Chicago Property Management Blog

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 Chicagoland: Processing PaymentsWe do our payouts by the twelfth of every month. Why the twelfth? Generally, w...

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 investment property, you need to treat it as a business. So, make sure you have two or three months of re...

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 something goes wrong, you have an extra layer of protection. As an inexperienced landlord, you might ...

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 accommodate their families and their pets. It’s becoming more common for rental properties to allow ...

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, with host Sean Conlon's experience, aid, and financial backing, Mark and Bryan put their renova...

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 credit, criminal, eviction, and background check. Sometimes we do find red flags on these reports a...

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 other properties similar to yours are renting for. We look at the amenities they have, and whether ther...

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 you are trying to rent it accent walls are no longer as appealing. We always say “GO NEUTRAL!&...

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, tenants expect the problems to be fixed right away. Having the right property manager is going to be ke...

There are various fees associated with managing properties, and today we’re talking about those property management fees and the cost of hiring a professional property manager. Management FeeThe management fee is something that’s charged every month. Some managers will charge you a flat fee per unit and others will charge a percentage of the rent that’s collected. Sometimes, there will be a lower cost when you hav...