Tag: Tips
Don’t overlook construction noise when renting your next apartment
Yesterday I stepped out onto the balcony of an 18th floor northwest corner unit at Astoria Tower, 40 E 9th St in the South Loop, to capture the ab [...]
Chicago summer rentals – no Irish need apply
We recently received the following inquiry concerning summer housing:
Hi my name is [redacted] and I am a twenty two year old student from Dubl [...]
Keeping watch on Ukrainian Village and East Village
With the recent demise of EveryBlock, Facebook is becoming a more active venue for sharing neighborhood information.
Check out the very active [...]
Accurate Chicago neighborhood maps and boundaries
As the rental season heats up, a lot of Chicago newcomers, and long-time residents alike, are encountering unfamiliar neighborhood names, and are [...]
Is this a bad move for Chicago renters?
A major property owner recently gave rental services, via its non-exclusive brokerage agreement, sweeping written authorization to advertise its p [...]
Curbed vs YoChicago re Luxury Living Chicago
On Friday Curbed Chicago featured Luxury Living Chicago's Aaron Galvin as downtown Chicago's "top rental broker," touted his "expertise" and invit [...]
Chicago Apartment Hunters, a zombie rental service
A tipster emailed us last week, suggesting that "something smells fishy … over at Chicago Apartment Hunters" (CAH).
At its website CAH bills itself [...]
A Chicago rental service predator is still preying
On February 14 the Illinois Real Estate Administration and Disciplinary Board voted to impose a $100,000 fine on James Tarr and Exchange Apartment [...]
Apartment People agent sues Chicago Apartment Finders
We've been writing about Chicago Apartment Finders, which was a charter member of our rental service do-not-call list, for over 7 years. We've won [...]
What’s the best way to find an apartment in Bucktown?
You can drive yourself bonkers searching for a Bucktown apartment on Craigslist or working with apartment rental services, or you can take a smart [...]
Check out the cribs and ignore the chatter
Sabrina at CribChatter performs a useful service for real estate buyers by diligently searching out and spotlighting interesting new listings, and rev [...]
Want to join a real estate slime wave?
If you're not very bright, have no self respect, and don't mind committing the occasional crime, Schwab Property Solutions has a job for you.
Y [...]
Relocation therapy can help you reclaim your life
According to census experts, the average American moves an estimated 14 times during his or her lifetime. People move for a variety of reasons suc [...]
YoChicago “honored” as top Chicago real estate website
We place the "honored" in quotes based on the nature of the site that selected YoChicago as one of the top 6 real estate sites in Chicago, and the onl [...]
What happened to Rent Proactive?
Two months ago, shortly after taking a a closer look at Rent Proactive, we named it the first member of our Dirtiest Dozen rental services. At tha [...]
Want a Chicago leasing agent with a criminal record?
Lots of Chicago leasing agents are unsavory characters, but only a small minority of them are convicted criminals. If you want to be certain that your [...]
Jens Jensen, the Frank Lloyd Wright of landscape architecture
Many of you may have allowed Jens Jensen's 150th birthday to pass unnoticed in 2010. I know I did. And some of you may not know of Jens Jensen, an [...]
Leasing agents wanted – no experience or license required
Head over to the real estate jobs section of Craigslist and you'll see repeated variations on that headline. Read the ads, and learn the minimal quali [...]
Are landlords to blame for rental services’ deceptive ads?
Chicago's rental services routinely spam Craigslist, Trulia, Zillow, hotpads and other websites with high-volume bait-and-switch advertising. They [...]
The Silver Gold Apartment short-term housing scam
Not long ago I heard from one of Chicago's newer high-rises that people were arriving at the building believing they had reservations for short-term s [...]