How to find studio with legit, non-shady management? (Chicago, Irving: sublease, apartments)

[pixel27]

I've lived in Chicago for 2.5 years and have always lived with anywhere from 1-3 roommates at a time. However, my current sublease ends at the end of Sept and this time around I'm ready to go solo and sign a long-term lease for a studio apartment. My budget is maybe 1.2k tops, including utilities (so not including internet or heat or w/e). I'm looking for something that offers an easy commute to the River North area.

Anyway, what I've basically run into is that I'll find apartments that look promising but then start doing research on the management company and stumble upon some pretty horrid yelp reviews. Planned Property Management, BJB Properties, and Group Fox seem to be the main ones I keep running into. I've always preferred renting in smaller buildings with more accessible management but I know that's more of a 2-3+ bedroom unit type of thing.

My question is basically: how do I find a studio apartment on the north side (south of Irving Park) while avoiding places that have shady management, hidden fees, underlying functionality issues, infestations, and/or similar? I'd rather agree to a higher rent upfront and not be met with hidden fees/broken stuff.

Should I go through a realtor? I'm concerned that my modest budget won't be worth a decent realtor's time of day.

Does anyone here have recommendations regarding certain management companies and/or buildings that don't suck?

Up until now, I've been using Craigslist, The Chicago Reader, and Domu and am wondering if there's a less sucky way to do this. I don't move until Oct 1st but I want to nail down a good place fairly early so I don't have to rush around and possibly compromise towards the end of Sept.

Thanks for any help.

tl;dr - the bolded parts

[Peer79]

Originally Posted by pixel27

I've lived in Chicago for 2.5 years and have always lived with anywhere from 1-3 roommates at a time. However, my current sublease ends at the end of Sept and this time around I'm ready to go solo and sign a long-term lease for a studio apartment. My budget is maybe 1.2k tops, including utilities (so not including internet or heat or w/e). I'm looking for something that offers an easy commute to the River North area.

Anyway, what I've basically run into is that I'll find apartments that look promising but then start doing research on the management company and stumble upon some pretty horrid yelp reviews. Planned Property Management, BJB Properties, and Group Fox seem to be the main ones I keep running into. I've always preferred renting in smaller buildings with more accessible management but I know that's more of a 2-3+ bedroom unit type of thing.

My question is basically: how do I find a studio apartment on the north side (south of Irving Park) while avoiding places that have shady management, hidden fees, underlying functionality issues, infestations, and/or similar? I'd rather agree to a higher rent upfront and not be met with hidden fees/broken stuff.

Should I go through a realtor? I'm concerned that my modest budget won't be worth a decent realtor's time of day.

Does anyone here have recommendations regarding certain management companies and/or buildings that don't suck?

Up until now, I've been using Craigslist, The Chicago Reader, and Domu and am wondering if there's a less sucky way to do this. I don't move until Oct 1st but I want to nail down a good place fairly early so I don't have to rush around and possibly compromise towards the end of Sept.

Thanks for any help.

tl;dr - the bolded parts

You should be able to find an apartment with an individual landlord as opposed to a management company fairly easily using the websites you mentioned. It would also help to walk around the neighborhood you like and target specific properties. You should find advertisements for 3-6 unit buildings posted on the fence of the building.

I would not put too much stock into Yelp reviews. Those are usually the complainer types of people who exaggerate simple problems of their own creation.

[ChiGuy2.5]

Check out 3550 N Lakeshore Drive and 3600 N Lakeshore Drive. Those are going to be condo's owned by someone but there is a full time on staff building engineer who will fix anything that is urgent. Small stuff like a broken light fixture would have to be addressed by your landlord though. There are also a ton of studios in both buildings that go for anywhere from $1,100 to $1,300.

[treemoni]

Originally Posted by Peer79

You should be able to find an apartment with an individual landlord as opposed to a management company fairly easily using the websites you mentioned. It would also help to walk around the neighborhood you like and target specific properties. You should find advertisements for 3-6 unit buildings posted on the fence of the building.

This is the best way to find an apartment in Chicago. Individual landlords > management companies. Really no reason to go with a management company in Chicago, unless you have "new age" requirements.

[henderson14]

The best way is to drive around neighborhoods and look for for rent signs.

[GoCUBS1]

City renters have such protections under Chicago landlord-tenant ordinances and the courts are so pro-tenant that you basically have nothing to worry about if you have a good lease contract, walk-though checklist with pictures, and payment receipts...

[Vlajos]

Yelp is the worst for reviews. Ignore in general.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Yelp is the worst for reviews. Ignore in general.

Property management reviews anywhere tend to be overwhelmingly negative. When nothing goes wrong in your day-to-day affairs, you're not liable to write a glowing review that says "there were no roaches in my apartment. Hooray!" It's when something doesn't go according to plan that people are likely to take to the internet to air their grievances.

[VA All Day]

It's not uncommon for businesses to post "fake" positive reviews on yelp though.

All I can say is, if you come across a building managed by Quality Management & Rentals, do yourself a favor and walk away.

[Drover]

Originally Posted by VA All Day

It's not uncommon for businesses to post "fake" positive reviews on yelp though.

All I can say is, if you come across a building managed by Quality Management & Rentals, do yourself a favor and walk away.

It's also pretty easy to detect when a business is trying to stack itself with fake reviews, namely when they have a bunch of effusive 5-star reviews from people with no more than 2 or 3 reviews, sometimes within days of each other. Yelp has gotten pretty good at detecting these reviews and filtering them out.