This is by far the worst company in Madison to rent from. They do not care about their tenants at all their only agenda is how they can squeeze as much money out of college students as they can. If my roommates and I can give any recommendation it is to find a different company for your living needs. They did not complete any maintenance in any sort of timely matter as well as provided us with an apartment not up to living safety standards.Should have been a red flag when the previous tenants last year knocked on our door the first week we moved in and asked to look at the apartment since J. Michael withdrew their entire security deposit and then continued to charge them an absurd amount after the fact. This is what happened to my roommates and I. They made up charges with an absurd price tag. Even after countless emails they real-estate agent did not even try to work with us and the only thing she said, Sarah Ladwig, was threaten to send their lawyer after us for 200$. After they collected our whole entire security deposit which was over 2300$. Absolutely absurd to think we left the apartment with over 2500$ worth of damage, which we certainly did not.All and all absolute scum bags that will extort college students for their own gain with no recollection of their tenants.

The worst management company I have ever dealt with- Major security issues (Twice people who were not permitted to be on my balcony came on and when I told them they had zero concern) and took multiple things out of our security deposit that were not listed on the lease and that we listed as damaged prior to move in. We contacted them multiple times about infestations of bugs and never heard back. Not to mention, they are not friendly. While they have buildings in good locations DO NOT LIVE WITH THEM!!!!

If I could leave a 0 star review, I would. J Michael Real Estate care’s only about money and taking advantage of college students. The apartment I lived in was continually dirty, only being cleaned once per semester (there was constantly a smell of vomit in the stairwell). At the end of the year, they claimed that a modem they owned was not left behind, when, in fact, it was left in plain sight in the middle of the apartment. They of course took this out of our security deposit (which they see as a way to make money when students have their hands tied behind their back). After numerous emails to management (most requiring 3-4 reminders for them to reply), they refuse to help us even look into the issue more (look at security camera footage, provide us with modem details, etc). There is a significant lack of communication accompanied by dishonesty and an extreme lack of trust. I would not recommend this company for your rental needs, unfortunately. We disputed their dishonesty in security deposits but really cannot do much more because they are so incredibly frustrating and a pain to work with. Avoid renting from here at all costs, unless you don’t mind a dirty building and losing your money on a security deposit. As you can see, Im not the only one that has experienced dishonesty with J. Michael in terms of security deposits and you surely would not be treated any differently. Im expecting the company to reply to this review with some phony response about how 20 different people checked it and they all said the same thing - yet, they have failed to give us any proof of this and continue to lie about the modem. In a perfect display of their laziness, you can see that they replied with the same exact copied and pasted response to about 4 reviews similar to this one.

So basically, they have snakes at 2/3 of their properties. Not snakes as in snitches or narcs but as in the actual reptiles. Additionally, the management team is not responsive to issues and believes they will just work themselves out. The elevator has broken at least 20 times, our fobs to get in and out of the building frequently do not work and maintenance requests are met with a wait time of roughly 6 months for even simple fixes. In addition, whether the fault be the property manager who is failing to stick up for their tenants and their rights, or the fault is of Iowa City train station which is on the north side of the building, trains pass by the complex 5-10 times a day with the most absurdly loud train whistle like something out of polar express. I would recommend ensuring that these issues have been tended to before signing a lease and not receiving the accommodations you were expecting.

The only reason I am giving them 2 stars instead of 1 is because I lived in two separate J Michael apartment buildings and was very pleased with the response time for maintenance requests as a tenant. However, J Michael seems to view the security deposits as a source of revenue and tends to take advantage of college students living there. I left my apartment in good condition with little to no damages except a few nail holes in the wall and not only did they keep my security deposit, they also charged me an additional $2000 on top of it. Never have I seen in my life such a scheme for money but I had no leg to stand on as the pictures I took in the beginning of the year and the report I made were clearly not detailed enough and I got charged for every minor scratch in the deteriorating building that I lived in. I highly encourage you take an extremely thorough walkthrough video of every single aspect of your apartment if you plan to be a tenant with this company.

I wish there was an option for 0 stars. They charged us for the smallest things that were “wrong” or “missing” in our apartment, many of which were present when we arrived. I’ve never had so much money taken out of my security deposit as J. Michael took out from ANY other real estate company in Madison. Our modem for wifi was present when my roommates and I moved out, yet they say it wasn’t there and charged us $200 anyway. We are still trying to work this out and we have been moved out for 3 months now. On top of this, we were waiting for weeks on a response from them on an urgent matter. I highly recommend not signing with this real estate company. No professionalism at all. They do not negotiate anything you bring to their table. Not considerate of tenants even during a pandemic. I’m not usually one to give a bad review, or even complain about management for that matter. This situation, however, cannot go unnoticed.

I lived at their property near Wingra for years and renting with J Michael was such a great experience. The office staff goes above and beyond and were very responsive. When I had to move out I was glad to see they charged for damage and cleaning very reasonably and I got almost my entire security deposit back.

