All Forum Posts by: William R Johnson

@Aaron Klatt Thanks for the input. I’ll contact my agent tomorrow and see how we can work it out

Here’s the situation. We found several small multi family buildings (2 triplexes and a duplex) on the MLS. The buyers agent we’ve done multiple deals with in the past showed us the all the buildings. Then we learned who the owner is (he owns all 3). I phoned him and proposed a seller financed deal on all three buildings. He is very open to it but says he won’t pay the agents commission. I don’t want to pay any commission either but I don’t want to just drop our agent and burn any bridges. He’s been great to work with (4 other deals so far). Plus this is a smal community and I don’t want to damage my reputation. So far the work he’s done has only been to show the units. I am looking for advice on what to do. I’m fine with paying him for the time he spent helping us look at the units. Couple hours max. He hasn’t written the offer yet. I’ve never done a seller financed deal before but I am assuming that I coIld just have the attorney draft the contract. I am looking for advice for my situation. Has anyone ever dealt with this before? What should I do. Before the seller told me he wouldn’t pay the commission, I had asked our realtor if he could write the offer but he hasn’t done anything yet.

welcome.  I went to high school in Madison, but live in the Chicago area now.  Wisconsin is a great place to invest.  Currently I invest in MN and MI but WI is definitely on my radar.  Way to get started early.  My advice would be: Don't listen to any nay-sayers. Just find something that fits your lifestyle and criteria and buy it.  Get started as soon as you can.  Real estate runs in cycles so it will continue to rise and fall but then rise again.  There's probably not an investor out there that would say at the end of his career, "I wish I would have waited longer to start investing."

this is in Cassopolis MI. In response to Joshua D and Tangela.... The floors were a mid range laminate. Not the cheapest, but not the most expensive. I think they ran about $3/sq. ft. Also... I think the ARV is about $55,000 - $65,000. This is not an expensive area by any means if you're not on lakeshore but the returns are reasonable and we,ve made money in the buy and hold game.

This turned out to be a winner so far.  We spent just over $28,000 including the purchase and the rehab.  We listed it for rent back in Feb and immediately had a relocation company contact us about a family whose house had burned down and needed housing immediately.  They could not sign a year lease but signed through June with the option to go month to month beyond that.  They are paying $1050 per month because of the short term nature of the lease.  I took the deal for the extra monthly cash flow… plus it can be harder to rent out places in the middle of winter in Michigan.  Thanks for all the nice comments about the transformation.  It was a fun project.  

I found this one on the MLS.

Here are some after pics.  I don't have one of the outside which has not changed too much except for the landscaping.  We plan on painting or residing when it warms up.  

Hey guys,

   I recently purchased this 2/1 house in southwestern MI back in Sept. It was a foreclosure and I was able to get it for $12,500.  Needless to say… it wasn't in good shape but we've made some good progress and are nearly ready to list it for sale.  Here's a non-exhaustive list of some of the projects that we had to do to it.

replace water main from the street to the house

replace all water lines in the house

tear out all carpet

Paint the interior (will be painting the exterior or residing in the spring)

put in new laminate/vinyl floors throughout the house

repair dishwasher and oven

install gutters on back of house and fix some water damaged areas of the wall

replace some of the rotted subfloor in the bathroom/laundry room

repair the furnace

replace back door

change door knobs and locks

various other small repairs… patch holes, outlet covers, etc…

Purchase price = $12,500

Closing Costs = $1050

Rehab (still an estimate, but it's close) = $13,500

Total Cost = about $27,050

Rent = $750/mo

Here are some before pics 

Hello,

I've seen some good prices on multifamily buildings in Aurora IL.  I don't live too far away and was wondering if anyone else out there had experience with rentals in this city.  I've heard bad things about Elgin which I believe is a similar demographic.  Some of the complaints I heard about Elgin had to do with the city's inspections, fees, and hoops for landlords to jump through.  Just looking to see if anyone has insight into the Aurora area.  Thanks.