All Forum Posts by: Gabe R. Gonzalez

@Rahul Balla I love River North. I was in Gold Coast for a while and would always head down to River North to go out with friends. I'm in Bridgeport now because I wanted a yard and cheap parking :) 

There's always something to do and somewhere to eat around in River North.  

Things can get hectic down there, but if you're committed to City living, you can't go wrong with River North. I also think you could easily find what you're looking for in the Gold Coast - which is a little less hectic than River North and gives you that Lincoln Park vibe as well. 

Now, I've done a few condo deconversions. Be very careful about buying anything built before the 1970s. There are many buildings with systems reaching the end of their life - Galvanized hot water risers, leaking vent stacks, aging window systems, outdated elevator and fire safety equipment. Any one of these could and regularly trigger a special assessment.

Due your due diligence and welcome to the City! 

I recommend you not go with State Farm. I've seen a few clients get screwed when they acquired properties and State Farm had issues with their roofs (the roofs were fine!!). 

@Nova Dear I would look into Shelter like @Joseph Konney mentions - Shelter insurance has phenomenal service, definitely one of the better carriers I've worked with. They were quick to pay when repairs had to be done and their in-house adjusters were on point. 

@Cameron Scheuer I've been working in property management for a while now. There's always something new that comes up; I know you're eager, but I'd keep accruing those property management hours on someone elses' dime. Move up the ladder and gain more responsibility - have you written a budget yet? Have you had to navigate a lawsuit, HUD complaints, messy evictions, etc? I promise you there's always something to learn just stick to it a bit more.

In the meantime work on building a downpayment and do an owner occupied deal in the meantime (that's how I had scratched my itch to "do more".) Go to networking events and meet people - you never know how those relationships will come in handy. 

@Charles Webb - I'm in Chicago, so I can't be of too much help. 

You're going to see a lot of folks crawling out of the woodwork to sell you services. I have one pointer should you ever decide to enlist the help of a property manager. When you're interviewing management companies, ask them if they make money on work orders. Typical market markup on work orders is 5%. Anything above that needs to be justified - roof replacement, parking lot repaving, etc. 

Maintenance can completely ruin your cashflow and whatever you thought the deal would return. Make sure to get contractors out if there's any hesitation about a given building systems' integrity. 

Budget 5-8% of gross collections as maintenance then tack on the property managers margin to give yourself a better idea of your management cost line. You may need to play around with that number, but my budgets always hit NOI within a few percentage points using the 5-10% maintenance allowance (provided someone is actively managing maintenance)

Reach out if you have any questions - I'm happy to give my input! 

 @Sam Cano Did you personally serve the notice in person to the tenant? How did you not serve it correctly? I've heard of cases being thrown out because notice was not properly served. But it sounds like it depends on the judge. 

Where are you at in the City - South Side? Everything is negotiable, what is it going to take to get this tenant to move out? Every day you're missing lost rent and we're moving towards the end of the rental season. What about 1.5 - 2 X months rent? 

@Sam Cano what ended up happening here? I know the county was running out of rental assistance a few months ago. They aren't able to provide the type of awards they were previously providing to folks. 

Better to get folks out instead of taking it to court. Happy to throw you a bone if you need some advice. 

I had my service upgraded and moved, new panels, grounding, and meter cans for $7K. I could see how it could get up to $16K with materials for a service that large. The larger wire is so much harder to deal with than the smaller service wire. 

Big note is that you need to have ComEd involved, so expect to have it permitted out. 

Jerry, I have a great recommendation. I'll private message you his info. 

This is common in the Chicago market. There's just so many moving parts to a property, that it's hard to relay the full picture across state lines. Couple that with unscrupulous brokers, well you have yourself a cashpit. 

I'm thinking about offering an owners' rep service for folks who want to invest from out of state but want an independent opinion from their broker. 

 @Brian Coffey What part of the city are you in and what public transit is closest? If any of the L-lines are close by and service nearby colleges, I think I'd be more likely to build out that 4th bedroom. I do agree about adding that second bathroom, that's a huge consideration when folks are touring places.