All Forum Posts by: Gerard Leeson

@Crystal Smith

I agree. What type of professional/professionals would you recommend contacting to break the process down for someone who is resistant to the idea of putting large sums of money into their building. Give them a realistic idea of cost/ideas for increasing revenue ie. adding rooms etc/ know the right amount of updating for the area and then be able to give them a realistic look at the overall benefits of rehabbing ie property value and income. I know all of this to be true but am no way qualified to give real life numbers and that is what my parents will require to do anything other than just making minimal updates to allow the property to limp along. Thanks.

@Brie Schmidt

Sorry this took so long I have no time at the moment and could not for the life of me figure out how to post pictures.

One unit we painted as I'm sure you can see. I agree with everyone that it would be wiser to do the full rehab from the very beginning but it isn't my call. I'm now thinking it may be closer to 15000 to get them up and running if we really don't do a ton to the kitchen or bath.

I think rented with just small cosmetic updates each unit would rent for around 13-1400 in the area.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/7smr7HTmj8phbAoM9

@Brie Schmidt

I can get some pictures tomorrow to put up. They are aware that any money put in now will be wasted in the long run but really need to get the building up and running as it is a huge financial drain for them at the moment. Any major updates would be at least a couple years down the road I am guessing.

@Kenneth Garrett

Thanks for the reply. Yeah that is what I would like to do, but it really isn't my call. The units are safe and would be up to code they just wouldn't have nice finishes and would be below the standard for the average apartment in the area. Also the gut rehab would probably be closer to 80k a unit if I were to guess. That would be tough to do without money coming in.

Looking for advise. I have recently been tasked with getting a 100 year old brick three flat in Rogers Park Chicago rent ready. The building is fully paid off, and the owners, my parents, are retired and on a fixed income. Two of the three units have been vacant for almost 10 years (now they are all vacant) and there are years of deferred maintenance (original windows, lighting, wiring etc.). The long term goal is to do a gut rehab from the bottom up, but this will require a sizable amount of money (each unit is approximately 1800 sq/ft and 30 windows per unit) and the owners are not interested in taking money out of the building for this right now. They have approximately 30,000 they can afford to put into the building for an initial cosmetic fix and getting units rented.  The idea being to get the units rented quickly and as money is saved do full rehab of units. The rent money after costs will go right back into the building. I am looking for advise on how you would recommend eating this elephant. Also if there are any professionals that you would recommend bringing in that would be able to give insight as to how I should proceed and help develop a game plan. Thanks. Sorry for the long post.

Thanks for all the advice. Does anyone have a good handyman they could reccomend? Every one I have ever used did a pretty poor job. I have documented the condition of the apartment.

In all honesty I assumed that the unit wasn't being well taken care of but they were inherited tenants when I bought the building 4 years ago and always paid on time. I was expecting drywall repair and paint but the condition they were living in was ridiculous. I really should have been checking up on them but never realized anyone would live like this. Thanks again for all the advice.

I had a tenant move out after 5 years and they left the place a complete mess. I am wondering where I should start and if I should possibly hire a contractor. There needs to be a massive cleaning of the unit it looks like they tried to do repairs on the furnace themselves the floors need to be refinished, doors are in terrible shape and the list goes on. I dont have time to do the work myself and am wondering if there are people that specialize in getting apartments back to rentable condition quickly. Also if there are any recommendations on people to use. Thanks

@Jonathan Klemm thanks for the reply. Do you charge for children as well or just the adults?

I am having a unit become available in August and want to move away from collecting security deposits, because of all the rules and regulations in the city. I wanted to start charging a move in fee instead. What do people think is appropriate for a unit going for 1100 in Irving Park? Thanks in advance.

@Brian Karlow In four years there have been no other pin hole leaks. I think you may be right however. That would seem to make sense. Thanks