Chicago Apartment Finders - Lakeview

Justin Crabtree was very attentive, helpful, and friendly. I appreciate working with him. I would also recommend Chicago Apartment Finders. more

Fantastic service highly satisfied more

I can only speak for myself but I had an amazing experience with Chicago Apartment Finders, although I know others would disagree. I moved to the city on July 1st and needed a place immediately! I visited 15 places on my own that I had looked up ahead of time, and they all laughed at me. The city was at the lowest vacancy rate in over 100 years at less than 3%, and nothing was available anywhere for months. As a LAST resort (my next choice was moving to the burbs) I went in here and they listened to all of my criteria (location, by the red line, gym, price conscious, parking, laundry)...a huge shoe to fill. They found me my DREAM apartment at a dream price within 30 minutes, that had only been on the market for a few hours. I snapped it up, and everyone I know loves my apartment and is insanely jealous, saying it's one of the best buildings in the city and a major deal. I owe it all to Chicago Apartment Finders. So thank you! more

Wow, I was surprised to get an email from Apartment Finders asking for a review of their services. They asked. Here it is. Don't waste your tim with them! My experience with Apartment Finders was a total waste of time. They showed me one apartment which they guaranteed was available. They asked for a full first months rent plus $149 application fee. Three days later they said the apartment was already leased and then it took them 3 weeks to refund the full months rent and only after I hounded them daily. They also never called or contacted me about any other apartments. Total waste of my time. more

Their "service" is absolutely worthless. It took them a week longer than they told me it would to get response after the initial call I made (and that's only because I called again). They led me to believe that they had listings in the area I wanted only to wait until the last possible minute to tell me that the listings I wanted were either gone, not available till a later move-in date (they didn't have the dates posted on the web site), or farther west than they listed. more

Biggest waste of my time! I called a week ahead to get an appointment and was asked some information regarding what I was looking for. When I got to my appointment, I was asked to fill out the same information, and waited an hour before I was seen. When I was finally taken back to speak with someone, I was asked the same questions I had answered twice already. The agent was rude and continuously told me that I could not find an apartment anywhere for the price I was looking at and having a dog. I had looked at 3 apartments earlier that day, on my own, that were newly rehabbed and incredibly nice. The agent then began looking on the website for potential apartments and proceeded to tell me that most of the places needed 24 hour notice to be seen. WHY DID I MAKE AN APPOINTMENT THEN!? He kept looking at options that were nothing like my specifications. He was looking off the Brown Line when I specified that I only wanted to live off of the Red Line so that I had 24-hour transportation access, he was looking at apartments that didn't allow dog, when that was one of my only specifications, etc. Once he looked for a half-hour, he told me to go wait in the lobby again. I waited another half-hour for him to be ready to go view three out of the 10 apartments we had found online. The first apartment he took me to a DUMP, that had nothing I wanted. He then took me to an apartment next to Wrigley Field that was decent, but he told me I "had to decide then and there if I wanted it, or it would be gone in about an hour," when I am looking for an apartment for June. The next apartment was another complete DUMP, the occupying residents had been smoking marijuana and the place looked like it was about to fall down. After, he took me back to the office and as I told him none of them where what I wanted and why he again proceeded to tell me that I was not going to find anything like that in my price range with a dog, rudely. I continuously tried to push me into applying for places I did not like and was really a sales man type. I found Apartment Hunters unhelpful and frustrating! You will have better luck walking around neighborhoods and looking for 'For Rent' signs and calling landlords. more

If you have a laptop and a cell phone, you can do what these guys do. The guy who helped me had only been living in Chicago for 3 months, knew next to NOTHING about the places he was showing me, and told me that I wouldn't find anything under $1300/mo (I have since found a gorgeous blvd apartment for $1150 - and I didn't have to pay a fee to a guy for driving me around) more

I feel badly for the people who had a bad experience with Chicago Apartment Finders. They must not have had Steve Davis!!! WOW from the moment we began talking to him (my Dad and I) he was intent on finding us the PERFECT apartment and was willing to put up with my severe OCDness. After the first apartment it felt as if he knew exactly what we were looking for. Our application process was complicated by the fact that two roommates were out of state but he made it work so smoothly. I know Steve will be the first person I go to for ANY real-estate needs. Hands down, he is phenomenal. more

