New to Chicago. Please help with numbers in this deal.

[Fred Ewert]

Here is a list of questions that would help me in making an informed real estate decision.

1. What website will allow me to type in an address and it will return the prior tax bill amount?
2. How much is insurance on an 1940-1960's multifamily that might cost between $150-200K?
3. How much is maintenance and preventative maintenance on that sort of house?
4. How much is vacancy as a percent of income? I am looking in areas that rent for $900+ per unit.
5. What percent are you seeing for property management? How does 2 unit, 3 unit, and 4 unit differ in terms of this cost?
6. What percent do you see for closing costs?

Also, do you suggest any Facebook groups that have rules against selling and are more for advice/recommendations? Thank you!

[Brian N.]

@Fred Ewert

I’ll try to answer some:

1. To get tax info I use: http://www.cookcountypropertyinfo.com/

2. This has many factors and an insurance broker can give you a better idea once you identify a property. Factors include flood zone, what the structure is made of (brick?), your deductible/ coverage, etc. If you want a recommendation, I know a knowledgeable broker who can go more into detail. 

3. Would need to know more about the building and condition. Does it need tuckpointing? How old are the mechanicals? Some people like to break down capex needs and calculate the lifespan of each item to determine amount they should be putting in reserves monthly. Others use a percentage of rental income i.e. 5% for capex and 5% for repairs/maintenance. 

4. Chicago is very diverse, I think you’ll find that a property manager might know the answer to your specific neighborhood. In hot areas such as west loop (rents ~1900+), tenants might move in back to back, whereas you might see a bit longer somewhere else. I assume 4% for my property in Logan Square (rents ~1500+). Also consider time of year and if you’re priced right. 

5. I haven’t shopped around too much but the placement fee can be the first month of rent, then 7-10%. A lot of properties have a “managed by” sign out front, you could potentially call those numbers in your potential neighborhood to ask for their service fee. As for a 2 vs 4 unit, you can ask if there’s some sort of ‘bundle discount’, but I wouldn’t expect that for one building. 

6. You can probably expect ~3%, mine was 2.4%. If you want to bring less cash to closing you could work a seller credit into your offer. E.g. 100k straight offer should be the same as a 110k  offer with a 10k seller credit. You end up financing a bit more but have more cash to rehab. 

I’m not a part of any fb groups, I think BP does a pretty good job of moderating posts to filter out unwanted sales pitches. I’ve been able to get a lot of help by messaging others here and going to meet ups to talk RE. 

hope some of this helps!