Chicago Apartment Finders

Chicago Apartment Finders is a completely free (yes-completely free) service to help people find apartments in almost all of Chicago's neighborhoods. Whether you're moving across town or across the country, Chicago Apartment Finders will work with you to find an apartment that meets your specific needs.

Location and Hours

Chicago Apartment Finders has two locations. 906 W. Belmont Ave. is their office in the popular Lakeview neighborhood, and 818 N. State St. is their office in the more expensive Gold Coast district. The phone number for both locations is (773) 883-8800.

Chicago Apartment Finders is open from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, and 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.

They take walk-ins and appointments, although the wait can be long during busy periods if you haven't made an appointment with a leasing agent.

What They Do

When you first walk in to Chicago Apartment Finders, you'll sign in with the receptionist. You'll be asked to fill out information about what you're looking for at a computer station while you wait for your leasing agent to see you. Feel free to help yourself to snacks in the kitchen area or watch the fish in the giant aquarium. The only drawback to using this service is that you'll have to keep yourself busy while you wait.

After you start to lose all hope of ever finding a place to live, your Chicago Apartment Finders official leasing agent will come to collect you from your comfy chair and take you back to the apartment search station.

Your Chicago Apartment Finders leasing agent will ask you specific questions about what kind of apartment will make you happiest. Although they do an initial apartment search on the computer, the leasing agents are very knowledgeable about all the properties they rent and can tell you things about the landlord and the building you wouldn't necessarily find out from a computer listing.

After making a list of properties to see and making calls to landlords to let you in, your Chicago Apartment Finders leasing agent will take you out in a car to view the properties. Our leasing agent even drove us around the neighborhood we picked for ourselves, pointing out CTA stops, grocery stores, and good local bars to help us narrow down our apartment choices.

If your initial search doesn't turn up an apartment you're completely thrilled about, your leasing agent will take you back to the Chicago Apartment Finders office to do a new search. If you find your dream apartment, your leasing agent will take you back to Chicago Apartment Finders to fill out the lease application. From there, the processing department will let you know within a few days if you have been approved for the apartment. If not, well, Chicago Apartment Finders will be more than happy to find you an apartment with a landlord who doesn't mind spotty credit.

What You Need to Do

You need to take all the information you'll need to fill out an apartment application with you, as you fill out the application at Chicago Apartment Finders and not at the specific apartment you choose. Be sure to know the phone numbers and addresses of employers, cosigners, and previous and current landlords. You can speed up the employment verification process by taking your last two pay stubs with you. You'll also need photo identification.

When you fill out your lease application at Chicago Apartment Finders, you will need to pay the first month's rent and a $50 credit check fee. Be prepared to fork over some cash that day. They take checks, cash, money orders, and (thank goodness for the unprepared) credit cards. If for whatever reason your application is later denied, your credit check fee will transfer over to any other applications you fill out. The money you pay for your first month's rent is also transferable to whatever apartment you end up actually renting. (Don't let this scare you, though. A cosigner is enough to get you into an apartment if you have not yet secured employment in Chicago.)

When you walk into Chicago Apartment Finders, you also need to have a solid several hours to spend with your leasing agent. They are willing to work with you for however long it takes, so don't go in without enough time to make it a worthwhile experience.