Key To Successful Negotiation When Locating A Chicago Apartment For Rent

When relocating from another city or country people should really try to get familiar with the local Chicago apartment market and terms that they will typically encounter. Coming from another location where the apartment market is slower and not as competitive can give the misconception that price, length of lease and amenities are always negotiable. In the quick competitive Chicago apartment market this is not always the case.

Location, location, and location is the most important variable in determining the price for any Chicago apartment. Let's quickly talk about some high demand neighborhoods in Chicago, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Bucktown, Wicker Park, Gold Coast and Lincoln Square just to name a few. Along with a few others these neighborhoods are extremely popular because of their proximity to transportation, night life and several universities in the city. The popularity determines the price that potential tenants are willing to pay. In any of these neighborhoods you might have three to five people looking at the same apartment within the same hour. Odds are that a few of these people looking for an apartment will be interested in applying. With such high demand and a shrinking supply of Chicago apartments landlords DO NOT have to negotiate down on any rental price, especially during the height of rental season. Rental season usually begins in the early spring and goes through late fall.

Late fall ends at the end of October early November. After fall we know that winter comes into Chicago. Winter comes with many headaches, more so for landlords with vacant units. Having several vacant apartments during the winter months is terrible for landlords. Not only do they have to deal with the loss of income, but also the cost of keeping utilities running. If you're a person looking for a short term lease, this is probably the only time throughout the year that you may be able to sign a short term lease. Most landlords would be open to signing a lease that would start in November and end in April or May during the height of rental season. I'm not stating that landlords would automatically take a short term lease, but if there's a time to ask for one, this is definitely the time.

Let's quickly discuss utilities, heat, cooking gas, electricity and water. The easy one to begin with is water. Water is always included. For the most part electricity and cooking gas will not be included in some rare occasions they might be included. Now comes the big one, heat. Heat is sometimes included; the majority of Chicago apartments are in older buildings that have been rehabbed through the years. Several of these older buildings have radiator heaters that all run on one main system through the entire building. Some landlords have chosen to leave these radiator heaters in place simply to attract tenants. As a rule of thumb if a Chicago apartment has heat included, you will not have central air conditioning. If heat is not included for the most part you will have central air conditioning. Utilities are pretty much non-negotiable, but a few payment plans are offered directly though the utility companies.

This section on building amenities applies more towards Chicago apartments located in the Downtown and Gold Coast neighborhoods. Several apartment buildings in these neighborhoods are high or mid rise buildings. Within these buildings there may be an indoor pool, party room, gym, dry cleaners or even a business center. A few of these buildings offer all these amenities to their tenants at no charge. On the other hand some buildings do have additional charges for these amenities. Whatever the case is, whether included or not, these terms are for the most part non-negotiable.

Keep in mind that when searching for a Chicago apartment to rent during the height of rental season, terms are non-negotiable. When winter is approaching landlords might be willing to work with you. When relocating from another city or country don't assume that the same rules of negotiation apply to the fast paced Chicago apartment rental market.