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Why Out-of-State Real Estate Investors Depend on Local Chicago Property Managers

August 7, 2020

We work with a lot of investors who own property in Chicagoland but live elsewhere. Maybe you’re just a few hours away or maybe you’re out-of-state. Either way, you’re going to need a local Chicago property manager who can lease, manage, and maintain your home effectively.

As an out-of-state owner, you’re looking for more than specific services; you also need peace of mind.

Choose a Local Chicagoland Property Management Team

The first and most important thing to do is choose a property management partner. You need a local expert who understands the rental market in Chicagoland and its surrounding communities. When you have an experienced and proactive management team, you won’t have to worry about:

Long and expensive vacancies while you’re waiting for your property to rent.
Emergency maintenance issues that require an urgent response.
Overdue or unpaid rent and serving notices to delinquent residents.
Bad tenants leading to lease violations, criminal activity, or property damage
Turnovers between tenants that require cleaning, repairs, and marketing.

Your property managers will be close by to help with everything from leasing to inspecting to maintaining your home.

Technology and Property Management Software

As a long-distance investor, you’ll need to stay connected to your management company and your rental property. A good management company will provide an online portal where you can check in on how your property is performing physically and financially. Your online platform will provide copies of inspection reports and uploaded photos. You should be able to review maintenance requests and invoices. You can check for things like rent payments and deposits.

Updated accounting statements and reports should be provided, as well as any information you might need about tenants moving in, tenants moving out, preventative services like pest control and landscaping, and anything else pertaining to your investment. You can even send messages to your management team and ask any questions that you may have.

Trust the Process and Judgment of Your Chicago Property Managers

You can trust your property manager and their network of maintenance vendors and other professionals. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can manage from afar. You’ll need to put a friend or family member in charge of keeping an eye on your property, and that’s a lot of pressure.

Listen to the advice that your property managers offer you. It’s easy to become emotionally involved with your investment property, even when you’re hundreds or thousands of miles away. You might want to push for a higher rent even though the local market really drives the rental value of your property. A good management team will understand the demand and price your home competitively. You might want to choose one tenant over another in a way that may be discriminatory according to the Fair Housing Act. Your property managers will protect you from that potentially expensive mistake.

You pay your property management team to make good decisions that are in your best interests. Trust us to take care of your property when you’re not here to do it yourself.

We’d be happy to help you with your Chicagoland rental property, especially if you live out of state or even out of the country. Contact us at Baird & Warner for local property management expertise.

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