All Forum Posts by: Frank S.

@Jeff Valentino Yes, Edzo's rocks! 

As you can see, the commute OP-E would allow me to read many of the classic books in a few years (Metra), but I rather spend time with my family. 

I'll add Niles to the list.  I don't like the word "bet" in investments, but "so, it goes".

Thanks for the good wishes.

After only  a few hours, I see this forum is spectacular and very well organized. I am impressed with the seminar options.

After a few minutes reading through these pages I realized it seems "house hacking" is what we are pursuing. Unfortunately, buying under current market prices will increase our living expenses while building little equity. The problem, as I see it, will be to get our equity out of this building to buy the SFH - with a white picket fence and a yard. 

My wife was raised in Orland Park. She has family there and they are very close. On the other hand, I work in Evanston.  The commute to Evanston from OP is not practical: Metra 1.5 hours each way from OP.

I have an excellent job and I'm not interested in relocating. Evanston is a nice city, but taxes are considerable. Therefore, a SFH can only happen west or northwest.

In  a nutshell, those are the variables of our research.  Sound fun, doesn't it?

Hello everyone,

I'm new to this great forum, this is my first post. I thank to my Bogglehead buds for the reference.

I enjoy reading about diversification and investments, and I hope to learn a little more through this forum. Over the last month, I enjoyed two great books:

Every Landlord's Tax Deduction Guide by Fishman, Stephen

What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know about Cash Flow... And 36 Other Key Financial Measures by Frank Gallinelli

If you can recommend one or two more, please send them my way.

I had been a happy tenant for a long time, but I need to move on with my life as our family grows. My wife's dream is a 250K/300K SFH in the south burbs. Unfortunately, I work in the northern suburbs. So, a final compromise may be the northwest burbs.

Until then, we are considering buying a duplex - or triplex- in the north area of Chicago,  Our original idea was to buy a place, live there for a few years, and then pull equity to buy our house and have some additional passive income later on. It was a good idea until we crunched numbers, however.

The $400K market in Chicago is tough. I see many cap 4s without any CFBT. Some of these properties are just money pits. Other properties are grossly overpriced. I can't find any good options through the MLS. Is the Chicago market a futile option? We are not interested in moving into a "war zone" to make a buck or two.

I will keep reading, crunching numbers, and researching. Wish me luck!

Thanks,