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Could Your Property Pass a Section 8 Inspection?
If you’re involved in the rental business it won’t be long before you hear about Section 8. Chances are good that you’ve heard of it even if you aren’t involved with renting. It’s bandied about by...
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Holiday Gifts for the Chicago Renter
So last week I did a holiday shopping list for Chicago landlords. It’s only fair that I spend some time speaking to the other side, too. There’s plenty of sites out there oriented towards small-space...
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A Way to Remember the Essential Services
If you’re a Chicago landlord or tenant in an apartment covered by the CRLTO, you’ve got two levels of problems that can possibly arise. One type is your standard, run of the mill maintenance issue. For...
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Lingua Franca: Thinking About the Language of Apartment Leases
Do you remember the first time you read Shakespeare in school? For me it was in seventh grade. I’d heard a lot of hype about him up until that point, but nobody had warned me about the strange, antique...
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Slaying Dragons, Discarding Rings, Confronting Landlords
“I requested service six hours ago! Why don’t I have hot water yet?” – Text message from tenant, 10pm, Feb 2 2011 – Snowpocalypse Chicago. “Why should I have to pay for it? My lease says you will...
View ArticleAre You Ready To Start Apartment Hunting? (A Quiz)
Are you ready to start apartment hunting? Please wait while the activity loads. If this activity does not load, try refreshing your browser. Also, this page requires javascript. Please visit using a...
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Cook Eviction Stats Part 7: What does this mean for tenants?
I’ve spent the past 6 sections of this study focusing mostly on what the Cook County/Chicago eviction statistics mean for landlords. It’s time to focus a little on what they mean for renters. I’m not a...
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Cook Eviction Stats Part 8: Lawyers and Juries
We’re talking about lawyers and juries and how they affect the eviction numbers today, along with some interesting data that I picked up along the way. This article is deviating a bit from the its...
View ArticleCook Eviction Stats Part 10: Series Conclusion
About a year ago I encountered several urban legends about the Chicago rental environment that circle around the idea that the system is biased against landlords. I don’t like to see assumptions go...
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What Happens If Your Landlord Dies?
In previous articles I’ve addressed what a landlord should do if a tenant dies in the middle of a lease. However, I’ve not discussed the topic from the other side. So what happens to a tenant if the...
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Cook Eviction Stats Part 8: Lawyers and Juries
We’re talking about lawyers and juries and how they affect the eviction numbers today, along with some interesting data that I picked up along the way. This article is deviating a bit from the its...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What Happens If Your Landlord Dies?
In previous articles I’ve addressed what a landlord should do if a tenant dies in the middle of a lease. However, I’ve not discussed the topic from the other side. So what happens to a tenant if the...
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