I could give Apartment People one star, I could give it five. It all depends on the agent that you get. I've had good and bad experiences with Apartment People agents. This recent time, I made my appointment, but I called to cancel - I had already worked for months with other places and on my own and found nothing good, so what was the point? The woman on the other end of the phone said "Look, I'm going to set you up with Russell. He's the best, and he WILL find you an apartment you'll love." I didn't believe her, but whatever, I didn't have anything else to do that Saturday. I showed up. She wasn't lying. Russell Corrus listens, knows the realistic expectations, and was so patient with an anxious, overwhelmed me. We spent a good chunk of time just talking before we even went out to look at apartments, and sure enough, I loved one of them and live there now. He was even helpful with my questions about the leasing application! So it all depends on your agent. I'm not discounting the one-star reviews on yelp; I've had a terrible experience with AP previously, too. But if you can get an agent who really knows the lay of the land - like Russell - you'll have a good experience. read more

After viewing an apartment in person, I decided it wasn't what I thought it was and I didn't want to pursue it further. I had submitted an application, but I hadn't signed a lease agreement. After waiting 3wks for the $300 refundable deposit, I reached out to the president, Eric Scholl, who had been helping me with the process. Attached is his response. Ultimately, he accuses me of working with the landlord to cut the ApartmentPeople agent out if the deal. He was supremely unprofessional and vindictive since I didn't choose their apartment. I understand everyone is having a tough time right now, but it's terrible to pass your losses onto potential clients. Thankfully I'm very happy in a different unit that I found through a different company. Unfortunately, based on my experience, I advise that you take the easy route and go with the many other good leasing company options in the Chicagoland area. read more

Apartment People - A response from the president Eric Scholl when I asked for my $300 refundable deposit to be refunded. - Apartment Agents Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I worked with Michael. I submitted an application, paid the fee, and he conveniently had an excuse for why I did not get the three properties I applied for, saying my application was strong and that there is nothing he could do. I used another broker with the same application info and was accepted to my first property, idk what Michael did, but it was sketchy read more

To call this place a joke would be the greatest understatment of the century. I even gave them extra time. Met Bruno at a somewhat decent place to see 2 1 bedrooms. After 20 minutes, we were told there is only a studio. I arrived alive and present, so I said, "Why not?" Upon seeing this place, I had a huge sense of dread, like someone was murdered there. I was shown literally a walk-in closet with attached kitchenette and bathroom. Stains all over the carpet and no secondary fire escape. A true 312 firetrap, basically. The area. Rodgers Park. The price. $1250 a month. That was the joke. After I said no effing way, the guy proceeded to ask me 3 times if I needed a ride after I told him I am going to have lunch across the street and I can't abandon the rental in this hood. It might be stolen. I've never heard from the guy again. If you want to become depressed by seeing overpriced firetraps, look no further. At least there were fire extinguishers and a corroded sprinkler system that may work. These people don't. read more

WARNING: DO NOT leave a deposit for any apartment here. This business will steal your money. I recently had this issue with them and could not get back my $300. They will not answer your emails and say a manager will call you, of course that doesn't happen either. Although the broker was very kind and nice the processing team and management does not care nor will contact you again. Suggestion draft up a complaint on BBB to show these shady business practices. read more

I have just had a very poor experience with Apartment People. The agent seemed friendly enough and after we agreed on an apartment we had toured, emailed me the application. He had every opportunity to inform me about the application process and fees prior to this step. We had sat earlier in the day for coffee, prior to the apartment visit. I disclosed my credit score and details on my Transunion report as well as information about my income and employer. He said 'no problem' and then guaranteed approval of my application verbally. He did not mention the $89 fee for submitting said application during our detailed sit-down discussion. Because of this agent's 'good faith promise', I paid the surprise $89 fee included in the application email that was sent to me. After Apartment People processed the application and took the money, the agent then contacted me with an issue regarding my employment. Apparently my bank deposits were not enough detail... Let me add- I am not only listed on my employer's website as a valued team member, they recently published a video interview between me and the CEO. Still, Apartment People didn't feel that my bank deposits and proof of employment were enough to guarantee approval. They wanted me to tie up a month's rent and "keep my fingers crossed". I am thoroughly disappointed with the shady approach that this company used to get my hard-earned money. One could argue that in Chicago at least, this modus operandi is quite the effective scam. Surprise and bilk several applicants for an unusually-high application fee, then award the vacant apartment to "Chad" lol. Keep everyone else's money. 11/10 Update: I am currently awaiting my refund from Apartment People. I believe that they recognized that they operated dishonestly and in bad faith. You might argue that this is just the way it's done. I would counter that, in the most segregated city in America- Chicago, this sort of tenant selection process can be used to launder housing discrimination. There are currently a plethora of rental vacancies in Chicagoland. I would recommend seeking out building owners, not these sorts of agencies, and avoiding the "grinder" of having an agency for each potential rental take you for a non-refundable application fee and then reserve the right to keep it, as well as tie up your first month's rent even after they reject your application. That can get pretty expensive. Just sayin'. read more

