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Old 05-22-2007, 01:15 AM
 
55 posts, read 273,888 times
Reputation: 38

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I'm moving to Chicago and am looking for a lease on an apartment starting August 1st. The problem is, I currently live 1200 miles away, so making the trip up here to go apartment hunting isn't too easy.

Regardless, I'm in Chicago right now and will be here until Wednesday afternoon. The problem is, most apartment finding services, as well as most Craigslist ads, haven't started August 1st leases yet because its still more than two months away.

Why did I come to Chicago so early you ask? Well, I'm going overseas this Thursday and won't be back in the US until July 7th. That means the earliest I can possibly make it back up to Chicago is Monday, July 9th. Given that I want to start my lease on August 1st, do you think my housing options will be severely hampered due to the fact that I'll be searching for an apartment only 21 days before the start of the lease?

I've found just a few places while I've been in town that are willing to give me an August 1st start date. Should I come back on July 9th, or should I just pick something that's available now? In other words, will July 9th be too late?
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Old 05-22-2007, 05:25 AM
 
39 posts, read 229,305 times
Reputation: 25
Default funny...

I'm here until Wednesday as well. I'm in a different boat though...im looking for places for June 1st or mid June!!!


I got screwed over on a place. I paid the first months rent and the security deposit. A $500 deposit for the condo association, and then a $300 move-in fee...only for the guy to call me a whole week later saying that he no longer wants to lease the place out. So, being in Michigan, I had to make the trip back out here. Also, my first trip was obviously a complete waste of time and money...

I'm staying w/ a friend in Evanston...and taking the "L" into the city to look at places...

Good luck man...I dont think your too early. there are many places for August 1st on craigslist. Also, try apartmentpeople.com: they have 2 offices in Chicago (Lakeview and one in River North)
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Old 05-22-2007, 01:51 PM
 
Location: Chicago
38,707 posts, read 102,687,747 times
Reputation: 29966
You should be able to find a place for August 1st now, but a whole lot more options are going to open up for you if you wait until about mid-June. That's when the ads for August 1st leases really start hitting the ad sites (namely craigslist and Chicago Reader). July might be a little late, so right now is probably your best opportunity.
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Old 05-22-2007, 04:42 PM
 
Location: Cleveland, OH USA / formerly Chicago for 20 years
4,068 posts, read 7,263,286 times
Reputation: 3055
My experience has been that looking 30-60 days before your desired lease starting date is about right. Although landlords can require a tenant to give as much as 90 days' notice of their intent not to renew their lease, they generally can't start showing a currently occupied apartment to prospective tenants sooner than 60 days prior to lease end, IIRC (at least that's what I seem to remember from reading local landlord-tenant laws).

Start looking less than 30 days before your move date and you'll still find apartments available, but it's likely the best deals will be gone, especially in a tight rental market. You might have to settle for something that's more expensive or less desirable than you want, the later you wait.

But you still might find something you can live with. Just doing a quick search on Chicago's craigslist, here's what I found as far as availability:

June 1: 423

July 1: 408

August 1: 43

These ads are up to seven days old, so some of them might have been rented already. Also keep in mind that some of these ads might be duplicates. But it tells me that even in mid-to-late May, there are still plenty of apartments available for June 1.
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Old 08-10-2010, 01:59 AM
 
1 posts, read 5,841 times
Reputation: 10
hello if you need help finding a place in the loop, wicker park bucktown etc areas let me know
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Old 08-10-2010, 02:12 AM
 
Location: Chicago
15,585 posts, read 27,421,704 times
Reputation: 1761
Quote:
Originally Posted by mvera33 View Post
hello if you need help finding a place in the loop, wicker park bucktown etc areas let me know
The dude moved here like 3 years ago.
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