I am looking for a place downtown thats nice (granite counter tops nice appliances wood floors etc). I have been looking in the new east side, loop, west loop, streeterville, south loop, my ideal rent is from 800-1200, I'd like a convertible but i'd be fine with a studio. Anyone know someone who is looking to sublease a place or rent out a place they own? I hate dealing with the apartment people and fkers like that. When I deal with them I feel like sooo yeah. I work on N. Michigan ave just over the river and my ideal situation would be a mile from work. Craigslist is just a mess of all the apartmentpeople.com's and others like them, so its a pain in the arse to deal with that too.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

(yeah I know I can get a lot if i go further north or west but I want the hustle and bustle of downtown)

 

Unfortunately Chris, you will be very hard-pressed to find a deal of that sort in those areas. It may be possible, but it will definitely require a lot of searching or definitely knowing someone.

I rent from a single owner (not the owner of the whole complex, just my unit) a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 1 "office" (I use it as my bedroom despite being the size of a walk-in closet and not having windows, roommate takes the other) with granite countertops, wood floor, stainless steel appliances, and an underground heated / cooled garage parking space (worth ~$200 a month) in the very edge of the "University Village" area, just north of the tracks from Pilsen. Even if you take the parking space out of the total monthly cost of the place, it is still over your expected amount, yet I hear this is on the low side for places like this in University Village.

That being said, if I chose to go elsewhere at the end of my lease (end of May), I'll let you know and would definitely be welcome to show you the place. My landlord is extremely cool, I really like the location, and the parking spot is amazing. If I were to go anywhere else, I'd consider buying a place at 565 Quincy (I'd like at rental options there if I were you, the location would definitely fit your needs) or West Loop, because that area is extremely cool IMO.

 

I second what K1ngFunk said about the $ and what you get in that area. The realtors often have rental options from owners that are not widely published and you can avoid the clutter of the apartment listings.

 

Thanks guys, i'll keep looking.

 

Chris,

What has worked for friends of mine that hated dealing with apartment people was to walk around a neighborhood you want to live in and look for "For Rent" signs. That may work more on the north side though.

FWIW, I did a quick craigslist search for the neighborhood Garrison and I live in. For $1300 you can get, from what I can tell, the same type of apartment Garrison lives in. A bit out of your range but consider it includes underground parking, free internet, and a small gym. Savings on gym membership and internet might get you back into your range. The downsides are it's not near a train station and not deep downtown like you may be looking for. To me it's worth it since I drive everywhere anyway. http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/apa/1592862481.html

 

Dang, that's almost identical to mine for less than what I'm paying.

And I would also agree that I love the area I live in, and this complex in particular. While I may not be immediately close to the train station, the #60 bus (servicing both Union and Ogilvie) practically comes to the complex and runs 24/7. Plus, I've always felt safe here, it's really easy for me to get to both school as well as any freeway leading out of the city, and the buildings as well as most in them seem pretty nice.

Maybe except for that jerk in the blue CR who won't take his car to the Dragon this year where it belongs...

 

Don't trust anyone that buys a convertable without a covertable roof.

 

We currently live in a 1-bedroom in the Marina City Towers (corn buildings) by the House of Blues... monthly rent is $1100, but parking is killer and the place still has the original appliances and isn't very updated... carpet has rips and is this hippie green color. But man the view makes it all worth it.

There are other 1-bedrooms available for $1150-1200/mo.