Who is Chicago’s largest apartment rental service?

Washington Square Park, Kardas Photography

At least 3 companies claim the title of Chicago’s largest apartment rental service.

According to its Web site, The Apartment People is “Chicago’s largest FREE apartment finding service.”

Craigslist ads hype Chicago Apartment Finders as “the largest and most professional apartment finding service in Chicago.

RentSmart bills itself as “Chicago’s largest and most professional apartment and home rental broker.”

There are more who claim the title, but you get the picture. We’ve yet to see a rental service that we’d describe as “professional” or that deals honestly with renters, and that’s why we call them bedbugs.

We strongly recommend you work directly with landlords or established brokerage firms, some of which are our clients, when you’re looking for an apartment in Chicago.

Rental services routinely claim to have the largest database of available rentals, and that claim is simply bogus. Many Chicago landlords refuse to do business with rental services, and you’ll miss some great apartments if you work any of the rental services on Yo’s do-not-call list. If you do opt for a rental service, we recommend you negotiate their commission and save yourself a substantial sum.

If you’re looking in downtown Chicago, Lincoln Park or Lake View, you can see almost all of your options in our rental Guides and by searching the 1,000s of rental listings at one of our broker-client sites.

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