Comments ( 9 )

• Some are good. Some are bad. I can name names. Probably take down a lot of people. But I won’t. My lawyer isn’t on retainer. But the things I could tell you. And I used to work inside the business. Trust me. Ninety-nine % of them are scumbags. Though, it’s the nature of the beast. People looking for apartments generally have no loyalty. You get screwed by other agents. You get screwed by your own company. Man, oh man. The stories I could tell. But I won’t. I believe in Karma.

• Name names on the good ones … if there be such.

  I’ve got an ex-lawyer (me) on permanent retainer. No fear of tangling with these folks.

• Well I won a rental property and use craigslist and have yet to get flagged. I wonder if the landlord in question is directly competing with some agencies listings………next door, similar building, that type of thing.

  As for Woodlawn Chuck’s assertions about the rental industry……….I concur…….lotsa scumbags………they are also in the real estate sales industry and the mortgage industry.

  There are decent folks out there though in all aspects of real estate.

  I’ve used rental agencies in the past and it seems that it often depends on the individual agent who shows your property. I stopped using one agency because the owner gave me an “attitude” when I called to update a property listing I had with him. Saying he was rude is like saying Bill Clinton is a wee bit horny or that George Bush is a wee bit confused.

  ARRRRRRRRRRRRGH

• I meant to say I “own” a rental property. I wish I “won” it.

  ARRRRRRRRRRRRRGH

• I really can’t say. That’s all I can say. I have been burned by them. I don’t even know who the good ones are because even the ones who are supposed to be good all have an agenda, particularly when you read their websites or see their neighborhood descriptions on Craigslist.org. I’m sorry, Joe. I’m sorry Pirate.

• I am a licensed real estate broker who worked for a few years as a rental agent, and am unhappy with the characteriation of all or even many of us as “bad.” As with any aspect of this business, it all comes down to the individual person and how ethically s/he conducts the business. I always tried to be honest and fair when dealing with landlords and/or prospective tenants. In the end, there are people on both sides of the transaction who will disappoint; others who will be forever grateful for your services. The biggest gripe in this aspect of real estate is lack of loyalty. Landlords tend to use “open listings” with both MLS and independent agencies so it’s a matter of “first come first served” regarding showings. On the other hand, people looking to rent tend to go “all over the map,” checking in with several agencies plus the Reader ads. It is up to the agent or agency to stress the wisdom of using one source for renting, same as for selling or buying. If the job is done right, hopefully the clients will listen. My recommendation to all prospective renters, especially if they are new to the area, is to check out a licensed realty or rental company whose agents have State of Illinois broker, salesperson or rental agent licenses. (Yes, the last one does exist!)

• It’s really amusing to hear real estate brokers (not necessarily you, anon) who’ve done nothing at all to earn loyalty complain about a lack of it.

  Businesses that treat their customers fairly over a period of time and deliver for them earn loyalty.

  As to the licensing issue – well, they’re all licensed, and the licensing authorities scandalously do absolutely nothing to protect consumers or landlords. It’s hard to spend a minute on Craigslist without seeing patently outrageous instances of fraud.

  And, it’s also easy to find instances of established companies employing unlicensed rental agents. Why can’t the State of Illinois find them? It’s not comforting knowing that young kids, new to the city, might be getting into the car with a convicted rapist to go to a vacant apartment somewhere.

  Anon says that “it all comes down to the individual.” That statement unwittingly makes the case for how bad the industry is. A quality company quality controls their employees and agents and doesn’t tolerate a bad apple in its employ. And, why should anyone be loyal to a company when “it all comes down to the individual?”

• I have to say I haven’t necessarily had problems with the agents at the rental agencies themselves but have found that going through these agencies is generally a waste of time.

  In my recent apartment search I went to two different agencies and both were very pleasent-though even with an appointment we ended up waiting over 30 minutes!

  But once we sat down with an agent we had to argue with them about rental costs-then when they finally gave up realizing we weren’t budging on our price range-the apartments we were shown were TINY and AWFUL compared to the apartments we found on our own through independent landlords on craigslist. The apartments we found on craigslist were in the same neighborhoods, incredibly cheaper and significantly larger in size.

  Clearly the agencies we went to did not have the cream of the crop-so far as rentals go. Craigslist is the obvious choice unless you want to live in a very expensive refrigerator box.

• Sarah,

  Your experience was bad with rental agencies, but that doesn’t mean everyone’s is. It is what I call the “fallacy” of personal experience. Although I do think many people who use rental agencies do have bad experiences. Rental agents are “encouraged” to just show 3-4 properties and then put the hard sell on the client.

  Personally, if you already live in Chicago and are familiar with the neighborhoods I think Craigslist and just walking around are your best bets.

  ARRRRRRRRGH