5417 Kenmore LLC

I lived in their 5417 N Kenmore building for a year in a studio. The place is good in all things, but my rating is because I had bed bugs for most of the time. I got no warning, and once these nasty roommates moved in the way they were dealt with by the property manager was disappointing and insufficient.

The company legally can't rent you the unit if there are bed bugs in it, and they comply with the letter of the law, but according to my agent Courtney they don't have to tell you they're in… the building (they are - all over) "unless you ask", then they have some kind of legal disclaimer about it. I'm moving out after 13 months and asked her if there were bed bugs in the building when I moved in and she said there probably were as it has been an issue, but not in the unit. However, when you have an old building full of single apartments - if there are bugs in the unit next to you it's pretty much not if, but when you get them. They're probably in the walls and between floors since it seems to be such an extensive problem.

They must contract with some discount exterminator, because every time they've "treated" the issue (3 times) it's just sprinkling some dust along the walls. It's almost worse than nothing. Not sure if this is Borax or some kind of bug treatment, I don't think M Fishman knows either because they never have a clear answer and clearly get some kind of canned treatment description from the exterminator. I'm sure it's the minimum legally-required treatment in the legally required timeframe to not get sued. I know someone who is a property manager at the Salvation Army and they will seal every room that has bed bugs and heat it to a temperature that kills them in the entire place. God bless the SA, they do great things for people, but just know that the homeless get better treatment for pests than you will in this building.

Of course, there's a life lesson here about something being too good to be true when looking for the cheapest place in a great area. You'll have to make some sacrifices, but coming off my first almost year-long experience with these critters I wouldn't recommend you compromise on this one. It's not in Courtney's interest or the company's interest (nor is it mandated by law - so they're not doing anything illegal, just IMO unethical) for them to be super upfront about the bed bug problem here, so be sure to do due diligence. Push on the rental company, look online, and talk to current tenants. Read More