Chicago Property Management Blog

If you’re looking to grow your rental property portfolio in Chicago, expanding can be a great way to boost your rental income and build long-term wealth. But managing multiple properties isn’t as simple as owning one; it comes with unique challenges that require careful planning, smart strategies, and attention to detail. Whether you’re a seasoned real estate investor or just starting to grow your holdings, unders...

Managing a rental property in Chicago comes with a set of legal responsibilities that every landlord must understand. Staying updated on Chicago’s property management laws is essential to protecting your investment and maintaining positive tenant relationships, whether you're managing properties on your own or partnering with a professional.In this blog, we’ll explore the key legal pitfalls that property owners often enc...

Bed bug infestations remain one of the most frustrating and ongoing problems faced by rental property owners in Chicago. These pests not only frustrate tenants but can also threaten your investment, lead to costly extermination bills, and create legal complications if not handled immediately and properly.In this blog, we’ll explore how to identify, prevent, and manage bed bugs in your Chicago rental property while staying com...

Each year, GC Realty & Development LLC meets with well over 200 homeowners/investors in the Chicagoland area with respect to their investment property, or the need for professional property management services.  Because so many real estate owners know our thoughts and feelings (from this website) on all things “Property Management,” they often ask us about other local property managers (our competitors). As a c...

Mark Ainley, GC Realty and Development we are a Chicagoland property management company. One thing I want to bring up today in making sure that you are informed as a property owner that's either working with the property manager now or looking to work with the property manager in the future. MarketingMarketing, obviously when you put your property on the market to rent you want to get a qualified tenant as fast as possible. You...

We know many of you have, or will have, buildings with Section 8 tenants. We thought it would be helpful if we shared the room requirements (for both bedrooms and rooms in general) for a home/unit occupied by a Section 8 tenant.  There is a lot more required to be approved, however, these are some requirements that you need to consider when looking for or rehabbing properties.  Please click on the link at the bottom of this em...

Although he now runs one of the most successful Property Management companies in Chicago, initially, Mark Ainley had no interest in that side of the real estate business....continue reading Click Here to download.GC Realty & Development currently has two offices, one serving the Western Suburbs of Chicago and the other serving Chicago's South Side.Although he now runs one of the most successful Property Management companies in C...

We have worked with Josh Elledge and his company, Up My Influence, for many years. The Thoughtful Entrepreneur Podcast is an informational source for business-minded people (some with very little experience and others with years of experience), so when I got the invite to appear with Josh, I was extremely excited.In this episode, we discuss who GC Realty & Development, LLC is and where we started from in the early 2000s. The show al...

As investors ourselves in many markets and class types, our primary goal is to attract and retain the best tenant possible for our properties.The “Best Tenant” can be defined by qualifications on their application, potential willingness to stay for a longer term, and/or ability to be a satisfied resident when we, as the landlord, successfully perform the duties as required by the lease agreement. (We try to avoid high mainte...

Why an Out of State Investor Should Hire an Attorney When Buying Investment Property in Chicago/IllinoisThe purchase or sale of real estate, whether it is a single family house, a multi-family apartment building, vacant land or a commercial building, is an intricate process that begins with the signing of a contract and ends when the keys and the title to the property are transferred to the purchaser. Although Illinois law does not...