All Forum Posts by: George Skidis

Check out the Chicago Creative Investors Association (CCIA) run by Jane Garvey. Most of her Chicago landlords do not charge a deposit since the anti-landlord penalties can result in paying triple back to your former tenant for some minor infraction. So, a $2,000 deposit could cost you $6,000 in court.

Waive the deposit and raise the rent to make up for it.

Back in the 90s we had a 9 plex in Cahokia, IL. Started out asking $300 rent and $600 deposit ($900.00) for a one bedroom with water, sewer and trash provided. Couldn't give it away. Raised the rent to $400 a month and lowered the deposit to $350.00 ($750.00). People lined up and threw money at us even though we were charging $1,200 a year more. It is all about perception.

Learn how to screen your applicants. Set your standards up front.

Raise the rent to the market max and the difference will cover the deposit in 12 months or so.

In addition to running the "Illinois Real Estate Investors Association", I manage a mobile home park in Belleville, IL. Owning the dirt and renting the house is a great plan. A better plan is selling the house and renting the dirt.

Mobile homes have a title just like a car. There are recent changes in how they are being taxed in Illinois. Mobile homes in a park are still taxed as personal property and the cost is anywhere from $50 to $200 per year. Mobile homes on their own lots are starting to be taxed as real estate $1,000 and up.

There are two types of occupants in a mobile home park. Owner occupants and park owned homes. As a park owner I will not allow you to own and sublet. The reason for that is I have no idea how bad someone sucks at tenant screening. Since I cannot evict your tenants, I would be forced to take you to court and evict your mobile home. That entails removing it from the lot and placing it in a storage area. I will then need to go after you for all of the expenses of eviction, moving the home and storage fees. My expenses would be about 5 grand or so. If you do not pay, then it is time to place a lien on the title of the home and then do a repo. After which I will move my new mobile home back to the park, rehab it and resell it to an owner occupant and rent the dirt.

You can owner finance a mobile home. It works almost identical to a car loan.

Yes, Get an application from each future resident age 18 and older. Then run their background. We use Rent Perfect for all of our tenant screening.

Join your local Real Estate Investors Association (REIA). The easiest way to do that is the "Find a REIA" tab on the National REIA website. They are a .org organization.

In Illinois only real estate agents can wholesale more than 1 house a year.

I am not an attorney and I don't play one on television. As someone who prepares around 150 tax returns a year, I know a little about the taxation of business entities. A single member LLC "CAN" be a disregarded entity for tax purposes. You can add Schedule C or Schedule E to your personal form 1040 return to handle taxable income. However, you CAN choose to have it taxed as a C Corp on form 1120 or an S-Corp on Form 1120s as you see fit.

There is one exception to filing a two member LLC as a disregarded entity. It has to do with the LLC Operating Agreement you use. I bought mine from attorney and speaker Lee Phillips. We sell Lee's package at a discount to our members at Illinois REIA. Taxation can be all about the operating agreement.

Short of a proper operating agreement a two member LLC must choose to file as a Partnership on Form 1065, C Corp 1120or S-Corp 1120s.

Changing title when the property is mortgaged is another issue. Under the 1984 Garn-Saint Germain Act You can legally transfer the title of your personal residence into a trust for "ESTATE PLANING PURPOSES", but NOT for liability protection. Your mortgage company must comply with the law. However, your mortgage company can bill you for their attorney's fees to research the matter. 

It is my non legal opinion that your LLC should manage the property but own nothing but a check book. It can rent from the beneficial owner (you, a trust or another entity) and then sublet the property to the occupant. In this way you do not have to be a real estate property manager under the laws of your state. No Real Estate Agent license would be required. You can also jump through the hoops and hurdles to be a property management company in your state.

When obtaining an EIN be very careful about which entity you choose, and the start date selected. If you choose a Partnership, C Corp or S Corp your first tax return could be due on March 15th, 2025. The late filing penalties are around $200 per Month per Member/Partner if you miss the filing date. This is the case EVEN if you have not actually done any business.

Always seek the advice of an attorney who specializes in the area of law you need help with. If you do not have an attorney go to WWW.Skidis.Biz and look for the appropriate LegalShield plan. Need more info on LegalShield call me at the number below.

Some H&R folks have earned the designation Enrolled Agent or EA. That person could handle it. Most of them are not EAs and a few in each office just started this year.

First, find out if your person is an EA.

Next, did you set up a Partnership, Corporation or an LLC that can be taxed as either one. That will determine if you claim this on a personal return or other type. So if you have a business entity other than a sole proprietorship you will file that business return and receive either a K-1 distribution or pay corporate taxes on the profit.

You cannot claim any expenses until the day you either sell or rent the property. Anything prior to that day is just added to the cost basis when the property is placed in service (sold or rented). Sounds like you have rented three rooms. The thing to remember is that house hacking could result in a profit. Figure that out up front.

This is a real estate investor meeting. www.ilreia.com Bigger Pockets overrode my post and publishes the wrong address. We are meeting at Walt's restaurant in Marion, IL  Alton meeting was last night.

I used to be a claims adjuster and worked Hurricane Katrina. Flood damage is not covered under homeowners or rental property policies. It used to be covered under a mobile home policy.

Flood insurance is required by lenders if the property is located in a flood zone. If you have not purchased a flood insurance policy, then no coverage for flood damage. Anyone within 50 miles of the ocean or a major river needs flood insurance. Unfortunately, if you community has opted out of the flood insurance program it is unavailable to you.

You would still have coverage under the following types of damage under most homeowners' policies.

1. Wind damage to the exterior of the property.

2. Interior water damage if the exterior was damaged by the direct force of wind or hail and created an opening in the exterior oof the building allowing the water to enter.

3. If you bought the endorsement "Back of Sewer and Drain" then any backup would be covered. up to that limit in your policy. 12 inches of mud would not be a back up. Raw sewage and grey water would be.

4. "on premises blockage" of a sewer line. If something obstructs the sewer line like tree roots, and grey water is trapped in the pipes and overflows the lowest point that could be covered. A sewer service would need to attest to the blockage.

The definition of a flood used to be the inundation with water of two or more contiguous properties or two or more acres. 

Your duty now is to preserve and protect the property from further damage. Board it up if needed after mucking it out.

First the Umbrella policy was a smart move. You can never have enough insurance. The umbrella policy also covers things not included in a regular landlord liability policy.

In Illinois you can own properties in a land trust that is managed by an LLC. The LLC owns nothing but the checkbook. Each property is owned in a separate land trust named in such a way that they cannot be tied to each other.

For the paid off properties they should each give you or your second LLC a mortgage. This is a process called equity stripping. It makes the property appear not worth filing a lawsuit. Make sure that mortgage payments or interest only payments are recorded