Managing your own multi-family property in Chicago

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Managing your own multi-family property in Chicago

Elizabeth J.
Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 21 posts · 12 votes

My husband and I are looking to purchase a multi-family property in Chicago.  I plan to be the property manager, though we no longer live in the area.  I plan to coordinate all of the maintenance/upkeep and have people in place to handle cleaning, snow removal, emergency repairs, routine maintenance, etc. by the time we purchase the building.  Would appreciate any tips on anything to consider in managing one's own property and/or any suggestions on good companies to assist with this.  I would also like to get the tenants on a direct deposit system for paying rent.  Have any of you offered incentives to tenants to do this and if so, what type of incentive (e.g. rent reduction, etc.) would you suggest?  Since we don't reside locally, I would rather not worry about tracking down tenants for rent each month.  Thank you!!

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  • Account Closed
    Real Estate Investor · Myrtle Beach, SC · Member since 2012 · 299 posts · 104 votes
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    Elizabeth, 

    My wife Julie, is not a BP member. But she would be happy to talk with you about your questions and give you some insight. She has been managing are own properties and our  investment clients properties for 20 years. Some of the time we were local and the other time she was long distance. You have the the correct thinking on how you want to do somethings now. Let me know if you want to chat and I will connect the two of you.

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  • Brie SchmidtBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Chicago, IL · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
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    Originally posted by @Elizabeth J.:

    My husband and I are looking to purchase a multi-family property in Chicago.  I plan to be the property manager, though we no longer live in the area.  I plan to coordinate all of the maintenance/upkeep and have people in place to handle cleaning, snow removal, emergency repairs, routine maintenance, etc. by the time we purchase the building.  Would appreciate any tips on anything to consider in managing one's own property and/or any suggestions on good companies to assist with this.  I would also like to get the tenants on a direct deposit system for paying rent.  Have any of you offered incentives to tenants to do this and if so, what type of incentive (e.g. rent reduction, etc.) would you suggest?  Since we don't reside locally, I would rather not worry about tracking down tenants for rent each month.  Thank you!!

     It probably could be done pretty easily.  Here are some things to consider

    • I can refer you to our cleaning and snow people, who I love.  Maintenance we also use a great company with licensed plumbers, electricians, GC on staff.  It is not cheap, but they work nights and weekends and guarantee their work.  
    • You are probably going to need to find a real estate agent to lease up your units, I can recommend one if you need it.  You are also going to need a lockbox for the building if you plan on giving various people access
    • We use williampaid.com for our direct deposit.  We offer it along with chase quick pay and sending a check.  Every one of our tenants chose williampaid.com and they offer free credit reporting to the tenant.  This ensures you get paid on time and they like it to build their credit.  
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  • Elizabeth J.
    OP
    Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 21 posts · 12 votes
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    Sydney, that would be wonderful--would love her suggestions.  Brie, those referrals for cleaning and snow removal and for any emergency repairs would be great.  We haven't secured the property yet, but I feel like I need to be planning ahead of time since there are many things to put in place.  If this deal doesn't work out, we will be buying something soon or later--so it would be great to know who to call.  I have a great painter/carpenter, but appreciate suggestions for other maintenance tasks.  We have a fantastic agent who is assisting me, so we have that part covered for hopefully, securing the building and then getting tenants.  Right now, the building is 100% occupied, but there will obviously be tenant turnover at some point,  I love Chase Quick Pay, but will definitely look at the other option you suggested, Brie.  Not having to worry about rent collection seems like half the battle.  Thanks!

    Elizabeth

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  • Danny Duran
    Rental Property Investor · Mars, PA · Member since 2014 · 92 posts · 36 votes
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    @Elizabeth J. I also use William paid, suggested to me by Brie Schmidt. It has worked well so far I just started using it last month. I did not offer an incentive to my tenants for using it. I simply stated that this is the preferred method of collection and encouraged it strongly with them as a way to avoid lateness and associated fees. My tenants have an appetite for using online payment means. I suspect that older tenants may not be as willing to adopt something like that and might prefer paper methods of payment. Overall, I think offering incentives to pay rent a particular way creates a bad precedent for the tenants.

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  • Elizabeth J.
    OP
    Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 21 posts · 12 votes
    11y

    Thanks, Danny!  I guess I wondered if a $10 rent deduction or the like might sway someone to convert to the modern way of paying.  On some of our other properties, I receive checks, but with the mail, there is usually a delay where I am getting them 5 days after the month starts.  Our tenants have been very reliable in paying but I must say, the one tenant using Chase QuickPay, has been wonderful.  I love knowing the money will automatically be there when the month starts.  I think you are right, though, that just making it a preferred system may be enough--after all, it is much easier on the tenant and saves postage.  Thanks for your input!

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  • Larry Fried
    Investor/RE Broker · Eugene, OR · Member since 2014 · 3k+ posts · 968 votes
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    @Elizabeth J. 

    Hi and welcome to BP!

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  • Rashida Kharkhariwala
    Real Estate Broker · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 4 posts · 2 votes
    11y

    Hello Elizabeth,

    My clients have used http://www.rentpayment.com/property-managers/

    and appfolio (your residents can even open work orders and everything is documented and pretty well organized)

    http://www.appfolio.com

    Chase quickpay is by far the fastest and easiest...!

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  • Michael Nabasny
    Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 1 post · 0 votes
    11y

    I had been using WilliamPaid, but they have sadly closed their doors this month.  Most of the other services I found charge fees for payments.  So, I transitioned my tenants to Chase QuickPay.  If their bank does not offer or support QuickPay, I encourage them to utilize Gmail payments as a backup option.  I am only in month one, but so far adoption has been good.

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