All Forum Posts by: Jeff Burdick

@Jeff Burdick Of course, you likely have more experience with Chicago taxes than I do! From what I've read, you're correct that other big cities like New York have comparable rates, but Chicago (and IL in general) still have some of the higher rates in the nation. 

Amazingly, I think I recall that Cook County's rates are actually below the average for IL in general - do you find this to be true? In AL, property taxes are some of the lowest in the nation - so honestly any time I see anything above 1% of assessed (so, 10% of ACV) it gives me heart palpitations.  Of course, there are pros and cons to super low tax rates depending on who you ask - but I don't know any RE investors complaining ;) 

In the end, it doesn't much matter what tax rate you have - if your property is generating enough income to compensate (with decent positive cash flow) and doesn't create a lot of headache, then it's a successful investment.

As 2016 is coming to an end I wanted to write a quick post on some of my accomplishments and successes this year and thank to the people that have helped me get this way.  A high level summary of my highlights and deals i was involved in are below and my goals for 2017

2016 Highlights

1. Rogers Park Home (Wife's family's home)- $265K- Sold  (huge burden on my wife)

2. Morton Grove- Sister Condo $209K- Sold (convinced her to house hack)

3. Jefferson Park- 4 unit Multifamily $510K- First property I acquired (house hack)

4. Logan Square- 3 unit Multifamily $555K- Helped my sister acquire first multifamily (house hack)

5. Promoted to a Financial Manager @ my Corporate job

6. The most important highlight in 2016 is i became a father to my beautiful daughter Sofia 

2017 Goals:

1.  Acquire 1 more multifamily in north-side of Chicago

- Refinance out of my FHA loan to convention- Get into a FHA 203K loan for my second

2.  Help my wife acquire her first property & help my sister acquire a second property 

- Leveraging low money down loans (first time home buyer etc)

3. Get involved in at least 2 Flips

- Currently in talks partnering with people i met on BP and at Local REIA or a flip in Irving Park

4. Help my father with his mixed-unit commercial property in Rogers Park increase NOI

- Current rents are way under market- Units are in bad shape- Tenants are questionable

- Looking to increase appraisal value to do BRRR strategy

5. Help father develop empty plot of land in Rogers Park

- Adjacent to his commercial property, my father has a vacant piece of land due to a fire in 2007- 

- We are looking to develop the land into a mixed unit. We have gone through many complications over the years and the plot is still empty

6. Get more involved on BP and participate in Forums

I have a lot of work to do for 2017, but i cant thank Bigger Pockets enough and the people that i have met on here and have helped me through this process. Few people i have to give a shot out too are:

@Brie Schmidt; @Nnabuenyi Anigbogu; @John Casmon; @Mark Ainley; @Brandon Hall

@Brandon Hall

Brie Schmidt - I plan on generating as much knowledge on buying and holding real estate. I have some money saved up, but I do not want to invest it foolishly. I'm well committed to obtain any and every bit of information needed to pursue a career in this field. As a start off, I plan on buying a multi family home and renting out the other apartment/s. Like I've said before I have little to no knowledge of this Market as of now, but from what I have read, this seems like the safest way to begin if you're not loaded with cash or a ton of investors with their pockets open for you.

@Andrew Hargreave Congrats on a successful investment! That new roof and flooring will go a long way to keeping CapEx down. I know Chicago tax rates are some of the highest around, but it sounds like the flow is enough to account for that - I hope it all goes well for years to come! 

@Alex Buscaglia - It is near impossible to upzone in Chicago.  Most alderman will downzone you no problem but I have never heard of an investor getting them to upzone a property.  

Considering the price of SFH vs already established 2-4 units this is not a play I would ever make. To properly split up electrical and gas you are probably going to need to do a gut rehab, as most of our walls are plaster without conduit. So my guess would be $40k at a minimum

Understand that our winter market sucks, so don't get discouraged.  I work with 2-4 unit buyers on the north side and I have been going on 1 showing a month because inventory is so low.  It usually picks back up in spring.  

Do you have a preferred accountant in Chicago and how much do they charge for these services?  Thanks.

I'd check out Mt greenwood or Beverly it's pretty safe since practically every cop in the city lives there and you can find stuff in the 200 range