All Forum Posts by: Danny Maller

@Steve Armstrong @John Warren I've heard the classical music technique before and I'm really thinking about it! I heard a story about a shop owner that got people off his sidewalk doing this and his customers loved the music for a win win. Thank you for the affirmation!

That is very interesting @Account Closed, and probably marked on the top of the chart for Cost and Effectiveness I would imagine. I have a few fake security cameras I've yet to install and I'm also looking to order a couple real ones this weekend.

I'm a month into house hacking my 3 unit and I can't get people to rent because of the crowd of random people hanging out on the side walk between my place and the liquor store just north of me. I never saw anyone outside during the several visits to the place when I was looking at the building and now they're here all the time. This is in Humboldt Park, Chicago, Illinois.

If it's legwork talking with my alderman or going to townhall meetings, I'm ready and willing. I'm curious if anyone has any creative methods like spraying something stinky on the sidewalk when they're not there, or if anyone has had luck installing cameras. They like to hang out in the alley way along the north side of the building as well where I can easily see them. None of them live around here but congregate to smoke cigarettes and look around with one another. Some are drinking which I call the cops immediately for but it doesn't seem very effective. Any ideas?

@Alex Ferraro Thanks! Still getting traction here with renting, interest is starting to pick up this month. I've showed the place to about 7 potentials and gotten through screening with 1 that is looking to move in on June 1st. No contracts yet. I found out my basement has a leak and spent a few hours last night mopping with a tiny sponge mop. I think I've located the source of the leak and will bring someone in to assess repairs. My neighbors are wonderful and we're all on the same page in regards to some drifter people that hang out on the sidewalk sort of out front and to the side, and it has deterred at least 2 of the renters from applying. I had a property manager come visit and he thinks my rents are too high. Still getting a feel for everything while still feeling confident. 

@Michael Reynolds thank you! That's very encouraging to hear. Can I ask where in the process you are now?

Well edited @Brent Coombs! The real strategy to financial freedom and wealth building happens in tandem with continuous knowledge building. I'm speaking as a beginner but couldn't feel more confident in the approach of building initial wealth through frugality. Shoutout to @Scott Trench for that one!

@Brian Medansky I've gotten a lot of positive feedback from my realtor, lender, inspector, attorney all saying the area is set to appreciate in the next 3-5 years. I'm just like yeah we'll see. It'd be a cherry on the top for sure but I sure am not buying based on that, though still would be nice. Something I do wish I had done seems a little complicated but would be pretty awesome: use a large map of the area, print or digital, and put pins with sell prices on housing that matches what you're looking for. create several maps. year over year. and look for the wave of appreciation. I'm not sure how credible it would be but surely you could reveal some sort of wave I'm sure.

@Kris Mo Consider your big capital expenditures; roof, hvac, plumbing, etc. Then also consider what if the place doesn't rent right away, or you loose your job even. Save up enough so that if you buy a place and the roof caves or all your hvac units explode, you have the funds to cover it. It has happened to people. I have 20k in reserves now as an emergency fund. Once I build that amount from rental income I can reconsider that initial 20k my own again and do with it as I want. But it needs to be there for backup first. It allows me to sleep at night for SURE.

Hi @Kris Mo, I spent about a year educating myself online and through the BP podcast. Once I found a place that looked to cashflow very nicely I went for it! It will need a new roof and a bit of masonry soon which I'll tend to over the next year once I have some income flowing. I felt a lot of trust with my inspector and valued his opinion when making my decision to go through with it if I could put in the sweat equity. $205k building, and with a 3.5% fha loan, owner occupied, and in a low to moderate income area, with lender credits, I only put down $4,500 with less than $1,800 in upfront costs, inspection, appraisal. Like holy moly I would have done this sooner knowing now that is all it cost.

@Paul Bommarito I currently live in Logan Square and commute to the suburbs of Addison everyday, 1 hour both ways. It sucks. But I love living in the city where all my friends are so I was then restricted from there to my income, but I also wanted to stay in the area. Southside would definitely have worked but much farther commute and way too much crime. I landed this place in Humboldt Park. I used Realtor.com and filtered a 300k max price, 3+ bed, 3+ bath, and multifamily. My goal was to analyze 200 properties and buy within 2 years so I could have it before I turned 30 as a goal. I ended up analyzing 32 properties mostly in Humboldt Park where the search results seemed most prominent and I eventually contacted a realtor. I gave him the same parameters and when one of the places I found matched one his results gave me I decided to look and ultimately made an offer on it after an inspection.