almost unbearable. I can hear my upstairs anybody all day every day The bugs, mainly spiders, moths, ants, are a near constant during summer and rainy months so be prepared to stay on top of getting your place sprayed and because I’m near the shared laundry I hear the door to that area being opened and slammed all the time. I can also hear when any rodents enter in between areas and it’s the weirdest and strangest feeling. I biggest tip is to figure out which direction your windows face if natural light is a concern, ask about plumbing to see how it’s connected, ask about materials used for flooring, and try and tour at various times of the day. But you should be able to find apartments that aren’t garden units in your price range. You should be able to find quite a few 1 bds and some 2bds as well
OP if you do end up getting into a garden level *under no circumstances should you go ahead without insurance that covers your possessions in case of flooding*
Nw side is notorious for flooding garden apartments. It happened to me when I first moved here. Get the insurance. Flooding can destroy all your possessions and ruin your life in the matter of a few hours—while you’re at work or while you sleep. Do not risk it without coverage.
I lived in a garden apartment for about two years, look for one with overhead sewers and you’ll never flood. Make sure you get renters insurance because safety issues are a bit of a concern.
Pardon the novel I’ve written here, but thought it might be useful:
- Regarding price $$$: are you only looking for places on websites like hotpads/apartments.com, etc…? In UK Village you should walk around the residential streets and look for signs, especially hand-written signs. My guess is Logan is the same way.
- Real hardwood floors in good condition are a positive sign when it comes to backups/flooding. They are telling you the owner
doesn’t expect 6 inches of water down there. That said, I lived in a garden unit 1 year and the owner had lived in the house above for 40 years and never had a flood. Of course it happened the year I moved in! Will never do it again.
- Saggy spots in the ceiling? Walls kind of rippled in the bathroom? Those are signs of damp that could mean there’s mold you can’t see.
- Open the cabinets under the sink and look under the stove/dishwasher with a flashlight. Roaches have a distinct smell and mice leave tiny poopies. Look for rodent/insect traps inside the building or in common areas. In Chicago you expect them outside but inside means other people have had an issue with pest.
- Do you pay for heat/electric? Lookup/call comed and peoples gas and find out the monthly average as well as the bill from January the last 3 years.
- Get to the showing 15 minutes early or lurk 15 min after and stop strangers as they enter/leave. “I am thinking of moving in, do you like it here?”
- Look for a small blue sign that says “Beal Property Management.” If you see it, RUN.
- Take a long close look at common areas. Are there holes in the walls? Does it smell damp? I picked my current building in part because the basement with the washer/dryers was SPOTLESS with bright lights and all the doors to the storage units freshly painted. Every time I saw the landlord for the first 2 years here *he* asked *me* if anything in my apt was wrong or could be improved!
- Are there bars in the windows? Can you put bars in the windows if you want to? If yes, how will you handle cooling in the summer? You probably won’t want to open your windows much depending on where the unit is on the property, and even in a garden unit you will have days when it gets warm.
- I forget the website but you can look up crime data online and see how many burglaries/robberies have happened in that police beat vs the ones around it. It’s the relative number that matters. Am I more likely or less likely to get my windows kicked in on this block?
- Does the unit have windows on a public sidewalk where dogs/humans can piss on them? I would pass on that personally.
- FYI: A landlord named Matt Greenberg had a bunch of semi-reasonably priced buildings in the areas you are looking at least in 2021. He will fix things when you call, but he will fix them in the cheapest way possible. Think stuffing steel wool in holes where rodents were getting in instead of patching the damn wall. Locks on the gates were alway broken, so was the buzzer system. I had trouble with mice and I lived on the 3rd floor. He was a very nice guy and very understanding during the pandemic. Just cheap. There are crazy landlords who argue with you whenever you report a problem and others who never respond at all, so in the grand scheme of things he wasn’t so bad. Just know what you are getting into.
There is a place in Bucktown, on the south side of Cortland between Wood and Damen, that has a sign advertising a garden apartment that might fit your requirements for $1400. I walked by it on Thursday and the sign was still up.
