Tag: Apartment finders
Rent an unavailable apartment from an unlicensed agent
This Craigslist ad is a classic of the Chicago apartment rental service genre, illustrating several of the time-wasting traps that anyone foolish [...]
Renting from site signs – DePaul edition
The most desirable apartments often rent quickly from site signage without ever being posted on Craigslist or being listed with one of Chicago's s [...]
Craigslist is an apartment liars’ list
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 [...]
More landlords eliminating use of rental services
It's anecdotal data only, but what I've been hearing during the past month is that a number of major landlords have been reducing or completely el [...]
Chicago rental service offers golden shower
What's there to be said about this Craigslist ad from My Place Apartments, other than that it's an almost perfect metaphor for what you can expect fro [...]
Searching for a River North 2-bedroom with an indoor pool
If you were searching for a River North 2-bedroom with an indoor pool you might start by filtering Craigslist on 2+ BR apartments and typing the f [...]
215 West apartments paying top dollar to rental services
Anticipating a slow Mother's Day, the 215 West apartment tower in the Loop sent an email blast on Saturday reminding rental services that it's pay [...]
EnV apartments offers steep rent discounts
Discount is a dirty word in the world of new rental high-rises, where price-cutting takes the form of "free rent" specials limited to new renters. [...]
Apartment Savvy targets the dumbest renters on the planet
Apartment Savvy, one of the rental services on our do-not-call list, has been reviewed 85 times at the Google Places page for its 2835 N Clark St [...]
My Place Apartments gussies up Google Reviews
When we last checked in on Crazy Steve and My Place Apartments they were soliciting deadbeats, felons and strippers as clients. As you can see fro [...]
Urban Lux – rental spam as search bait
Chicago-based Urban Lux promises to "change the way people find apartments" as it expands "throughout the US and Europe" – but delivers the bait-a [...]
Gold Coast studio apartments with in-unit washer / dryers
If you're looking for a studio apartment in the Gold Coast with an in-unit washer / dryer, you can stop looking: there aren't any. Ditto for one-, [...]
Condo – a dirty word for apartment rental services
A while back we wrote about 2-bedroom, 2-bath units in a full-amenity condo high-rise renting for the same price ($1,950 a month) as a convertible [...]
Supplementing the Trib’s apartment hunting tips
Today's Chicago Tribune has an informative article about apartment-hunting strategies in what's currently a landlord's market. It's generally good [...]
Will Illinois ever crack down on unlicensed rental agents?
Chicago renters and landlords have been plagued for years by a rental services industry that operates as if there were no law enforcement in Illin [...]
Attorney General’s office declares war on Chicago rental services
Late Friday the Illinois Attorney General's office announced the formation of an inter-agency task force to combat what AG Lisa Madigan referred to as [...]
Stop using Craigslist to shop for rentals, says real estate veteran
Dennis Dooley is a seasoned veteran of the real estate industry, having served in management positions at both a local and national level.
He's [...]
Online availability check of Streeterville 2-bedrooms
Several weeks ago we upgraded YoChicago's at-a-glance list and map of downtown apartments by adding direct links to online availability checks for [...]
Always ask to see a rental agent’s licenses
Many of Chicago's rental services employ unlicensed staff in flagrant violation of the law, fully aware of the fact that they're committing a crim [...]
A visit to Exchange Apartment Finders
Yesterday morning I visited 1531 N Ashland Ave, the address listed on its website for Exchange Apartment Finders (EAF). My goal was to interview t [...]