What’s the big difference?

With condos, the level of finishes will depend on the individual owner and what they have done with the unit differing from apartment to apartment. In the management high rises, you can expect most if not all the apartments to have similar finishes throughout. Since they were built with the intention of being a rental building they were all equipped with the same features. If one has stainless steel appliances, then it can be likely they will all have stainless steel appliances. If one has a washer & dryer in the unit, it can be safe to assume that they all have a washer & dryer in the unit, and so on.

But here’s where else things will vary…

Point of contact:

Private owners: When you need something taken care of, to discuss rent payments, you contact the landlord directly. If something needs fixed, replaced, or maintained, the landlord will organize this. Typically they have a team or “a guy” to handle these things, or they will do like most of us do and go to Yelp or TaskRabbit. However they decide to handle these things, they will take care of these tasks how they see fit.

Management property: If something happens in your unit and you need to have something fixed or as listed above maintained or replaced then you contact the on-site staff. With the management communities, there are most times the option to go to a resident portal where you can submit maintenance requests, pay rent, and partake in community chat rooms. The process of communication is sometimes more streamlined and handle as a company, not just as an individual.

The benefits of living in a management building:

As stated above you always have someone on-site to tend to your needs, you also have the benefit of the online resident portal to help with any tenant needs or emergencies. Then comes the amenities, we glazed over that in the beginning but the truth is the types of amenities can range from building to building. While you can find some of these things in high-rise condos, you are more likely to find a large array of luxury amenities from management building to management building.

These buildings are basically meant to be resort-like offering outdoor pools beside cabanas and patios with grill stations and outdoor televisions, golf simulators, rooftop decks with rooftop kitchens, games rooms with things like shuffleboard, pool, arcade games, etc, chef kitchens, office, and workspaces, and the list can go on. I’ve seen a 3D printer and salon in a few buildings. Not all of these amenities are exclusive to just management apartments, but it is something that they build their community on. Resort-style living every day of your life.

The benefits of living in a privately owned apartment:

Maybe you don’t need a golf simulator and cabanas with televisions and that is really low on your priority list. And that makes a lot of sense, not everyone golfs or cares to watch golf in a cabana. You want to play golf outside on a golf course and watch it in the privacy of your own home. The importance of management amenities is only of value if you use them. To add to that, some of the privately-owned condos in the city have things like pools, party rooms, conference rooms, and on-site grocery stores so you can still get some of those benefits. If you move to something that is not in a high-rise condo, then you get none of these amenities. But again, that’s only important if you use them.

Some people also enjoy the more “homey” feel of living in a privately owned apartment. When it comes to the management building you tend to have a more cut and paste/cookie cutter type of apartments. Everything is the same and the unit next door. When renting from a private owner you can end up with something unique. The differences that can range from privately owned apartments can be exciting. Some units have a surround sound speaker system left from the owner previously living there, others can have unique finishes that you don’t commonly see in management apartments. I have had a listing that had a den hidden behind a bookshelf. Loved it!!

Some private landlord units can even take it a step further and have customized bathrooms with heated floors and steam showers. Why? Well because when this home was purchased it probably did not have a renter in mind, it had the vision for someone planning to purchase this property and to elevate their own personal lifestyle. And you as a renter can get the benefits of this!

Pricing, specials, incentives, and fees:

This is where it really gets interesting and the Chicago rental market can excite some and confuse others. When it comes to the 2 different types of landlords you can deal with also comes 2 different types of pricing or incentives. With private owners typically you will sign a lease with them for an agreed-upon amount, just like anywhere else. But when it comes to management high rises they feel inclined to offer incentives. There are a lot of apartments in the city of Chicago and they are not shy about competing. Some of these management high rises will offer 1-2 month free rent, $1,000 special to put towards rent, no security deposit, an administrative fee that can be refunded if you apply within 24-48 hours, and so on.

Management buildings will have what you can think of as promotions to get you to rent there, they know they are competing with not only private owners but also with other management companies. Do private owners offer incentives, well in a sense they do. With private owners, there is the possibility to negotiate the price. Another benefit with private owners is they may have some flexibility with the move date, when it comes to management companies many times they are set to specific move dates, and if you think negotiations are in order then you may be disappointed. They offer the incentives without the opportunity to negotiate.

As for those 1-2 months free

Let’s say you rent a luxury management apartment and receive 1 month free, it can range for how they tend to distribute this incentive to you. Many times when you see prices listed online for an apartment the agent is providing you with the net effective pricing for example an apartment for $2,400 receiving 1 month free on a 12 months lease will net effectively cost $2,200 ($2,400 market rent X 11 months you will pay for / 12 months you will live there = $2,200 net effective pricing). And that is a great way to advertise to show you the benefits of renting this beautiful $2,400 apartment, but you need to ask how the on-site leasing staff will give you your 1 month free. Some will give you a 1-month credit towards your account and you can use it how you would like, others will let you avoid paying the first month’s rent but will be required to pay the $2,400 market rent for the next 11 months.

We said the Chicago rental market is unique.

How do I handle all of this?

All leasing agents are created equally…right? Nope, there is yet another layer that comes with this search for a Chicago apartment and it is decided by the luxury management properties. Not all management properties take every brokerage as a client. In order to cut down on traffic, they will only accept certain brokerages. Now not all properties are like this, but some are. So having a good agent that is associated with one of these brokerages can be a benefit to you.

Who determines which brokerages are allowed? The short answer, the buildings themselves. Now, this can end up being a pretty simple thing to sort through, if your leasing agent is advertising this property then they can show it. What should you do to get into these different apartments? If there are more apartments and buildings that you are interested in and you want to know if you should just go from agent to agent and from ad to ad, then the even shorter answer is, no.

Ask your agent if they have access to all of these properties. Many of us do, some of us call it a benefit to years of experience put into our craft. Imagine this, you just found out all these things about the Chicago rental market, many of us leasing agents have dedicated our careers to navigating these markets and perfecting them for our customers. Many of us can even tell you what amenities are in what buildings, what units have balconies, and what incentives they offer. So to save you the headache of calling each and every building in the city, find (or repeatedly use) a good agent who will do all of this for you.