All Forum Posts by: Alyse Moore

Hi Everyone!

I'm a newbie that's unfortunately looking to buy in a hot market. I live in the south suburbs in Chicago, however I'm looking to house hack my first property, a 3-4 unit buildng, in the city of Chicago--the southside. My goal is to get into areas like Grand Boulevard/Bronzeville, East Woodlawn, etc for a few reasons:

I work downtown and am looking to get closer to my job. These are fairly safe neighborhoods, still somewhat affordable (in my price range), great rents, decent potential appreciation, will have the likelihood of attracting the type of tenants i'm looking for, etc.

I've been searching since January and lost a couple deals to cash buyers. I've been approved for conventional, fha, fha 203k and have hard money lined up if I need to use it but I prefer to use financing from a financial institution for my first deal. From my experience so far and talking to other investors, there are a ton of cash buyers in the chicago market, especially the southside in the particular areas I'm looking to get in.

My question to anyone who has experienced being a newbie in a hot market would be how did you overcome it, and find your first deal without compromising your criteria? How long did it take you to find your first deal? Should I start studying fix and flips and do that to generate some cash for the 3-4 unit? 

Hi All!

My name is Alyse. I was born and raised in Chicago,IL and am still here. Full time I’m an Analyst. Right now I’m a newbie investor. I’m actively searching for my first investment, a 3 flat, and hopefully can convert the basement to a unit to make it 4 units.

My “Big Why” with real estate is achieving Financial Freedom and having the option to retire very soon—goal is by age 30. I’m 25 now so I have some time to get there. I found my “Big Why” after getting into the coporate world a few years ago, seeing people getting laid off, and them being terrified for their livelihood due to losing their job. I promised myself I’d never give a company power over my life, so I started looking for ways to make that happen and decided on using real estate as my vehicle to financial freedom.

My goal by age 30 is to have at minimum 100 units, cash flow $200 per door, but the ultimate goal is 200 units. With my first investment I decided to start with a 3 unit building and house hack by living in the basement. I'll be implementing the BRRR strategy to reach my 5 year goal of 200 units along with some creative financing.

I found Bigger Pockets on lurk on the forums, binge on BP podcasts, read as many books as I possibly can, talk with investors in my area and recently started attending seminars. I’m excited to be a part of this community and ready to start actively participating!

sounds like a great deal! I'm a newbie as well looking for a 3-4 unit building. Debating if I should up my search to 6 units. Thanks for sharing!