Bloomsie wrote:kwroche wrote:Bloomsie wrote:Not to change the subject, but my girlfriend and I had an appointment to meet a rep from Student Space this Thursday morning, and after we emailed him today to confirm time/place he said that he'd switched companies to Luxury Living Chicago. Has anyone had this experience? It feels sketchy, and his new company doesn't have anything in our price range, even though our rep already knows our price range. Anyone have any input or any comparable experience? I'm certainly not committed to working with Student Space, but they were recommended by the Law School, and that's pretty much all I had to go on. Thoughts?
I use to be an apartment broker in Chicago, and will attest to the fact that these companies can be a pain in the ass to work with. I would recommend using the following websites to find apartments in Chicago, and handling the process yourself. If you have any questions about neighborhoods, pricing, or anything else, you can reach out to me.
Domu.com
padmapper.com
I've been using padmapper and craigslist as well, but I'm trying to find a place from DC, and its not totally clear when I'll be moving (depends on job interviews/offers), so having someone on the ground who knew about our issues seemed especially helpful. Would you specifically not use a broker, or do you just think its less likely to be fruitful than searching on our own?
I would say that with a little bit of extra work on your end, you can find better housing options through either Domu.com or Padmapper. Below are a few bullet points with advice.
-Be prepared to submit a credit application and deposit as soon as you like an apartment. Chicago rental real estate is in high demand, especially in the areas most NU students will be looking. I've seen apartments that have been listed for less than 12 hours have more than 2 offers.
-If you want to save a bit of money, lease from an individual owner, not a property management company. Units/buildings that are managed by a property management company tend to be on the higher end price range rise. If you are looking to live in Streeterville, I would personally recommend looking at 211 E Ohio as one of the best values in the area.
-If you want information on other communities outside of Streeterville, let me know. I literally started a company doing this stuff for two years, so I know pretty much all their is to know about the Chicago rental market.