Dan Willenborg could have used a better apartment search tool. The Chicagoan's apartment is located right next to I-90/94 and the CTA, causing both he and his wife to wear earplugs at night to go to sleep. So Willenborg set out to build a site that provides detailed reviews from people who actually live in the buildings in order to get a better understanding of the quirks and amenities of Chicago buildings.
The website, AptAmigo, officially launched Wednesday and gives Chicagoans a way to search for local apartment buildings based on reviews from current and former tenants. Since the company was founded in April, AptAmigo has acquired over 3,000 reviews for around 2,000 buildings in Chicago, including over 80 percent of Chicago’s high rises, Willenborg, with the goal of providing people a more detailed description of apartments in the city.
"There could and should be a lot more transparency involved in the apartment search process," Willenborg said. "If we can bring some degree of transparency to that and help people really move somewhere they love, that's really the goal."
AptAmigo plans to differentiate itself from other review sites by providing more detailed information to apartment hunters by including things like building safety, WiFi quality, how fast elevators move, and even how good the shower pressure is.
People new to Chicago can begin by using AptAmigo's neighborhood guides that rate things like nightlife, dining, and transportation options, and include photos of the area. Once users have narrowed down their neighborhood, they can search the site for the highest rated buildings and find places that not only match their criteria (pet friendly, has a gym in the building, etc.), but come recommended by the people that live there.
Users can also see which buildings have available units, and people can then contact the owner to schedule a walkthrough or more information.
"Moving is a really frustrating and challenging thing," Willenborg said. "We want to take out a lot of the luck involved in getting you a place that you really love."
Willenborg, formerly the manager of strategic partnerships at Chicago tech company DialogTech, said the company was able to amass thousands of reviews based off spreading the word through his friends and professional networks. He said he expects advertising to be AptAmigo's primary revenue stream, but the site is focused now on gaining a larger base of users and reviews.
"We want everybody looking for an apartment in Chicago to be able to find their perfect place that meets their requirements, and then act on that desire online," he said. "So, say that I want to live in the Aqua. I’ll feel confident about it because I know that people like me have lived there and really enjoyed it."
Image via AptAmigo
