I am officially starting my Multifamily Property Management business in Chicago

[Tan Su]

hi guys, I have been a broker for almost two years now focusing on Multifamily apartments in Chicago. Things are going well so I have officially started the property management section of my business as well. I have just taken in two customers, remote California investors - both 6 units apartment with the following fee structure. Any suggestions? Referrals? I only want to manage 4+ units buildings at certain neighborhoods, so I can only decide to accept or not after the owner disclose the location to me. I am very handy person and I fix things myself and I am very caring for each tenant, do you think the following fee structure sustainable? Feel free to shoot me a message if you have PM need in Chicago, I can manage things well at a super reasonable fee. 

1. 
   

   Management Fee. - 6% monthly, based on each month’s gross rental revenue

2. New Lease. - Included in management fee

3. Renewal of Lease. - Included in management fee

4. Eviction. - Included (Serving Notices to Tenants residing at the Property only)

5. Preparing the Property for Leasing. - Included in management fee

6. Other. - A third party platform fee will pass on to the Owner, per unit, about $7 per month per unit.

[Mark Ainley]

@Tan Su first of congrats...there is alot of opportunity for good PM providers in Chicago and the entire US.  You are about to get run over with lessons in the next 3 years and happy to help sidestep common mistakes if you ever want to jump on a call.  

When you get to 100 units you can join our Property Management best practices group where we have 20 local PMs get together once per month via zoom and help each other out.  

[Tan Su]

Quote from @Mark Ainley:

@Tan Su first of congrats...there is alot of opportunity for good PM providers in Chicago and the entire US.  You are about to get run over with lessons in the next 3 years and happy to help sidestep common mistakes if you ever want to jump on a call.  

When you get to 100 units you can join our Property Management best practices group where we have 20 local PMs get together once per month via zoom and help each other out.  

 @Mark Ainley Thank you Mark! I'm currently managing 24 doors and hopefully can grow into 100 in 2025! I'd love to learn from you and other PMs to get more experience, please don't hesitate to contact me if there is anything I can do to help! 

[Jonathan Klemm]

Wow @Tan Su!  Kudos to you for jumping into a very tricky (put nicely) industry in property management!  

6% management fee seems too low if you are including new leases and renewal leases.  Most PMs charge one month's rent for new leases and a set fee for lease renewals.

I learned early as a Chicago General Contractor that not charging enough can really hurt business by bringing on the wrong clients; being able to say no to clients earlier on in business is a skill, and charging enough is paramount.

Which areas of Chicago are you planning to manage properties?