Chicago New Member Introduction

[Thomas Hull]

Hello everyone! I am finally making my introductory post after listening to the BiggerPockets Podcast for a while and reading a few BP published books. My name is Thomas and I live in the great city of Chicago on the NW side. My goal for the year is to acquire my first real estate property and move into it by August. I am looking for a distressed 3/2 single family home to rehab with an FHA 203K loan along the Kennedy so I can easily take the El to work. Ideally I would live in the property for 2 years and move on to realize the gains from the rehab and repeat. I have a couple of questions and I am also requesting a few recommendations from the experienced Chicago investors.

1. About how long should it take to close on a 203K loan?

2. About how long and how much should a rehab in the summer months cost? Ideally I wouldn’t need to do a full gut rehab.

3. Buying agents on the NW side that have done their own flips and are experienced with new 203K investors and have wholesalers in their network.

4. Reliable and on-time general contractors that are approved to work with 203K rehabs.

5. 203K consultants that have experience flipping their own properties.

6. Bankers that do many 203K loans, preferably at Chase.

7. Recommendations for flooring, paint, cabinets, appliances, and other items that will increase the retail value.

I am still doing research on 203K loans and the NW Chicago single family home market so if you have any advice, please let me know!