All Forum Posts by: Sean McKee

@Connor O'Brien it didn’t specify but I imagine it would be around 1/2 of a month’s rent. Definitely seems like you will have to be careful what you charge for. 

Hello BP and Chicagoland Investors.

The cook county board of commissioners passed the Residential Tenant and Landlord Ordinance. I found the proposed document on ChicagoEviction.com-https://www.chicagoeviction.co...                                                    

I remember seeing the original back in July and I am thankful landlord advocates were able to get some concessions. However it is still overall skewed heavily in the tenants favor.

The biggest issues for me are

1. Late fees capped at 10 dollars for the first 1,000( was originally 1,500 I think) I’m all for preventing predatory fees, but 10 dollars is not fair.Definitely lowers incentive to pay on time.

2.Vague language as to what constitutes an “reasonable fee”. You can’t charge in excess of that.

3. One-time Right To Pay and Stay- Tenant can stop an eviction order by paying all back rent, filing fees, and all other cost EXCEPT attorney fees.  Again not fair. Most landlords going to court spent weeks if not longer before making that decision. Hopefully judges are still allowed to make that call.

4. Limits on security deposits. Security deposits are limited to 1.5 times rent( the excess above 1 times can be paid over 6 months). This basically eliminates for me the ability to let people who are borderline on to my property. 

What is better than original version

1. It seems as if landlords can still charge move in fees. However you have to provide a itemized statement of estimated reasonable costs. However you definitely might run into trouble if you miscalculate something.

2. A right to remedy to breach of the security deposit law. Landlords will get two days to remedy any violation after written notice from tenant. So unlike Chicago you won’t automatically get fined double the security deposit plus attorney fees (I think).

Tenants definitely  deserve protection, and there are some justified provisions in the new ordinance. However there are ways to do it without being unfair to the landlord.

I disagree with a lot of the provisions in this ordinance. I am thankful that landlord advocates were able to get us some concessions and make this an easier deal with.   Unfortunately this will have the unintended effects of making it harder for tenants who have blemishes on their record to find quality housing.

For me personally, the biggest change will be to not rent to anyone who is borderline to my criteria. I still use security deposits thanks to the right to cure provisions. But given the current climate and this new provision it really doesn’t pay to take unnecessary risk.

What impact, if any, will this have your business?

It's a tough situation all around. I'm actually getting deployed in May, so I definitely can relate to your tenant . But also as a landlord it is not a situation I would like to be in, especially if it would cause me to miss peak rental season. Tell them your hesitations about missing peak rental season. Work with them now to see if there are temporary housing options that might work. If not then I would let them go month to month for a short period. Hopefully both of you are able come up with something that works.

I actually just consulted with a lawyer regarding a tenant past due. Basically there is nothing you can do to evict (at least in Illinois) . Tenant screening is definitely key and if necessary keep the units vacant longer. I'm not taking any unnecessary chances. This honestly sucks for all the tenants who are borderline and will find it much harder to rent a place. Hopefully the back rent legislation passed by congress makes its way to the states soon.

@Varun Batra. Both myself and seller had agents. Seller had it listed for 90 days and I happened to make offer at the right time. I was definitely surprised it was actually accepted. Sometimes you get lucky.

I agree with get a new agent or push them to go through with it. I recently made and got an offer excepted for almost 100k less than asking. You never know what might happen.

Hello Everyone,

I know that Congress just recently passed legislation providing 25 billion in rental assistance. I know this is being given to individual states to disperse. For Illinois specifically, has anyone heard about the timeline for receiving those funds and how to apply? I have not found anything yet online.

Thanks!

Thanks everyone. I kind of figured as much that I would need to go ahead and upgrade. It’s weird because everything inside was re-wired but the service was never touched.

@Jim S. Each unit has 2 bedrooms. Gas stove, 4 water heaters, gas heat only, no dishwasher. Only window AC units if they choose to.

thanks

Hello Everyone.

I’ll keep this pretty short. I have a 4 unit building (on the smaller side) with 100A for the main service. I’m not an expert on this, but I figured before I even bought that I might need to upgrade to 200A. I would like to just make sure it’s 100% necessary before doing it. There will be no central air conditioning, laundry or any other high powered electric. The units are pretty basic and will be kept so. Is 100A enough?