Landlord Services
The Homestead Group prides itself on personal, convenient and professional service. Our aim is to provide our landlords with creditworthy, mature, and responsible tenants. We will never rent an apartment merely to earn a commission. With a family of landlords that now exceeds 5000, our goal has always been to forge long term relationships focusing on satisfying the needs of our landlords. We accomplish this one landlord and one apartment rental at a time.
Simply put, the protection of our landlords from bad tenants has always been of paramount importance to us. Our relationship with our landlords is the basis of our business, and we will never jeopardize that relationship. Our belief is that when a building is occupied with only quality tenants, the degree of restorative maintenance required by our landlords will be reduced to an acceptable minimum.
When seeking assistance in renting your apartments, The Homestead Group offers landlords the most complete and thorough service in all of Chicago. Since we do not require exclusive listings, you will be free to rent your apartments on your own, without paying us a fee.
Here is what sets us apart:
Background Investigation
The cornerstone of The Homestead Philosophy is the exhaustive background investigation we perform on each and every applicant. We leave no stone unturned in determining whether an individual meets our stringent standards. Our full and comprehensive investigatory report on an individual's background includes not only an examination of the credit rating but also a verification of both past and present employment and past and present tenancies. We ask the most probing questions to obtain the most information possible. We insist that your decision on whether to accept a tenancy be an informed one. In fact, we will not hesitate to strongly recommend that you reject an application if the situation so warrants.
The Homestead Group Lease
The Homestead Group Lease has been painstakingly developed over the past twenty years to provide our landlords with the utmost protection against errant tenant behavior. It is updated each year to encompass all changes to existing law, particularly the Chicago Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance. In addition to our lease, our attorneys have also added a Lease Rider which covers nearly every conceivable situation that could negatively impact a landlord such as pet damage, excessive noise, types of parties allowed, waterbeds, and the like. Our loyalties lie with our landlords, and our goal is to protect them at every stage of the leasing process.
Marketing
Our time tested, four-prong marketing plan has proved extremely effective in successfully showcasing our properties.
1. www.thehomesteadgroup.com
Research shows nearly 100% of prospective tenants start their search online. We have the most amazing online tools in the industry: the only interactive-map apartment search engine in Chicago as well as amenity maps for each of our apartments and neighborhoods. Our listings are also regularly uploaded to the most popular apartment portals in the industry. Our website allows global access to your apartment at the click of a button. Individuals seeking to relocate from anywhere in the world can have immediate access to your apartment listings before even coming to Chicago. Additionally, each of our advertisements in the Chicago Reader has a hyperlink which takes the client not only directly to our web site but also specifically to your listing for full review. Our website is also marketed in various newspapers, magazines and numerous other Internet outlets. Our team of programmers and search engine optimization specialists are constantly updating our site to incorporate the always changing trends that manifest themselves on the Internet.
2. Print Advertising
At our expense, we will advertise your apartments on a weekly basis in the Chicago Reader. Due to the vast amount of apartments advertised in the Chicago Reader, we publish a minimum of 300 advertisements each and every week. We have found that this number of ads is necessary to achieve appeal and proper market saturation.
3. Our Craigslist Program
Over the past few years, Craigslist has grown in popularity to unimaginable levels. At The Homestead Group, we have achieved Craigslist dominance by employing several different strategies. First, each of our agents is required to maintain a minimum of 200 postings at all times. Second, we have created six attractive multi-platform templates that provide not only sufficient variety but also allow our agents to post an advertisement in less than one minute. Third, we have a dedicated marketing team that does nothing other than post ads to Craigslist eight hours a day, each and every day.
4. Corporate Relocation
The Homestead Group has accounts with numerous local, national and international firms assisting them in finding housing for their employees and associates that are coming to Chicago. Consequently, each year we relocate countless individuals that are seeking quality housing in Chicago.
The Intangible Element
The Homestead Group is entering its 20th year of operations. Over this period, we have earned a reputation for not only having the very best apartments in Chicago but also for obtaining for our landlords the very best tenants. The Homestead name is known throughout Chicago to such an extent that many people begin their search with us before even seeing one of our ads. Renters know that a Homestead apartment is synonymous with quality and excellence.
The Homestead Commitment
We stay involved with our landlords during the entire term of the lease. The Homestead Group offers assistance even after the tenant moves in to your apartment. We are available seven days a week to assist you in any manner whatsoever should a problem arise with a Homestead tenant. We do not walk away from our landlords once an apartment is rented. We stand ready to help in the unlikely event that a problem arises. We will also provide you with lease renewals whenever needed, free of charge.
The Homestead Team
The Homestead Rental Team is comprised of thirty fully licensed real estate professionals thoroughly trained to lease your apartments in a competent and expeditious fashion. Our offices, located at 3338 N. Southport Avenue and 821 N. Milwaukee Avenue, thoroughly blanket all of the sought-after neighborhoods from the South Loop through Rogers Park and west to Humboldt Park, Lincoln Square and beyond. We are open seven days a week to serve our landlords.
The Homestead Guarantee
In the unlikely event that A Homestead placed tenant unjustifiably leaves before the expiration of the lease, The Homestead Group will re-rent that apartment for you free of charge. We stand behind all of our efforts.
