All Forum Posts by: Eric S.

The vast majority of my tenants deposit the money directly into my account.  I've been doing that for about 10 years and have never had a problem.  I also use www.dwolla.com, which is like paypal but only costs $.25 per transaction.  

I refuse to go and pick up rent.  It is a waste of my time, not to mention dangerous.  

I know that Chase bank no longer allows cash deposits into accounts that an individual is not named on, but all of the other major banks do.  

I have several rentals in rough areas in which break ins are a constant problem.  I have tried all kinds of different approaches, but the one that works by far the best is the simplisafe security systems.  You do not have to sign any contract, the monitoring is only $15 per month, and you can move the systems between units easily since you buy and own the equipment.  I have had some break-ins with the systems installed, and the police actually caught the burglars before they could rip out the plumbing!

I highly recommend the systems.  They have saved me a lot of headaches, and you get called as soon as the alarm goes off and the police are dispatched.  I have been so impressed with the systems that I have left them in the units for my tenants to use, which they love.  You can monitor the status online, which is nice if you have them in several locations like I do.  

Good luck!

I use odesk.com regularly and have been happy with the results. Very reasonable rates and I found one contractor who handles all of my online postings and presence.

I don't let tenants steal from me and get away with it.

First, you need to research what the unit abandonment laws are for this city. I'm not sure that you have to file an eviction. Then, you also need to research what the law allows you to collect in the case of a unit that is abandoned. For example, in my city when a tenant abandons a unit, I can collect redecorating fees, advertising, and the lost rent until the unit is re-rented or until the lease expires. That can be a very large claim-thousands and thousands of dollars. I would also file a police report for the fridge. When you have a compiled list of all losses, I would submit it to a collection agency I use that reports to all 3 credit bureaus. You can look them up at www.gofic.com. It won't cost you anything, and they will share 50% of what they collect with you. At the very least, you know that the next time this person applies for a rental, they are going to have to explain why they have such a large open collection related to a rental on their credit report.

Just make sure that when you submit the collection, you document all the losses very carefully-the collection agency will require it because if the debtor questions the debt, which they frequently do, the agency will need to have proof substantiating the details of the claim.

Good luck and I hope you eventually get some of your money back. If you are going to continue renting, check out the book Landlording on Autopilot by Mike Butler. The guy is a genius and it is probably my favorite RE book. It will make dealing with tenants a lot easier.

I would allow a small dog only. I don't do cats. I don't allow large agressive breeds because of the liability and insurance risk-it just isn't worth it.

Instead of charging a pet deposit, negotiate a higher rent. I lowered the price on a unit last month to $995, found a guy who really wanted it who had a small dog, and ended up signing a 2 year lease for $1100 with the dog.

Keep in mind that a lot of times, pets are being sneaked into your units. That's why it's so important to do at least 3 formal inspections a year.

I only charge $500 per unit and would discourage you from charging more.

In terms of getting a unit back clean, Chicago does not allow you to charge a tenant for what they call, "normal wear and tear." You can only charge for damages. If a tenant punches a hole in the wall, you can deduct for the hole, but the reasoning I've heard in court is that you would have to pay for painting the unit anyway, so you cannot charge for that.

The same reasoning applies to cleaning. You would have to clean the unit between tenants anyway, so you cannot charge the tenant for it. If a tenant appeals deductions and hires an attorney to get their money back, you will lose in most cases.

With every tenant, I try to get as many months up front as possible, plus the $500 move in fee. I apply that full amount to the rent up front. The MINIMUM I allow a tenant to move in with is two months rent. I subtract the move in fee and apply the rest of the balance to the rent on the front end of the lease.

All Chicago landlords need to read the entire RLTO and memorize it. Keep in mind that there are lawyers out there trolling for unsuspecting landlords who make very minor mistakes.

I rent single families with rent amounts between 1000-1700.

I moved away from security deposits entirely about two years ago. Chicago makes it very difficult for investors to deal with deposits, including disclosures, receipts, transfers, interest, and deductions, and any mistakes along the way set the landlord up for a 2x penalty plus refund of the original amount plus attorney's fees. Also, in the case of a dispute, the tenant uses the security deposit as leverage whether there were any violations of the ordinance or not. The burden ends up on the landlord to prove that there weren't any violations.

I charge $500, but wouldn't recommend going any higher than that. If you do, the amount could be challenged by an attorney who may claim it was fee in name only, and because of the amount actually fit the definition of a security deposit. Because the courts are so tenant friendly, there is a good chance a judge would agree.

At lease signing, I disclose to the tenant that the procedure is to notify them of any damages upon move-out. If they don't pay or make payment arrangements, I turn the debt and supporting documents over to a collection agency that reports to all 3 credit bureaus. I keep close tabs on my units by doing several inspections a year, so I am not surprised when they move out.

I was involved in an eviction case 2 years ago in which the tenant's attorney argued that since the judge did not agree with certain deductions from the security deposit, that it was a violation of the ordinance and I should have to pay the penalties and attorney's fees, which would have added up to about 10k. The judge later ruled that was not the case, but it scared me enough to abandon the practice. Abandoning security deposits is certainly not ideal, but neither is the city of Chicago.

Make sure you use the term, "and all unknown individuals" when you file an eviction in cook. sometimes, if you do not use that language, and the sheriff goes out for a forcible, they will only throw out the individuals on the complaint and they won't clear out the whole unit unless you use that language.

In my case, the judge took the side of the tenant on all of the money counts, including rent and damages, even though I had before and after pictures, documentation, etc. He granted a small money judgment, but basically decided that he didn't want the amount to be too large, so he just arbitrarily reduced the amount owed based on the tenant's lies. You would think that a judge would decide the case on the strict interpretation of the law, but he didn't.

I was blown away at how partial the judge was, and I wouldn't waste my time with another trial again.

I strongly recommend using attorneys for evictions in Cook. It is well worth the $300 I pay to have an expert handle it.

Hello All,

I am looking to save money on insurance costs, and need an insurance broker for policies on SFR's, as well as an umbrella policy. Can anyone make a recommendation?

Thanks so much,

Eric

Good news. It looks like you will have an easier time than I have had in the last couple of years getting rid of non-paying tenants in Crook County. Just keep careful watch on your property because it seems to me that this tenant will probably just leave unannounced, and you don't want an unsecured unit.

The latest defense tactic that I have been seeing in Cook is lawyers who show up on behalf of a defendant in an eviction case demanding $500 from you along with an agreement to drop the money case with prejudice as well as give the tenant 2 months more to move. If you do not agree, they file a bunch of meritless counterclaims that you have to respond to and disprove, which involves massive amounts of paperwork and documentation. The case also goes to trial (although they request jury trials, they never happen-both sides always agree to bench trials). The good news is, though, that the eviction trials have been really sped up to just a couple of weeks, whereas before you would have to wait up to 3 months for a trial date, and defense lawyers used this as a stall tactic.

I made the mistake of going to 2 trials last year. One the tenant never showed up to and I ended up with a judgement. The other was a one day bench trial in which the judge took the tenant's side on all of the claims and reduced a 10k case all the way down to 2k. It was a total joke, not to mention the attorney's fees I had to pay as well. I would never do it again.

I would encourage all Cook landlords to avoid the court system whenever possible unless it is absolutely necessary.