Apartment People has made the already stressful process of moving a complete NIGHTMARE for me! My experience involved inaccurate listings, false information, and arguably includes discrimination based on the Section 504 act. Be sure to read this entire post... My husband and I found an apartment that was listed as allowing dogs and paid money and completed an application before leaving. A few hours later, our realty agent called us and said the owner of the unit actually changed her mind and did not want a dog living in her apartment. We were then offered a full refund for what we paid, as the listing that we applied for was inaccurate. My husband asked if the unit owner would allow a dog that is a certified emotional support animal (ESA), and the agent said he would look into that for us. We did not feel the need to mention that our dog is an ESA beforehand, as the unit was listed as allowing dogs to begin with and my husband did not want to discuss his PRIVATE mental health diagnoses. A few days later, we were told the apartment owner said she would accept an ESA into the unit, and our agent said she had "approved our application." However, the next day the processing office said we had NOT actually been approved and that we needed to provide the apartment owner with a letter from my husband's doctor first. We did not already have a letter for my husband's ESA, because the ESA rights guidebook clearly indicates that mental health diagnoses do NOT have to be disclosed. Section 504 of the Individuals with Disabilities Act says landlords have to make reasonable efforts to accommodate emotional support animals! But, despite these efforts not being reasonable, we attempted to get a letter anyways. My husband called his psychiatrist, and the next available appointment to come in to get a letter was after April 1, and April 1 is our move date. So, since it would be impossible to meet the unethical demands of the apartment owner, I contacted the Apartment People processing office to say we were no longer interested in the unit and had found a new place to live. The processing office said we would not be refunded our entire initial payment, as we cancelled our application rather than having our application "not be accepted" by the apartment owner. So, we were shorted $160 because of non-refundable credit fees! What I would like to know is why did the agent offer us a full refund on the phone when he first heard the unit would not accept dogs, but now we cannot get a full refund? Anyways... What did Apartment People expect us to do?! We put down money based on the information that was provided to us indicating that a dog was permitted and that said NOTHING about requiring a doctor's visit and letter. Had these conditions been known to us, we would not have paid anything! So, were we supposed to wait until after April 1 for a doctor's appointment and be HOMELESS for a week in the meantime and then be accepted for this apartment after our move date in order to not lose any money?! Or, were were supposed to finish submitting our application without the doctor's letter, fully knowing our application would not be accepted for this reason, and then be given a full refund? Both of these options are a waste of my time as a mover and the time of the apartment owner, who could be out there looking for a tenant that is actually interested in her unit! Only losing $160 might not seem like much, but that is a big amount when you are dealing with the cost of movers, packing material, new furniture, and move-in fees. Plus, Apartment People made the error by showing us an inaccurate listing and then expecting us to meet the demands of a lease condition that we did not consent to at the time of payment. Overall, Apartment People showed us a unit with an INACCURATE listing, provided us with FALSE information by saying we were approved and then by saying we actually were not approved, and penalized us for canceling an application that no longer met our needs based on the new listing information, all while absolutely humiliating my husband by forcing him to discuss PRVATE mental health issues! If all that sounds appealing to you, then use Apartment People. If not, go with any other possible company instead of this one :) read more

Don't waste your time. I filled out their online form in the morning, got a text from Katie in the afternoon saying she would love to help me with my apartment search. She had asked me if she could send me some listings to look at. I told her that would be helpful. I never received a text back nor any listings. It has been over 2 weeks. I see these people post all the time on facebook post their listings. I had a very bad experience. read more

I would not recommend working with Megan Gianopulos. I viewed and applied for an apartment with her and while the apartment not working out isn't her fault, she completely disappeared when it was time to tell me I didn't get the apartment and refund my application fee . I had to call the office to figure out my application status, and then had to file a dispute with my bank to get refunded my application fee. Very unprofessional and disappointing. read more

