FAQ's
Frequently Asked Questions
Maintenance
- You only pay for actual maintenance performed at the property, so per service or job. That’s from janitorial cleanings to roof repairs. We don’t have a “maintenance fee” or minimum maintenance cost.
- Coordinating maintenance is covered in the management fee.
- 80% of work orders are handled by our in-house staff. The other 20% are handled by our network of vetted specialists like plumbers or roofers. Vendors we have confidence in and years of experience working with.
- Our in-house maintenance staff all have prior experience with apartment maintenance and janitorial. Our senior tech, who leads the team, has been with us for over five years plus his 10+ years of experience in apartment maintenance before that.
- Our techs handle basic plumbing, electrical, and HVAC, along with handyman work like painting and household repairs.
- There is a tech on call after hours and on weekends for emergency work orders.
- Our hourly rate is $75 for basic repairs and go up to $125 for specialty work.
- We’re open to working with your preferred vendors if you have any. We would just hold them to the same standard we would ours.
- Having in-house labor enables our rates to beat 3rd party and “retail” pricing.
- We establish a maintenance schedule for every building which “bulks” service visits and controls the number of trips made and hours spent. It results in more WO’s being completed over less time, reduces cost, and increase efficiency. Tenants appreciate this consistency and transparency, too.
- Our maintenance is 24/7, 365 – emergencies are handled as they happen to avoid excess or prolonged damage from occurring. Through our maintenance platform residents can submit, call, or text in a service request anytime and from anywhere.
- In some cases you have no choice, but in all cases, we always try to minimize painting to touch-ups if they’re needed. We try to limit painting as much as possible because it is the largest driver of cost and time in the make-ready process.
Leasing
- In house leasing agents who only work on leasing Root Realty properties.
- We start marketing available units 60 days before a tenant moves out.
- Our A.l. powered scheduling system advertises our units on over 50 rental sites. Then, qualifies the prospect and immediately books a showing appointment, increasing lead-to-showing conversion by up to 80%
- We adhere to Chicago Landlord Tenant ordinance and make sure each occupied unit has 48 hour notice for showings.
Property Management Procedures
- Your manger is your primary contact for all things relating to your property – we believe in a simple and direct communication lane.
- You can reach them via direct phone or email – and they will respond same-day.
- 24/7 access to owner portal for owner statements, leases, and documents.
- A full owner packet is provided every month which includes a rent roll, cash flow, and owner statement.
- At a minimum, you will meet with your manager annually to review the budget proposed for the property for the coming year. Think of this as the meeting to set the road map for your manager to execute on. You’ll also always be notified when an expense item requires your authorization.
- In fact – if you have an active listing, you’ll receive an activity report every Monday morning from us with the previous week’s leasing data activity.
- We ensure a physical presence at the building, but an exact answer can vary depending on what’s happening there, like leasing or maintenance. At a minimum, a team member will be on site twice per month.
- Yes, at turnovers and prior to offering lease renewals we get our eyes on the unit to assess the residents housekeeping.
- Rent is collected at the beginning of the month and is held in a dedicated operating account for your property – from which your operating expenses are paid. We reconcile our accounts, then send your disbursement within the first 10 days of the following month. Accompanying the disbursement is your monthly owner packet containing a rent roll, cash flow, and owner statement.
- The disbursement is equal to the rent collected less operating expenses and property reserve.
- Over 60,000 residents have lived in Root buildings. We are lifelong apartment building owners and property managers, lifelong Chicagoans, and this is the only business we’re in. The managers of the business have a combined 75 years of apartment building management and investment experience. Not saying we’ve seen it all, but we’ve seen a lot, and have the experience handling those tough situations that happen in property management that you can find comfort in. We’re honest and straightforward, you won’t get any BS from us.
Fees
- Our fee structure is dependent on the performance of the building. We earn as the building earns.
- Our fees are typical in the market ranging from 5%-10% of gross monthly income collected.
- Our fees for leasing apartments on annual leases are typically equal to the 1st months’ rent.