10/28/15
This morning’s email included the “hot sheet” from a newer high-rise offering renters a month’s free rent and their brokers / finders a month-and-a-half’s...
10/5/15
If you’re looking for an apartment in Chicago’s sought-after Lincoln Park neighborhood, the worst place to start is with a Chicago rental service a/k/a...
9/21/15
In Chicago, unlike New York and some other cities, rental services are typically paid by the property rather than by the renter. It is...
9/7/15
Despite their wacky protestations to the contrary, rental services aren’t free, and they aren’t paid for by landlords. Every renter in a high-rise that...
8/3/15
Chicago’s rental brokers would desperately like you to believe that their service is free to renters. It’s often not free, and it’s frequently very...
7/21/15
One of the many things that Chicago rental services don’t want you to know is that there are many properties that they can’t or...
6/29/15
If you’ve been searching for a new apartment in Chicago’s West Loop / Fulton River District, the odds are that you’ve been exposed to...
6/21/15
If you’ve been searching for a new apartment in River North, you’ve probably been exposed to ads from Chicago’s rental services. The ad pictured...
6/17/15
If you’ve been online looking for an apartment in downtown Chicago, the odds are that you’re seeing ads similar to the screen cap shown...
6/15/15
It’s been just over a year since we called attention to Dan Dantuma of American Realty and his more than 20-year history of arrests...
6/14/15
The Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation has levied a $100,000 civil penalty (pdf) against The Exchange Apartment Finders (EAF) and ordered it...
6/13/15
Chicago’s rental service brokers would like you to believe that they can help you find a great deal on your next apartment. Don’t believe...
5/26/15
Chicago’s rental services a/k/a apartment locators a/k/a apartment finders are a source of almost endless misinformation and bad advice. The worst advice you’ll often...
5/20/15
If you want to be absolutely certain that you don’t get to see many of the best apartments in Lakeview, contact an apartment rental...
5/11/15
The websites of some Chicago rental services invite you to “search our listings” and their Craigslist ads solicit you to inquire about “our other...
4/27/15
If you’re looking for an apartment in Lincoln Park and working with an apartment finder a/k/a locator a/k/a rental service, you are absolutely certain...
4/7/15
It’s that time of year again. Chicago’s rental services are advertising heavily at Craigslist, touting six-figure incomes, unlimited earnings potential, the start of a...
4/6/15
Working with a rental service guarantees that you’ll miss out on some of the best located, most fairly priced and most nicely renovated apartments...
4/3/15
If you’re looking for an apartment in Lakeview, working with a rental service a/k/a apartment locator a/k/a apartment finder guarantees that you’ll miss out...
4/1/15
Yesterday’s brief encounter with a career criminal working as a Chicago leasing agent left me in a somber mood. Kenneth W. Arron a/k/a Kenny...