I was moving from Kalamazoo MI to Chicago and found this apartment finder site through google. I made an appointment with my roommate and drove down to Chicago from MI, we had an appointment at 11am and came in the lobby area was very nice and clean. The receptionist was friendly and offered us cookies and beverages, we waited for our agent to come and get us. Within 4 minutes our agent came out and brought us back to his desk, introduced himself and his name was Jon Plous. Very friendly and upfront with all the details of how the service worked as well as what our price range would get us and we explained what we were looking for in an apartment as well as in a neighborhood. He drove us around to five apartments and didn't B.S. around or show us crappy apartments, he was so friendly and so upfront and honest about what we would get and what we were in for, when we move to a big city. The third apartment we looked at was THE ONE! It was on Clark street and in the middle of Wrigleyville/ Lakeview- There were people out and about always doing something, there were great restaurants, great nightlife and close to the Red/Brown line stop at Belmont. We decided to look at two more places to make sure we weren't jumping into the wrong apartment. We knew that THE ONE was THE ONE and wanted some time to think on it and discuss between my roommate and I , Jon Plous let us go to lunch and discuss what we wanted to do and how we wanted to make a decision. We went to lunch at Big City Tap which was recommended by Jon Plous so we went to lunch and decided this was the one and we wanted to sign the lease right then with Jon Plous. He never pressured us or got frustrated with all of our questions and comments on each apartment, he gave us GREAT advice and really helped us out, two girls from MI in a big city, we loved interacting and having Jon Plous as our guide for finding an apartment. We went to sign our lease and it happened that the management company DLG lowered our rent by 50$ !!!! We also had a difficult issue of having 2 cats and one dog, so when we came in and let Jon Plous know this, we were afraid that we were going to have a large pet deposit or not be able to have all three pets, Jon Plous assured us that we would find something in our price range and we would be able to move in a place that would be cute and nice and in a good neighborhood. Jon Plous was so friendly and so informed and the best person that I could have ever had to help us find an apartment. I would recommend Jon Plous to ANYONE who needs an apartment or needs to start looking for a new place to live. He was AMAZING!!!! I am so lucky that I was paired with Jon Plous to find an apartment because it was a great experience and it could have been horrible if I had went to a different apartment search business. GO TO JON PLOUS if you need a new apartment in the City of Chicago!!! I recommend him to anyone, even friends from Mi that are moving to Chicago I give out his business card to my co workers and let everyone I know that Jon Plous was an amazing agent and so helpful and knowledgeable, I couldn't have dreamed of a better experience. more

BEST EXPERIENCE EVER!!!!! JON PLOUS IS AWESOME!!! CAF WAS GREAT TO WORK WITH AND JON PLOUS IS THE BEST AGENT AT THE LAKEVIEW OFFICE!!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS PLACE!!!!!!!!!! more

I LOVE Chicago Apartment Finders. They have placed me in two different apartments and both apartment agents were helpful and sincere. I would use Chicago Apartment Finders again and would reccomend them to anyone who was moving or relocating in Chicago. My roommate and I went to Chicago Apartment Finders and told them we wanted a very detailed list with a specific price range. We saw 5 amazing apartments that met all of our requests (High rise, doorman, pool, workout facility, allows dogs, parking, new carpet, two bedrooms, etc.)I have used other apartment companies in the past and they do not compare to Chicago Apartment Finders. They are the best. more

KATIE was fantastic! one of my friends is moving here from out of state, and came to look at apartments. i brought my friend, along with two others, and we all crammed into her jeep while she took us around the neighboorhoods and showed us about 6-7 apartments. she was so helpful, fun, and full of information. she was also extremely accomadating. more

I am extremely happ in my new place, and will reccomend Chicago Apartment Finder to everyone and Steve! more

Steve Davis at the Belmont office is an incredible asset to Chicago Apartment Finders and the best resource you will ever find while apartment searching in Chicago.Steve always kept my qualifications in mind while selecting places for me to check out. He never showed my anything out of my price range or that didn't meet my specifications (including amenities, location, size). I also got a little picky about what I wanted, but he never lost patience and took me out on 3 different occasions to show me places. I was already more than happy with the service Steve showed me...but on the day of my move in, problems arose, and that's when he really stepped up and proved that he is the best around.When I was getting jerked around by my new landlord, I immediately called CAF, and they got a hold of Steve for me. He rushed over (on a Saturday morning) and made phone call after phone call until we got the situation resolved. After that, he even stayed to help my family and I move my stuff into the apartment. more

