All Forum Posts by: Elbert D.

No, Cash flow is king! In business and in buy and holds as a landlord. Its one of the main 3 Cs of obtaining business credit and its what everyone pays attention to. Cashflow, cashflow, cashflow. I also agree with what some of the others have said about leverage as it is used as rocket fuel to project someone to wealthy. Equity and debt are very important to understand.

@Rob Bianco Your doing the right thing by investing in other regions. The midwest and some Southern areas have the best returns on average when it comes to buy and hold. Also you get more bang for your buck. Apartments are probably the best when it comes to rentals at the residential level. But the rehabs normally are higher on average. a MFH allows you to have double if not triple the amount of rent. Also vacany is less of a risk. Normally property taxes and insurance are the variables. 

If your cash on cash return isnt above 10% its a bad deal. Do you have all of your expenses calculated?

Well....it depends on the area. You for sure dont want to use cheap materials if the area is B and above. The retail stuff such as home depot and menards is ok for the C and D class areas. You should be looking to rehab your projects based on the past year or two at the most of homes that were sold. Within a half mile to mile radius. That way the potential tenants will see your property as being similar. You can accessorize  the place to give it some soul. In terms of good stuff at a good place you should for sure google and look around your local area first. Local areas especially places that have large supplies of flooring, paint, etc are willing to work with you.....usually. 

There are a lot of articles on this website about financing. Other than the traditional and HML and PML there really isnt anything your missing. Unless you come across a desperate commercial owner and he is open to seller financing.....which would be GREAT! depending on the terms of course.

I'll say try and get to 500k.....do a fix a flip since you have a GC company. Aim for a C+ area. Ensure your profit is around 23-25% Take those funds and do it again, this time try and do two at a time. Then once those complete do it again but this time get a rental......good things happen to those who are patient and working diligently.

@Johan Kappelhof

Well it depends on what your exactly looking for. Are you looking to invest in condos and that's your reason for wanting to invest downtown? I personally wouldn't recommend that strategy. You can if you want but...you will have HOA fees along with much higher expenses. Compared to other C areas of Chicago and it's suburbs where usually on average those neighborhoods are the best for acquiring buy and holds. Also what you mention about how the City of Chicago is so strict with inspections and permits, etc.....yes it's true. The same holds for certain suburbs in Chicago as well. But it's due to the state being very tenant friendly as well. The state isn't too far off from the other liberal states in America. In terms of restrictions. That's the honest truth. But if you want to look into a more landlord friendly. I would recommend you also take a look and research the northwest Indiana market. It's pretty much a extension of Chicago suburbs. In fact many people live there due to the cost of living and travel back and forth between the two for their jobs as well as on the weekends.

@Jeff Burdick

I agree with everything he says. It pretty much just depends what you want to do. Inventory is low yes but inventory is low all across the USA for the most part due to the current real estate cycle we are in.

@Adrien C. I see you continue to slander me. What is your angle here? Are you doing some noble deed by trying to “expose me”.  Why don’t you email your following responses. Also where was the email that claim that you were so concerned about the rehab???? Exactly because it isn’t one. As I said before.  You’ve mentioned me several times in this thread. 

Trying to eliminate your competition for the market?  I’m not going to let you nor anyone on here defame me.  Your speaking so much for a person that doesn’t know anything. And yet your bragging on not knowing anything about me. Great job of “exposing me”  business must be slow for you eh? You sure have a lot of free time to “expose me”  

Second  I have worked with several other people here on BP, not just him before. So for some deals I have been partners with other people.

So since your bringing up that I’m allegedly a “cheater” and “scammer” why don’t you inform you the BP community about your partner Jason and the deals you guys totally Screwed people over. I found out some things about you. Nor do I know why your mentioning me. You do not have the cleanest track record. Care to explain that whiting house you had a couple years ago? The one that needed a ton of rehab. Yet you were still marketing it as a “deal”.  Care to explain your profit breakdown to the BP community since your so noble? 

@Adrien C. exactly. You don’t know anything. I chose to respond to you because I have nothing at all to hide...I dont rip anyone off. So don’t try to slander me on the internet. I know what your trying to do and it’s not going work. Funny you bring up scam...yet from what I hear about you. You brag on selling properties overpriced and having people outbid one another.. For your own profit...I’m not here for the back and forth talk. All I ask is you do not mention me period....I don’t know you and have zero interest in knowing you. You saying you reached out to me is a total lie. Nor do you even have an idea of my businesses....yet. You bring me up to try to tear someone’s else down to promote your own self. 

@Adrien C. please do not include my name in anything you do not know. I never met you before so you do not know me.