New Member from Central Illinois

[Jess Barker]

Hello all!,

My name is Jess and I'm from central Illinois. I stumbled across biggerpockets forum while doing some research on real estate investment, and was very impressed with the wide range of professionals engaged in conversation. I've worked in real estate information for over 20 years -- dealing mostly with large corporations, but have recently been intrigued by the individual real estate investor market. I look forward to meeting like minded people within the real estate community and discussing emerging markets and trends. Looking forward to a prosperous and productive New Year for all!

[Scott Dixon]

@Jess Barker

Nothing wrong with studying up and laying a solid foundation before you start building your real estate portfolio. The Champaign/Urbana area makes for a good investment market. The taxes in Urbana can be very high which does hurt the cash flow. I prefer to stay on the Champaign side of town. The University and student rental properties are big business and as such very hard to find a property close to campus. I have been able to find a few deals off the MLS but like most places 95% of the properties on the MLS just don't work when you run all the numbers. Student rentals are a bit higher when it comes to management but if you have a well maintained place for a reasonable price your vacancy will be 0% or very close and you will have signed leases 6 months ahead of the current one expiring. Let me know if you have any questions about Champaign/Urbana and I would be happy to share what I know.

Take care and best of luck

Scott Dixon