Chicago Property Finders

(Attn: Paul Lea) I am currently living in Arizona and am moving to Chicago in January without ever having stepped foot in the city. Somehow along my journey through online searches for apartments on engines like Zillow and Trulia I came across Paul Lea, and I am SO thankful. I have various special circumstances that limit where I can live and Paul took everything in stride and spent what I feel is a significant amount of time trying to find me the perfect place. From offering to FaceTime me during apartment showings to sending me photos/​videos of the apartments, to suggesting that I have one of my friends who currently lives in the city to drive around with him to have them check out various places for me, this guy was phenomenal. He was always prompt with emails/​texts/​calls, and quick to find apartments. Paul knows this business. In less than a week I went from not knowing where on earth I was going to live, to having an outstanding apartment with all of the features on my «must have» and «would like to have» lists. And Paul presented several options with all the amenities and features I desired. He’s professional and hands down the best I’ve ever worked with (and I’ve moved 7 different times, so this isn’t my first rodeo). WHEN IN DOUBT, GO WITH PAUL.

I’m really overdue on writing this review. I was moving to Chicago after finishing college in Berkeley and I wanted a 1BR apt with a great view, close distance to work and good amenities. I contacted Garett and he replied within a day and asked me some basic questions on what I wanted in my new home.
After referring me to Jeremy, who industriously sent me 16 listings within 2 days that fit my bill, I scheduled a day to fly in to Chicago and went to 10 apartment showings in a day. I finally got a beautiful 1 BR right beside the harbor for a great price.

Garrett Steve is a great and knowledgable realtor. His recommendations were top-​notch and he guided me through a stress free purchase, from beginning to end. Highly recommended.

Amazing service! They take the stress out of finding an apartment. Our agent was personable, listened to our needs and chauffeured us around the city until we found our perfect place. Will defiantly use them in the future!

If you’d like to get a good over view of the Northside when you are beginning your apartment search, Orrin is a great agent to assist. He does a very thorough assessment of what is important to you in a new apartment/​neighborhood. He discusses transportation routes for your commute and provides sound advice for what is available in your price range. This guy is an experienced agent and his work reflects his familairity with the Chicago real estate scene.

Garrett worked with my wife and me for an afternoon. Garrett was very professional. He knows the buildings well, he allowed us to dictate the pace that we went through each apartment and building and as my wife said: he knew when to be quiet and let us talk quietly to each other. Good listener, easy-​going demeanor, zero pressure and yet a take charge guy and someone who makes things happen! We really liked him and I highly recommend him.

I found Chicago Rent Finders and my borker Garrett through an online search. He was the first and only broker to immediately reach out. Garrett listened to my requests and provided pictures before going out to see the actual properties which i appreciate. Garrett was honest and upfront with what true expectations needed to be and has strong relationships with all the buildings downtown.
I feel comfortable recommending Chicago Rent Finders and Garrett Steve specifically.

I highly recommend Chicago Rent Finders. I worked with Garrett and he was very responsive, professional, and attentive to my needs. He honed in on exactly what I was looking for and did not show me any places that didn’t have my must-​haves. Garrett made it very easy to view apartments by driving me from place to place. We met with the leasing agents in each of the buildings and were able to tour the amenities as well as some units. He advocated for my needs while still clearly having a good relationship with the leasing agents.
One of the most valuable things for me was that he was able to quickly point out differences between buildings and units. For example, he pointed out that in one building there was a $ 300 difference between units that was essentially only paying for a different view. On my own, I don’t think I would have made that quick calculation and thought about it in that way. He also noted differences in small details like the blinds.
Garrett was professional, respectful, and great to work with. He made it easy and enjoyable and did not pressure me at all. I will definitely use him again in the future when I’m looking for my next place!

I recently moved from New York and wanted a place in the city. Joel spent a lot of time researching properties for me. I felt like he cared about me getting a place that I really loved, and followed up to make sure that I was making the right decision. I would highly recommend reaching out to Joel at Chicago Rent Finders if you are looking to move in to the city.

Garrett is very professional, friendly, and knowledgeable when helping me look for a high-​rise studio. I was looking for one in a short time and he quickly helped me line up a few options for me to see.
He listened to my living requirements very carefully and quickly helped me find the apartment I wanted. Having been living in it for a month now and everything about the apartment is great.
He is definitely the one to contact when you want to find your dream place.

Was looking for a studio and contacted Garrett regarding my search. He was very friendly, knowledgeable and very prompt in all communications. He lined up multiple showings as soon as I had availability and went above and beyond expectations to help me in my search! He also drove me to all the showings and had a great relationship with the building managers! Garrett understood what type of place I was looking for after describing it and my wants in an ideal apartment and was great to work with!
Definitely recommend working with Garrett! THANK YOU!!!

Garrett is wonderful! We were in a sticky situation in fear that our current building would raise prices and they wouldn’t tell us until the day we needed to either renew the lease or not. While I was still a couple months away from moving, Garrett was eager to jump right in and help us out! Other leasing agents told me to call them in a few months but again, I was too worried we’d have no clue what to do and didn’t want to be scrambling for a place to live.
Garrett always responds right away, gave us so many options to look at and is incredibly knowledgeable about downtown high rises. He figured out very quickly what we needed and what we like and didn’t stray from our budget. He’s a very down to earth guy and cares a lot about his clients. Even the little details I told him, like having a dog, needing extra storage, and having a really big bed, were things Garrett stayed on top of and made sure each apartment fit these needs.
I highly recommend Garrett for leasing and I know he does other work in flipping places too! I look forward to working with him in the future! Completely professional but easy to talk to and super friendly!
Thanks for everything, Garrett!

