HAR bait and switches inside the loop

My husband and I have been looking at 1br apartments, smaller houses/properties inside the loop within a reasonable budget (max $2.3k).

We've had around five walkthroughs so far. Every single one has been a bait and switch of some kind. Used HAR 5-6 years ago to find my old place. Never had any issues. I'm vetting these are legit agents beforehand. All have a website, social media, etc. Almost all work for some type of "larger" real estate firms, like KWs. Is this the new norm or something?

First two, the real estate agents told us off the bat the photos were old, not to be shocked. The one home was filled with mold, dog hair, the outside AC unit was deteriorating the side of the house. The other looked absolutely nothing like the photos. Way smaller and a different layout. Plus the listing agent wasn't who showed us the property, it was like his younger family member?

The other three experiences were just downright weird.

One townhome the real estate agent didn't tell us there was a tenant currently in the unit. We show up and he knocks on the door. As he's doing that, he tells us the tenants are moving out tomorrow. I'm confused as he didn't forewarn us and the images were of an empty unit. The tenant answers the door and is even more confused, tells the agent, "you didn't give me a heads up."

She lets us see the unit anyway. The first floor is filled with rabbits. Yes, massive rabbits in cages filling the living room. The stench was intense. The place looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a decade. I asked the tenant how long they'd been there. She said only a year. I am not at all to judge, but I think this place was bad before. Once again, nothing like the photos. Carpets were in bad shape. Rusted fixtures throughout. Mold along the floorboards and vents. Smaller than listed.

The other two units were hilarious. On the property, the tenants were telling us do not move in, a lot of break ins and cars being stolen. Property management sucks. There were roaches in the two units we saw. The agent showed us a unit that wasn't even available for rent, at all, like the floorplan is never for rent. Another unit that we didn't inquire about either. They spammed us for days after we said we're not interested.

Funny thing is I am now getting scam calls like crazy since using HAR. Every day a bunch of calls from random out of state zip codes.

We've seen bigger apartment buildings too. All had their issues, but we may just have to settle with one give it's been a less ridiculous process than with HAR. Or stay in our current unit, which flooded a few months back and has other problems.

Anyone else having this many issues renting inside the loop right now? Are there any other resources we should use? We used an apartment locator for our current apartment, but they didn't do a great job of helping us out. Our only requirement was somewhere relatively quiet. Gave us a list of units, most of which are right next to outdoor bars that go to 2am and a bunch of very lowly rated Greystar properties I've heard not to trust. 😬