All Forum Posts by: Michael L.

Great updates!

Your point about the time you make various payments to when you actually get the rent flowing in is important.  I always try to keep cash in the bank (2~ months) for odd situations.  Money transfer delays, possible vacancies, non-payments, etc.  

Alex did mention to me (way back) that the 3 beds were the sweet spot, but if you want to maximize your bedrooms/loan, the 4s are good.  I have 3-3bd, and 1-2bd.  

@David Fitch, are you looking at another triplex?  Duplex?

 Thanks for the mention! :)

 Thanks for the tip Jay.  I know to do that now.  On top of the loss of the exemption, Cook County taxes are on the rise due to the budget issues facing the area.  Hoping to learn more about disputing from the previous folks commenting on it.

Thus far, I think it's going well.  I have a possible turnover coming up, so that'll be interesting.  Overall, it's been very hands off.  Most of the repairs have been minor wear and tear items.  There were some more significant wear and tear items in the $100-$200 range.  Some of the major (non-wear and tear stuff), was covered by the provider (Elite).  Elite advertises a total gut rehab (new electrical, plumbing).  The major stuff that came up were like front steps cracks (concrete).  In the last year or so I've been super swamped with other life/work stuff, so it's been nice not stressing over the 2 Chicago props I have.  Hoping the low stress continues...stay tuned :)!

Quick updates:

- Noticed a noise complaint for a tenant in each building (I like that PM is logging everything in AppFolio, just wish AppFolio would notify me of any updates, communications, etc.  Or at least have the option to be alerted)

- The above didn't seem like a big deal and pretty standard affair

- One tenant is delinquent on their portion of rent (2 months worth) plus late fees, $370 

  [recently submitted a payment of $100, so balance is now $270]

- One tenant was delinquent a huge amount (same tenant whose rent portion jump significantly), two months plus late fees, $1,420

  [recently submitted a payment of $800, balance remaining is $620]

  [updated note shows tenant plans to make another payment in a couple of weeks]

  [this tenant also opted to not renew lease and will continue month to month]

  [they're working on getting CHA to adjust their rent portion back down]

- water meters appear to have been installed in each building

The numbers above have been rounded a bit to preserve some anonymity.

I've been researching the appeal process a bit and it does seem like a professional hire is recommended.  You can find a couple of posts on BP from @Mark Ainley and others specific to Cook County.

If anyone can recommend a place that performs these appeals for no upfront fee (only a split of the savings) that would be great.  If successful there are a ton of potential clients in this thread alone for Cook County.

 Looks like the overall tax increase will be around 13%.  The 72% increase is the 'city portion' of the overall property tax bill. Source: http://abc7chicago.com/politics/chicago-city-counc...

Still significant, but I do see rents going up slowly in the future which would take care of that hopefully.  This does bode poorly for future appreciation if homeowners decide to sell and/or move away from the area.  The increases seem like they will effect the more affluent areas more than the not so affluent areas such as S_Chicago.  Maybe more folks will move southward :).

@Mark Ainley & @David Gregory,

Can you elaborate on the process for contesting?  Are there any risks to it?  Thanks in advance!

 thanks for that Stan...that was a depressing read for me :(.  I was aware of the pension issues Chicago had, but this is terrible.

Given the "historic underfunding of pensions . . . Cook County taxpayers are likely to be facing increased property taxes for the indefinite future," said Laurence Msall, president of the non-partisan Civic Federation budget watchdog group.

 There were a few notes in the AppFolio portal regarding contact between the PM and tenant.  Looks like the tenant has contacted CHA to adjust their portion based on her income.  Good to know things are being worked on actively by PM.  Their notes are thorough in this case, just wish AppFolio would notify me when these events come in/are logged.  Tenant also will work on paying balance by the end of the month.  They are up for renewal soon as well.  Will keep everyone posted.

FYI, to see these 'events' in AppFolio, you have to click on the primary tenant and scroll down to the 'Notes' section.

There was an exemption in 2014, which may have applied to the 2015 tax year, which might make sense now.  The homeowner exemption only applies for your Primary residence and reduces your tax bill by $400-$500 (for a duplex like these).

If the above is correct, looks like my annual property taxes will be in the $2,700-$2,800 range moving forward. :(  Cook County taxes are indeed high!