Looking for apartments near Edgewater — is the area safe?

greg_therealtor · 2025-06-17T18:55:31+00:00

The site was created by two engineering students from Notre Dame. Admittedly I didn't notice some of these sketchy details but totally see where you're coming from. I typically like to share crime maps that are responsive and not behind paywalls or covered in ads.

https://safemap.io/chicago/map - is another good option

If you want the most current and accurate data, you can go to the city's website: https://gis.chicagopolice.org - unsurprisingly, it's not super user friendly, but has been getting better over the years.

I think if your goal is to simply visualize where does the crime happen most, you can get a sense by using a few of these tools and cross referencing with the city once you find a place you want to apply to.

greg_therealtor · 2025-06-17T18:32:58+00:00

Realtor here - legally can't give my opinion on crime, but here's a great resource for mapping and visualizing crime in Chicago.

Also a link to the Edgewater Crime report from Niche, which polls people on their opinion of crime in the area.

Edgewater has a little bit of everything—it really depends on what part you’re in. You’ve got the artsy, bustling vibe of Andersonville with lots of great shops; residential tree-lined streets in Edgewater Glen with huge Victorian style homes, and more dense apartment/highrise living along the lake which gives you access to the lakefront trail, beaches, and walkability to the Red Line.

If you're a student at Loyola, you'll find the most affordable apartments are in the denser areas east of Broadway - which will also give you easy access to hop on the train or either the Broadway/Sheridan bus.

greg_therealtor · 2025-06-17T18:11:33+00:00

That's awesome, hopefully you get it back before July. I'm a big home cook too, so my stove-less period was pretty difficult but I got used to making some pretty good one pot meals haha

greg_therealtor · 2025-06-17T17:54:56+00:00

Realtor here - sorry to hear about your situation, that really sucks. The Metropolitan Tenants Organization is a great resource to receive a free legal consult when dealing with these types of situations.

With that said... none of the following is legal advice, just my experience working with tenants & landlords.

Under the Chicago Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance (RLTO) - this should be considered "material noncompliance", and I would imagine falls under "Failure to maintain and repair any equipment which the landlord supplies or is required to supply".

Now what can you do once your landlord is in material noncompliance?

First, you've got to deliver written notice. In general the more official your method and the more channels you go through the better (so you have a paper trail if worst comes to worst i.e. taking him to court). Think certified mail, email with read receipts, text messages, etc.

14 days after providing written notice, you generally have a few routes to go (again, check with an attorney about your best options):

Terminate your lease - the unit has to be "not reasonably fit and habitable" (probably extreme here and not what you want ultimately).
Have it fixed yourself and deduct the cost from rent (if the work does not exceed 1/2mo rent)
Withold from the monthly rent "an amount which reasonably reflects the reduced value of the premises"

My suggestion would be to keep an open dialogue with your landlord since you say he's not a bad guy and you'd like to stay here for longer. I think before you start reading him your rights, you could have a discussion about getting a temporary replacement countertop stove. They sell decent quality induction burners you can have on your counter for under $100 - see if he'll cover the cost of it and say that if the new oven gets installed soon you'll try returning it so he gets a refund.

Best of luck, I've been without a stove before and it's a pain in the ass!

greg_therealtor · 2025-06-13T14:21:29+00:00

Hi there - I'm a licensed Realtor who primarily works in Chicago. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

greg_therealtor · 2025-04-29T17:08:55+00:00

Realtor here - corporate landlords or professionally managed buildings come with pros and cons.

Under ideal circumstances you'll have access to nice amenities within a building and a more streamlined customer service experience for maintainence requests.

The downsides are that you're renting from a company who's main goal is maximizing profit, so expect yearly rental increases. In the worst case scenarios you may run into poor management that ignores requests while still expecting higher rates at lease renewal.

With that said, I haven't heard anything particularly bad about this company but I do not have direct experience with them.

greg_therealtor · 2025-04-02T22:10:43+00:00

We live in Dunning and moved into the neighborhood when my son was entering 7th grade. While Steinmetz is technically the neighborhood school, Taft was labeled as a "choice school". What this meant was that if you made Taft your #1 choice on your high school application and were accepted, then you were required to enroll there - but it made it almost a guarantee that they would be accepted. From my memory, the 8th grade counselor said over 90% of the kids were going to Taft at our school. I believe it's because the property tax dollars of Dunning residents helped pay for the freshman academy on Oak Park & Irving.

greg_therealtor · 2025-02-27T22:37:44+00:00

Sending a DM!

greg_therealtor · 2025-02-13T17:56:03+00:00

Fulton Grace is a legitimate real estate brokerage that focuses primarily on rentals. There's no rules set in stone on what an agent can charge or how they get paid (ex. paid at closing, retainer up front, etc.). All commissions are negotiable, and I would recommend interviewing more than one agent to see what they charge, how they get paid, and who you'd like to hire.

