All Forum Posts by: Tara Sonnabend

 Hi Bill, Thanks for your reply. It appears this had been going on undetected for some time, thus the potential for mold and the need for a hotel room. I appreciate the additional insight. 

 Hi Melanie, Thanks for your reply. The issue related to habitability is likely mold due to the water damage. Cash flow varies unit to unit and seasonally, but is consistently a viable business model. 

Hi Nathan, I am well aware of who is responsible for what, but as we all know, the cost to hold someone accountable often outweighs what is recouped at best. The detail in my post was to convey the timeline and establish that the leak was reported in a timely fashion. Ultimately, I thought perhaps folks may have worked with a specific attorney that specializes in this sort of scenario, much like many of us share referrals for professionals that support the highly specialized needs of investors. Many of us in Illinois hear quite a bit about how easily you can get sued as a landlord related to security deposit handling, thus many shifting to a non-refundable move in fee instead. 
If your interactions here are intended to help with business development, you might consider a different tone and mindset. 

My company leases a property from a private landlord in Glen Ellyn, with permission to sublease. A leak from the wax ring of the toilet was recently discovered and reported. I notified the landlord immediately upon reporting by the tenant, on Saturday, May 25. I asked for it to be addressed as soon as possible, but the landlord stated she would hopefully attend to it the next week, that the damage was already done and it could not be attended to over a holiday weekend. A plumber was scheduled for a service call on May 31, but the call was rescheduled to June 1 due to an emergency call. Remediation arrived today and will put dehumidifiers in the space. After the space is dry, they explained that part of the floor in the bathroom will need to be replaced. Now I have to relocate the tenant, pay for hotel accommodations and the home is not habitable. 

The landlord stated she believes we are responsible for the leak because when we started the lease in November 2022, the leak was not present. She has stated that she will not file an insurance claim and instead expects my company to be responsible for the cost of repairs. I explained that this type of routine maintenance issue is not damage and is not our responsibility, but I can see that I will need help ensuring that she as the landlord is instead held responsible.

Any advice on an attorney/organization to talk to in order to get a letter from an attorney to get the landlord being reasonable or similar instead of turning this into an expensive legal battle?

Thanks in advance!

I had most items shipped to the cleaner, but worked this out with her in advance.

I've furnished a 2/2 remotely and it was very smooth, but I had done 10+ before that so had a tight process and shopping list. I had major furniture delivered by Cort (check out their outlet for great deals), housewares/linens, etc. from Amazon and Walmart and found a great cleaning team on Turno that accepts packages, has a handyman and a can-do attitude. They accepted the Cort delivery and were there for the internet install and busted their butts and got it all done in 8-ish hours and I tipped them well. Also, be sure to pay for a tech to do the wifi installation--that can be a killer if things don't go according to plan and it's well worth the $99. I had the photographer come the next day and an MTR tenant the day after that, but could have been ready a day sooner. I loved the HostGPO recommendation, but personally haven't been able to wait as long as much of the furniture takes so have sourced from Cort, Amazon, Wayfair and Walmart with great results--I've built a tried a true list of reasonable, attractive, durable and easy to assemble items that I use again and again. I hope this helps!

Thanks for the shout out, @Jonathan Klemm! I have 2 MTRs in Naperville and likely adding another in the spring. 

Does anyone have recommendations/best practices to share around income verification for retired/semi-retired individuals? What do you usually look for in lieu of a paycheck for someone who still works? Thanks in advance!

Hi all, I have a tenant who I have allowed to do their own lawn service for reduced rent. I recently saw that they edging or trimming along the perimeter and some areas have been quite overgrown. Does anyone have recommended language to notify the tenant of requirements related to lawn maintenance? The lease didn't outline details, so I want to be mindful of how things are worded. Thanks in advance!