Is Your Chicago Apartment Building Senior Friendly?

Is Your Chicago Apartment Building Senior Friendly?

One community that you may totally be missing in your rental properties are the seniors. Seniors typically like to downsize their larger homes and may choose to move into the city to have easier access to medical care, shopping, and transportation. If they are moving into the city of Chicago, is your building ready for them?

As a Chicago property owner, you need to take an assessment of your property to see if you are a senior friendly community. Take a look below at what some of the things seniors in your area are looking for and how you can adjust your rental property to accommodate and welcome them.

All Inclusive Rent Rates

One thing that the senior Chicago community is looking for is an inclusive rental payment. They’ve typically had their own home in the past and they want to pay one fee for everything. It makes it easier to keep up with things and they do not have to worry about multiple payments each month. If this is not a service you offer, you may want to consider offering inclusive rates that include items such as electricity, cable, gas, and phone services.

Easy Access

How easy is it to access your Chicago apartment from the street or parking garage? This is one thing your senior community is looking for. As a property manager in Chicago, you want to make sure that it is accessible easily from any where your tenants would be coming from.

Room for Visitors

Many seniors spend time hosting friends and family that visit from all over the country. They want to be able to have them stay in their home with them or to have them visit without feeling cramped. It is important that seniors feel they can have their guests over as well without facing issues with the management of the property.

Apartments on the First Floor

You may want to consider keeping the first floor of your apartment building open to your senior tenants. This helps them avoid having to climb stairs or get an elevator to get into their unit. It is easy to get in and out of the building and they feel safer being on that bottom floor.

Lots of Lighting

While younger tenants may want a dimmer setting in their apartments, your senior tenants want brighter, better lighting in the home. Be sure to offer sufficient lighting throughout all areas of the apartments so that everyone feels safe and secure in the home.

Central Gathering Spot

Do you have a place on the property that would be a great gathering location for your tenants? Perhaps you have a community room or something similar. It would be the perfect spot for your tenants to meet each other, have time to hang out, and feel like part of a community all at the same time.

These are just a few of the things you can do as a property manager in Chicago to help draw in the senior crowd to your rental units.