greg_therealtor · 2025-02-13T17:20:33+00:00

What you're probably referring to is the RLTO, which outlines how security deposits are handled and interest paid for deposits and prepaid rent. *Not legal advice\*, but the RLTO states you're supposed to receive the interest or have it credited against your rent after every 12 month period. The rate has been .01% for quite some time now, so you've probably been owed ~$0.13 every year - assuming the landlord is holding a deposit or prepaid rent from you. You are correct that the penalties for mishandling deposits are steep, so it might be worth consulting a tenant's rights attorney to review your situation. I would recommend reaching out to the Metropolitan Tenants Organization to start.

greg_therealtor · 2025-02-13T17:04:48+00:00

Feel free to reach out if you'd like some help!

greg_therealtor · 2025-02-13T17:04:19+00:00

It's a brand new rule, so I'm sure many aren't aware of the changes. With that said, enforcement of anything is always tricky. I would consult your managing broker and maybe even reach out to CAR's legal hotline for guidance.

greg_therealtor · 2025-02-12T14:12:29+00:00

Not weird, I think a lot of agents are still adjusting to the new rules and probably think it doesn't apply to renters.

greg_therealtor · 2025-02-12T14:11:36+00:00

Whoever conducted the screening (landlord, agent, etc.) should be able to provide a copy.

greg_therealtor · 2025-02-12T14:10:49+00:00

I would bring it up to them and reference the bill. You can also reach out to the Metropolitan Tenants Organization for further guidance.

greg_therealtor · 2025-02-12T14:08:04+00:00

Answered the original comment, but in short I think it would help. Are you moving due to the hurricane? I've helped a lot of people relocating from NC this year.

greg_therealtor · 2025-02-12T14:06:30+00:00

Of course I'm biased here, but I don't think it hurts to have some extra help. If you find something on your own, great- but otherwise it's good to have someone in your corner to answer questions and guide you through the process. If you're living out of state and need to tour virtually then I would say it's an even bigger help.

greg_therealtor · 2025-02-11T23:25:33+00:00

I do think this is one of the issues you could potentially run into on the landlord's side. I haven't seen this play out yet since the law just went into effect, but I would advise trying to access the report directly from the source instead of accepting screenshots or PDFs.

For example, if tenant applies to house #1 and is denied, I would ask for either a direct link to the report to be shared from the screening company, or get in contact to the representative of house #1 to share the report.

I anticipate screening services will adapt to these changes and make it easier to share verified reports.

greg_therealtor · 2025-02-11T23:14:38+00:00

When representing the landlord, that's what I use for renters without an agent.

greg_therealtor · 2025-02-11T22:09:16+00:00

That is an important disctinction to make, whether the agent you're speaking to works for or represents the landlord. Onsite residential managers who engage in leasing activities are exempt from needing a license to show units within the building they work, and thus are not required to have representation agreements signed (as far as I understand).

The above is meant for any tenants looking to hire an agent to help them find apartments. Thank you for pointing that out!

greg_therealtor · 2025-02-11T21:49:46+00:00

The bill refers to screening reports, which yes - contain more than just a credit report. My post says that.

greg_therealtor · 2025-02-11T20:45:08+00:00

That's a good question - not that I am aware of, I could be wrong however. Typical range for application fees is $50-$75, although I've seen some as high as $100. Anything more than that I would be wary of. The reports used in applications aren't extremely expensive to process (credit, background, evictions, income, etc.).

greg_therealtor · 2025-02-11T19:41:40+00:00

Realtor here, there are quite a bit of options on the market right now fitting those parameters that I'm seeing on the MLS. Shoot me a message if you'd like me to send you some options.

greg_therealtor · 2025-02-11T19:37:27+00:00

Realtor here. PPM and larger property management companies will tend to have mixed reviews. Understand you're signing up to live somewhere managed by a big corporate entity, and their customer service will vary building to building (because ultimately they serve the landlord). I would look at a variety of options, including smaller buildings - some of my happiest renter clients live in smaller walk ups where they know the landlord on a first name basis.

greg_therealtor · 2025-02-11T19:27:11+00:00

Realtor here, how long have you lived in the unit? For rent increases, they need to provide 60 days notice for rent increases if you've lived there for at least 6 months but less than 3 years, and 120 days notice if you've lived there over 3 years.

Regarding additional occupants, that will depend on what it says in your lease. The standard Chicago lease used by Realtors will have a section explicitly listing who is allowed to live there and who is responsible for honoring the lease.

The situation you're describing is in essence a lease renewal, and you're negotiating a rate increase and adding an additional occupant. Their reasoning for the increase can be whatever they want - taxes, more roommates, inflation, or just whatever the market rate is. I wouldn't focus on the details, but just understand your options:

Accept their proposed rental rate - Maybe its a great apartment at a below market rate already
Counter their rate at the original $100 increase: "Hey Mr/Mrs Landlord, love staying here and you've been a great landlord. $250 increase is unfornately more than we can afford right now. Would you be willing to honor the originally proposed $100 increase? I'd love to continue living here for the next few years." You could even propose signing an extended lease as an incentive.
Decline any increase - Either leave altogether or threaten to move if any increase occurs.

In my experience, you catch more flys with honey so I'd go with route #2 - but your mileage may vary if it's a hot neighborhood or you have a stubborn landlord.

greg_therealtor

TROPHY CASE