Hoarder house turned into a *gem* in NW Chicago!

[Jennie Berger]

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Single family home in NW Chicago. This is a 1920s brick bungalow that was a hoarder house. It was a foreclosure and bankruptcy property listed on the MLS. Our realtor helped us negotiate this deal against 4 other offers--2 of which were higher than ours. Our terms were flexible and such that sellers could leave the property as is and we would take care of everything. In addition, we allowed the sellers to live in the house for a week post closing to give them extra time to pack and move.

We started renovations May 18, 2020 and completed them Sept 1, 2020. This was a full gut rehab with the addition of large dormers on the 2nd floor, a brand new 2 car garage, and a back deck. Open house is this weekend--Sat & Sun Sept 5-6, 2020!

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Our goal is first to provide solutions for homeowners in distressed situations by offering flexible terms and strong cash offers. We knew we could negotiate a better price on this type of house considering the condition it was in. Older single family homes (with good bones) on the NW side of Chicago are a rarer find being that many generations of families typically live in them and pass them down to their kids. When one comes up, it's always a great opportunity!

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

It was listed on the MLS. We work with a few realtors who scour the internet for us as well as find us off market deals. In order to secure this deal we:
-Waived Inspection
-Gave a $5,000 Earnest Money deposit
-Agreed to take the house in As-Is condition
-Offered Cash
-Offered flexibility by giving sellers more time to stay in the house and pack--they remained for 1 week post closing

How did you finance this deal?

-Cash on the purchase
-Hard money for 100% of the rehab

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

*Lender: Continuum Capital (Hard Money lender in Chicago) - Very easy to work with and payments always on time
*Attorney: Justin Strane of Shapiro/Strane - He is just the best!
*Realtor: Maggie Antillon-Mathews - Managing Broker at Realty of Chicago - A great resource for us since she has a huge network of industry professionals and is always willing to help negotiate on our behalf