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Originally Posted by mathemagician54
also i will be looking for appartments very soon. I have a few realtors lined up, chicagoappartmentfinders.com, and appartmentsavy, anyone have any experience with these places? I've read some reviews and they seem pretty shady.
I have friends who claim to have good experiences with these companies, but I've had no luck with them and basically refuse to use them anymore. I've heard alot more negatives than positives. The negative feedback usually revolves around them taking clients to promote their own agendas as opposed to really showing the person what's the best fit for them. They're basically salesmen, so you just have to remember that when dealing with them as they are trying to sell you something rather than necessarily help you out. YMMV though.
Are you trying to secure an apt remotely, or do you have some time in Chicago to look around? If you're spending some time here, my recommendation is to peruse craigslist and chicagoreader.com (just ignore the realtor sponsored listings) and find some places that interest you and set up appts. to see them when you're around. the rental market is super soft now so there should be alot available. The best time to start looking is approx. 2 months before your move in date, so if you're coming in August you'd need to get on it.
It sounds like you aren't from Chicago. Some things I think you really need to consider when looking for a place are:
- Parking, are you bringing a car? If so, be weary of living too close to the lake (approx east of halsted or clark depending how far north/south you are) without included parking as parking there is nuts.
- High rise vs. smaller building, there's tons of 3 and 4 flats around the neighborhoods that are fantastic imo. However, alot of people prefer to live in some of the giant highrise apt buildings by the lake. Totally dependent on personal preference, but something to be mindful of as you start your search.
Meh, there's lots more that I could say but it's going to be much more dependent on your personality and wants. Good luck with your search, and feel free to PM me with any questions.