The management team has always been responsive and quite helpful!

Update in response to owner: whether a work order was completed or not completed. The fact is that the original bed in the unit was removed by local management. I know this because I moved the replacement bed that was owned by us. This was done before the start of the semester at the beginning of the lease. Bottomline is that J Michael is lying about removing the bed and charged us for the replacement bed. I would not recommend doing any business with them. They are not honest or trustworthy.J Michael Real Estate at Telluride was horrible to deal with regarding our security deposit. At the beginning of the lease, we requested to have a bed removed from the apartment because my son wanted to use his own bed. They removed the bed but did not provide a receipt to remove the bed or the $100 charge. At the end of the lease they charged us for the bed. They could have cared less and dIdn’t review security camera footage. Their local manager lied about collecting the $100 fee in cash form my son. Beware when dealing with them. Video everything and get paperwork for everything. Expensive lesson. I wouldn’t do business with them. Plain dishonest. Plan on losing your security deposit and more.

If I could give below 0 stars I would. If you find yourself looking for housing with JMichael no matter how good the pricing is DO NOT SIGN A LEASE WITH THEM. In my years living in Madison as a student I have signed with different property managers every year and this company was BY FAR the worst experience. They will take 70-80% of your security deposit and make you pay for issues from years past they have not corrected and make you pay the $60|hr maintenance cost for the smallest things like having the blind string tied up. The room condition survey given out during move in is extremely vague and makes it difficult to know what to put down as an issue. This comes back to bite you at the end of the lease when JM comes around with a well more detailed list of issues to check off. If you have already signed, PLEASE make a record of everything, take pictures of rooms and conditions throughout your stay and properly fill out the room condition survey. They took advantage of us and just want to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone else.

They see security deposits as a way to make an extra dime. Plan on forking over money on the security deposit on claims that are completely false and they will be horrible at communicating the entire time. Awful management company to work with.

They allowed prospective residents into the apartment to take room measurements during a pandemic despite the room dimensions all being online. The agreement you sign allows for the landlord to enter with 12 hours notice, but I feel that this should be changed due to COVID. We all expressed concern through emailing them, however they still went through with the showing. Not professional at all.

What an impressive group of people to work with for a condo/apt !!! Jessi, Sarah and Shanda made it so convenient and comfortable for us to rent and be apart of this great area.Our apt was so incredibly quiet and never heard neighbors upstairs or beside us. We also hardly ever had to turn the heat on even when it was 30 below outside. This place is so we’ll built that’s why we enjoyed our stay. The area is very fun to be in because there are many different kinds of eateries, shops and treats to get all within walking distance..We have had a wonderful stay with J Michael and their associates.Highly Recommend !!!!

They see the security deposit refunds as a source of revenue. Was the last to leave when we moved out of their property at 614 Langdon and was sure to leave the modem behind, but these crooks made it disappear and charged us $200 for it. Additionally, we were charged for a clogged drain that we had maintenance come in and take care of twice during our lease, and were still lost some of our security deposit because “we did not follow up as needed” amid a global pandemic! The leasing staff is super lazy and doesn’t really care about its tenants. Avoid leasing with this company at all costs! The reply to this is such a joke of a lie, if you’re a college student at one of their properties, they will nickel and dime you and make your modem disappear. If you unfortunately signed a lease here, record the serial number on your modem and take several pictures before leaving otherwise they’re going to capitalize and charge you. J Michael Real Estate is pyramid scheme disguised as a leasing company.

Lived in their Madison property near the stadium and after my experience with this company in 2017, I will not recommend anyone to any of their properties. They have really poor customer service and disrespectful maintenance staff. I did not feel welcomed with this management company. I came back from Christmas break to find my kitchen sink was clogged deep within the pipe. When the apartment above us used their water, our sink would fill up with nasty water. Maintenance came out, but could not find the clog. Because it was a weekend and plumber rates are higher, they told us the plumber would be there Monday. When I asked about doing dishes and brought up that our sink was filling up due to the apartment above us using their water, maintenance told me to do my dishes in our bathtub, refused to give me office managements number (office is closed on weekends), and hung up the phone on me. Staff are disrespectful. I will not return as a tenant. Oddly, low ratings are a common thing for this property management.. Weird how it received a ton of fake 5 star ratings without reviews all on the same day a few days ago.. haha

We left our apartment dirty, so we knew we would not be getting our entire security deposit back. However, they refurnished the entire unit, replacing all three of our beds, our couch, and blinds, somehow managing to spend $3,167.25 on the apartment. I have only been able to speak with Jessi Blackburn, who only insists that shes looked into our file and everything is correct and Sarah Ladwig, who insists that I am sure Jessi looked into your concerns. All of my requests to speak with a supervisor or customer service representative have been ignored, and I will likely have to go to small claims court to get any amount of my deposit back.

