All Forum Posts by: Brie Schmidt

@Rachel Weiss - As a broker I have many thoughts about this.  I do agree with you up to a point ($10k is way too low but I see where $70k for the list agent is too high if you have multiple properties to list) and there are a lot of good comments here that already explain things.  One thing I wanted to point out is that typically the brokerage company has a policy as to what the minimum amount the agent is allowed to charge.  So commissions are negotiable, but each brokerage can decide what their agents can charge.  It might be worth your while to find an independent brokerage who has more flexibility in that capacity.  I have owned my own company in Chicago for 10+ years and I allow my agents to decide what to charge, we do not have a minimum.  We work 95% with investors so our business model is a bit different as many of our clients are repeat business.  I had a client who wanted me to list three of his properties for a total of $8 million and was buying a $4 million dollar property.  I did not charge 2.5% on each property to list them and we worked out a percentage that we were both happy with given the volume of business he was doing.  But it was because I owned the company that I had the flexibility to do that.  

What is your criteria that you are denying them on?

I have had professional PM for 10+ years and I have never seen a tenant application from them.  That's not my job as the owner.  If I trust the PM with my properties then I have to trust them with the placement of tenants.  Never once have I been asked to approve a tenant

Quote from @Blake Alan Quarrie:

Has anyone else noticed a significant increase in their Chicago water bill recently? Since acquiring a four-unit property on the Northwest side, my bi-monthly bill has typically been around $500. However, after participating in the City's lead water replacement program, I was informed that I had been underbilled. Following the installation of a new water meter, I received a true-up for the previous underbilling.

Since the meter replacement, my water usage has increased by approximately 20%, and I am now receiving monthly bills instead of the previous bi-monthly statements. As a result, my bill has effectively risen from $500 bi-monthly to $700 monthly since the pipe replacement. I've had my GC run through the property and he did not discover any leaks, so I'm purely confused why I'm seeing this massive increase.

 Thanks pretty crazy! I just checked my 3 unit properties and and they are all 8-20 usage every 2 months and they have had water meters for 10+ years

You have to remember it is illegal in Chicago to deny a prospective tenant based on their source of income.  So everywhere is a Section 8 neighborhood and the program actually pays above market rents in target areas to encourage landlords to choose a section 8 tenant.  I work on the north side so it is less common but I see about 30-40 section 8 tenant units a year being an agent and I can only think of 1 time the unit was not maintained.  Normally I would have no idea a tenant is section 8 based on the condition of the unit.

CHA is pretty strict as well and will ban you for life from the program if you have serious lease violations, violate the program rules, or engage in criminal activities.  The tenants I have seen take it pretty seriously 

 Nothing special.  Shi*ty units attract shi*ty tenants and I don't rent out *****ty units.  

Welcome!  We have a really solid Chicago community!  Let us know what you need

@James Wise - I don't know, 13 years as a landlord in Chicago and only once had to file eviction.  It was during covid when they had the eviction memorandum and the tenant was out of work so he sent me the documents that he wasn't going to pay rent and apply for assistance.  His lease was about to expire so I delivered notice of non-renewal and he stayed past his lease so I was able to file eviction.  He ended up moving out before I actually got to serve him and was granted assistance to pay the back rent owed.  

I have worked with over 200+ investors as an agent over the last 10 years and I can think of two times my client's ever had to file eviction.  

It really irks me when people who don't know about Chicago post blanket statements about the city.  We have everything from neighborhoods with 50% vacancy and abandoned lots to neighborhoods where homes rent for over $15k a month.  No one thing applies to the entire city.   

 If you are in Chicago or Cook county you need 120 days notice

@Jonathan Klemm - That is one of my rants in the video. I get what they are trying to do here, preserve 2-4 unit properties and discourage deconverting to SFH. Chicago is losing housing stock at an alarming rate. But it is their fault. They changed the zoning map to make every side street RS-3 so these developers are just taking 2-4 units in non-conforming status and by right making it a SFH. If the zoning map was altered where all 2-4 units were now RT-4 then developers couldn't just tear them down to make SFH and building owners wouldn't need to fight the city to increase density. It is really a simple answer but you know Chicago, why would they do anything that makes logical sense?! Instead they go about it a** backwards and add more red tape and more complications costing the city and it's residents more money

@Christian Artuso - Welcome!  We have a pretty awesome Chicago community.  Where are you looking to invest and what are you looking to do?  I have been a buy and hold investor on the north side since 2011 and worked with over 200+ house hackers