Chicago Action Investors 5/7/16

[Cory Gardner]

Hello BiggerPockets members!!!

So many people are taking action, we've got several projects underway and everyone knows the MLS is drying up so we're exploring some additional strategies to fill up that pipeline.

If you or someone you know has a knack for finding deals, maybe you know of some yourself and you've been wanting to get involved with the group but aren't sure how to take the next steps.  TAKE SOME ACTION and reach out to @Account Closed and I's FIRST PROJECT (as long as the acquisition goes as planned - foreclosure by the 20th so the window is tight).  We sent the Assignment of Contract to the sellers attorney and our attorney will be connecting with them to review the contract (attorney review period ends today but nothing serious needed to be adjusted we think)

Zach and I are going to be tenants in common, however I will be appointing the title to my LLC that I set up a few months ago.

This property is a wholesale property, motivated seller, that was brought to us from a friendly connection.

It's a 4 flat with excellent bones.  Cinderblock walls/exterior, lots of natural lighting in all rooms.  Each of the units is a 2bdrm 1 bathroom of essentially the same dimensions.

We talked about adding some thin drywall to give it less of a dorm-room look (cinderblock walls).  The kitchens need serious revamping so we discussed adjusting some of the architecture to give it more of an open feel to the room.

There are some large trees with root structures that go under the building that will need to be removed, sort of a costly piece but they really impact the look of the property.  More details to come on the scope of work after we have the property.

We're looking at about a ~2 month rehab time, ARV in the $275k range. Acquisition is costing us 75k, Rehab will be 80-85k so could be a great margin here.

The next property we went to look at is run by a fellow realtor friend named Q.  This guy was throwing BOMBS of knowledge at us, talking about his personal experiences in real estate, getting into markets early before the hype hits them *cough* south side *cough* and investing while you still can.

Here's his philosophy:

So this is what he did.  Now he's doing some projects of larger value in the West Loop.

We talked about the settling of the properties east of California (the street), every single property from the lake to California is sitting on sand so a lot of what you'll see might have some offset floors or cracking but as Q says, "it is what it is".

Q shared with us his expertise on running a successful real estate business in areas that others are afraid to - important for new investors to remember when trying to get into the business if the fish are swimming one direction, instead of blindly following find out why.  There might be an opportunity to go a different direction.

If you always do what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you've always got.