City Wide Search

The people who work here are really sweet… I do not believe they knew how horrible the rat and bed bug ridden apartment they’re rented me was. Please google and look into any property management companies before you rent.

Apartment hunting in Chicago had been a nightmare for me until I ran across an ad in Craigslist by City Wide Search. I called the office after seeing the post for a lovely one bedroom in Wicker Park, and Katrina was able to schedule me the earliest appointment for the next day. During the apartment viewing, Igor was very friendly and informative. The actual appointment was a bit rushed because there were about 7 people wanting to see it after me. I immediately expressed my interest of filling out an application to Igor, who told me to wait with him until the last showing so that he could take me back to the office to fill out an application. The office had already closed because it was 6 or 7 at night, but Igor never rushed me when I was filling out the application and welcomed questions. Four days later, I received a call from Katrina that I had been accepted, and I have been very happy with the apartment ever since! I would highly recommend City Wide Search for anyone who is apartment hunting!

ABSOLUTELY WORST EXPERIENCE EVER! When first viewing one of the properties Igor was very nice and answered all questions. He said if we put in an application it would be a two day process at most which is just like any other place. We put our applications in the same day of viewing the place and the next day Katrina contacted and said they received everything but it would be a week long process. We thought that was odd but had already paid two $ 50 application fees so we had to be ok with it. A week goes by and we have heard nothing so we reach out and Katrina says she is still waiting on an answer and should have one within 2 days. Time goes by, still no answer and no letting us know either. Every time we wanted answers we had to reach out to get them, which is terrible customer service. So after this goes on for over 2 weeks we finally decide to just let the house pass. We then reached out to Katrina for copies of our credit reports that we paid for so we could use them for further application processes. She said she would have them to us shortly but never sent anything so once again we had to reach out to her days later but still have heard nothing. It has been over a week since our last email and still nothing. We paid for our application and still have never even got a Yes/​No on the house. This place just seems like a scam! Odd that the credit reports couldn’t be provided right away since they should of already been handy if we paid to have them pulled for the landlord. Seems like they just scammed us for $ 100. I would HIGHLY NOT RECOMMEND this place! There are so many FAR better companies who actually care about helping you.

I had a pleasure dealing with both Igor and Katrina. Igor was very friendly and answered all of my questions about the unit with ease. Katrina is incredibility responsive and professional. The process was simple and speedy. I would call City Wide Search if I needed to move again.

Thank you, City Wide Search! We had been looking for apartments in Chicago over the course of 6 months as we planned a move from out of state. Having searched with realty companies, apartmentpeople/finder/catfish.com, and every breed of Craigslist dice roll, we were tired of being led to believe that expensive p**p holes were our only option. We saw a few good-​looking, reasonably priced City Wide Search postings on Craigslist and thought we’d give them a shot. Katrina responded immediately to my inquiries and was able to accommodate showings for several places on short notice, since we’d be making a last-​minute trip — she even recommended another unit that we hadn’t mentioned. Turns out that one was a beautiful, spacious, super well-​priced place in a great location. We held up the whole process for over a month as we finalized job transfers, but Igor was always responsive via email and text, and he kept us posted on availability and other options should our first choice fall through. Well, guys… we made it! Our apartment’s great! The end!

City wide search has a lot of potential but fails to deliver. I was trying to look at apartments with them but was given mere hours notice of when the next showing would be (during working hours, I will add). Further, on a weekend (a time I imagine is pretty busy), they had only 1 person working and had scheduled about 10 min per apartment (not enough!). The woman on the phone was patient and professional, but as for the rest of the company: if they want to be treated professionally, then their infrastructure definitely needs improvement. Not wasting my time looking at any more apartments with them.

Reps are very nice, readily available. Though my apartment ended up super crappy, im not sure they were aware of all the stuff wrong with it, like the roaches :0

Caitlin helped schedule my viewing with Igor for an apartment on Humboldt blvd. It was posted on craiglist and was a group showing that same day. She was very helpful and I had already spoken last week to Igor about this unit. It had two apps in and went fast. When I saw it on CL I nearly jumped out of my seat.
Igor was great. He showed me the unit with a smile and told me if I wanted it to waste no time and get over to the office and fill out an app. Putting in the deposit and first month was the key because there was an app in from another agency but they didn’t put any money in. Igor moved like lightening and within three hours he helped me get all my money in and the lease signed! He was great and answered my questions about the management company and we shared stories about previous living situations.
Igor and Caitlin are both great! If you’re looking for an apartment go and stop by their office or give them a ring. They’re super busy but they both give you 100% of their attention.
Thanks again-​I can’t wait to move in!
btw…I had actually spent an hr taking the bus over to Chicago Apartment Finders… their website sucks (not updated) and they’re very nice. But working with City Wide Search was a night and day difference.

In order to put things in perspective, please read my reviews for Apartment People Lakeview, and Dwell Chicago.
After almost a week of exhausting & nightmarish attempts to find an apartment, I scanned Craigslist in efforts to find us a decent apartment. Low & behold, at 8pm, I find an ad meeting our criteria in Avondale. I called Jason, & was pleasingly-​shocked when he said he would hop on the train & be available to show us the apartment, not tomorrow, but THAT VERY SAME EVENING!
He arrived promptly to meet us at 8:45pm & could not have been more patient/​understanding, as showed us the apartment in our disillusioned/​haggard state of affairs. He was professional, clearly explained what was needed in order to apply for the apartment, & actually handed us a PAPER APPLICATION to fill out, (unlike the other two agents we had dealt with that week.) He even showed us a similar property that was located in the same neighborhood that we might have been interested in.
He was prepared & not condescending. He even texted us the next day to see if we had questions about the application process. We arrived at the City Wide Search office the next day & were greeted by the manager Igor. (Don’t let the name fool you-​he was very funny & laid back.) After paying the necessary fee for the credit check/​criminal background check/​rental history check, we were told that we would be notified within 5 business days if the apartment was ours.
Cut to this week: a phone call confirming that the apartment is ours! I couldn’t be happier at how easy & clear they made the whole rental process. I will definitely recommend this agency to my friends in the Chicago area.
Thank you CITY WIDE SEARCH, for helping us find a great apartment in Avondale, and treating us with professionalism & respect, when all other agencies & agents had failed!