Investing in real estate is truly a full time job. Between following the law, insurance coverage, proactive property maintenance, proper tenant screening, marketing, and avoiding vacancies, we understand that landlords in Chicago have a lot on their plates. That’s why the team at GC Realty & Development wanted to put together this guide on the basics of keeping your investment property secured for your financial success.

The Chicago real estate market demands flexibility and quick action to succeed as a property owner. That’s why it's important to have a property manager who has your back through a constantly fluctuating market. Demand is always surging beyond supply in Chicago’s packed rental market.So a deep knowledge of Chicago’s neighborhoods and ability to adapt is crucial. 

Let’s explore some of the key factors to succeeding in the long term with your Chicago investment property.

Legal Considerations for Property Owners

One of the most important regular fluctuations to stay on top of in property management is the shifting legal landscape of the city. These changes can come unexpectedly if you or your property manager isn’t in tune with what’s going on in Chicago's legal realm. Chicago is a big place and the city’s need to adapt to new laws comes regularly.

In 2024 alone, there’s been a slew of new laws that landlords and property managers have to keep an eye out for. These laws affect the business of property management in a number of ways. For instance, landlords can no longer require rent payments be made electronically, they must provide alternative options to tenants. 

The Illinois Human Rights act has also changed, making it illegal to discriminate based on someone’s citizenship status. Other changes include a raise to security deposit limits, electric vehicle charging requirements in new homes and apartment buildings, and a requirement to inform tenants of certain radon risks. You can read more about these new Chicago laws here.

Insurance Coverage for Property Investments

Dealing with insurance can be a necessary evil for Chicago landlords. Fire and flood damage is common, and you need to know you have protection in these situations. But dealing with the intricacies of filing a claim can be a nightmare. You want to make sure you’re getting the most from your coverage to address all of your losses. Having a dedicated and knowledgeable property manager on your side can be a difference maker here. 

When you have a larger event on one of your rental properties, the first person to call is your insurance broker. At GC Realty & Development, we often advise using public adjusters for greater claims of damage on your property and this should be the second person you call. Public adjusters only get paid based on what they can get you, so it's a smart move in making sure you’re able to get the most out of your claim.

Maintenance and Property Management

Chicago property management presents its own unique challenges to property maintenance. This aspect can’t be overlooked either; long term success of an investment requires physical upkeep to avoid financial pitfalls in the future. Addressing issues promptly but also being proactive with maintenance work is something that we take very seriously.

Proactive maintenance means preparing for seasonal changes ahead of time instead of waiting for the problems to happen. This can be obvious methods such as insulating pipes in the winter to prevent bursting, but it can also be installing energy efficient windows for the summer time. Energy efficiency, through HVAC inspections and programmable thermostats, isn’t just eco friendly. It’s also budget friendly.

Being proactive also means keeping up regular inspections on your property. While this can be time consuming, it’s also critical to make sure small problems don’t become large ones in your rental. Not every tenant is going to report leaks, malfunctioning appliances, or structural issues. Any property manager worth their salt is going to stay on top of inspections to ensure success.

Protective Tenant Screening

In 2021, GC Realty & Development dealt with a variety of lease applicant fraud issues. Because of this, we adopted a new mission of fraud prevention in our screening practices and educating others on what to look out for. These risks are very real, and require landlords to have a comprehensive screening process for their applicants. Fraud can be disastrous financially, and no landlord wants to fall victim to it.

Screening your tenants to avoid evictions and fraudsters needs to be thorough. Landlords need to have an application form designed to spot potential red flags such as “too good to be true” applicants. Trusting but verifying is important as well, with ID verification, income verification, and rental history verification. 

Marketing Strategies for Property Protection

Vacancies can be the biggest cost to landlords, purely because of how regularly they can occur. You do not want to be sitting on a rental property that isn’t bringing in money for longer durations of time. Avoiding evictions through proper tenant care and screening processes is important to this. But just as important is properly marketing your property.

This can be the part of being a landlord that new property investors have the least knowledge on. Utilizing the best online platforms and social media to suit your needs can take time to figure out without prior experience, and time costs money.  Having MLS listings for multiple properties also takes knowledge on how to market them correctly.

If you don’t have experience in marketing rental properties or assistance from someone who does, there are ways to get help. This can be another sign that in order to fully guarantee your property’s success, you might need a property manager to collaborate with.

The Right Tools for Your Investment

Chicago is one of America’s largest cities, and being a landlord here comes attached with all the hurdles and challenges you can expect from that. Keeping up with all of the requirements to succeed in the long term with your investment property can seem overwhelming at times. The best favor you can do for yourself is partnering with a property management team with a track record of long-lasting relationships with owners.

If you’re looking for that kind of property manager, GC Realty & Development has the tools you need to get started easily. Get started on the road of protecting your investment in just a few minutes by taking advantage of our free rental analysis.

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