Property management in Chicago isn’t all rainbows and butterflies. A lot of hard work goes into property care, customer service, and even your mental well-being when it comes to making sure you are correctly managing your property. We’re here to help you make sure you follow some guidelines to make your experience stress-free.
Screen Tenants Well
Having a problematic tenant is time-consuming, mentally draining, and ultimately not monetarily beneficial. If you screen your potential tenant, you can eliminate many problems that could have happened down the road. Make sure you are not discriminating through the tenant screen. According to SmartMove, there are a handful of questions you should ask before you allow a tenant to sign a lease for your property.
Make Rent Payments Easy
Make sure you specify how tenants should be paying rent on your lease agreement. At Frontline, we send a statement to our tenants every month showing exactly how much they owe and how to pay it on time.
Create A Lease In Writing
Whether your tenant has a long term lease or a month-to-month lease, it should be in writing. Along the way, you may come across a current tenant who will try to dismantle the written lease, but if you have an air-tight one, this shouldn’t be an issue. Checkout Landlordology’s extensive list of property management software. One of them may help you when it comes to creating a written lease.
Inspect Your Property Regularly
At least every month (pending no issues), a property should be inspected. We know our buildings better than anyone else, so we are constantly checking on updates, changes, or things that may be in need of maintenance. Even if you hire a contractor to figure out what needs work, you should still take the time to inspect the entire premise on your own and take notes if necessary.
Be available
According to Appfolio, “being a dependable person is extremely beneficial to being a successful property manager.” We always respond to calls and emails on time and build trust with our tenants. We let our tenants decide how to contact us, email, etc.—but we make sure we are answering and scheduling meetings accordingly. Interacting with tenants positively helps create less friction and minimizes problems in the future.
Owning a property is hard work. Property management in Chicago with tenants and maintenance: that’s even harder. If you ever have questions or need advice, Frontline is here to make property management a seamless experience for you. Reach out today for professional help.