I lived in a garden unit in Logan Square for 5 years, never had issues with flooding. Obviously not great for plants in general but got ok sunlight in the front room. And yes, many bugs, but not an unbearable number. The ants were the most annoying, you'll need to pack ALL of your edibles in sealed containers, diligently clean food spills, and do NOT use a sugar scrub in the shower lol learn from my mistakes. I also found really creepy looking beetle (?) nests in the folds of my curtains once so that was fun. And a good amount of centipedes and spiders but if you don't mind leaving them be they will eat some other bugs. I am squeamish with bugs and found they didn't bother me that much, they aren't crawling all around your apartment or anything, you just see one regularly.
When I moved out, my 2 br 975 sq foot apartment with no AC went for around $1600 but that was in 2021 so no doubt it's more expensive now.
All that said, I didn't hate my garden unit. I hung twinkle lights and made it cozy. But now having moved to a sunny first floor apartment with hardly any bugs, I would never go back.
Edit to add: Look for apartments with bars on the window. Without them I wouldn't have felt safe.
I lived for almost 3 years in a garden unit. I had issues multiple times, and a landlord who was.... Fine until he wasn't.
Unit was okay, an English garden in East Albany Park, giving me normal window, but it was pretty maddening long term. I never got privacy and couldn't have my blinds open really. My kitchen got no light. However, the garden had a w/d in unit and central heat/air. It had all I needed to get "into the city". Winters were exceedingly cold, and I had a very high (150+ gas bill) but my summers were better, but I couldn't open windows like I wanted.
Sewage backup is a big thing in garden units. Speaking to that, if the pipes have had issues and tree roots get in there they have to have the lines rodded and branches cut out every other year. My parents were up for a holiday weekend and this started happening, the landlord was not happy that his options were "pay holiday rates to get it fixed" or "put us up in a hotel". He chose the former, and ended up getting to bill the HOA.
When it would really rain, and I mean downpour where you have the streets flood, I'd have my backdoor begin to let water in because it wasn't sealed properly at the base.
Landlord refused to do anything about the door because it's "not his problem". Once I moved and got onto the board at my current property, I found out that landlords are commonly responsible for door replacements (I upgraded my back door at my home) and I was mad because I had ruined towels trying to stop it several times.
I ran into an old neighbor who I'm on good terms with and she let me know the unit was sold but that apparently the same thing happened, resulting in a complete flooding of the garden unit. It sounded like the landlord, Mike Tazic, omitted that piece of information to the new owner. I was unsurprised but so glad I left that unit to move into a third floor walk up.
About 1500 is the highest a garden should ever be.
The only good thing was he raised rent from 1325 to 1335 in my stay there.
I lived in one in Oldtown for 15 years. It did flood after a massive rainstorm. Much of Chicago is built above a slate plain, so it's always a consideration, particularly for storage of easily damaged stuff.
We are renting a third room in our garden condo for $950. Private room in a 3 bed. Uptown. Never had any backups in the 5 years we have rented it. Every year we snake the pipes.
I had one for a year. It was on Belden between Clark and Lincoln many years ago. The location was great for a garden unit. Very little foot traffic by my unit. I wouldn't do a garden unit on a busy street. Never had flooding and my unit was warm. I'm a guy so I wasnt too worried about anyone wanting to look in my windows or break in. I was young and broke so nothing to steal. Ymmv.
Take into consideration also how cold it will be in winter and snow. Overall a good choice to save money. But if it's 1.8k for a garden unit you are being robbed. There should be more affordable with same perks.
Personally, I avoid garden units. I’ve lived in a couple, and my experiences with them have been lots of ants during the warmer months, random flooding during heavy downpours, snow blocking the windows, unappealing views through said windows, and worrying about break-ins being easier. This is not a *universal* experience, it’s just been mine, and as you said - plenty of people do have good stories about them. I think all you can do is tour the unit, see how you feel, ask plenty of questions. I feel like it’s kind of hard to know what will or won’t happen until you live there, unfortunately.
I’ve lived in a garden unit once for 2 years. Experienced sewage backup one time that was quickly resolved by property manager. I’ve never had a better property manager than her though so I think I got lucky there. Winter was extra cold, I had to get a space heater. But my main concern was the security. Our gate didn’t have one of those spring mechanisms that would automatically close behind you. You had to manually close it, and not all residents did. I closed my blinds most of the time, which made it feel more isolated. Also, 1.8K for a garden unit? How many bedrooms?
