As of 9:30 last night, 17,511 ads had been posted yesterday in the Chicago > housing > apts/housing for rent section of Craigslist, almost all of them by Chicago’s sleazy apartment rental services. Scores of rental services are repeatedly advertising the same apartments in an attempt to frustrate you or mislead you into calling them. Don’t do it.
If you see a Craigslist ad from one of the rental services on our do-not-call list, the odds are extremely high that following up on the ad will waste your time – or worse.
But then, if you’re scanning Craigslist ads for an apartment in Chicago’s lakefront neighborhoods, it’s a certainty that you’re wasting your time. The vast majority of Craigslist ads are bait-and-switch come-ons that either misstate the neighborhood, understate the rent, overstate the amenities or fail to state things you really need to know before responding.
If you’re looking to rent in downtown Chicago, Lincoln Park or Lake View, YoChicago has an easy way for you to avoid rental service rental fraud. You’ll find almost every rental option in those areas on our at-a-glance apartment lists and maps, and useful tips about the neighborhoods in our rental Guides.
Skip all online rental advertising and deal directly with a landlord, by using our lists or by signing up for our YoRents service. You’re likely to save money as well as avoiding hassles.
If you’re determined to stick with Craigslist, at least be aware of the twenty-five things the rental services won’t tell you.