All Forum Posts by: John Casmon

Samson Kay yea, will be very difficult to find a cash flowing 2-4 unit in wicker park right now. The area attracts a great nightlife, but the rents are lower. As an "investor" the time to make money there has passed. You may want to look at Avondale. Similar rents & many of the attributes that Wicker has but more affordable buildings.

Great advice here. Only thing I'll add is verify ALL utility expenses with the utility companies. For that matter verify ALL expenses, period.

Samson Kay agree with the poster who said you're not on your agent's "A" list, but this may have more to do with the neighborhoods you're seeking. I have two multi-unit properties in Chicago. I live in one and it would cash flow if I rented out my unit (2-unit). The other cash flows about $1,200 per month (3-unit). You may need to expand your neighborhoods and types of properties. You may also need to get off MLS and try to find investors who are ready to cash out. Great deals on MLS are snatched up IMMEDIATELY.

Dereck Singh a fellow long time lurker here looking to do some deals in Cleveland. I'm from there and my uncle owns a duplex in Shaker Heights off Van Aken. I'm familiar with the area and have interest there as well, so I look forward to hearing if you decide to move forward with the deal. Good luck!

@Wendell De Guzman Great question. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. The first step is networking and improving my knowledge and skills to do more deals.

I have a newborn son and I'm a senior level exec at my agency. So there's a sense of security I need to overcome. However, once I get the sense that my time is better spent researching and analyzing deals than punching the clock, I'll feel great about the transition. I only have two properties now, both buy and hold rental buildings, so part of it is just the comfort of doing more deals. I'm planning on doing a few smaller deals over the next 18 months just to gain more experience and facilitate this transition.

That's why it's great to read about your experience and realize I will never know everything, just need to make sure we avoid colossal mistakes! Thanks again for posting these updates.

Great story @Grant Kemp That's exactly the reassurance and inspiration needed to believe someone like myself can go from a casual investor to full-time investing.

@Wendell De Guzman These posts are great. Good to see what the life is like of a full-time investor, especially one doing investments in Chicago. I have a couple of properties that I rent out on the north side of Chicago, but I'd like to transition into being a full-time investor within the next 5 years. This is a great glimpse of that life and learnings for newer investors like myself. Look forward to reading more.

Originally posted by Gary Clark:

@Bienes Raices Well that makes me feel better

I live in North Center and $1500 seems a bit much for Albany Park, but $1350 seems more appropriate. However, there aren't many units with a half bath so the key is to figure out how much that's worth to tenants. Use that to your advantage, tell them how they don't have to worry about guest using their bathroom and going through their medicine cabinet.

Schedule appointments to slightly overlap to show there's demand. I've noticed that placing a sense of urgency on prospective tenants helps seal the deal. Also, I wouldn't ask them their opinions of the place, makes you seem insecure and unsure. However, I would ask them what appealed to them in the ad and where else they're looking to get a better sense of what's in their criteria. Really listen to them and use that info to close the deal. Above all else, properly screen and pre-screen. Last thing you want is a problem tenant.