Location is awesome! Management is great with communication. Maintenance is handled quickly and efficiently and building is constantly maintained. Would recommend both J Michael properties in Iowa City!

These guys are honestly the worst. Got charged a ridiculous amount of money for a lot of questionable things. For instance, J Michael claimed that both of our box springs in our apartment were broken and charged $150 for both of them? Maybe it was my mistake for not checking the box springs that came with the units before moving in (as this is not something you innately think to check) but we had been using them the entire year and I feel like I would have noticed had the entire box spring been busted. They also claimed that our carpets were ripped and burned even though they were not. My roommate and I spent two full days thoroughly cleaning the apartment before moving out with only a few minor things wrong with the unit. They still managed to charge us about $3,000 worth of damages. I also see that there is another review where a tenant got left with a questionably hefty bill as well, so there is obviously a trend here. My advice to anyone who is considering leasing with J Michael Real Estate: don’t do it. I was a tenant with Tallard for a couple of years before J Michael and they are probably the best people to stay with in the Madison area as they are very fair and respectable and will not try to screw you over like J Michael. A comparison between the reviews for J Michael and the reviews for Tallard can show the difference between the two companies, there is a reason these guys have a 2.4 stars. If you have no other choice but to stay with these guys, be very thorough when you first move in and be sure to document the condition of the apartment before and after or you may very well have yourself a large bill to pay for their new apartment refurbishments at obscene prices. With student housing coming at a premium you will have slumlords like J Michael that will try to screw you over, and unfortunately that is what happened with my roommate and I. Hopefully this review can help someone else out when they are making a choice about where to live in Madison.

Possible the worst experience/property managers around the Iowa City area.I’ll start with the positives: Jessi in the office is really quick at getting back to tenants when there is an issue and whenever there is something wrong with the building such as elevators or garage doors or if you’re locked out they’re really efficientNow to the cons: Total scam when it comes to charges and getting your security deposits back. Our apartment was with 8 hours worth of cleaning, in my right mind I can’t think of any house/apartment that would require 8 hours worth of cleaning especially when I was there in Late June and cleaned and organized before I was the last one in the apartment.Story time: in October when we were settling into our apartments it was a windy day and the wind knocked my window out of the socket and it proceeded to fall and break my TV worth $300 and my gaming system worth $200. J Michael sent someone up and they decided it was my fault the window was faulty and fell out of it hinges, mind you I only slip the window up and down properly never removing it once from the hinges. Next in January or February the interior window cracked due to it being warm inside and cold outside and we reported it immediately to management which they said they would fix it, and never did. Little did we know when we got our charges back they charged up for the window cracking.

Absolutely horrible company. NEVER RENT FROM J MICHAEL. I rented from them in Madison, the house I lived in was damaged when I moved in, everything was falling apart, the price was extreamly high versus comparable properties. The ceiling had multiple leaks and the roof from the apartment looks like it may collapse when people are upstairs. THE CUSTOMER SERVICE IS HORRIBLE. They do not respond to matentience requests until you either call or request 10+ times. They fine you for random things. They make it a pain to get anything accomplished.

The worst apartment I have ever stayed at. Constantly something wrong with the apartment from internet going out to cable not being provided for over a month, even though it was included in our rent. I cant even begin to go into detail about all of the problems that we had with this apartment and management. My only hope is that at least one person will read this and decide not to live at any of their properties so that they cant con another person out of their much needed money. I would put zero stars if I could.

JESSI IS AMAZING 100/10

They should not have apartment real estate in places their business is not located. There is no communication between the Iowa city and office in Madison. Very incompetent people i am dealing with over email and when i call its the same person and they are very rude. Very much recommend if you live in Iowa city to not sign a lease with this company because they cant even handle their own business.

Home was extremely dirty when we moved in. They refused to clean it. Many broken things and unsafe things when we first moved in. Balcony was falling apart and someone almost fell over the unsecured railing. Notice to entry is 12 hours but they give blanket notices to enter at any time of the day. Unresponsive company with poor communication. Would never rent with them again. Very unreasonable!

It was a nice apartment, not much kitchen space but that wasnt an issue. Parking was very scare around the 227 apartments and they only had six parking stalls for the entire building so it was first come first serve on being able to get a parking permit. There wasnt air for the Windows and theres wired shut so you couldnt put a traditional a/c unit in. The worst was the secretary at the office Sarah. I guess after a verbal misunderstanding she decided to screen all calls from me which is very poor decision making considering Im still a tent ant. Although she did check voicemails and respond from there. I wouldnt advise living here as a first resort. The maintenance however was timely and efficient and the location was prime.

Lived in one of their apartments on Knickerbocker, really nice apartment that was several hundred dollars cheaper than similar apartments downtown. Their maintenance was responsive and everyone I dealt with there was very professional.

Jess is the best!