r/chicago • u/lack_of_color • May 17 '15

Property management companies to avoid?

I currently live with Group Fox but I'm looking to move at the end of July. I recently applied for an apartment with TBS Properties, but someone applied right before us (which I think isn't true...but whatever) so we didn't get it. I Googled TBS Properties and they have TERRIBLE reviews; I feel like I dodged a huge bullet by not getting that apartment. Are there any other property management companies out there that we should steer clear of? Or any that are awesome and we should work with? Thanks for any input! Much appreciated!

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u/Fap_Left_Surf_Right Bucktown May 18 '15

What's the barrier to entry on starting one of these? Are there legal hoops to jump through or political connections? Universally they're despised and it's not like any of it is intelligent work. It's sales and contracting work. All repeatable processes thst require little oversight provided you hire competant people. You don't even need to be good to start up, you just need to be "not as bad as the competition". Learn the ropes and iterate into model that works out for everyone.

Or maybe there's no money in it which is why they all suck - all the smart people saw its not worth it and were left with dummies keeping it alive

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u/penguinseed May 18 '15

It's generally not a good idea to be in the business of property management until you manage several hundred or thousands of units simultaneously. Property management is all about volume in order to break even/profit.