When Sarah Da Costa had to find a new apartment in Chicago this year — with her husband, baby and dog — the whole process seemed weird. First, there were open houses, something she thought was just for buying homes. At one of them, "literally, people couldn't even fit in the house, and we got there right when it started."
Then, she says, the listing agent told her to "submit your best and final!" Her real estate agent said yes, that meant above the asking rent. Da Costa had already lost out once, so they agreed to offer more.
