Rentology

Let me start off by saying that getting an apartment in Chicago is very very difficult! My husband and I went through so many realtors who’s words didn’t match up to their actions… until we found Jan Michael Vincent. This guy is amazing! He completely understood the struggle we were going through and he went the extra mile to get us an apartment. We needed to find a place ASAP and he was on his toes ready to show us an apartment. Jan not only showed us the apartment, locked it in for us (since we loved it), stuck to his word, quickly did our paperwork, he even wanted to invite us for lunch! Nicest realtor ever! I highly recommend doing business with Jan.

While I am trying to understand their business depends on providing properties to renters, to say this group stretches the truth would be an understatement. Do not use them or allow them to jack up prices in this neighborhood in the interest of their own business. For example, they pushed to increase a leased parking spot from $ 25 to $ 75 and rent added over $ 250 per month. Rentology won’t be here to fix the issues of an old and neglected building during the year of the lease, so don’t allow them to price it as such! Not a good idea to use this middleman at the cost of unreasonable rent throughout our neighborhood. OR consider rating landlords from your renters because you are helping slumlords price out the neighborhood, which is unacceptable.

I really wish I could give zero stars. I waited to write my review until I got my deposit money back. Let me start from the beginning. After an easy process of signing and obtaining in our apartment, we arrived to find that our apartment was dirty and in need of repair. They did not even have the common decency to meet us with the keys. We had to go to the agent’s side job at Banana Republic to pick them up. If you think I exaggerate, our agent’s name is John and you can find him at the Banana Republic in Oak Brook. Additionally, they do not have a working emergency number. If you rent from them, you are on your own. This is a shady company. I cannot warn you enough how bad my experience was. Stay away.

Previously I gave 5 stars for the great service we received from the real estate agent who showed us the please we currently lease. It has now been over 3 months in the apartment, and while we love the space, the landlord is horrible. We had a major appliance downgrade in our first month of the lease, and despite a ridiculous amount of emails with the property manager, there are still unresolved issues that I was told would be repaired before move in. I have had to send countless emails but communication is terrible and the landlord doesn’t seem to understand that he provides a service and has obligations to communicate with and to some extent appease tenants.
I will leave my original post below, as I did think that Jan, the real estate agent was great to work with, but am now frustrated with him because he told me the issues I had with the unit would be resolved before move in and almost none of them were.
We signed a lease yesterday on an apartment that we’re very excited about. I can’t say much about Rentology during the searching process because we found ours on a Craigslist post, but I can say that the whole process afterwards was made very easy and dare I even say, fun, by Jan Michael Vincent. He was very nice and accomodating with our needs. Here are some of the ways Jan made the leasing process really comfortable and easy for us:
–He gave us a last minute second showing of the place on the same evening we saw it just because I wanted to see it again
–He reviewed our credit reports with us because we were nervous and told us right away that it looked like everything would be fine
–He gave my boyfriend advice about how to handle one thing that didn’t look great on his credit score
–He kept me super posted on the approval process, letting me know as each thing was checked off (previous landlord check, proof of employment, etc.)
–He happily took notes on the few things around the apartment I mentioned that needed fixing up
–He agreed to go back into the apartment to get us measurements post lease signing.
–He offered to help us get connected with a moving company
Jan was the cherry on top of the cake of in unit laundry and 2 parking spaces. Would definitely hope to work with him again if I ever move again in Chicago, although I’d be crazy to with my new jacuzzi tub and garbage disposal!

Ronie at Rentology was absolutely great! She was extremely helpful and made the leasing process very easy. She went out of her way to accommodate us! Finding an apartment in Chicago is difficult but if you are in the market, give Rentology a call!

I strongly recommend this place. Got an apartment in wicker park for $ 1200 which really worth minimum $ 1500.
Excellent job!
Maryann– well done!

Rentology was great to us. We have terrible credit and were down to the last minute on finding a place that would accept us. Jan, an agent there went beyond the call of duty to get us into a place that we really liked. I would recommend this company to any of my friends in the future.

I rented a place through them and they were expedient when it came to getting back to me and securing the place. They were also extremely helpful when it came to appeasing my rather difficult co-​signer. I worked with Jan, and he was helpful, prompt, and polite. I would definitely work with them again, especially considering how quickly they can get you in to see the place and get the lease signed right away (which is excellent because some real-​estate firms take days to get back to you… if they do at all).

Two stars. Honestly, it’s one star more than I would have given any other leasing company I worked with or attempted to work with while on an apartment search.
I wandered in on a Saturday with a friend who I was helping find an apartment. We met with one of the leasing agents and she was nice and pleasant as can be. She asked all about what he wanted, location, price, amenities etc. Just what you would expect. She then offered to show us an apartment that she was showing in 5 minutes that was a good fit.
Wait, you only have 5 minutes?
We walked to the apartment with her and decided right away it wasn’t right. We left her with phone numbers and email addresses and she assured us that she would contact us right away with some other apartments.
Never heard from her again.
No thanks, I’d rather scour the interwebs looking for a place than waste my time on these people. Nice doesn’t rent people apartments.

I recently contacted Rentology regarding an apartment I was interested in, Kris and Ronie were absolutely great! They were on time, professional, and extremely helpful throughout the entire process. You could truly get the sense that they want whats best for their prospective clients and not just out to gain commission as so many other places out there that I’ve dealt with. I highly recommend them to other home seekers in the Chicago area!

The service at Rentology came through. I used Kris as an agent to help me find tenants for my condo & he was fantastic! His diligence & personal care not only found me the perfect tenants, but also delivered a signed lease within a month! He was professional at all times & had great follow-​up when it was needed. Thanks again Kris for all your hard work! :-)

In the shifty world of leasing agents, Rentology is the fantastic exception.
I wandered into their offices on a busy Saturday — no appointment — and Chris, one of the owners, sat down with me and took the time to figure out exactly what I was looking for. Every place he showed me matched up with my specs perfectly [and Chris never seemed annoyed as I held out for the ideal place].
Every other agent I dealt with was very ‘out of sight, out of mind’: They’d say ‘I’ll let you know if anything else comes up!’ and I’d never hear from them again.
Meanwhile, repeatedly Chris would email: ‘Another place came to mind today that seems like a good fit, let me know if you’re interested.’ He struck me as genuinely invested in helping me find the right place. How rare is that?
Can’t recommend enough. Next time I’m looking, this office is the only one I’ll use.

RENTERS BEWARE
Rentology rented us an apartment that was already in foreclosure 3 months prior to showing us the place. Whether ingorant or incompetence, one expects an apartment locating service to do its homework.

Rentology has no equal in the apartment locating services in Chicago. Maybe Fulton Grace comes close but their database of apartments is much smaller. Rentology is staffed by über-​professionals and they have a HUGE array of apartments to choose from. I move every year or two and have used a lot of agencies over the years. My experience with Rentology and the ease of the process and honesty of its staff are a refreshing relief from the other sharks in this tank. These guys are class acts! They are a bastion of integrity and honesty in an abyss of lies and chickannery. 3 Cheers for RENTOLOGY!

I searched high and low for the perfect apartment when I moved to Chicago. After meeting several landlords, leasing agents and seeing dozens of apartments I finally found my home through rentology. Not only was the apartment perfect for me but the agent (chris and tiffany) negotiated eagerly with the landlord and got me the exact price I needed!
Definitely recommended!