Are you trying to decide how to go about searching for a new apartment, but aren’t sure where to start? What is that large blue building on Green Street? What’s the difference between Campus Property Management and JSM?

It can be confusing, given that Campustown as a wide variety of realty companies. But never fear! It’s not difficult to sift through the companies once you know the type of property that you’re looking for, and where on or off campus you want to live.

Always remember that some companies have more complaints than others — complaints are filed by tenants during or after their lease with a company, usually as a result of a bad experience or bad service. Watch out for these! “The Illini Tenant Union”:http://www.tenantunion.uiuc.edu/ has a list of how many complaints each company has received — some companies have notoriously more complaints than others, so this is a good resource to check before signing a lease or even touring a company’s properties.

That being said, here is a list of the different realty companies on campus and what sort of properties they offer to make your home hunting easier:

*Roland Realty:*

Properties: 1-4 bedroom apartments and houses

Website: “http://www.roland-realty.com/”:http://www.roland-realty.com/

Address: 309 E. Green St., Champaign

*Bankier Apartments:*

Properties: 1-4 bedroom apartments and houses

Website: “http://www.bankierapts.com/about.html”:http://www.bankierapts.com/about.html

Address: 406 E. Green St., Champaign

*JSM Apartments:*

Properties: 1-5 bedroom apartments

Website: “http://www.jsmapts.com/champaign/”:http://www.jsmapts.com/champaign/

Address: 505 S. Fifth St., Champaign

*The University Group:*

Properties: 1-5 bedroom apartments

Website: “http://universitygroupapartments.com/home.html”:http://universitygroupapartments.com/home.html

Address: 309 S. First St., Champaign

*Green Street Realty:*

Properties: 1-4 bedroom apartments and houses

Website: “http://www.greenstrealty.com/”:http://www.greenstrealty.com/

Address: 24 E. Green St. Suite 10, Champaign

*Campus Property Management:*

Properties: 1-4 bedroom apartments and houses

Website: “http://www.cpm-apts.com/”:http://www.cpm-apts.com/

Address: 303 E. Green St., Champaign

*CU for Rent:*

Properties: 1-5 bedroom apartments

Website: “http://www.cu-apartments.com/Home/tabid/686/language/en-US/Default.aspx”:http://www.cu-apartments.com/Home/tabid/686/language/en-US/Default.aspx

Address: 1401 S. State St. Suite B, Champaign

*Ramshaw Real Estate:*

Properties: 1-5 bedroom apartments, houses

Website: “http://www.ramshaw.com/apartments”:http://www.ramshaw.com/apartments

Address: 505 W. University Ave., Champaign

*Other resources:*

Craigslist: “http://chambana.craigslist.org/”:http://chambana.craigslist.org/

ApartmentFinder: “http://www.apartmentfinder.com/Illinois/”:http://www.apartmentfinder.com/Illinois/