How do RE agents make their money, and etiquitte (Chicago: for sale, real estate) - Illinois (IL) - City-Data Forum

jahk · 03-26-2012, 06:41 PM

I will be moving to Chicago for one year starting in June, and I have a RE agent following MLS and sending me listings of condos for rent. I'll be there in a week and a half to actually look at places and get one nailed down.

But there really havent' been that many MLS listings in my price range in areas I'd like to live. So I've been looking online at apartments and plan to also walk the streets (You know what I mean!) looking for 'For Rent' signs.

But I'm not sure if looking on my own when I have an agent also looking is considered bad form. If I was buying, I would feel disloyal to be house-hunting on my own. The rental market seems different, though. I don't see many rentals advertised by RE agents, and I don't want to be limited to the few places that have turned up already.

Anybody have insight?

soulful · 03-26-2012, 06:49 PM

Most Chicago apartments are not listed on the MLS. What you mainly see here is some condo owners who list their units for rental with a RE agent. And a few actual apartments.

We also have apartment finder services. Such as The Apartment People. However, those listings are typically not on the MLS. The landlord pays the fee and the service is free to the renter.

I would not think your RE agent would expect you to limit your apartment search to only things on the MLS. You don't have any sort of exclusive agreement I am sure.

p.s. RE agents make their money in the form of commissions when they sell or rent a place to you

ToriaT · 03-27-2012, 08:09 AM

It seems like you should do research ahead of time to see if you are going to rent or buy. You can probably do this by looking at stuff on line to see if you can afford it and whats available. Most real estate sites also include an area where you can see if you can afford a mortage payment. If you decide to buy then you should start working with an agent if you see places you want to look at. If you want to rent you would work with a different set of contacts like apartment finders, craigslist, the reader, etc.

aragx6 · 03-27-2012, 08:12 AM

I agree that the MLS probably isn't your best bet in finding a rental, so I think it's absolutely fine to be on the lookout for places on your own.

gomexico · 03-27-2012, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jahk

I will be moving to Chicago for one year starting in June, and I have a RE agent following MLS and sending me listings of condos for rent. I'll be there in a week and a half to actually look at places and get one nailed down.

But there really havent' been that many MLS listings in my price range in areas I'd like to live. So I've been looking online at apartments and plan to also walk the streets (You know what I mean!) looking for 'For Rent' signs.

But I'm not sure if looking on my own when I have an agent also looking is considered bad form. If I was buying, I would feel disloyal to be house-hunting on my own. The rental market seems different, though. I don't see many rentals advertised by RE agents, and I don't want to be limited to the few places that have turned up already.

Anybody have insight?

There are apartment rental companies/agents, which operate differently than agents who focus mostly on sales. I suggest you use one of those rental specific agents. Looking for "For Rent" signs isn't an effective way to find an apartment in the city. Most which are available will not have such signs. Chicago Reader and Craigs List will be more effective sources, for the do-it-yourself people. If you were focusing on the top-end of the rental market, for a luxury property, then I'd recommend going the route of one of the For Sale-focused RE agents. May 1 and October 1 are busy times for rentals in Chicago. Traditional lease-end/start times of the year. Not all properties, but a huge number. Landlords often start advertising/looking 30-45 days before a lease ends.

sunnyandcloudydays · 03-27-2012, 08:40 AM

Don't feel bad at the end of the day it's your money paying the rent and not his or her money.

What they are doing is playing on your emotions and could cloud your personal judgement.

I would distance your self from the person .

Politely tell the person you appreciate the efforts they have provided and you are in the early stages of shopping.

Tell them to take a step back for a bit and you would be more than happy to call them as your time date approaches....

At the least tell them you realize their time is valuable.

jahk · 03-27-2012, 08:10 PM

Thanks for the responses.

I'm renting, not buying. I'm only there for a year, and don't want to have to deal with selling when I leave.

And I hope I'm not going too early to look. The advice I read when I was planning my spring schedule was that since most leases require 60 days notice to move, I should start looking a little less than 2 months before I need to move in. So I'm coming for a week, April 6-13th.

Craigslist looks good, but I keep seeing the same apartments advertised by multiple companies. And there are so many new ads every day, it's hard to sort through them all and find the likely candidates. (I signed up with Padmapper, which collects ads from Craigslist and a few other sites, and sends me a daily update. About half the time, there are more than 50 listings a day in my price range in the areas I'd like to live.)