I love the concept of this place! Who wouldn't want help finding an apartment?!?! Only thing is that the guy who was helping my friend needed to help himself. I won't put his name out there because I won't let anyone get fired over me and a review. Anyway let's just say our agent was not focused. He was late to his own appointment and when he finally get there, he took us upstairs to his desk and was searching for listings to show us. I feel like if you have the information on what we were looking for then you should have the listings and keys in hand and ready to go but he didn't and while he was looking for listings, he was constantly making and getting phone calls to make or close other deals!! I am not mad at you honey because you need to make your money but it was just rude because your on our time and we don't like to waste our time.. I cannot speak much to the apartments because they were not the best. I never knew how nasty some people can live until you walk through their home when they are not there... Oh yeah they will show you someone apartment while they are still living there.. But whatever... Oh by the way, the two young ladies at the receptionist desk should really take a course on professionalism. No one wants to hear why you hate your friend and some other friend cheating on someone else... Just kidding I did!! Because My friend and I was listening to their gossip like we knew who they were talking about and had a whole discussion about them afterwards.. You never know who listening ladies but that shouldn't happen at the work place but whatever it ain't my place of business. read more

Apartment People - They have cookies - Apartment Agents Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Tawny had me waiting outside of an apartment building for over 20 minutes, only to text me, a minute before she was suppose to arrive for the showing, that the unit had been rented out already. Super frustrating and disappointing as I need a new home in 13 days. If she's paired with you as the agent, request a new one, otherwise your time will simply be wasted. read more

I would give them two stars but the guy we had drive us around wasn't a total tool. He was really friendly and helpful and acted like a kind of tour guide. The bad thing is that all of their units were kind of dumpy. We looked at like five units in different parts of the city, but eventually ended up going with a place we found on Craigslist. If you are new to the city and want someone to drive you around since you are totally lost I'd recommend these guys any day over their competitors, especially Chicago Apartment Finders. They are terrible. Apartment People are ok... read more

Apartment People - Front Shot - Apartment Agents Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Had business with these people during my recent move . Hands down the worst customer service . First off I had an application fee of $89 which is absurd and unheard of , then was asked to give first months rent to my apartment before even knowing if I had been approved or not , like what? Then once approved it's like they completely forgot about me there was no follow thru no communication in terms of getting in touch with the owner and following it thru all the way. Nobody was on the same page when it came to my move in date, how to get my keys, etc. Overall the process was harder than it needed to be. Once things were signed and sealed they totally forget about you. Do not do business with this company , it's just a headache and they have you do most of the work. read more

I had high hopes for this service as I had used similar ones in the past. I reached out to apartment people in mid January and got on a call with someone a few days later. I told her what I was looking for, my price range, etc. She told me she'd get back to me in a few days with some listings. It's been a month and I haven't heard anything! Luckily, I was able to find an apartment on my own! read more

Unexplainable horrible customer service. Different information from each person. Waited for over 30 minutes in the lobby to drop off a payment. There was no one in the office. Do not ever list your rental with these people & do not rent from them. After paying rent, security deposit & condo association fees, we were given the run around for keys.. all the time the keys were in their office. These people desperately need training . read more

Elise is hands down the most amazing person. My husband and I were moving from Philly to Chicago with a month to move after receiving a promotion at work and while we had been to Chicago to visit, we weren't able to fully come out with existing work and a pandemic on the horizon. Elise took the time to understand our budget, what we wanted (and didn't want) in a place, and was super professional and communicative along the way. Cannot recommend Elise highly enough!!!! read more

This review is for the apartment I rented through them in spring 2017. The agent I had was helpful while I was looking for a place, but as soon as I gave my deposit, he became very disinterested and wouldn't even answer the most basic questions about the particulars of the move in process. When I arrived at the office to pick up my keys after a 10 hour drive in a moving truck, I was given a set of keys with a different address than the apartment I was supposed to move into. I pointed this out and was told that they often reuse old key rings and that it was fine. Well, wouldn't you know that they did in fact give me the wrong keys. I called and they told me I'd have to come back to pick up the right set. I told them that I wasn't going to drive my uhaul all the way back down there and try to find on street parking for it to correct the mistake they made and which could have been easily avoided. I waited nearly an hour (with the movers I hired to unload my truck on the clock and charging me) for someone to bring the right keys. read more

My experience with the Apartment People was short but very positive. It started off with a surprise; I was fully expecting to just quickly meet up with Bruno to view a single apartment but instead I was asked to visit their Broadway office, filled out some forms, and had a 30 minute 'interview' with Bruno where we figured out my apartment search criteria. He then drove me around to 3 showings that fit my description. Not the afternoon I was expecting but I none-the-less really appreciated it- it gave me a great idea of the different neighborhoods and Bruno was extremely pleasant and fun to chat with. We also saw more options and better-fitting options than I would have found on my own (and believe me, I tried!) in a shorter amount of time. It could be that I found their service extremely helpful since I just moved from out of state and know next-to-nothing about Chicago; and so I recommend them to others who are new to the city. Bruno's knowledge and tips regarding the different areas and apartments was invaluable. And even though I found a different apartment that I ultimately took, Bruno left me with very positive feelings about their service and competency. 5 stars! read more

