Hi Kimberly,

Renting is a great idea but because you will be living in a different state, it IS a good idea to have a managment company look after your property. Unless you plan on making trips back and forth to Chicago. I have assisted clients in property rentals and YES, 1/2 of the first months rent is the fee. There is advertising involved as well as paperwork, etc.
One client that I have is renting her home here in Chicago and lives in New York. She has had a couple of issues with her tenants but since she has family here, she always has someone who can go over to the house and check things out for her. I would really advise thinking about a property managment company. The previous answer mentioned that it was expensive but if you do not have any other options, you really need to pay someone to watch after your investment, right? I am a real estate agent with Sotheby's Realty. Let me know if I can help you out in anyway. The company below does a lot of property management in the Hyde Park area...They advertise your property and do credit checks for renters as well as manage properties...

My experience with property management co's are that they are expensive. If you want a hands off approach on maintaining your investment property then a property management company is the way to go. Depending on the company ,they will either charge you the equivalent of one months rent to set up and then a monthly fee of anywhere between 10-20% of your monthly rent as the fee. Some I have seen charge a start up cost of 25% of the first months rent they all vary.

One thing that you will need to put in the back of your mind is that your sweet home is turning into an investment property and the future tennants may or may not take care of the place like you would. Be prepared to do a little fixing up due to wear and tare that the renters do to the place.

I would also first check with a local Realtor in your area and ask them who they would recommend. Some Realtors will manage the place for you as well.

Good luck in NJ!