Chicago Property Management Blog

Rent-to-Income Ratio: Everything Landlords Need to Know

By Jason Marcordes Wednesday, September 21, 2022

When you need to fill a vacancy, you will have to start vetting the applicants. Although this is a tedious process, being thorough can help you choose the best applicant for your vacancy. An important part of selecting a new tenant is ensuring they can afford the rent, and that&r...

What Can I Charge to my Tenant’s Security Deposit?

By Jason Marcordes Monday, September 19, 2022

Hi everyone, Jason Marcordes here with Landmark Property Management. Today, we’re discussing the question, “What Can I Charge to My Tenant’s Security Deposit?” Before we talk about what we can and can’t charge to a tenant’s security deposit, le...

Can I Sell My Rental Property With Tenants In It?

By Jason Marcordes Tuesday, September 13, 2022

Today we are answering the question: Can I sell My Rental Property with Tenants In It? We wrote this blog a few years ago and it was a big hit, it’s our #1 blog post of all time, so I wanted to update it with a quick video version. So, can I sell my rental property wit...

What Can Chicago Landlords Do If Tenants Stop Paying Rent?

By Jason Marcordes Monday, September 12, 2022

When you have a tenant who hasn’t paid their rent on time, you’ll want to reach out to get this resolved immediately. If they don’t come forward with the rent, there are a few options you can pursue, including an eviction in the Chicago courts. While this m...

A Guide to Changing Tenant Locks in Chicago

By Jason Marcordes Wednesday, August 31, 2022

As a general rule, you should change the locks on your rental unit each time a tenant vacates your property. Since there are many reasons a tenant might vacate, you must understand what to do in each situation. These practices will protect your property and help you avoid litigat...

Build to Rent Homes

By Jason Marcordes Monday, August 22, 2022

Build-to-rent homes are residential properties that are built specifically for the purpose of utilizing them as residential rental property investments. While first starting in the 1980s, build-to-rent homes have gained in popularity over the past few years. Building ground up, r...

6 Ways to Save Time and Money as a Property Manager

By Jason Marcordes Tuesday, August 16, 2022

While owning rental property provides a consistent source of income, it can also drain your time and finances if you’re not careful. You can reduce these costs and save time by creating a consistent management process that you use in managing every property you own. Here ar...

Advantages and Disadvantages of Short Term Rentals

By Jason Marcordes Friday, July 29, 2022

Over the past few years there has been a notorious growth of short- term rental platforms such as Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway. For many homeowners there is an internal debate between renting long-term versus short term. Contrary to a long term rental, a short term rental is ...

9 Security Mistakes That Put Your Family and Home at Risk

By Jason Marcordes Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Home burglaries in the United States have become extremely common. Every 15 seconds a home robbery occurs in the country. According to Pew Research Center the police solve only 13% of them. Having a secure home is something that all homeowners should invest in as 34% of the&...

IS CHICAGO A GOOD MARKET FOR REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS?

By Jason Marcordes Monday, June 6, 2022

According to the Chicago Primary Metropolitan Statistical, as of 2022 the median property cost in Chicago was just over $310,000 dollars. If we compare Chicago prices to a city like New York (where the average price of a property is close to 1 million dollars), Chicago is conside...