Chicago's Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance (RLTO) and building codes require that all rental units meet zoning, health, and safety standards.

Toledo's Lucas County Metropolitan Housing Authority...LMHA which administers the Section 8 program seems to have had a difficult 2016 and 2017 doesn't seem much better.I've been renting to Section 8 for seven years now, I still have my original tenant in fact, and normally I find great satisfaction in renting to good tenants and working with the bureaucracy that comes with a government program...I had 10 properties rented section 8 at one point and have slowly prioritized standard rentals over the program and now am seeing blatant issues with their operations causing me to move away from considering their tenants.Delays in the program: We used to have 5 business day's delay for new-tenant vouchers to be reviewed and processed for inspection but have been going weeks before we hear anything.

This was perfect to save a lot of money while maintaining a high standard of living.

So in your case thats standard or frankly a bit better than those that force equity and have money.. the idea though of selling these to those that dont have the 50k in cash or ability to get it is what puts these neighborhoods at risk and to ask and investor to step in and buy the asset and then resell it for 3X that investor is taking a huge risk ..

So for example, in the Orlando market, a 4bd house is pretty low as a standard but over here in the Tampa Bay Area a 4bd house is quite high on the STR ladder.  

I think 5% is a pretty standard rate to estimate with, but beyond that you might be higher or lower depending on your approach to landlording. 

I get the fact that they want to be compensated for generating the initial inquiry however, wouldn’t they just charge the standard 5% rate?  

If the unit is vacant, we don’t charge a monthly fee.For situations like yours, where the house needed extermination and other prep work, we would typically only bill for the costs directly related to the work or services provided, not a standard monthly management fee.Your expectations aren’t unreasonable—getting the house rented ASAP is a valid priority!

Hell, someone sent me an update today on sec8 payment standards in MSA where sec8 is paying dang near $4kmnth!

Hello, you can do some research with the city's planning department as far as their development standards for that zoning, i.e. set-backs, height, lot coverage, etc.