All Forum Posts by: Carrie Alluri

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $260,000
Cash invested: $80,000
Sale price: $380,000

Purchased this house from the family of elderly lady that lived there. Sadly, she passed away. She did not keep the house in good shape while she lived there for 20+ years and she smoked A LOT. She did update the mechanicals and roof, so those pricy issues did not have to be addressed. Getting the smell out was the hardest part, but we got it done. Did not foresee having to update ALL the windows (initially thought only a few were bad), but all of them had seals broken. This was the biggest reha

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

We purchased this property off-market with no realtor, saving on commission fees. This was only 10 minutes from where I live so easy commute. This is was mostly cosmetic updates, with only a few walls that needed to be added and moved.

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

My biz partner knew the previous owner and her family. She offered for us to take the property off their hands so it was one less thing they had worry about after their mother passing away.

How did you finance this deal?

We used Barnett Financing. They were so easy to work with! Highly recommend this company. Dan and Sonia were so great. Look forward to many more projects with them.

How did you add value to the deal?

Did not foresee having to update ALL the windows, but all of them had seals broken. New LVP on first floor, new carpet upstairs. Freshly painted throughout. Converted the upstairs full bath (which was accessible from the hall and primary bedroom) into two full baths, changing this from a 3 bed 1.5 bath to a 3 bed, 2.5 bath. This added a lot of value. Painted the kitchen cabinets, then added quartz countertops. We just made it completely move-in ready.

What was the outcome?

Found an all-cash buyer for full asking price and as-is (no updates needed after inspection). Overall a success!

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Check big-cost items more carefully. The windows took us over our initial budget. There are always surprises. Just work on the solution, don't dwell on the problem.

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

Barnett Financial was our savior. We needed to part with our initial lender because their math was not adding up and they couldn't explain why (very frustrating). Barnett quickly took over our deal and closed within week!

I have my IL Realtor license and only use it to buy and sell my investment properties. I have been an active realtor in IL for 4 years now. I am looking for a RE Brokerage Group in Northeastern IL that has a low/no office fee. I would be willing to pay for marketing materials on an as-needed basis. I already part of MRED and NAR and pay my dues regularly. I am just looking for a Brokerage Group with a low/no office fee.

I have my IL Realtor license and only use it to buy and sell my investment properties. I have been an active realtor in IL for 4 years now. I am looking for a RE Brokerage Group in Northeastern IL that has a low/no office fee. I would be willing to pay for marketing materials on an as-needed basis. I already part of MRED and NAR and pay my dues regularly. I am just looking for a Brokerage Group with a low/no office fee.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Purchase price: $230,000
Cash invested: $42,400
Sale price: $395,000

My sister and I went in on this deal together since she found the contact through one of her friends. This is obviously my best deal yet! The owners did very few improvements to the house over 25 years except getting all the mechanicals updated within 10 years of selling to us. This saved us a big expense. All the improvements were cosmetic. We hired out the rehab work we didn't want to do. The rest of the work we did ourselves and had a great time!

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

The owners wanted to sell quick and just wanted enough money to cover what they paid for the house. This made for a great fix & flip deal since the market was so hot at the time and interest rates were low. I knew I could sell it quickly and for a large profit.

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

My sister's friend told us about this couple and their house. We went a looked at it and verbally negotiated the price based on an appraisal the owner had gotten.

How did you finance this deal?

We took out a hard money loan with a lender based out of California. I don't recommend using a lender from California since that state has not simplified their load documents like IL has and the loan package ended up being over 100 pages long! The title company was not happy reviewing it all.

How did you add value to the deal?

We updated every cosmetic aspect of the house in some way. This involved just painting to laying new carpeting and removing a silly half wall between the family room and kitchen.

What was the outcome?

