I am Mike Fisher with MF CashFlow Property Management, part of M Property Group LLC, a Licensed Illinois Real Estate Broker, and I have been investing in real estate for 35 years. Thousands of deals. I have seen it all. And one thing I notice, talking to owners across the south and west suburbs, is that most people look at one number on their monthly statement. The deposit. They see what hit their bank account and they move on.
I get it. You are busy. But if that is all you are looking at, you are leaving information on the table. Your statement is actually a pretty clear picture of what your investment is doing. Let me walk you through it.
Gross Rent Collected
Top of the statement. This is the total rent your tenant paid for the month. If your unit rents for $1,400 and the tenant paid in full, that is what you see here.
But read it. Because sometimes this number is not what the lease says, and that matters. Short payment from the tenant. A prorated amount because a new tenant did not start until the 5th. A vacancy day. These things show up here. Do not just glance past it.
The Management Fee
Right below gross rent. This is our fee. At MF CashFlow, we charge a percentage of collected rent. Not scheduled rent. Collected. If your tenant did not pay, we do not get paid either. We are in this together.
What does that fee cover? A lot. Tenant communication. Maintenance coordination. Rent collection. Lease enforcement. The late-night call about the furnace that you do not have to take anymore. That is what you are paying for. And I will tell you, the owners who have been with us the longest, they will tell you that is worth every dollar.
Maintenance and Repair Charges
This is usually the line that surprises people. Especially in the south and west suburbs, where the housing stock is older. Furnaces give out in January. Water heaters go. Roofs leak after a bad storm. That stuff is going to happen.
Every repair charge on your statement has a work order behind it. Vendor, date, scope, cost. All documented. If you see something you do not recognize, call us. We will pull it up and explain exactly what was done and why.
Here is something I tell every owner: deferred maintenance is always more expensive. Always. I have seen it play out a thousand times over 35 years. The $200 fix that nobody wants to deal with becomes a $2,000 problem six months later. We catch those things early. That means occasionally you will see repair charges in a month you were not expecting. That is us protecting your investment.
Other Fees and Credits
Depending on the month, you might see other line items. A leasing fee for a new tenant placement. A lease renewal fee. Court filing costs if we had to start an eviction. Inspection charges.
None of this should be a mystery. Our management agreement lays out every fee before you sign anything. But three months in, it is easy to forget what you agreed to. If you see something you do not recognize, just ask. We would rather explain it once than have you wondering about it.
Net Disbursement: The Number That Hits Your Account
This is your bottom line. Gross rent minus management fee minus any repairs or other charges. That is what we send you. Most owners get their disbursement between the 10th and the 15th, depending on when rent came in and how quickly we could process everything.
If this number looks lower than you expected one month, the answer is right there above it. Bigger repair month. Leasing fee for a new placement. Tenant short-paid. Read the statement and the answer is there. I cannot tell you how many calls I have taken from owners who were confused about a disbursement and had not read past the first two lines.
Think Like an Investor
Here is the mindset I push on every owner I work with. A landlord looks at the deposit. An investor looks at the statement. The statement tells you what the property is actually doing. What it costs to operate. Whether the numbers are trending in the right direction over time.
Keep your statements. Stack them month to month. Year to year. If maintenance costs are creeping up, that is a signal. Maybe it is time for a capital improvement conversation. If a unit keeps turning over, that is a conversation we need to have too. The statement is not just a receipt. It is data. And if you invest in real estate for any length of time, you learn to use your data.
If you have questions about your statement, or you want to understand exactly how we operate before bringing a property under management, let’s talk. Book a call with me at mfcashflow.com and I will walk you through everything.
