Chicago Landlord

I am a little overwhelmed at all the new rental web sites and once the information gets out it is hard to remember what web sites you posted your rental on and how to take the information down. Still most of these sites are free or almost free so it is worth it to get the information out there. The rental market is hot this year and there are thousands or tenants sifting through thousands of rental listings trying to find the right match so make sure you give a lot of useful information about your apartment. Let people know how big the apartment is, what it costs, where it is located and what amenities there are. I find tenants are most interested in parking, laundry, pets and air conditioning. If you have outside space that is a huge plus this time of year. Make sure you also highlight the location if it is good. Let people know about public transportation, grocery stores and restaurants that might be near by.

One of the landlords I work with really likes hotpads.com and said it is great because you can transfer the information to craigslist with the photos. Yes please have photos of the apartment! I have not tired it myself yet. Also remember that you can farm your apartment out to lots of listing companies. You usually don't have to pay them unless they find you a tenants and most of the time the listings are non-exclusive, so you can use different companies and also try and rent it yourself. Just make sure you check the application out yourself to make sure the tenant is qualified. I do sometimes feel like they pressure both the tenant and the landlord to take what/who they get, but you do have choices.