Elgin is a great rental property market, but the city does require inspections every 2 years, and you do have to take a landlord class.If you can househack a 3-4 unit building out in your area, that will be a golden ticket to get started. 

I would conduct an inspection, determine the cause, and make the repair.You shouldn't keep tenants who habitually pay late, but there are various factors to think about and I can't go into all of them.

Do a normal move out inspection and return the balance of the deposit (minus any repairs).

Make sure to have thorough inspections done and factor in extra reserves just in case.

The reason is the rent-to-price ratio is good so you can cash flow, and most of the West side doesn’t have a Point of sale inspection which is really annoying.

They do have other options that you can add-on, such as electronic inspection reports, mailing services and e-lease (this one is included if you're a Pro member which I am not) but I haven't found the need for any of those services yet.  

Assets identified in this study include:Bathroom Fixtures: Bathtubs, vanities, showers and toiletsStructural Components: Drywall, wood framing and interior partitionsBuilding systems: water heater, electrical distribution, HVAC, plumbingInterior Construction: Wood flooring, stairs, ceramic tileSmoke detectorsThis engineering-based cost segregation study included the following methodology:Physical Inspection through a site visitDocumentation review including architectural plans, accounting records and construction documentsA cost analysis which utilizes engineering principles in order to allocate costs to their applicable asset classificationsCalculation of the depreciation schedule using MACRSAs a reminder, bonus depreciation started to phase out in 2023.

After several inspections and a few deals that didn’t pan out, I was able to lock down a duplex in a high-demand Airbnb area.

Let them do their inspection and appraisal.

Was the work inspected?