This sub doesn't allow photo attachments, but if I could I'd show you a photo of the garden unit duplex I rented for one year only...it flooded during every heavy summer rain and in the photos you can see at least two inches of water. I'd been assured by property management that it never flooded before I signed the lease. I literally broke a sweat every time it rained and kept sandbags on hand. As an aside, I was also recovering from a running injury and remember one particularly rain-soaked Sunday where I didn't get downstairs quickly enough and heard the rush of water pouring down the stairs into the living area. Never fucking again.
My friends have had a garden unit for the last five years and have had no issues. I think any property will have issues depending on the landlord. The biggest thing I’d look at is how well maintained the property is while showing it to you. I ignored some stuff in my first two places and regretted it.
This is now my fourth yr living in a garden unit in Andersonville/Ravenswood I pay less than 1200 all in minus internet. Pro rent is cheap, it still has a ton of sunlight streaming in for my berm, living room and kitchen. It stays on the cooler side in the summer and I don’t have sewage back up, thankfully. However the noise between units is almost unbearable. I can hear my upstairs anybody all day every day The bugs, mainly spiders, moths, ants, are a near constant during summer and rainy months so be prepared to stay on top of getting your place sprayed and because I’m near the shared laundry I hear the door to that area being opened and slammed all the time. I can also hear when any rodents enter in between areas and it’s the weirdest and strangest feeling. I biggest tip is to figure out which direction your windows face if natural light is a concern, ask about plumbing to see how it’s connected, ask about materials used for flooring, and try and tour at various times of the day. But you should be able to find apartments that aren’t garden units in your price range. You should be able to find quite a few 1 bds and some 2bds as well
OP if you do end up getting into a garden level *under no circumstances should you go ahead without insurance that covers your possessions in case of flooding* Nw side is notorious for flooding garden apartments. It happened to me when I first moved here. Get the insurance. Flooding can destroy all your possessions and ruin your life in the matter of a few hours—while you’re at work or while you sleep. Do not risk it without coverage.
I am in one now and I love it, but flooding is definitely a thing to consider.
I lived in a garden apartment for about two years, look for one with overhead sewers and you’ll never flood. Make sure you get renters insurance because safety issues are a bit of a concern.
Pardon the novel I’ve written here, but thought it might be useful: - Regarding price $$$: are you only looking for places on websites like hotpads/apartments.com, etc…? In UK Village you should walk around the residential streets and look for signs, especially hand-written signs. My guess is Logan is the same way. - Real hardwood floors in good condition are a positive sign when it comes to backups/flooding. They are telling you the owner doesn’t expect 6 inches of water down there. That said, I lived in a garden unit 1 year and the owner had lived in the house above for 40 years and never had a flood. Of course it happened the year I moved in! Will never do it again. - Saggy spots in the ceiling? Walls kind of rippled in the bathroom? Those are signs of damp that could mean there’s mold you can’t see. - Open the cabinets under the sink and look under the stove/dishwasher with a flashlight. Roaches have a distinct smell and mice leave tiny poopies. Look for rodent/insect traps inside the building or in common areas. In Chicago you expect them outside but inside means other people have had an issue with pest. - Do you pay for heat/electric? Lookup/call comed and peoples gas and find out the monthly average as well as the bill from January the last 3 years. - Get to the showing 15 minutes early or lurk 15 min after and stop strangers as they enter/leave. “I am thinking of moving in, do you like it here?” - Look for a small blue sign that says “Beal Property Management.” If you see it, RUN. - Take a long close look at common areas. Are there holes in the walls? Does it smell damp? I picked my current building in part because the basement with the washer/dryers was SPOTLESS with bright lights and all the doors to the storage units freshly painted. Every time I saw the landlord for the first 2 years here *he* asked *me* if anything in my apt was wrong or could be improved! - Are there bars in the windows? Can you put bars in the windows if you want to? If yes, how will you handle cooling in the summer? You probably won’t want to open your windows much depending on where the unit is on the property, and even in a garden unit you will have days when it gets warm. - I forget the website but you can look up crime data online and see how many burglaries/robberies have happened in that police beat vs the ones around it. It’s the relative number that matters. Am I more likely or less likely to get my windows kicked in on this block? - Does the unit have windows on a public sidewalk where dogs/humans can piss on them? I would pass on that personally. - FYI: A landlord named Matt Greenberg had a bunch of semi-reasonably priced buildings in the areas you are looking at least in 2021. He will fix things when you call, but he will fix them in the cheapest way possible. Think stuffing steel wool in holes where rodents were getting in instead of patching the damn wall. Locks on the gates were alway broken, so was the buzzer system. I had trouble with mice and I lived on the 3rd floor. He was a very nice guy and very understanding during the pandemic. Just cheap. There are crazy landlords who argue with you whenever you report a problem and others who never respond at all, so in the grand scheme of things he wasn’t so bad. Just know what you are getting into.