I had a great experience with Chicago Apartment Finders, but more specifically with one of the leasing agents, Neal Gallagher. It all started with my inquiry about an apartment listed on Craig's List on a Thursday. On Friday morn, Neal called me back to schedule a viewing. He offered to change around his schedule to take me to a viewing 1.5 hours from the time we spoke. He definitely understood putting the client first and he ?the urgency of the situation. We visited five apartments during one "viewing sesh." At each apartment, he gave me all the facts without leaving anything out: whether or not heating was included; security deposit or move-in/admin fee; rental incentives; proximity to public transport; abundance or lack of street parking, etc. As you can see, he was incredibly thorough and repeated the process like second nature at every single apartment, never leaving anything out. Neal's very good about making the apartment hunt as pleasant as possible. He is great with people, knows how to engage in interesting conversation, and is genuinely interested in helping people either with the apartment search or just offering general advice about things in general. He is incredibly genuine and dedicated and a great communicator. He's a good communicator in the normal sense of the word, but also, what I mean is that he kept me apprised of everything that went on with the rental and approval process. I never really had to wonder what the underwriting and closing departments were doing because he told me how the whole process would work! If I had a question and had to call him, he'd answer the phone just as if we were old friends by saying, "Hi J'nai." Those personal touches did wonders for the apartment search experience. Although I think I liked an apartment in Hyde Park better than one of the ones I saw with Neal, I decided to go with Neal because of all the aforementioned attributes he possesses and professionalism he has. After the closing on my apartment, he even took me out to a celebratory dinner (his dime) to congratulate me on the apartment and to just shoot the best! What a wonderful experience! After dealing with him, I feel that I wanna go and look at apartments everyday (well, not really, because it's hella tiring)! But I feel that I could do it again because the process was so seamless and hassle free with Neal. I think of the process as akin to a bride planning a wedding (me) and Neal as my wedding planner who says, "I've got it under control. You just sit back and enjoy while I handle it. You're on vacation from this day forward." That's what it felt like. Amazing!! All in all, he was amazingly wonderful, and I feel that I've found and met a new friend and hang out buddy because he is sooo down to earth. And heads up ladies--he's super cute! You're going to want to rent an apartment from him even if you don't find one that you really like!! more

I know what you're thinking. 5 stars for this joint? No, not for CAF, but for Ross Gube, who was a Rock Star. He was tireless, honest and professional in his quest to find me an apartment. I really liked his style. He was incredibly patient with me during a time when I was stressed out of my mind and I can't thank him enough. In the end I found my apartment elsewhere, but I would still recommend him as an excellent agent. more

Due to something completely beyond my or CAF's control, I didn't actually sign a lease through CF, but their services are top notch. TK is the most hard working, honest and friendly person. She patiently listened to my situation and promptly responded to my concerns and questions. She was really great and provided some much-needed advice and support. I learned a lot about Chicago apartments and tenants' rights from TK, and I truly owe her for her time and commitment. While I ultimately found a better match with a private owner, CAF's did everything and more than what I had hoped for.Garret is also a great agent, and Ryan in closing was awesome. They all answered my numerous questions and acted as mediator between management companies. more

I am relocating to Chicago and was in town for the weekend when I just happened to walk past Chicago Apartment Finders on Belmont. ?It was a busy Saturday afternoon and I had no appointment, but after a 10 or 15 minute wait I was able to meet with an agent. ?If you choose to use this service, I HIGHLY recommend Angie Fucigna. She was very warm, professional, patient, and did not pressure me at all. I told her what I was looking for and she found a bunch of different apartments for me to choose from. I picked six places that I wanted to see and she pointed out the nearest grocery, el, ect. for each place that she drove me to. She kept telling me that she was here to help me and wanted me to find the perfect place. She said that if I didn't find anything I loved on the first trip, we could just return to her office and start over on our search. I feel very confident with my Lincoln Park apartment that Angie helped me find. I would recommend her to anyone in a heartbeat more

I have used Chicago Apartment Finders twice now. Both times were great experiences. I had two different people show me apartments and they were both very knowledgeable in what they showed me. Pros: Fast! more

I used Chicago Apartment Finders to rent out an apartment in a building I own. The agent found a good tenant and the office worked out a longer lease so that I did not end up with a lease expiring during the winter. more