Garrett is so awesome.
Chicago Rent Finders was recommended to me by my friend, Tony (who also wrote a review below). Garrett had recently found him an awesome studio in the K Station area that Tony was super stoked about.
I’ve moved every year for the past ten years and really just wanted someone to do all the work for me, which is basically what Garrett did. I contacted him with the details of what I was looking for — neighborhoods, type of apartment, amenities, size, price including utilities… and he went to work super quickly and emailed me a list of about five apartments that were in my price range.
I met up with Garrett today at the first location, and he drove me to the rest of our appointments that he had set up for the day. I ended up finding a studio that I really love in the same area that I am living in now, and I am currently in the application process.
Working with Garrett was quick and painless, and I have to thank him for putting up with my daily emails — I’m a planner and sometimes it’s difficult for me to hand over the reigns to someone else… haha.
Garrett is super knowledgable about the different apartment communities downtown and knows what you should be paying, and I definitely recommend utilizing his services if you’re looking for a new place.

This is a no-​brainer: Call up Garrett at Chicago Rent Finders.
This will be my 5^th apartment downtown and my first time using a broker, and I have no need to ever use anyone else. CRF listens to your needs, budget, and preferences and lines up rapid-​fire tours the next day. I hate moving and this made it as pain-​free and effortless as could be. I didn’t have to worry or second-​guess whether where I’m moving to next is the best for me… because I checked out everywhere that fit my profile.
Further, CRF will find awesome deals that aren’t available elsewhere/​on the buildings’ websites AND you’ll get driven around in a sweet car to each appointment.
No-​brainer.

I worked with Garrett Steve finding an apartment. He was efficient and knowledgeable, finding we many options in a short time frame. On the day of our showings he only brought my roommate and I to places that fit our requirements and budget and during the afternoon that we searched he was never pushy. I would definately recommend others work with Garrett as well.

I was researching apartments for my move to Chicago. I was excited to see what options there were for for my roommate and I. Garrett reached out to me after I expressed interest in some apartment listings, and he had told me that he would set up some showings after I told him what I was interested in. Besides speaking to Garrett, I researched other places and spoke to private owners regarding apartments for rent in Chicago. Because my roommate and I are both nurses, and work opposite schedules, I went to showings on my own took pictures, and let her know what I thought. This morning I wanted her to see one so we went on a second showing at 10am. She loved it and we knew we found a place. As soon as we got out (11am) I messaged Garrett and cancelled the showings, and said «Thank you for your help». He called me and SCREAMED at me for canceling saying that I should have told him earlier, and how I was just a big waste of his time. He called me a «Piece of Work» along with other things. I calmly explained to him I let him know as soon as I knew and there was no way to predict the outcome of the showing because I wasn’t sure what my roommate was going to say. Im sure that he USUALLY is a great realtor but don’t piss this guy off he will insult you and throw a temper tantrum that is worse than a two year old, and a mentally delusional patient combined. He is completely unprofessional, and rude. Garrett I never even had to let you know I could have just not showed up. I gave you notice and thanked you for your services what else would you like someone in my position to do. To add to that, be a better realtor and I wouldn’t have to go somewhere else. I spent a week really researching and visiting places and was able to find an amazing place that you said wasn’t possible. Your clients would receive better respect and a better leasing opportunity from me than they would from you!

If you are looking for a luxury or upscale in Chicago’s best neighborhoods, Chicago Rent Finders can help you through the entire process. As we all know, there are many variables that come into play when considering a move. There is plenty of information on their site to make the choice a bit easier including a fun and descriptive neighborhood list, an apartment search feature with great photos and a cool blog.
While searching for a place in downtown Chicago, I received a lot of amazing help from CRF. They definitely respected my budget, lifestyle and took a lot into consideration while hooking me up.
CRF gets private listings that are only available through their agents. This is great as I was able to see a lot of cool «off the market» type places. We concentrated on the Loops and Wicker Park. I loves them all.
There are definitely landlords that allow pets as well. That’s cool, since so many of us these days have a cat or dog. They drove around to all the places we had talked about and I was very pleased with the whole thing. If you are looking for a move to lovely Chitown, give these guys a call.

Chicago rent finders was the best service I have ever used. This was my sixth apartment down town and so many agents have come and gone, Chicago Rent Finders called me right away and after one day I found my apartment and signed my lease. They were so accommodating and professional. They listened to what I wanted and listened to my budget, which never happens! I gave them 2 weeks until my move out day and they found my apartment in 24 hrs!!! I recommended them to everyone I know, they are amazing!

Going through Chicago Rent Finders was incredibly helpful. I had a specific lifestyle in mind moving to Chicago and they were able to find me the perfect place. They were able to find a place within my budget, in an area that is fun for a young adult. It didn’t long at all to find, and I actually had fun looking for an apartment. I love it in my new home!