Tim went above and beyond the usual job of a leasing agent- it seemed like he really wanted to know exactly what I was looking for so he could help find it rather than just being concerned with making a sale. I ultimately didn't go through them because I found the perfect place directly through the landlord but was so happy with how much better he was than any other leasing agent I've ever dealt with that I still want to leave a review recommending him. I will be sure to contact them and ask for him when I move again down the road. read more

Hi, I have amended my previous one star review because within minutes of me posting my review, the owner Ilene reached out to me and offered to credit me some of the finder's fee they received. I am grateful for a business owner who is so proactive to assist clients. Something I left out of my original review; after the tenant abruptly left, i emailed Apartment People asking if they could help me out at all and they said they couldn't. The owner said she had wished I'd been forwarded to her at that time. My original review was one star because I felt that the leasing agent had not been looking out for me as the landlord at all; telling me there was no interest in the property and that i best lower the security deposit, allow dogs, etc. for the one interested tenant he had found. I trusted this leasing agent because i figured he knew the market well. I really felt he was looking out for the tenant only and, ultimately, himself, as he'd probably be getting a fee for placing a tenant. I guess that particular leasing agent is no longer there. The tenant was terrible; he left 8 months early and really destroyed the condo. I wish the leasing agent would have not talked me out of the security deposit. I wish he would have suggested a criminal background or eviction check. I also wish I would have been a stronger advocate for myself during this process and I will definitely be more attentive when I go through this process again. read more

I've cosigned for a couple of people that have used this service. In both instances apartments were shown and when we got back to the office on Broadway those apartments were no longer available. Expect key issues when going to see apartments in buildings with a large number of units that may require you to come back a half hour to a day later because the correct keys can't be found. The service does work, but not as efficiently as you'd expect. read more

Approached the Apartment people with a sizeable budget and reasonable request. The broker/agent explained it should be easy to find an apartment with that budget and criteria (even easy to find something under my budget in my ideal neighborhood), and told me I was looking too early and to return in a few weeks. I returned in a few weeks and was very unimpressed with what I saw with the exception of one unit. I paid a few thousand to take one apartment off of the market, when apparently it was already unavailable and I shouldn't have been able to see the place in the first place. The agent refused to refund my entire amount because a portion of it was for a background check - that didn't need to happen if they checked whether the apartment was available in the first place. I spoke to their billing department and they were very understanding, refunding me the full amount. Upset, but needing a place to live, I scheduled a full few hours of showings immediately with the agent to find something new. The same agent that had explained I could easily find something below my budget in my ideal area (both a week and few weeks prior), started to lecture me on the need to significantly expand my budget if I wanted something decent. The agent wasted 2 months of my time and was very frustrating to work with. They were constantly late because of "personal reasons" but really just looked hungover. I guess a service is better than Padmapper (where there are so many fake listings), but I had a really bad experience with this group. I've heard some people have found some good and really cheap rare finds. That definitely seems to be the exception, not the rule. If you use this service, I recommend using another broker as well (from a different group) to cover your bases. read more

Terrible experience. Never have I experienced any sort of sales or real estate people anywhere near as pushy as the absolute assailed that work here. read more

Absolutely RUDE!!!! Whoever picked up the phone literally hung up on me. I have very specific living arrangement needs and only a limited amount of time that I will be in Chicago to view apartments. They were not interested in exploring my needs, but just getting me through the doors. When I tried to clarify that their competitors, Hotspots and other apartment buildings, were willing to hear my specifications and schedule a time that I can see available apartments, the operator told me, " well just do that" and then hung up. I will never use Apartment People. read more

I did find a place for the second time and asked to speak to a manager about some of the things that happened. I actually talked to the president of the company and she was super nice and receptive to my issues. read more

I had a great experience with The Apartment People. My agent was Jennifer Wu. She did a very good job of telling potential renters about the unit that I was renting. I like that she took the time to drive people to the location and show them the property. She also answered all of my questions about the process. read more

