State Specific Question About: ILLINOIS (IL)

Gary, welcome to Mr. LL. Come back and learn more.

First, I will echo your experience. I rent what I fondly call "Class C" SFH's. 2 bed, 1 bath. No frills, but everything works, is clean, and it's safe. What I found early on is property managers are just like everyone else: they go for whatever makes them the most money for the least effort. Consider the following scenarios...

Gary has 2 homes listed, each for $600. The management company will earn a 50% of one month's rent commission ($300) and 10% of the rent ($60/month). Total for 1 year lease: $1020.

Joe has 2 homes listed, each for $900. Same deal as yours in terms of pay/commission, but they earn $1530 for a 1 year lease.

Whose property will they give the most focus? Managers have profit motives like everyone else, which isn't bad, but it creates an inherent conflict of interest between "big players" who have more expensive houses and/or who have 20 houses vs. the "little guy" who has two houses with low rents. The manager has to work the same whether they are renting a $2000/month luxury condo or your humble house. But the pay scale is vastly different.

Bottom line: 90 days is too long. Offer them a bonus to get it done quickly (30 days max), or terminate the contract. Your choice.

Fire them. Do a move in Special and pass the cost you are enduring forward.

It's already cost you to much. Move in Special should have been offered two month ago.

Rent $500, Deposit $500 Move in Special for Nov. $299, deposit $600. Play with the numbers. You'll be money ahead! And the tax man will be knocking soon.

I've had to do it... Even had move in soecials for $99 ! Just make move in cost to tenant under $1000.

Ad disclaimer ... For qualified applications. Or must view, apply and be accepted by nov 5th.

All good suggestions I agree with so far (except 1 cat only needs 1 litter box)

In addition to firing them today: 1) learn how to read & evaluate a credit report so you can screen properly yourself. 2) Find a nearby landlord association and go there. 3) Zillow is a decent way to advertise online - it sends your ad to several different sites who sometimes edit it a little differently. I primarily get responses from Trulia and Hotpads. Look at the ads that are posted by others to get ideas about how you want to do yours. You definitely want to include plenty of photos - inside & out. 4) Put signs in front of the houses. 5) Create a written list of qualification standards, and a good application form/system. 6) Should have been FIRST! Read and understand your state's landlord-tenant laws! Like anything you do, you need to do it well & protect yourself & your assets. And with a little effort & time (much less than 90 days) you will know how to do it better than the "pros" you hired.

Keep coming back here & ask lots of questions. We will help as much as we can with suggestions. You will see some differences in our opinions, but will soon be able to decide which advice seems to line up best with what you want to do.

Welcome to the fun world of land lording, and best wishes!

Gary, the good news is: your education in LLing has already progressed to the first level. You have learned not to pass the responsibility of finding your tenants to someone who has little interest and gives no effort. It only cost you 3 months rent--which is cheap as LLing lessons go. As stated above--fire the agent ASAP.

Try all the suggestions above to find out what works best for you in your area. I will add another suggestion. Since I require tenants who work for a living (not on the dole, Social Security, Sec-8, etc), I market to all the big employers in my area including city services and utilities, local school systems, military(if you have any in your area),and all factories, plants, warehouses, etc. You send your colored flyer with photos and a blurb about the property to the Personnel Depts or the Human Resource Depts and request dissemination. Some have employee newsletters, others may only have a bulletin board in the break room.

In your blurb be sure to say what major/minor highways the property connects to ("easy access to Hwy 281 and the 410 Loop"). Also any other positives like the closeness to a park, a mall, lg food store, bus stop. Even list the schools if it's a good school system.

Gary,

Fire. For a pro to let the house sit for 90 days is nore than adequate reason to fire. Hire someone else if needed.

If you are smart enough to post a question here you can post an ad yourself.

If you want, post the address here and we'll look at the ad.

Duds are just part of the biz. It's a numbers game. We only approve 1.5 out of 10. The trick is to appeal to the prospects who have the money and get them interested.

It's a 3 legged stool:

-House must look and smell good

-priced right

-Easy and quick response. No bottlenecks. Easy to apply and quick to screen.

This time of year can get tough. I'd get rid of the manager who isn't working out. Hit the "home for the holidays" idea in your ad. "Get settled before the holidays".

Do the reduced rent for a one month move in special, say something about saving a bit for the holidays.

Gary I am a REALTOR and I would never hire one to rent my properties. The cost is exorbitant and they aren't doing anything you can't do yourself.

90 days? That means they started this in August and now you are facing the hardest time of year to rent.

Go to the forms section on this website for an application, lease and state laws. Use the credit report from Mr. Landlord. If you have questions on what it means ask anyone on this forum they will help you decipher it until you become more familiar with reading one yourself.

I am overwhelmed when I advertise on Zillow so post there. It's free you just need to register. Use Zillow to see what else in your neighborhood is renting for and try to give a better offer.

Better to lower the rent now and get it occupied than to sit on until the market becomes more active.