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- Tenant occupied
You want out. Your tenants are staying. That is fine.
Almost every retail buyer wants a vacant building, which is why tired landlords end up serving notice on people who have not done anything wrong, just to make a house sellable. You do not have to do that. We buy occupied.
Month to month, a lease, or a tenant who stopped paying
We buy all three. A lease transfers with the building, and we honor it. Month to month tenants stay month to month. If a tenant is behind or an eviction is already filed, we will look at where the case stands and price it, rather than asking you to finish it first. Cook County eviction timelines are long enough that waiting is often the most expensive option on the table.
The Chicago RLTO details that scare other buyers
Inside Chicago, the Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance governs security deposits, interest on those deposits, notice requirements, and the summary a landlord has to attach to a lease. Deposits and the obligations that come with them transfer with the building, and the penalties for getting it wrong are not small. That exposure is a large part of why buyers demand vacancy.
We take it on. At closing we account for deposits and accrued interest, we notify tenants properly, and the obligation moves to us. If your records are incomplete, which is common, we work from what exists rather than treating it as a reason to retrade the price.
Two flats, three flats, and the illegal unit
Chicago's housing stock is full of buildings that are legally a two flat and physically a three flat, with a basement or attic unit that was finished decades ago without a permit. A retail buyer cannot get that financed, and an appraiser will not count the income. For us it is an underwriting question, not a deal killer.
Questions we get about this.
If yours is not here, call. We answer these all day.
Do I need to give my tenants notice before selling?
No. You do not need to deliver the building vacant and you do not need to serve anyone. We prefer occupied buildings where the tenants are staying.
What happens to the security deposits?
They are accounted for on the settlement statement and the obligation transfers to us, including any interest owed under the RLTO if the building is inside Chicago.
Will you tell my tenants I am selling?
Only when and how you want, until the contract requires notice. We coordinate on timing rather than showing up unannounced.
Other reasons people call us.
Most sellers are dealing with two or three of these at the same time.
Behind on payments
Delinquent property taxesDelinquent property taxes
Inherited propertyInherited a property
Repairs and code violationsRepairs and violations
DivorceDivorce or separation
Relocation and downsizingRelocating or downsizing
Vacant propertySitting empty
Senior living transitionSenior living move
Tell us what you are dealing with.
One address and five minutes on the phone is usually enough for us to tell you whether we can help, and what we would do if we were you.
Start your offer.
No fee, no obligation, and an honest answer either way.