I know that renting up your investment can be one of the most confusing and nerve-wracking parts of the process (especially in a place with as much bureaucracy and legal hurdles as Chicago) and am more than happy to talk with anyone about that.

The best reasons to carry a mortgage are risk mitigation (less equity in the property means less attractiveness for lawsuits) and opportunity costs (leaving money locked up in a house when it could be earning a better return somewhere else).

Hi Michael-Great question and an important skill for investors to understand.I recommend the ABC's of Real Estate Investing by Ken McElroy and Ken's YouTube Channel.If you are an investor, I recommend finding and using a good property manager for your properties as soon as possible to maximize your return on investment and make owning as passive as possible.A good property manager is a key part of your real estate investing team.Get them involved early in the underwriting process of a potential acquisitions and the planning for adding value.To Your Success!

Starting this year, If you want to search someone's court history you must go to the district court and search their computers there yourself.

Once you start talking to more people in the niche, you'll get a better idea of the process and whether or not you want to pursue buying in this niche. 

To directly answer your question- if your PM hasn't already taken action, fire them, hire an attorney to start the eviction process and start interviewing new property managers. 

You need to ask for all information about the tenants right at the beginning of the application process. 

During this process I've run across a property in Birmingham that has some good numbers "on paper."

I've done my best to research the process but wanted to get additional guidance.

The whole process would have been much longer, and much more unpleasant for all parties involved.