INSANELY HELPFUL wow. Thank you. Feel like this should get pinned somewhere for anyone looking into one of these units!
Daylight robbery for 1.8k garden
There is a place in Bucktown, on the south side of Cortland between Wood and Damen, that has a sign advertising a garden apartment that might fit your requirements for $1400. I walked by it on Thursday and the sign was still up.
I lived in a garden unit in Logan Square for 5 years, never had issues with flooding. Obviously not great for plants in general but got ok sunlight in the front room. And yes, many bugs, but not an unbearable number. The ants were the most annoying, you'll need to pack ALL of your edibles in sealed containers, diligently clean food spills, and do NOT use a sugar scrub in the shower lol learn from my mistakes. I also found really creepy looking beetle (?) nests in the folds of my curtains once so that was fun. And a good amount of centipedes and spiders but if you don't mind leaving them be they will eat some other bugs. I am squeamish with bugs and found they didn't bother me that much, they aren't crawling all around your apartment or anything, you just see one regularly. When I moved out, my 2 br 975 sq foot apartment with no AC went for around $1600 but that was in 2021 so no doubt it's more expensive now. All that said, I didn't hate my garden unit. I hung twinkle lights and made it cozy. But now having moved to a sunny first floor apartment with hardly any bugs, I would never go back. Edit to add: Look for apartments with bars on the window. Without them I wouldn't have felt safe.
Are you looking for 2bd? Avondale is the cheaper Logan and parking on the street is a non issue
I lived for almost 3 years in a garden unit. I had issues multiple times, and a landlord who was.... Fine until he wasn't. Unit was okay, an English garden in East Albany Park, giving me normal window, but it was pretty maddening long term. I never got privacy and couldn't have my blinds open really. My kitchen got no light. However, the garden had a w/d in unit and central heat/air. It had all I needed to get "into the city". Winters were exceedingly cold, and I had a very high (150+ gas bill) but my summers were better, but I couldn't open windows like I wanted. Sewage backup is a big thing in garden units. Speaking to that, if the pipes have had issues and tree roots get in there they have to have the lines rodded and branches cut out every other year. My parents were up for a holiday weekend and this started happening, the landlord was not happy that his options were "pay holiday rates to get it fixed" or "put us up in a hotel". He chose the former, and ended up getting to bill the HOA. When it would really rain, and I mean downpour where you have the streets flood, I'd have my backdoor begin to let water in because it wasn't sealed properly at the base. Landlord refused to do anything about the door because it's "not his problem". Once I moved and got onto the board at my current property, I found out that landlords are commonly responsible for door replacements (I upgraded my back door at my home) and I was mad because I had ruined towels trying to stop it several times. I ran into an old neighbor who I'm on good terms with and she let me know the unit was sold but that apparently the same thing happened, resulting in a complete flooding of the garden unit. It sounded like the landlord, Mike Tazic, omitted that piece of information to the new owner. I was unsurprised but so glad I left that unit to move into a third floor walk up. About 1500 is the highest a garden should ever be. The only good thing was he raised rent from 1325 to 1335 in my stay there.
I lived in one in Oldtown for 15 years. It did flood after a massive rainstorm. Much of Chicago is built above a slate plain, so it's always a consideration, particularly for storage of easily damaged stuff.
We are renting a third room in our garden condo for $950. Private room in a 3 bed. Uptown. Never had any backups in the 5 years we have rented it. Every year we snake the pipes.
I had one for a year. It was on Belden between Clark and Lincoln many years ago. The location was great for a garden unit. Very little foot traffic by my unit. I wouldn't do a garden unit on a busy street. Never had flooding and my unit was warm. I'm a guy so I wasnt too worried about anyone wanting to look in my windows or break in. I was young and broke so nothing to steal. Ymmv.