This agency is a total scam! I cannot begin to express the amount of frustration and stress they have caused me. My roommate and I decided to give this place a shot. We were shown 4 different places by Ryan and then at the end, we decided on a place! We put down money (a security deposit of over $1800). Two and a half weeks later we decided not to go with it and look for a different place instead (no lease was signed). Apartment People told us they are keeping our ENTIRE SECURITY DEPOSIT with no option for a refund due to the work they put in for us. What work? They showed us apartments for maybe three hours. They also lied to us about when the CEO would be in and when she would be getting ahold of us. Ryan never once told us they had the ability to keep the entire refund. He left out all of the important information just so he could make a quick commission out of us. ALSO, when a lady transferred me to Ryan to see if he could find any more apartments for us he failed to answer and put me on hold for 10 minutes. Never once called my roommate or I back to see if we could find another apartment. A week later after we yelled at them on the phone and contacted a lawyer, they decided to keep $300 and give us the rest back through an electronically signed app. Side note: on the receipt they give you it says they are only allowed to withhold no more than $300 so the fact that they were going to try to withhold more is illegal and totally wrong. Who knows how long it will be until I see an actual refund amount. Don't do this place, it's marketed as "free" but turns out to be anything but. It's literally a scheme. And they typically target young adults moving to the city. I have told my friends and everyone I know about this terrible situation in hopes they never make the same mistake I did and to prevent future situations like this from happening. My advice- stick to apartment sites like domu or trulia; even craigslist. This place lost all my respect and caused me weeks of stress. Not worth it. Dishonest, shady, and complete SCAM. read more

If I could give negative stars I would. I tried going here twice, and only found disappointment. The first time I went, some guy in his mid-twenties showed me around. Before heading off, we had to stop at the White Hen because he was hung over and needed to get "hydrated." WTF!? How professional was that!? I stated that I wanted to look in Lakeview/Wrigleyville area, and he proceeded to rave about what a great neighborhood Ravenswood was. He took me to a couple of "high" end apts in Lakeview, and the majority were decently priced in Ravenswood. He wouldn't take no for an answer, and it resulted of me basically getting out of the car, and walking back to my apt. Fast forward two years...I wanted too look in river north, and people didn't take me seriously because I work for Chicago Public Schools. Talk about discrimination... I won't be back. Just an FYI--you're better off looking in the Reader or CL. read more

PLEASE watch out for this company's SHADY business practices. I used Apartment People and saw a few apartments. Since I had to move ASAP I went with a studio in Lakeview. I applied and gave them the deposit/ credit check money which came to $795. I was told this money would be re-funded it they could not find an Apartment for me. THEIR OFFICE SALESMEN ARE GREAT LIARS. They still needed my check stubs before they could process the whole application though. Throughout this process I still hadn't sent in the stubs yet, which means their application never went through. I found another apartment due to sheer luck, it blows the other one out of the water, and was 40 dollars cheaper/month. So I signed a lease with this place and called up Apartment People to cancel. Here's where the fun begins. They tell me blatantly that I won't be getting my $795 deposit money back. I said what??? I told them the guy who helped me explained that the money I was signing over would be returned if I did not take the place as stated above. I went on to explain how he told me it is held in an Apartment People repository. It would be used for other deposits if I didn't get this place or it would be returned to me. The only reason this guy gives me is because he said I signed a line saying this was a deposit and is non-refundable. To make a long story short, I had to chase down their processing department who doesn't return your calls and treats you like garbage. They refused to put me in contact with the leasing company I spoke with. Instead they said they would "resolve it". Instead, I found the leasing company information online. They stated they never processed an application of even ran a credit check. I got back into contact with Apartment People (numerous calls to processing unanswered) and after sending them a bunch of paperwork, they said they would refund me $670 instead of my $795. By then I wa exhausted dealing with these cronies and just wanted my money so I took the $670. PLEASE BEWARE OF THE SHADY BUSINESS PRACTICES. PLEASE READ EVERY LINE OF THEIR HORRIBLE CONTRACTS...PLEASE DO NOT LET MY EXPERIENCE BE YOURS. ---EDITED -- NEW WRITING--- I had been contacted by Apartment People's PR staff member (below) who massaged the issue, as you can clearly see, but even after emailing her back to help rectify my situation, I received no response for any help towards my cause. Business as usual for Apartment People. I consider this a lost cause, have given up on Apartment People, and I hope you do to. read more

