Whether you are considering your first rental property or just closed on your 50th, you have many decisions to make relating to how you will manage your investment. Keep that pink bathroom or tear it out? Update the landscaping yourself or hire help? One of the questions you may not have considered is whether or not to hire a property man...

Homeowners looking to rent out their properties want to know when they get paid and how they get their money when working with a professional property management company in Chicago. That’s an important question, and today we’re providing some insight into how we do things and handle your finances.Property Management Chicagolan...

One of the questions we are asked most frequently is – what happens if my tenant doesn’t pay rent? This is an understandable concern for landlords, and today we’re sharing some ideas about how a property manager will handle a nonpaying tenant. Treat Your Property as a BusinessWhen you are a landlord or you own inves...

There are some things to consider, however, which may lead you to realize that hiring a professional can be better for you and your property. Risk ManagementWhen you manage your own property, you are taking on 100 percent of the risk. If you work with a professional property manager, you are passing on a large part of that risk. If s...

When we begin working with new clients, they often ask if they should allow pets, or they tell us they don’t want to allow pets at their rental property in Chicagoland. We always advise them to keep an open mind. You have a large part of the population with at least one pet, and those tenants are looking for rentals that will accomm...

Pro house-flippers and Chicago natives, Mark Ainley and Bryan Sonn star in the final episode of CNBC's four-episode hit reality tv show, The Deed with Sean Conlon. It is set to air April 5th at 9 p.m., Central Time.For 14 years, GC Realty has been revitalizing the Chicagoland area with housing repaired right and made affordable.Now,...

A lot of people ask us how we screen applicants so I thought I’d share our screening process with you. First of all, we screen all applicants over the age of 18. The first thing we do is have the applicant complete an online application. This is where the applicant enters all of their information for us to review.Next, we run a full...

One of the first questions we’re asked by owners is: how much will my rental property in Chicagoland rent for? There are so many factors that go into determining the rental market value. It’s based on several different things.Comparable Market AnalysisFirst, we look at the comparable rents in the area. We want to know what oth...

Many people ask that question “What do I have to do to my place to get it rented?”First and foremost you want to appeal to the masses. You should have neutral colors and tone since that appeals to the most amount of people. Accent walls may look good with a particular style of furniture but now that the property is vacant and ...

Whether you are managing your own investment or looking for a property manager, you will have issues requiring maintenance in your rental property. How you handle those issues will make or break your bottom line. You need to be proactive with maintenance issues because they speak to your customer service abilities. When things happen, ten...