The Apartment People

The Apartment People has been successfully matching landlords with tenants for 40+ years. After joining Compass Real Estate in early 2024, we have been able to offer much more than just a tenant to our clients. We are here to help.

In 1984, our founder Bob Scholl, had a vision and desire to change how people found apartments.

Before technology and the internet existed Bob would look for people walking down the street, usually holding a newspaper, and boldly ask if they were looking for an apartment. Some of them were actually looking for an apartment; others, I am sure ran away from him.

He kept a ledger of a few different buildings, mostly owned by friends of his who supported this idea and off he went. Word quickly spread and before he knew it he had an office filled with people needing help finding apartments and landlords seeking help finding good tenants.

After renting a couple of apartments Bob realized that if he hired a few other people to help show these apartments, they could each rent a couple and so on. He would give that agent part of the month's rent and reinvest the rest in the business.

Fast forward a year or two, The Apartment People employed maybe 30 agents, 10 staff members in an office located at 3121 N. Broadway in Chicago's Lakeview East neighborhood.

This small family business quickly became a benchmark, offering a necessary tool for landlords and renters with a process agents across Chicago's North Side with a similar desire to help people could learn from.

In February 2024, The Apartment People joined Compass Real Estate, bringing together our established Chicago brand and local expertise with Compass’s technology, marketing, resources, and national reach.

Today, Eric Scholl proudly carries forward the legacy started by his father, Bob—preserving the personal service and local expertise that built The Apartment People while continuing to evolve the company for the future of Chicago real estate.