Quick and simple tenant screening tip for Illinois landlords

Illinois tenant screening tips

Many landlords don’t like to screen their tenants thoroughly.  In fact, some landlords seem to require only that the tenant have enough money to pay the deposit and the first month’s rent (some don’t even go that far).

However, prudent landlords are getting smarter about screening their tenants.  Picking a good tenant up front reduces headaches down the line.  In the wake of the country’s economic downturn, more and more tenants have bad credit, so landlords need to look deeper into rental application information.

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Rentals on the rise in Chicago?

Chicago rental buildingA recent blog article in the Wall Street Journal indicates that landlords have “seize[d] the upper hand in [the] apartment market”.  This is an interesting development.  The article cites the all too common shift where former homeowners are losing their properties to foreclosure and becoming renters.  The article specifically singles out Chicago as a place where a renter’s rent is going up from “$765 from $720” because landlords “know they can get more for my unit”.  This certainly bodes well for landlords who want to keep their rental units filled.

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