Lawyer Redefining Her Career

[Lisa Rispoli]

Hi, everyone! I'm a licensed attorney in Chicago who is looking to shift focus in my professional life. My husband is a physician. A year ago I began exploring on Bigger Pockets, listening to the podcasts, and focusing on other means of self-education. I recently hit my real estate investing savings goal, and I'm ready to take the plunge and begin. Forgive me if I muddle through the lingo and basics for you well-seasoned investors out there. I now live in the southwest suburbs of Chicago and I'm looking to purchase a multi-family building in Northwest Indiana. My goal is to purchase a 4 unit residential building, or if the the numbers work, a 6 unit commercial rental property. If cash flow is sufficient, we'd like to hang onto this building long term. If it turns out not to be a good fit, we'll hold onto it for a while and do a 1031 exchange to buy up and take advantage of the economies of scale with buildings with many more units. Our goal is to purchase 25 front doors over the course of 10 years. We hope to supplement our regular income slightly (maybe paying myself a monthly management fee) while significantly increasing our wealth/retirement. Because of our goals, we hope to focus on multi-family buildings. Though, of course, our goals may change. In fact, I'm also interested in learning to purchase delinquent property taxes, too. If you're familiar with the area, please reach out to me. I can use guidance in choosing a target city in Northwest Indiana, referrals to assemble my team (especially a very well qualified real estate CPA), and to let me know of local meet-ups near the southwest suburbs of Chicago where there are robust discussions regarding investing over the border in Indiana. Key issues for us is minding the potential for medical malpractice reaching our assets (through sufficient insurance and proper incorporation) and finding ways for me to qualify as a real estate professional to maximize our tax benefits to offset hubby's income (if possible). Our objective is to incorporate an LLC for each property. Also, I'd love to find a mentor to take to lunch and pick your brain. I can also do a little grunt work for you. Though I am an attorney, I would make it clear that I am not acting as your attorney (this is not my area of expertise). I'm went to a top tier law school. I'm a quick study. I could help file paperwork, fill out forms (with guidance), search topics, or just pick up your dry cleaning if that's the help you need! Fun facts about me: I used to be an opera singer. I love Olympic weighting and can squat much more than my husband weighs 🤣. My favorite tv show is Parks and Rec. I recently konmari'd my house (and life). My favorite color is crisp white. I'm hyper-organized and I love spreadsheets and check lists more than any well-adjusted adult person should. I have always been enthusiastic about real estate. Fun facts about hubby: He is a fairly talented beat boxer. He's very handy and does a lot of work himself (most recently wainscoting and crown molding in our last home). He's great at dad-joke competitions, ping pong, and bean bags (or corn hole as some may call it). He had about 30 seconds of fame during a stint in the movie Freakonics (he was a teacher in a prior life). His life goal is to have a wood shop. We're fun, motivated, hard working, boot-strap pulling folks who aren't afraid to get dirty and and dig in!