Finding an Apartment in Chicago: My Quest for Documentation of Utilities Included in My Rent

This has been a learning experience. I would love if people commented and told me about their own experiences, if a bigger market just works like this, advice for the next apartment hunt, etc.

I have recently found and signed a lease for an apartment. I went through one of the apartment finding services. I found the business through google. I would absolutely suggest, if you are able, to skip a service and go it on your own. That's what I will be doing the next time I need to find an apartment.

Take this all with a grain of salt, my opinions are my own. I'm not mentioning, by name, what service I went with or who my landlord is. The former is because I'm not comfortable causing negative ramifications in a person's career for something that, in the end, turned out ok, and the latter, because I don't want people to know where I live.

First, why I chose to go with a service rather than going through Craigslist or a newspaper. I chose to get some help in my search because I'm not that familiar with Chicago. I went in with a list of neighborhoods that I would live in and a list of must haves. Those must haves were: dog friendly and near transit. I also wanted to be near a grocery store. I could have googled every single location listed on Craigslist that appealed to me in order to determine neighborhood, dogs welcome, and proximity to transit, but I think it would have taken me a very long time. Thus, I thought I was being more efficient by getting some guidance.

The day of apartment hunting started off just fine. We spent an hour, maybe a little over, talking about what my wants and needs with regard to an apartment. I was told repeatedly how great they were, why everyone should come to them, etc. I'm not really sure what the pitch was for, I was already there. Anyway, about an hour and a half into my appointment my agent and I left to scope out some apartments.

The first two were no goes, they did not meet the criteria that I wanted. The third place I visited was great. We saw a few more places before heading back to the office. All in all, I think I saw around 7 apartments in the span of two hours. Volume, thus, was pretty nice and way more than I could have done trying to hop Red Line to Blue, etc.

My issue with using a service, then, has nothing to do with the going out and looking, it's the getting me to sign papers phase and afterwards that's bothersome.

I had a clear front runner from the moment we walked into apartment number three. After I told the agent and his supervisor which apartment I was interested in, I then asked what utilities were included with the rent. Heat, water, sewage, trash, and maybe cooking gas but they weren't really sure about that. (NOTE! After going through the last couple of days, this sticks out to me as a red flag).

That's great, I thought. In my last place I had to pay electric, water, etc. (Heat was electric). I mentioned that it was great and that I was definitely interested, but I wanted to think about it. They informed me that waiting probably wasn't a good idea, I could lose it. They gave me a few private minutes to talk over the decision with some trusted advisers that I called. I decided to go with the apartment.

I had to pay the first month's rent to hold the apartment and another fee to fund my credit check. I asked to see the lease before I made any decisions and signed anything, but that was not possible because the lease was between me and the landlord, they don't have one. I thought this was pretty strange considering how much I was required to put down to even apply for the place. But, I wanted the apartment so I signed their paperwork and paid.

The next day I received the lease, via email, from the landlord. Low and behold there was a provision that directly contradicted what I had been told was included in the rent. Specifically, this provision stated that absolutely NO utilities were included with the rent. (NOTE! There was a Welcome to the Building page in the packet containing the lease (listing phone numbers of utility companies) that stated Heat and Cooking gas were included, however, there was no where to sign, etc.) I wanted what the agent and his supervisor had told me was included in the rent in writing. I absolutely do not think this is too much to ask. I was not interested in signing a binding contract that stated that I received none of the utilities even if there was a verbal understanding.

What ensued was about four days of back and forth with the service trying to figure out what was and what was not a part of rent. Eventually, I was told that they don't read the leases to know what is included in the rent. I thought this was outrageous. They told me that, if I just had to have it in writing, if they were me they would just pencil it in, but they can't send me instructions because they're not lawyers. Umm, no. That would have made it a counteroffer and I didn't want to lose the lease over a couple of penciled in comments.
[Serious inquiry: Am I wrong that it's poor practice for an agent not to read the lease of a property he is trying to lease? I understand that reading all the boilerplate isn't necessary, but I would think knowing what the rent covers is essential in pitching an apartment. Keep in mind that I was living and renting in a much smaller market and could not imagine that an agent peddling a product was spouting off about what he thought, rather than what he knew. I would like peoples' opinions, comment below.]

Next, after contacting the landlord directly, I was told he does not change the language of the leases to reflect what utilities are included in his various properties because he just has so many that it would be a pain to change.  [Serious inquiry number 2: For renters in larger cities, does your lease contain what utilities are included?]

I finally, FINALLY, got an email that said that heat and cooking gas were included...no mention of the other utilities. At this point, after talking with my trusted advisers, I decided that I wanted the apartment, and if I had to pay for water and the rest I would just have to suck up the cost. I sent back an email thanking him for the reply and asking who I needed to contact about getting water, etc. hooked up. I got another email shortly thereafter saying not to worry about those because they are included in the rent.

What frustrates me is that it took four days for someone, be it service or landlord, to confirm what was actually included in the rent. And, it took a string of emails to get the full picture.

Am I being too demanding wanting what my rent covers in writing? Have you had similar experiences? Comment below.