Chicago Property Management Blog

Several of the Chicago townships have already been reassessed, leaving many owners with an unpleasant increase in property taxes. Tim Jacobs of KSN Law (appeal.tax),shares what he’s seen in the Chicago townships that have been reassessed, and what he feels will happen in several townships about to be reassessed. Tim walks through the basics of how to look up your assessed value, calculate your taxes, and most importantly how to ap...

When a landlord screens potential tenants themselves, paying attention to certain red flags can save them future headaches. By thoroughly vetting applicants, property owners can get a better sense of who might occupy their rental home. Will they pay on time… or at all? Will they trash the house? Or maybe cause neighborhood or legal trouble for you as the homeowner? Protect yourself and your assets! Below, we list three critical t...

David Geen said househacking is the Stephen Curry cheat code of real estate. Many folks agree and have leveraged this strategy to kick off their successful REI careers. However, there are real risks that arise the moment you become a housing provider. Joey Poshinskas is an extremely resilient househacker who persevered through numerous obstacles to stabilize his building. Learn how he handled each situation and how he ultimately le...

Fernando Angelucci has spent the last decade becoming one of the largest wholesalers in the Chicagoland area. Fernando successfully scaled his wholesaling business to a goliath and used the same skill sets and systems to establish and grow his self storage portfolio.Would you prefer self storage over multifamily investing, what you should be looking for in a self storage opportunity, how to find deals and the shiny future of self storag...

Malcolm Gladwell popularized the idea that it takes 10,000 hours to master something. Well, if that’s the case, Mike Olszewski has likely mastered his craft several times over. To date, he has sold over 17,500 REO properties, developed properties and has even begun his own private lending business. Learn the process of acquiring, rehabbing and selling REO properties from a master and apply them to your own practice.Key points:REO ...

Not every real estate investor will have the resources to own rental properties in A or B Class neighborhoods. And some don’t care. With the right scenario, rental properties in more challenged areas can still make good, profitable investments for property owners. Below we offer three things to consider before investing in C Class neighborhoods. Neighborhood Classes DefinedFrankly, neighborhood classifications can be pretty s...

Most real estate investors, especially when just starting out, use personal credit to obtain conventional loans to buy rental homes. And this may work fine for you today, but how serious do you intend to get about your investing tomorrow? But if you plan to increase your portfolio or add larger buildings, you graduate out of conventional loans. Portfolios with more than 10 rentals or buildings with five or more units require a separate ...

The best three things about investing in self-storage facilities over rental homes: no tenants, no toilets, and no trash! Plus you can expect to double your money in 3-5 years. You only need about 35% occupancy to break even; even with debt, less than 70% will balance out the books. Breaking self-storage facility investment can be a little trickier than other investment properties. But if you know what to do, it’s very worth the e...

Knowing a couple of Chicago’s neighborhoods intimately is definitely better than knowing a hundred superficially. That’s exactly what the Property People did in Chicago’s northwest neighborhood. Owners use their knowledge to know how deep they can dig a basement out and how much value they’ll add to their property in doing so. They know what certain features are expected and what they can pass on. Greg and Jennie...

What is the Just Cause Eviction Proposed Ordinance? Where did it come from and then what do we have to look out for?   If you currently have a tenant living in your rental unit, would like them to vacate at the end of the current lease term, you could be giving up a lot of your Landlord rights, especially if the Just Cause Eviction Ordinance passes.  Find out what this ordinance is and where it came from by watching the video ...