Property Management Blog

By Tim Harstead - Tuesday, February 4, 2025

How Section 8 Determines Rent Amount in Cook County

Section 8 housing is often a hot topic for real estate investors. Some investors love it, while others hate it. Frankly, I think that the majority of investors, especially newer ones, just don't understand it so I will be posting several blogs on how to invest in Section 8 re...

By Tim Harstead - Monday, January 27, 2025

Interest Rates on Security Deposits

Every year, Real Estate Attorneys are left waiting until the beginning of January before finalizing their leases for the new year. The reason for this is that the rate of interest on a tenant's security deposit is set by the city comptroller every year, and it doesn't get...

By Tim Harstead - Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Why Investing in Markham, IL is Problematic

Before the Pandemic, Markham, IL, had a major issue: over 400 homes were left vacant, abandoned, and vandalized. This may not sound like a lot, but when you realize the city of Markham has only a little over 4,000 housing units, you realize that ten percent of homes left in disar...

By Tim Harstead - Thursday, January 2, 2025

Do I Need an Attorney?

In some states, real estate investors are used to using just a realtor and title company to buy a property. However, in Chicagoland, there are certain legal aspects to buying a property that an agent isn't allowed to do by law, so we use legal counsel to help us complet...

By Tim Harstead - Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Can Investing in Real Estate Make You Rich?

Can you become rich with real estate investing? Donald Bren, Sam Zell, and even Ty Warner (yup, the beanie baby guy) all made their wealth with their real estate investment portfolio. All of these men have net worth's in the billions of dollars and have made a lot, if not mos...

By Tim Harstead - Thursday, September 26, 2024

2024 Cost and Timeline to Evict Someone in Chicago

It's a landlord's worst nightmare to have a tenant who stops paying their rent or who just won't leave when you need the home back. This blog post will cover all you need to know about the average cost of an eviction and the average timeline from a 5-day notice to a ...

By Tim Harstead - Tuesday, August 6, 2024

IL Ranks in top 10 for 2024 home insurance rates increase

last year, the average home insurance costs have increased by over 20%, and according to a new report on bigger pockets (https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/home-insurance-rates-to-increase-another-6-percent), the rate increases are not done yet for Illinois residents. Homeo...

By Tim Harstead - Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Our Response To HUD’s New Rules on Fair Housing - Part 2

Note: This is a Part 2 of our previous blog post, which can be found HERE: New HUD Report for Tenant Screening and Credit Checks - Part 1Your role in advocating for small landlords is crucial. If you haven't read my previous post on the new rules, I encourage you to do s...

By Tim Harstead - Sunday, July 28, 2024

Why Choose Full Service Property Management in Chicago?

Are you one of the 45% of landlords who manage their own investment properties? The do-it-yourself route could prove stressful and costly. Instead, rely on full-service property management.With help from an experienced property manager, you can increase your occupancy rate and RO...

By Tim Harstead - Sunday, July 21, 2024

Myths About Rental Property Pricing

Chicago has the highest rental prices in the midwest, with the average 2-bedroom apartment coming in at over $2,600 per month.If you're looking to get in on the booming Chicago rental market, you'll need to take the property valuation process seriously. Performing an accu...