The Most Important Thing About Your New Place

Welcome to Chicago!

You need an apartment, but have no idea where to start. Never fear. I’ve got knowledge and opinions, and am not afraid to share them with you.

In my experience, I have found that the most important thing to consider when looking for an apartment, besides being able to afford it, is neighborhood. You may scoff. Who cares where you live, as long as your commute’s not that bad and you have a place to park your car? No.

As far as what you can get for the money, obviously the Loop is more expensive. We’ve had listings for studios at more than $2000, though that’s not typical. If you’re up in Rogers Park, you can get a spacious 1BR for under $1000. There’s a lot of room in between.

If you’re not from a larger city, you may not know how awesome being in a city is.  The city of Chicago is comprised of neighborhoods.  It’s almost like little cities within a city- you travel a short time and there’s a completely different feeling.  City life is all about opportunity and having things to do within walking distance or a short ride on public transit.

We are all here to pursue economic and creative satisfaction, to find, produce, and exchange ideas.

How are you supposed to know where you’d be happy? You half remember opinions you heard from various sources, but don’t know what’s true. You have no idea where to start.

Read this post. You can even walk down the street with Google Maps.

Find your neighborhood. Then look for an apartment.

2BR+Office in Bucktown Available Now

See the whole listing here.

When You Don’t Get the Place

Twice this week, I’ve had deals fall through.

As frustrating as that is for me the agent, it’s even more frustrating for the client(s).

No, it wasn’t that my applicants didn’t look great on paper, because they looked awesome.

No, it wasn’t that my clients didn’t have their paperwork in first, because they did.

It was that the landlord picked someone else. Sometimes, the landlord might choose to drag their feet for a day to see what else comes in.

There’s nothing that can be done about it. That’s just the way it goes.

As an agent, I can advocate for you, explain anything that might not look great, negotiate for pets, a parking spot, what have you.

We don’t take applications on units that aren’t available, because that would be a stupid waste of time; we’re here to help you find a place.

In the end, it’s always the landlord’s decision.

Featured Listing Friday: Start Your Day Like Ariel

This listing has the granite, stainless steel, double vanity, hardwood floors that you come to expect in new construction buildings.

The dark wood and stainless steel are lovely, if you didn't notice

Part of what makes this duplex down special is its bathrooms.

The master bedroom has a quite large bathroom. The tiles look like the inside of shells- pearled and luminous. Start your day like the Little Mermaid.

My camera can't capture the glow.

You can't see the other sink, but it's there.

The other bedroom is smaller, but it’s bathroom is also very nice.

This is a nice bathroom.

Both bedrooms are downstairs, and are carpeted.

The upstairs part of this large unit has the in-unit laundry and lots of windows.

The open floor plan would be great for entertaining, (island kitchens encourage gathering around and talking)

Island kitchen

and the half bath is upstairs.

This is the upstairs bathroom.

Also, you get a parking spot in the gated lot in the back. (But street parking is also very easy.) Sadly, no pets are welcome here.

Evidence of the lot.

If you have any questions about the unit, or would like to schedule a viewing, please give me a call: 773-697-5100

Featured Listing Friday: 3BR/3BA in Bucktown… With a Bar of Your Own

Space. That’s what you get here.

Want to live next to a park?

These are the bedrooms and closets you’ve been looking for. (Every bedroom is king sized. Every bedroom has a large closet.)

Every bedroom has its own en suite bathroom. All the baths are spacious and nice

Its 2800+ square feet: plus a roof deck and large wet bar, with more space on the back deck.

Black granite counter. New carpet.

You can boldly go via Metra and 90/94 . (And the Blue Line.)

Rooftop deck over the garage.

Available now-ishly. Garage parking is available for extra.

Here’s the listing link.

Local’s Eye View: Bucktown with Bucktown Music

I stopped by Bucktown Music to chat with Jessica and Luis Solares about their music studio. (They have lessons for everyone, and even have special brain development classes for babies! (It’s called “Kindermusic.”)

They’re the perfect people to ask about what makes Bucktown a great neighborhood since they’ve been living in Bucktown for 5 years and have been doing business here for 3.

How to Succeed in the Apartment Hunt and in Life

Communicating through email is awesome- it’s like texting, but with more weight.

Taking advantage of opportunities leads to success in life. Use the advantages email offers, even if you’re doing it from your phone.

Agents want to help you find a place- the easier you make it on them, the easier your search will be. How can you use email effectively in your apartment search? I’m glad you asked.

  1. Use proper punctuation and spelling. When you don’t use proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling, you look like a spammer, a lazy person, or a stupid person. This is unfortunate, but true. It looks like you don’t care about what you’re doing, so why should anyone else? Agents will still help you if you write like you’re lazy and stupid, but not if you’re a spammer.

2. Ask more than one question per email. Don’t be shy! Get crazy. Ask two, or three even. Be specific. Asking for “more information” about a place is a meaningless request. I have no idea why it’s the autofill on most lead capture sites. Really, don’t be shy. We’re here to help.

