How to Find Apartments in Chicago

Contributor

By Sabah Karimi
eHow Contributing Writer

Article Rating: (1 Ratings)

Chicago offers a wide array of housing. While New York and Los Angeles are expensive no matter where you go, Chicago offers more choices in styles, sizes and budgets. Still, you'll need a plan to find your dream apartment and find a safe, affordable area that meets your needs. Whether you're living with a roommate or on your own, you'll have plenty of options to choose from in the Windy City.

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Instructions

Determine How Much You Want to Spend on Rent

A good way to find your upper limit for housing costs is to divide your monthly net (after-tax) income by 3. If this figure seems unusually low, you have three options: (1) make more money, (2) consider living in a less expensive area, like the Far North or West Side (see step 2) or (3) save money on rent by finding a roommate.

If you decide to get a roommate to lower your housing costs, you can choose a friend/acquaintance yourself, or you can use a roommate agency. To exclude unsuitable roommates from your life, ask all potential roommates several questions about their living habits, their jobs and general personal interests.

Arrange it so that your roommate co-signs the lease. If your name is the only one on the lease, you shoulder the entire burden of responsibility for the apartment from a financial standpoint. If your roommate loses his job (and by extension, a steady cash flow), you'll be stuck paying his share of the rent.

Next: Pick a Neighborhood

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Comments

camelwoman said

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on 10/4/2009 I recommend Chicago's Property Shop http://www.chicagospropertyshop.com. They have a lot of information and pictures for apartments available for rent in Chicago area. I was even able to search by neighborhood which was very helpful.