Best way to search for apartments (Chicago: for sale, real estate, renter)

[adele115]

I have an extended family member is who moving to Chicago with her husband to pursue Ph.D. studies while he will work in the loop. They would like to rent a one bedroom for the first year, ideally somewhere in south loop, west loop, river east, river north, etc. I've been out of the rental game for several years and live in the burbs- what is the best way to find an apartment these days?

[Avengerfire]

Drive around and look for for rent signs.Look in the Chicago Reader. Those are usually the best bets.

[pittsteelerfan]

I never rented in the locations you just named. But for the northside, just driving around and seeing the signs displayed out front was how I got almost every apt. The newspapers don't list nearly as many as there are displayed out in front of the buildings.

[pittsteelerfan]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Drive around and look for for rent signs. Look in the Chicago Reader. Those are usually the best bets.

You beat me to the punch by one minute!

[Janinele]

I used Apartmentpeople and Apartmentfinder - and found my apartment with them. Craigslist is an option as well.

[alwaystraveling25]

Originally Posted by Janinele

I used Apartmentpeople and Apartmentfinder - and found my apartment with them. Craigslist is an option as well.

I used two different apartment finding agencies before, and Craigslist was the best.

Apartment Agency 1: Showed me a ton of apartments in one day (this was before I had moved to Chicago). I signed a lease, flew back home, and that was that. When I moved into my vintage apartment, I realized I was paying about 200-300 more then similar apartments in the area. Needless to say, I wasn't happy.

Apartment Agency 2: For my current move, I worked with one agency that showed me everything I didn't want (Vintage or Too Far North for me to live). I was really sure I would be able to find what I want.

Craigslist: Found exactly what I wanted, called the phone number, saw the listing on the following Monday and signed the lease later that week. It was really easy.

I do think that there are a lot of apartments around the town, but there are also a ton listed on craigslist. Since it's free in Chicago (NYC charges for apartment listings), there are a ton of them out there.

PLEASE have your relatives go over the listings with you or another knowledgeable resident of the city. I cannot tell you how many listings were labeled wrong: Uptown labeled as "North Lakeview", etc. My mom from 500 miles away helped me find apartments by just looking at listings with me!

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by alwaystraveling25

I used two different apartment finding agencies before, and Craigslist was the best...

So in what area did you find your new place and how much does it cost?

[adele115]

Originally Posted by alwaystraveling25

I used two different apartment finding agencies before, and Craigslist was the best.

Apartment Agency 1: Showed me a ton of apartments in one day (this was before I had moved to Chicago). I signed a lease, flew back home, and that was that. When I moved into my vintage apartment, I realized I was paying about 200-300 more then similar apartments in the area. Needless to say, I wasn't happy.

Apartment Agency 2: For my current move, I worked with one agency that showed me everything I didn't want (Vintage or Too Far North for me to live). I was really sure I would be able to find what I want.

Craigslist: Found exactly what I wanted, called the phone number, saw the listing on the following Monday and signed the lease later that week. It was really easy.

I do think that there are a lot of apartments around the town, but there are also a ton listed on craigslist. Since it's free in Chicago (NYC charges for apartment listings), there are a ton of them out there.

PLEASE have your relatives go over the listings with you or another knowledgeable resident of the city. I cannot tell you how many listings were labeled wrong: Uptown labeled as "North Lakeview", etc. My mom from 500 miles away helped me find apartments by just looking at listings with me!

Thanks for this...yes, I was aware of the "drive by" option, but they are wanting a high rise so I didn't know if there were useful and reliable websites. They said craigslist seemed to have more expensive apts, I said "yes, high rise aprtment in or near the loop wil be expensive!" I know the apartment people /finders are in the pockets of specific landlords so discouraged that. Any other websites to try? Thanks!!

[soulful]

craigslist classifieds: jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, events, forums (http://www.chicago.craigslist.org - broken link)

and

Chicago Reader Classifieds | Real Estate | Neighborhood Zip Code Map

The Reader map function that comes up at this link is cool. Just click on the zipcode/zone you prefer and all apartment listings for that neighborhood will come up.

In addition, apartment rental agencies are generally free to the renter in Chicago (the landlord pays the fee in almost all cases here). So, it never hurts to let them drive you around and show you places.

Of course, you will find listings on Craigslist and the Reader that aren't with the agencies.

You can also check Chicago News, Weather, Sports and Politics -- ChicagoTribune.com -- chicagotribune.com as they are a third possible source where some larger buildings and even smaller landlords (in some cases) advertise.

Good luck.

[CUBS07]

Another vote for Craigslist here. I've had really good luck finding an apt the last 3 yrs.