We finished all the rehab in 4 months (right on schedule) and got it under contract right before the interest rates started to rise. After holding costs, rehab closing costs on both ends of the deal, we ended up with about an $83K profit. Not bad for 5-6 months of work if you consider the time for loans to clear too.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Don't use a lender from California because of their huge loan doc package. Also, make sure your loan office has done deals before and knows the process. Have them spell it all out for you. When doing a unique hard money loan (even though ours was not very unique for a hard money loan), have the officer tell you every step of the process up front. Our load person ended up forgetting about the insurance and almost holding up our closing date another week. Don't assume they know what they're doing!

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

I am a licensed RE agent so it made it easier to set up the house in the MLS and do the negotiating since we didn't have to involve another person. On the other hand, that meant I had to do all the RE Agent work. I only invest once every year or so depending on my free time, so remembering all the nuances is difficult sometimes.

Thanks @Scott Wolf!

@Scott Wolf I was always told it takes time to set up, money to set up and time to maintain a LLC. But truthfully, that info came from sources that didn't really know much about LLCs for REI. Could you tell me more about setting up and maintaining a LLC for REI (mostly flips)?

I am about to purchase a FSBO SFR with my flip partner. I did not have good experiences with my last two hard money lenders for my last two flips and am looking for a new one. My flip partner and I are just getting started together and do not have a corporate entity for our flipping biz right now. We are looking to purchase the property without a realtor (on either side). The property is in Illinois. We are willing to put 20% down on the property and have a 50K reno budget. Both our credit scores are >800. Can someone contact me about a hard money loan for 12-24 months that does not require a LLC, S corp or C corp?

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $145,000
Cash invested: $79,000
Sale price: $199,000

Newly renovated including brand new bathrooms and large, bright kitchen with lots of cabinets. Brand new Central AC. All mechanicals are new within 5 years. Large lot with shed on S side of property. New flooring, carpet and fresh paint throughout. Nice, quiet neighborhood with a view of the Fox River.

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

The owner was very motivated to sell the house as he was moving out of state for a better job opportunity and to be closer to family. The property also had another lot attached to it, giving it a very large yard with a large barn/shed.

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

I was referred this property from a fellow member of LCPIA who didn't want to take on the rehab.

How did you finance this deal?

I took out a hard money loan for 80% of the $145K purchase price and funded the rehab myself. I then refinanced at the end of the rehab and rented it out for $1905/month.

How did you add value to the deal?

I painted the kitchen cabinets, laid LVP on the whole first floor minus the bedrooms and rehabbed both full bathrooms. Then I had the whole interior painted.

What was the outcome?

Unfortunately, the appraisal came in at only $160K. I tried to dispute it but the appraiser wouldn't budge. Also, I rented out this property starting Feb 1, 2020 to a terrible tenant. COVID shutdown went into affect soon after the tenants moved in. They ended up not paying any rent due to the moratorium and have disappeared after moving out in Jan 2021. I had to repaint and put down new flooring due to the damage they did to the house. I ended up selling it for $199K.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

If I ever rent to tenants again, I will not allow pets over 25lbs and will base my tenant selection only on their credit and background checks. I let their sympathetic letter to me cloud my judgement and paid for financially in the end. I will also shop around for a refinance load if I do another BRRRR deal. I shouldn't have settled for the bad appraisal just because I purchased the house with the that company.

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

None that I would recommend.

I have an active realtor license, but would like to purchase a FSBO property without using my license. First, can I even do that? Second, what do I have to do make sure I don't have to pay commission to my RE broker company?

I have a mother and daughter renting my single family house in McHenry, IL since Feb 2020. The mother is receiving a pension and SS. The daughter is supposed to be receiving disability checks, but I'm not sure now. The daughter claims the mother's account was hacked and is now frozen to for investigations. The daughter keeps saying she will send Zelle payments, but they don't come. They are behind on payment by over $12,000. I thought I couldn't do anything because of the moratorium on evictions in IL, but I need my money. I'm tired of the excuses from the tenants. There is much more to the story. Please contact me to help me with options on getting paid and/or evicting the tenant.