Sometimes my roommate has good ideas. -"Let's go to Steak N' Egger." -"Let's see how many beers we can drink while upside-down." -"No, Matt, I actually think it would be a GOOD idea to see if you can hit the dartboard from the kitchen." Sometimes, he has some bad ideas. -"Let's go to a Sox game." -"Hey, I got free tickets to a Sox game. Want to go?" -"Turn on the Sox game." But his worst idea lately was using Apartment People. I wanted to go about getting our new pad in the old school way, but he went to them without me knowing. At first, it didn't seem so bad. He went with a guy a few times and said he saw some decent places. Then he and I both went and actually found our new place. (Hello, St. Ben's!) Since we found a nice place, I began thinking maybe his idea wasn't too bad. But then came sealing the deal. What a pain in the ass. Apartment People do not want you to have any contact with your landlord. None. They actually got pissed when we called ours with questions. Granted, we had to steal the number off of their computer screen, but come on. The lady lives in our building. It's not like we're never going to see her. What's the secret? Plus, they screwed up and showed us a place that doesn't allow cats even though I specifically told them I had a cat. The landlord eventually said she didn't care, but at first it was a mess, since of course the place we pick is the one they should have never showed us. Next, it was the annoying back and forth of filling this out and then going back down there to fill this out and then going again to sign this and faxing them that and needed more of this. Jesus. Do you want my right leg, too? I wouldn't be surprised if they are monitoring me right now as I type. It seems like they want your entire life history at their fingertips. I just want an apartment; I'm not trying to get a job at the CIA. We got a nice place out of it. I get that. Great. But I wouldn't go back to these people again. They are a bunch of buttheads. read more

Everyone at Apartment People are extremely friendly, that's not a problem. My problem is how much they don't tell you up front, even when you are asking direct questions. My current roommate & I were in a hurry - we needed to be in a place by the end of the weekend (mind you, the day we met with someone at Aparment People was a Thursday). We laid out everything for the guy we were working with - our price range, how it was CRUCIAL that we find a place without a security deposit, and how we needed to be close to public transportation. There was a specific apartment we had called on, so they took us right to that one. The guy we worked with spent the entire time trying to sell the apartment to us. I work in sales, I know how this game works. Even tho the apartment was definitely not something to be proud of, he spent his entire time focusing on the good it did have. Like central heat & air, and a dishwasher. And free laundry. And the fact that it was around the corner from the Belmont red line. All right, sold. Tiny, little space with barely enough room for both of our beds and a couch, but the convenience of the location was enough to battle that. So begin the application! Oh, what do we have here? In order to even process our application, we needed to have first months rent right then & there, plus an addiitonal $50 each. And this was a for a "maybe you'll possibly get accepted." The guy told us there was a $50 application fee. He never once told us to process our application they needed the first months rent. We weren't exactly in a position to just hand over $500 each for a maybe. Then..fine print. If there are any problems, Apartment People has the right to take that out of the first months rent if we don't get approved. We slipped the applications back to them and continued our search. If we weren't straight forward with all of the people we worked with, I could understand this happening. But from the moment we stepped foot in that office we were nothing but honest and they said they would work with us to make sure we had a home by the end of the day. FAIL. read more

This place is a joke. They spam craigslist with hundreds of ads, rendering the search function meaningless. I found a place I liked that happened to be listed through them, called and set up a showing. Wrote them a check for $1500 on the spot and they said the place was mine, so I headed back to work. Got a call a few hours later telling me that someone else at Apt People was showing the same place afterwards and taking checks from other people, and that the owner had decided to go with another tenant. This was after they cashed my check, of course, and it took them weeks to refund the money back to me which interfered my ability to look for another place. On a small scale, this type of business might work. They've grown to be an impersonal monstrosity that doesn't give a shit about anyone who is looking for a place. read more

Apartment People has $120.00 of our money, and we have.....nothing! Zip, zilch, zero. What a racket. We got a lot of happy talk and reassurance about helping us find and get into an apartment....that is, until the check for $1100 is written and the debit for $120.00 is swiped. After that? Nothing. Phone calls not returned. Suddenly, the next day, we are so much less important (now that our check has been deposited). Sound unbelievable? It's true. Stay away. read more

