All Forum Posts by: Hans Suljic

@Orion Hernandez

Exactly! It's such useful knowledge to have. About a week ago I looked at a house that was for sale by owner and right away noticed an addition was added to the living room. It looked great but after some investigation, I found out it was done without a permit and not under code. When my friend bought his first house I checked it out and noticed there was a galvanized pipe mated to a copper pipe without a brass nipple. The copper pipes all had galvanized hangers and it's not the biggest deal and can be easily fixed but you have to ask yourself if they cut corners on something so small where else did they cut corners? Told him to adjust his budget (he didn't) and he bought a house full of plumbing and electrical problems. You are already learning things that will help you out. 

@Orion Hernandez

I was in the same position 8 years ago. I wanted to get into flipping houses and buying rentals. What I did was I worked in industries that would help me get there. 

I started working in the trade doing construction and plumbing on my summer and winter breaks from college. I made really good money and it taught me skills I use to this day. I do so much of the work myself and I can't even tell you how much money this saves on my rentals. It also taught how things work, how to spot shoddy craftsmanship, and the dos and don'ts when it comes to renovating rentals.

I'm not saying this is the route you need to go but this is what I did. There are many jobs and side hustles you can do! You can be a leasing agent over the summer or on the weekends, it'll perfect your people skills and you'll be a pro at listing and renting apartments. You can do property management and learn the ins and outs of running a rental property. If you decide to go to college, see if you or your parents can get an FHA loan, get a house on campus and rent out the rooms to fellow students.

These are just some good ways to make some money on the side and when you are ready to purchase something you can do so with confidence because you will have the right skillset. I think it's awesome that you are interested in investing in property at your age, and you have the right mindset. Best of luck!  

@Joseph Coppus

My GC owns a warehouse in the north suburbs of Chicago where he runs his business. Back in the '90s, he was able to rezone a portion of the property and build a side-by-side 3-flat. (highly doubt you would be able to do this nowadays in cook county) He rents out the apartments to his workers and always jokes about how he never had anyone skip out on rent or come into work late.  

Hmmm here are a couple of options

1. Call the police, give them the make, model, vin, and where it is parked. In many states, the police will tow it away if they determine that the vehicle is abandoned, and If the car ends up being stolen the car will be seized no matter what state you live in.

2. Call a local towing company and explain the situation. See what kinda options they give you. I'm sure they have dealt with these types of situations before. They might have you put up a notice on the car that if it's not moved in a certain amount of time it will be seized and towed away.

3. Many junkyards will give you money for old cars and will pick them up for free as long as you have to title. I'm assuming you obviously don't have the title but I would call the tenant and leave a message saying so and so will give you 500 bucks for the car and all we need is the title. Money talks and he might actually get back to you if there is something in it for him.

If all else false put up a big sign that says FREE CAR and call it a day. 

GOOD LUCK!

@Zane Clarke

Assuming a mortgage from someone can be a great tool. @Louis Davis did a very good job explaining that.  

Another way you and the seller can benefit from this is if the seller has a pre-payment penalty on their mortgage. 

Let's say the seller has a commercial mortgage for 1 million dollars, they have 500k in equity, and the mortgage has a 200k prepayment penalty meaning if he or she wants to sell or pay off their property before the end date they must pay a 200k penalty. The seller wants to sell the property at market value of 1.2 million dollars and after paying the prepayment penalty they will end up with 500k. In this situation, you can go to the seller and offer them 500k and assume their mortgage so they will not have to pay the penalty. The seller gets their 500k that they would have gotten otherwise if they sold it for 1.2 and you get the property for 200k less. 

Hi @Ellis Dudley

Yes! Many people in my market have turned to non-refundable move-in fees instead of security deposits. From what I've seen they usually charge around half a month's rent. Personally, I don't do it because I feel it take away the incentive for the tenant to take care of the unit but it's definitely a good way to get people in. Good luck!

HI @Devyn Grillo!

Get a property manager. Doesn't matter how experienced I am at managing property, I would never own a long-distance rental and not have a property manager. The last thing you need is to be hit with a fine by the city because the tenant decided to stop cutting the grass. Or maybe the tenant decides to foster 67 cats even though the lease states no pets allowed. What I'm trying to say is you need to have eyes and ears on the ground. :)

If I were you I wouldn't focus to much on the cash flow. If it's in a high growth area I would just let it appreciate in value and build equity. Once get to know your new state and the area around it, you can always 1031 this property into something close by. Good luck buddy!

hmmmmm well the only thing I can find really find on this is Illinois general assembly C-6 which states, "It is unlawful for a sex offender who owns and resides at residential real estate to knowingly rent any residential unit within the same building in which he or she resides to a person who is the parent or guardian of a child or children under 18 years of age" So I think you might have trouble house hacking or owning a building and living in one of the units.

I STRONGLY advise you to talk to a lawyer or sheriff or maybe someone down at town hall because some cities and towns have strict requirements that go even further than the state law. Good luck! 

Hi @Justin Goodin

I've never been one to time the market. I've had many friends and fellow investors tell me that "the market is going to crash next year" for the past 5 years. I have family members who sold their homes in 2017 and 2018 and moved into rentals expecting a crash. 

This time it's a bit different. Covid has really brought up some uncertainty in the market and we have never experienced something like this in modern times. I don't think anyone has the right answers. Personally, I'm not going to sit around and wait. I'm going to continue to invest but in a cheaper market. As you said multifamilies are at an all-time high especially in my market so why not branch out. 

The way I see it is if I buy a triplex in Indiana for 80k and the market crashes and it's worth 35k it won't be the end of the world and I can just go back to my original market and capitalize on the cheap prices. 

If I buy a triplex here in Chicago for 800k and the market crashes and it's worth 500k I'm probably going to lose sleep over a hit like that and I won't have the money to invest while the prices are low.

If the market never crashes, then I just diversified my portfolio and gained some experience in another market.   

I've done both! I've built storage units in the basement of one of my properties and I charge an extra monthly fee for whoever needs them. I looked up the going rate for what the same size storage unit would cost in my city and give them a small discount. I also remind them of the convenience of not having to drive to a storage facility and having all their stuff accessible since it's just downstairs. (it's my little sales pitch)

It works out for me since the apartments I rent in that building are smaller one-bedrooms and people typically need more room. If a tenant isn't interested I usually keep my own stuff in that unit such as leftover building materials or tools to do repairs on the building. Make sure it's in the lease that they must clear out their storage unit when they decide to move out or else it will be taken out of their security deposit. Good luck!