All Forum Posts by: Usman S.

Any recommendations for a structural engineer in Evanston/Chicago ?

I am in the process of buying a triplex in Evanston which was built in 1887. I had a structural engineer inspect the property (no report) as step1 and he did not condemn it. I am thinking of going ahead to request a detailed inspection now for the entire building. 

Any common issues to look out for in older buildings such as this ? Any experts you would recommend i can talk to?

Quote from @John Warren:

@Usman S. if you are local, why not manage it yourself for a bit. A triplex shouldn't bee too much work (think 5-15 hours per month). After you manage it for a year, you will know whether it makes sense to outsource management or not. I have a four unit that I have owned for seven years. There are years where I am fairly certain the management has taken me less than 20 hours for the whole year. I cannot imagine outsourcing this to a PM. I also have owned C class apartments out of state in the past, and I was very grateful for the PM we had. 

Self managing is still on the table. I can either self manage and learn along the way/what it takes + save costs OR outsource it + focus on other things. 

Ideally, i would like to have systems in place from the start where I can move away from it. 

This would be my first investment property but i am sure i can figure it out if i put enough effort/time into managing it. It is in Evanston so about an hour away from me. 

It is a student rental which would potentially have a higher turnover than long term tenants. I am also considering to position the basement as airbnb but that needs to be evaluated further. 

I am under contract right now and will be reviewing the next steps and finalizing within the next few weeks or so.

Quote from @Thomas O'Donnell:

Hello all, I currently plan on house-hacking my first property within the next year or as soon as I can. I will be moving to either Austin or San Antonio, depending on which is a better fit. I am currently working overtime to try and save up capital needed to move and get started on a FHA loan. I have pretty good credit for my age (740+), and can transfer with my job if needed. The current problem I am facing is having the required capital. At the moment I have a stock portfolio worth $9k, and I have $2k in cash.

Question: Should I sell my stock portfolio when the time comes so I can use that money to put towards a down payment on FHA loan? Or should I keep my portfolio separate and just keep saving up cash?

My fear is I do not want to wait too long to get started, as rates keep rising as well as prices. I've spent the last year educating myself on real estate investing and how to use it to obtain financial freedom. I want more than anything to begin this journey and live the life we all deserve! Any advice or input is greatly appreciated! Thank you all!

My two cents: Define your goals and come up with a strategy on how you plan to accomplish them. Everything else will fall in place. Don't worry about rates or market or what not. Focus on your goals and stay objective. Take your time in making decisions and doing planning upfront as much as possible. No need to rush.

Think in a more holistic way. If real estate is the only asset that you want to focus on as part of your portfolio then sure go ahead and sell your stock portfolio and focus ONLY on real estate. However, if your goals/strategy would entail having a more diversified portfolio including stocks/bonds, real estate then perhaps rethink selling them for a short term gain over long term results. 

You are young...take your time to think on how you want to plan out your life...Good that you are already thinking about this... Good Luck and enjoy the journey ! :--)

Quote from @Josef Hardi:

Thanks for sharing, I would not have even thought of requesting an FOIA for a potential investment property. I see that Evanston is only about an hour away from you, but having this report would ensure you are crossing your Ts and dotting your Is!

Yep, that was new to me on doing this even on a potential investment and I just learned about it a few days ago. It is for free so got nothing to lose. :--) Want to do as much due diligence as possible up front to avoid any surprises later on !

Have to give a shout out to @Mark Ainley who suggested to look up Freedom of Information even on potential properties. He also has a podcast which i did not know about and listened to a few episodes pertaining to Evanston as that is what i am focusing on right now and they were quite helpful: https://www.straightupchicagoi...Would recommend !

Quote from @John Clark:

Graduate students tend to be more mature and no longer party animals. They just aren't as hard on apartments in general.

Thanks for your feedback. Yes, that seems to be the general consensus for renting to grad students.

Pros for renting to undergrad students: increase your tenant base | minimize vacancy rate 

Cons for renting to undergrad students: Potential more work/headache | Higher expenses | higher wear and tear

Potential mitigation to overcome the cons: "Harden" the units before renting them out (which i think in general would be a good idea depending on who your tenant base is) | Plan for added expenses | Solid lease terms | Possibly have parents co-sign | Have 1-1 discussion with the student/s before renting them out so they have a good understanding on the expectation's/"rules": I think in majority of the cases it will be the first time for the undergrad students to be living on their own so educating them on the guidelines should help

Here is the main page for submitting the FOIA request: https://www.cookcountyassessor...

Following ! 

I am in a similar situation with a Triplex. 

Considering property management (preferred) vs. self management and need to see how the final numbers look.

As part of due diligence on a property i am buying in Evanston, I wanted to share what steps I went through for requesting FOIA:

FOIA request can be made online and it was very easy. I filed it a few days ago and it can take a few days to receive the info: let's see. 

Website to file the request:  https://cookcountyassessor.gov...

I spoke to the the City of Evanston also for any suggestions and they were quite helpful. Your rental has to be registered with the city and you can verify that. They provided the permit info and also suggested to file for FOIA request online. Also, I understood that the city will be verifying any outstanding items and let the buyer know before the "real estate transfer stamp" is completed <= This can take a minimum of 5 days. With this in mind, maybe requesting FOIA is redundant but i filed it anyways. 

Website to request info on permits: https://www.cityofevanston.org...

If I am missing anything or if there are any other suggestions then please add.

Anybody know if the suggestions in this thread would be applicable to Evanston also ? I am guessing maybe not all as Evanston has it's own set of rules. I have a multifamily under contract which i would like to position as an Airbnb also - It has a basement unit with a separate walkout which has a good potential for Airbnb but needs further evaluation.

@Josie Sweeney-Rogers Don't want to hijack your thread but was not sure if i need to post a new one or if it would be good to have consolidated info here. If you have any suggestions plz let me know. :--)