Went 6 months without a kitchen hahaThat orange Home store funded the whole thing with a consumer credit card.

There are a lot of costs that most people fail to account for.Sales taxesLodging taxesMarketingBooking feesCredit card feesRepairsCleaningLandscapingFurnishing the unitReplacing consumables (tp, coffee, soap, etc)Utilities, including cable/internetInsuranceThere's more I'm forgetting.

Boker protection meaning a consumer cannot use the same lender for the next 24 month unless the broker is paid commission - Is it legal ?

If the tenant does not take action and contact me to prepare the renewal then the rate automatically goes month to month. 

(No, I don’t expect a direct enforcement action.)

The silver lining is we were able to pay off almost all of our consumer debt since I was overseas.

In looking at what the effort will be, we aren’t sure if we will need to pay for a class or do more research independently which has sort of halted us in taking action.

However, I feel that I have been waiting for too long to take action using the excuse of “I don’t know enough yet”.

Lastly, after you receive advice from other Chicago area SLH operators & the local municipal agencies that will not only save you time but direct you towards ways to save you money, you are going to likely want to register your business as an LLC with the state and obtain the proper small business renters Insurance policy under your LLC’s name (if its just a 2-3br operation the policy monthly premium  cost will be very low and will shield you as an individual from the very probable situation of being personally liable for the behaviors, damages, & actions of a traditionally high-risk short-term tenant group bc no landlord’s homeowners insurance policy will cover any damages or personal liabilities that will occur when they discover the nature of the operation.

On pretty much every post where someone is having a problem with a tenant our advice seems to be cash for keys which leaves the tenant with a clean record, money in their pocket, and not a single repercussion for their actions.