The story I am about to tell is 100% accurate, filled with praise, and ends in tragedy. I'm writing this review because even though we are currently in mourning, I think it's important that credit is given where credit is due, especially to Apartment People. On January 18, 2014, we decided to utilize Apartment People's services to look for an apartment for a 19 year old young man whose name was, Alex Anderson. My Partner had been a mentor for this young man through Mercy Home since he was 11 years old and was concerned for his well-being since Alex's grandmother recently passed away. We had previously rented an apartment ourselves through Apartment People and were happy to use them again because of our prior experience with them. Even though we did not have an appointment, Apartment People was happy to see us as a walk in and immediately paired us up with Mr. Eric Shiplock, on a busy Saturday morning. After a brief interview, Mr. Shiplock was fully aware of our budget, location that we were looking for, and the date we wanted Alex to move into his new apartment. Alex also had a very limited employment history with no credit; so my Partner made it quite clear he wanted to co-sign for Alex so there would be no issues in getting an apartment since he had the means to co-sign for hm. Mr. Shiplock was terrific in finding at least 6 apartments that fit our budget and requested geological location we wanted for Alex. Within 3 hours, Mr. Shiplock drove us to 4 of the locations and was quite knowledgeable of each property and property management Company. We opted not to see 2 of them because we immediately settled on 1 of them located in the Uptown neighborhood at 4735 Beacon because of the size of the apartment, rent, and safety of the location for Alex. After settling, we drove back to Apartment People's office, completed the necessary paperwork, and thanked Mr. Shiplock (I really cannot say enough about him) for his professionalism and helpfulness. On January 20, 2014, Alex came over to our apartment and I encouraged him to call Apartment People to see if his application was approved or if we needed to provide additional documentation to the Property Management Company. This was around 5pm. Unfortunately, Alex had no idea what to ask the Processing Department when he called so I had to feed him the correct questions to ask (which I think the Processing Department heard me on the receiving end). Alex was advised because of his limited employment history, he would need to submit a letter from his employer confirming his employment history. I assisted Alex in drafting a letter for his employer to sign and complete and advised him to drive to his employer that evening (Alex worked for a hot dog restaurant), get the paperwork completed, and return to our home the same evening with the completed form so my Partner could fax the document to Apartment People processing on January 21, 2014. Sadly, Alex Anderson never made it back to our place. Alex left our apartment at 8pm to take his girlfriend home, get the paperwork signed/completed, and at around 10pm, Alex was shot twice and subsequently succumbed to his wounds on January 21, 2014. Here is Alex's online memorial: http://www.legacy.com/guestbook/Batesville/guestbook.aspx?n=alex-anderson&pid=169228687&eid=viewgb&eid=viewgb On January 21, 2014, my Partner immediately notified Apartment People's processing office and was immediately advised he would be receiving a full refund on his credit card. The Processing representative was empathetic and offered her condolences for which we greatly appreciated. (note, we received the full refund at the time of this review writing). On January 22, 2014, Mr. Eric Shiplock from Apartment People also took it upon himself to call my Partner and offer his condolences as well. Mr. Shiplock didn't have to do that but did because he is kind, courteous, and a professional individual. We were stunned and heartbroken over what happened to Alex Anderson because he was a fine young man who was just starting out in life and needed adult direction; something we were willing to do for him. Sadly, Alex was supposed to move into his new place on January 25, 2014 but instead was buried on that day instead. Through this all, we were so grateful for everything Apartment People did for us and their professionalism. Every one of their employees who worked with us from beginning to end: Front Desk, Mr. Eric Shiplock, and Processing Department all receive nothing but HIGH PRAISE from us. If anyone is looking to rent, I HIGHLY encourage you to utilize Apartment People's services and please ask for Eric Shiplock. You will not be disappointed. read more

Mandi Garcin is that friend you've always wanted! She is charming, enthusiastic, and an apartment hustler! She finds exactly what you want and is honest about her choices. Driving around with her is awesome. I've been driven around with other apartment services and most of it was crappy small talk, loud radio, or no radio (the worst). Mandi is the opposite of that! We talk about anything and everything...I mean everything - Red Mango and Angels (inside joke between us). Her great personality and strong work ethic should be used as an example for the perfect renting agent. Request her!! read more

Do not trust these people. Apartment People is handy if you want to take an evening and see what's out there. They have a pretty big database and will cart you around the city. However, they will also tell you with a straight face that an apartment is yours once you hand them a check, and that is NOT the case. My boyfriend and I, who usually halfass apartment hunting, were really proud of ourselves this time for getting a jump on it. We chose a nice place, did a bunch of paperwork, paid the first month's rent and the credit check fee, and assumed everything was set. Our agent, Ryan, told us he'd be in touch in a couple of days so we could sign the lease with the landlord. Over the next seven days, we called and emailed Ryan and the main office probably six or seven times, because they just disappeared. No lease, no replies, no nothing. Finally, DAYS after we were supposed to be finished with this, the main office calls to let us that someone else got the apartment that we were assured went off the market as soon as we handed in a check. I sent Ryan yet another email, asking what the hell had happened. Here's his reply: "Hello Deana I just found out what happened, I've been out of the office for a while, and haven't been checking anything. I come back to work tomorrow & will get looking for an alternative apartment. I'm sorry this one did not work out. I'll let you know what other units look good for the two of you!" 1. Different Apartment People representatives told me at least three contradictory stories about what went wrong here, but this explanation says to me that the landlord called you, you "weren't checking anything," and he went with someone else. 2. "I'm sorry this one did not work out" is something you say when two people you set up on a blind date don't like each other. This was not an act of god--everything was working out great until our agent went AWOL. 3. It's 2012. Have you seriously not heard of putting an autoresponse on your email account? Desperate, we STILL went back to try to find another place (there was nothing left), where our new agent helpfully reminded us that while we'd get our first month's rent back, the $100 we gave them for credit checks are nonrefundable. Fortunately, this place's head is so far up its ass that it wasn't aware it hadn't cashed our checks, so I was able to put a stop on them with my bank. If our current landlord hadn't granted us an extension, we'd be really screwed right now. In conclusion, use these people if you must, but don't assume you actually have an apartment no matter what they say until your actual ass is on your actual couch at your new address. EDIT: I'd like to add that my heart sincerely goes out to Ilene, the poor soul stuck defending AP to all the Yelpers they've pissed off. Doesn't look like her efforts are doing anything to improve the place. Also, my name is Deana. read more

