Rent an Apartment or a Condo?

[jessiegirl_98]

Well, I rented in a newer building for a year and there was a leaky pipe under our bathroom (we didn't know about) and had a mold filled 3 months until we discovered it, so renting in a new building doesn't always prevent that.

That being said, I wouldn't necessarily think want to live in Gold Coast, etc if I was a young 20-something. I think that the suggestions of living in Wicker Park would be better for their out of work time and is very safe and definitely in their price range! The South Loop is also a good option.

I would set up some appointments with free search services (the homestead group, apartment people, apartment guys), some through craigslist, and through the chicago reader. They will have no problem finding a nice place in their price range.

[medenica]

millennialmom,

The good news is that no one has presented fallacious advice. The bad news is due to nature of the information exchange the best you have is a starting point, which fortunately is just what you were looking for.

It is important to keep in mind that any advice regarding cost directly correlates to level of quality of the unit and that advice provider's very subjective opinion on the value of the presence or lack of a certain level of finish.

It is easy to set the upper limit of a budget since this is usually a financial constraint, the lower end is a bit more difficult since it is entirely a subjective decision. It might be difficult to offer accurate advice regarding appropriate rent range without first speaking to your daughter and her roommate.

While it's very tempting to simply go to Craigslist and start booking appointments, I would strongly recommend that before they look at any privately owned condos or managed rental apartment buildings that your daughter and her roommate speak to some professionals in the rental industry who are unbiased regarding location or property. This professional can be a licensed real estate agent with access to rental listings on the MLS or a licensed agent that works for some of the apartment companies who may have their own database of properties.

The former can be found by simply calling a real estate broker's office. If you can't get a referral from a friend (unlikely) just call the downtown office of the next big company whose commercial you see on TV and asking if they have an agent that handles rentals. Some offices don't do much rental work and you'll know this immediately when the agent or the receptionist "sounds" like a deer in the headlights. Some broker's have dedicated rental departments and agents and you'll certainly know this immediately as well.

The latter, agents at apartment companies, usually called "apartment locators" or "apartment finders", can be found by a quick google search (don't forget to include Chicago in the search). You'll know you've found the right person/company when they will speak to you, at length if needed, on the phone before you make an appointment. Remember, you are calling them for advice to help you decide the where, what and how much. Only once you have an idea of those detail yourself can you can give them the criteria to run an effective search.

Hopefully, this information will provide you with a direction and a few initial steps to build on the start provided by the other poster. Feel free to direct message me if you have an additional questions.

Martin Medenica

[millennialmom]

Originally Posted by jessiegirl_98

Well, I rented in a newer building for a year and there was a leaky pipe under our bathroom (we didn't know about) and had a mold filled 3 months until we discovered it, so renting in a new building doesn't always prevent that.

That being said, I wouldn't necessarily think want to live in Gold Coast, etc if I was a young 20-something. I think that the suggestions of living in Wicker Park would be better for their out of work time and is very safe and definitely in their price range! The South Loop is also a good option.

I would set up some appointments with free search services (the homestead group, apartment people, apartment guys), some through craigslist, and through the chicago reader. They will have no problem finding a nice place in their price range.

Jessie_girl, thanks for that perspective. We definitely want to engage someone locally that the kids can talk with to convey their goals. Being from out of town, I'm sure this will be the best way to get matched up with an apt they will be happy with. I know Gold Coast and River North based on people my age, which, to your point, may not necessarily be the best match for my daughter. We look forward to being there in Jan/Feb to get a first hand look. Thanks so much !!

[b0nb0n]

I'd just like to add that I'm in the same boat as your daughter, just graduated college in Dec. 2008 (so this month) and after visiting some friends who live in River North I fell in love with the idea of renting downtown for a yr. and gave up my original plan of buying a condo in Lakeview.

Me and my best friend have been searching for apartments and like someone mentioned craigslist is a good start but you can also go to a professional who will basically be you're agent and help you out. The price range that they're looking in good, most apartments that we've looked at were between 1900-2500. The apartments that were 1900 were in the fulton river district and south loop while the apartments from 2300-2500 were in either gold coast/loop/river north. All of these apartments were 2bed high end apartments with a good amounth of space, full amenity buildings with full wall glass windows with panoramic views of downtown. Some of them, mostly the ones in the south loop/west loop included all utilities in that price including cable and internet.

As far as the gold coast and in general downtown area not being "young enough", I know about 10 people who live in the river north/gold coast/loop area who have just graduated from college in May, also I know friends of friend who live in the area and are still in college because Loyola, Depaul and Columbia to name a few are all downtown. Also there's pleanty of clubs downtown that cater more to the 20's crowd then anyone else that are all a 5 dollar cab ride away, or in some cases a walk away. In other cases, just a few el stops and your daughter and her friend can be in wrigllyville or lincolnpark.

Good luck with the apartment search!

[millennialmom]

Originally Posted by b0nb0n

I'd just like to add that I'm in the same boat as your daughter, just graduated college in Dec. 2008 (so this month) and after visiting some friends who live in River North I fell in love with the idea of renting downtown for a yr. and gave up my original plan of buying a condo in Lakeview.

bOnbOn - Thanks for sharing that. It sounds like she should be able to get within proximity to Union Station but still be in a desirable area for a young 20 something. We will be talking to some of the property search firms to make sure she gets matched up with her interests/desires. I understand the rents are going to be fairly steep downtown but after considering positions in NYC, Chicago seems like a bargain. Good Luck to you, as well !!