South Loop - Should I use an agent to find rental? (Chicago: apartments, transferring to)

[JTKESQ]

I will be transferring to Chicago in the next couple of months, but will have limited time to find an apartment. I've narrowed the neighborhood to the South Loop, and am interested in one of the many high-rise buldings in that area. I'll have 2 days to visit the city and look around, and was wondering if I should just walk the area and make calls while I'm there, or if I should use an agent to help streamline the process?

FWIW: I'm moving from LA, where it's currently 75 degrees!

[jgesner]

I just shopped around for an apartment in South Loop/Printer's Row a couple weeks ago. I did some looking by myself (including craigslist), through an agent, and through chicagoapartmentfinders.com. It ended up that they were basically all trying to show me the same things but with one or two variations. I ended up going with a place shown by chicagoapartmentfinders.com (agent name was Dave Hackett). I really liked him and found him very helpful.

Go to realtor.com and find a place that fits what you want. Then have the agent associated with that property (or chicagoapartmentfinders.com) show you everything else on MLS (multiple listing service) that fits your criteria. There might be a couple buildings that he/she doesn't show. For example, I got to see something at Astoriatower (www.astoriatower.net), amli900 (http://www.amli.com/apartments/chicago/900-s-clark), 1401south (http://www.1401south.com), The Regal (http://www.reinholdresidential.com/regal) that weren't on MLS. I ended up going with The Regal, FYI.

So primarily go through an agent of some kind. It's a lot easier and they're free, but once they give you a list of what they're showing, do a final sweep of buildings they didn't have listed with your own phone calls, emails, craigslist, etc.

Good luck, and if you have any other questions about how to search, just ask!

[JTKESQ]

Thanks! Good advice there! Those are all buildings that I've looked at online, and seem to be in line w/ what I'm aiming for.

[JTKESQ]

I'm back in LA after a quick post-blizzard trip to Chicago! I decided to use an agent to help me find an apartment, and am glad I did! He drove me around most of the day on Friday and was extremely patient and receptive to my thoughts on location and type of apartment that I was looking for. I was initially focused on 2BRs in the South Loop, but I wasn't having much luck finding something that fit my needs. It seemed that most of the 2 BRs were just barely larger than the 1BR, with an extra BR squeezed in. In the buildings with the nicest amenities, the apartments were lacking in features and quality. On the other hand, buildings that featured slightly less features had the nicest apartments. I ultimately chose a 1 BR in the S.Loop and am looking forward to moving in s/time in March. In the meantime, I am going to try an enjoy every minute of the 75 degree weather that we're experiencing in LA!