After long experience, I’ve formed very strong opinions about apartment rental services, and often find myself shortening the phrase “apartment rental services” to “maggots.” It saves time, and keeps me focused on their salient characteristics.
Homescout Realty is one of the first maggots to swarm the Roosevelt Collection, lying (it’s the maggot business model) to prospective tenants about “40+ great shops” and “Fabulous restaurants and outdoor cafes” – fabulous, as in “existing only in a fable.” Look for many, many more maggot ads on Craigslist for the Roosevelt Collection.
I don’t mean to single out Homescout – they are, after all, just another pack of maggots among many in Chicago, and probably no worse than the rest.
The maggots all bill their “services” as “free” to tenants. The theory here is that, since the month or more in rent they typically receive as a commission is paid by the landlord, the tenant’s rent is unaffected by this significant cost. Got that?
I could go on at book length about the maggots’ slimy practices, but who wants to spend much time thinking about maggots? Read the legions of shills that Homescout has unleashed on Yelp for an example of typical maggot behavior. If you’re up for a little further amusement, ponder how, in Chicago, you assemble a team that’s nearly all-white and non-Hispanic.
If you’re looking for a new apartment, especially one in a large complex, do yourself a great favor and deal directly with the property manager / owner. You might cut a much better deal on rent, and you’ll have the added satisfaction of helping starve a maggot.
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