Chicago’s ever-deceptive apartment rental services would like you to believe that their “service” is free to renters. It’s only “free” in the same way that the stove and refrigerator in your apartment are free – built into the cost of rent and paid for over the life of your lease.
There are lots of things that Chicago’s apartment finders don’t want you to know about how they operate or about how using their “free” service can be very costly to you. We’ve listed twenty-five things rental services won’t tell you in an earlier post.
The screen cap, above, is from the site for 180 North Jefferson in the West Loop. It presents a variation on an offer that you’ll find on many apartment websites: book your appointment online without using a rental service broker and be rewarded with a discount on your first month’s rent.
If you’re wondering about the discrepancy between the $500 offer and the $300 on the coupon, it’s likely due to a failure to update the coupon when the offer was updated.
Are you feeling good about paying $500 for a free service?
Some comments from my recent experience: 1) When you go into the leasing office at 123 W RiverNorth alone they act like you aren’t there. 2) When you go with an agent, they seem to be friends with the agent and you definitely only see certain units and NOT all – this i know for sure. 3) I’ve come to the conclusion i want to OWN and never rent again.
It does not appear to be transparent or honest any way you go!