I've used Apartment People twice in my 6+ years in Chicago. Once to amazing effect - great assistance from the Apartment People employee (Russell, you were awesome), great service overall, and great apartment (which I ended up staying in for 5 years). Once to "meh" effect - great assistance (from the same Apartment People employee (Russell, you're still great)), but sub-par customer service experience with document signing and paperwork costing me several hundred dollars when I decided not to move into the apartment (customer service performed by a manager, no less). I did not review the documents properly prior to signing (my fault) nor was I prompted to by their employees (theirs), nor did I receive a copy of that paperwork for my reference at a later point (theirs). This is especially lame when the paperwork outlines that they, Apartment People, and the management company may end up keeping up to HALF of your money ($$$) if something happens during the process. I get it - my indecision and inattention cost me money since it cost Apartment People and the management company money. But Apartment People's employees' lack of simple customer service practices (verbally confirming or pointing out sections of documents that their clients should pay attention to, giving their clients a copy of paperwork bearing their signature before they walk out of the processing department) is also inexcusable and unprofessional. I will likely use one of their competitors in the future - will drill them on their paperwork if I have questions prior to signing, and ask for copies of everything. Learn from my mistakes, y'all. read more

We arrived at Apartment People and were quickly taken care of but once we were led upstairs to speak with our leasing agent we knew we were in for a bad time. My boyfriend and I sat at the desk waiting for about 10 minutes while the man who was assigned to help us sat a few desks away playing on his computer. People who came in long after us were seated and helped before we were. Finally, Sung, our leasing agent, came over and with zero to no enthusiasm began typing away to find apartments when I had already placed a complete list of places we liked in front of him. When we finally went out to look at apartments the leasing agent kept taking frequent phone calls from Comcast while he set up internet at his own house. For 4 hours we drove around and we only saw 2 out of 7 places because he either forgot the key, or took us to a place where the unit was no longer available. For one of the places, the key had actually been lost. When we finally got back to the Lakeview office we were dropped off on the side of the road and told to have a nice day. The entire experience felt very unprofessional and after making the 4 hour drive up to Chicago specifically for this appointment we left feeling beyond frustrated. read more

Betsy Sugarman is a fantastic rental agent! She really listened to what I wanted in a new apartment and took the time to narrow down the choices and find the right options for me. Even though I didn't find anything on our first viewing together, she continued to look through listings and send me options. When we had trouble getting access to a unit, she followed up with the right people to get us in very quickly. In the end, I actually had a tough time deciding between two apartments because they were both perfect for me! Thanks to her patience, persistence and real estate wisdom, Betsy made the whole apartment search process much easier and less stressful, and I never felt pressured at all. As far as Apartment People's listings go, I would've liked to see more independent landlords as opposed to management properties, but there were plenty of options to choose from. read more

Apartment People is a great service, but there are a lot of inconsistencies. You are more likely to get a nice apartment through their services if you aren't rushing. The apartment they coordinated for me to rent had damages at the time I moved in and when I moved out they insisted that the landlord repair those damages before re-listing the unit. Wow, I felt like a fool. Why did I rent the place with a bad floor for nine months? Why was it listed as move in ready and then in the same condition when I moved out it was not up to par? Again, this is a good service, but if you are in a hurry or have circumstances that might make you want to rush into making a decision this might not be the best resource. If you have time to take your time, list out what you want (within reason) and sleep on some of your choices you are fine. I know the rental market in Chicago is tough, but jumping to a decision is tougher. Of course, red carpet treatment goes to those with good credit. If you know you are going to rent soon pull your report and contest inconsistencies before you start your search. read more