3. Answer all questions if you’re asked more than one question. I like to number them if I’m asking more than two. Answering questions also helps to clarify needs. Clarity + brevity = readability.

4. If you’re making an appointment to see a place, offer a plan B and/or C. If you want to see a property at 7pm on a Saturday, say so and that it’s your preferred time. Mention a few alternate times, like 11am on Sunday and 6pm on Monday as well. This way, and agent can coordinate if the first time doesn’t work, and you won’t have to email back and forth. Also, if a unit is occupied, and a time won’t work for the current tenant, it’ll greatly cut down on potential for miscommunication.

Or you could skip all this and just give us a call: (773) 697-5100. Let’s work together to find a great place.

What’s the Best Neighborhood in Chicago?

What’s the best neighborhood is like asking who would win if Han Solo and Chuck Norris got in a fight. It’s a bargument; there’s no answer.

Do you like to walk to a restaurant, stuff yourself, and then walk home?

Are you a fan of bacon?

Do you need live music in your life?

Do you want to be able to have wine or beer delivered to you?

Do you want live poetry, music, or art with your coffee?

Where should you live? Well, what is important to you?

Do a Yelp search (or Google) and see where there’re more live music venues, bacon infused cocktails, restaurants. Only you can decide what is the best neighborhood for you.

However, have caution in making your life too convenient. One of my clients told me that he lost weight while living in the suburbs. I asked him how that was possible given that there’s more driving and less walking. He told me that he always went out to eat due to the plethora of good restaurants within walking distance, so he never stayed home and cooked; thus the weight gain. I myself live near an amazing gelato place. Because its such a temptation, I sometimes wish I didn’t.

How Soon is Too Soon?

When should you start looking for an apartment? Whenever you want.

Look at all the myriad apartment websites that are out there. Swim. Bask. Imagine.

If you want to make an effective use of your time, though, probably two months in advance at the earliest. Why?

Because landlords usually find out if their tenants will be moving out around that time. Also, because there is turnover in what’s available. What’s available in, say, summer, will be rented by fall. I got an email from one person looking with a move in date nine months from now wanting to make appointments to look at places. I guess this is common practice in other cities, but you don’t need to do that here in Chicago. Also, if someone has a ‘flexible’ move in date, I tend not to believe them. If you don’t have a move in date, you’re still in the swim/bask/imagine period. Committing to a date (give or take a bit) is essential for success.

Landlords are looking for tenants who can move in right after their other tenants move out, so as not to skip a month of rental income. If you’re not ready to move when an apartment is ready for new tenants, there is no point in looking at it in person. The rental market changes drastically and frequently in summer. More units are available and get snapped up as quickly as they come on the market. Once I rented an apartment that had only been on the market for 7 hours.

If you have questions about the rental process, please feel free to contact me: 773-697-5100. I’ll do my best to help.

Happy hunting!

Featured Listing Friday: Exposed Brick, Pets, Parking

This apartment has plenty of room. The Blue Line, yoga class, the library, tons of restaurants and bars within a 10 minute walk.

Lovely exposed brick.

Island kitchen.

A bathroom you’d want to hang out in.

A great, pet friendly place to come home to and relax.

How to Save Energy (read: Money) in your Apartment

I recently went on vacation and rented an apartment in Barcelona, Spain (thus the hiatus.)

It seems like reducing energy expenditure is also cool in Spain. This made me think about how to save energy (money) in a Chicago apartments.

Heating and cooling:

There was a sign that said “Save Energy to the Planet!” gently reminding tenants to make sure their air conditioners or heaters were off before they left the apartment.

-When you leave either for a day or a week in the winter, turn the heat down to 62 (but no lower). Use ceiling fans to keep the heat from rising in the winter, and use them along with air conditioning in the summer.

Electric:

There was a washing machine, but no dryer. A clothesline with thoughtfully included clothespins was strung across our balcony.

-Use the air to dry clothes and dishes. In the winter, the air is usually drier, so yea, no humidifier, and you’ll save energy. In the summer, there’s nothing like the smell of sun dried clothing.

Water:

Also, the shower seemed to be designed so that you’d either get wet or wash yourself, not both at the same time. You get wet, turn off the water until you were done lathering/washing, and only turn it back on until it was time to rinse off.

-Here, landlords always pay the water bill, but you’re paying to heat it up. Save by using warm water instead of hot to wash clothes, and by making showers Spanish or just shorter.

Other cheats:

-Rent a newer apartment. Chances are, it will have newer, Energy Star appliances and newer windows. Also, windows and doors won’t have shifted as much with age. On the other hand, large floor to ceiling windows that let in great views can also let out heat. If you rent vintage, plug the little cracks below doors and windows.

-Live on the top floor and absorb everyone else’s heat.

-Get a pet and snuggle with it to avoid turning up the heat.

-If you’re really intense about saving energy, be less concerned with hygiene: sweat on yourself to keep cool in the summer, wear all your clothes in the winter to not turn up the heat. Save water by showering less frequently. You’ll save water, energy, and time.

I hope these tips have helped, and that you pay no attention to the last one.