All Forum Posts by: Jim Cellini

Hello bigger pockets.  Quick question pertaining to value of adding central a/c.  

I recently purchased our first house hack with a physician loan in Chicago.  Our home is a duplex 100+ year old house in an up and coming area on the northwest side of the city (logan square).  We are currently renting the upstairs for $2100/month (3 bed 1 bath).  We are considering adding central air via a "high velocity" system such as spacepak or unico.  I've had some licensed and well reviewed contractors come out and we're getting estimates in about the $20,000 range for the install.  

My decision at this point comes down to whether or not to do this or to use that money to buy a 3rd investment property. The most objective way I can think of to decide this is basically "what is my ROI". I know about what I would get with an investment property in my market in GA (12% cash on cash is doable). My questions are:

1) Anyone familiar with Chicago, how much more could I reasonably get in rent with central air vs. wall units like what we have now? If I can find this out I can compare ROI's between this move and investment property. Generally speaking, how important is central air in chicago anyways?

2) Does anyone have experience installing such systems into their home, specifically an old home such as mine? Any factors to consider with their usage and installation?

3) Anyone have any references for a reputable hvac contractor in chicago that installs high velocity systems such as those mentioned above? 

Thanks for any help!  Truly I appreciate all of it. 

- Jim

 
I'm new to the world of gut rehabs, and have been have some trouble getting some BRRRR projects off the ground, mainly due to underestimate rehab costs. I frequently hear about permits and plans, but I'm not 100% sure what this actually means? Why do they add so much to the cost of a rehab? Thanks for any help.

That's ok thank you very much for your response!

I think the key here is what the property didn't need; a gut.  I've been trying to get a brrrr project up and running for a couple months here in chicago and I keep running into the same problem, which is contract scope of works coming in multiple thousands above what I'm projecting.  Great work man.

Hey Jeremiah, thanks for the reply. 

Yeah so the house does not have foundation issues and will need new roof, electrical, and inspection pending, plumbing work.  The house is 1200 sqft and we'll be leaving the attic alone and focusing on the basement and 1st floor, which is where the 3beds/2baths are currently.  

Thanks again, just trying to learn how to accurately estimate for these rehab costs in Chicago.

Jim

I’m about to embark on something similar. How much repairs and capex did you account for after your rehab?

Hi BP. I'm considering going under contract on this sfr in the south side of Chicago. It's a 4bed/2bath that needs a gut. Plan is to BRRRR. I'm budgeting 95k in rehab, but so far I'm getting GC bids 110-150k. These seem high to me but I'm inexperienced so I'm not totally sure. If anyone reading this, with GC recommendations or experience in such matters, wouldn't mind taking the time to check it out, I would be forever grateful. Google drive link below. Thank you so much! - Jim

https://drive.google.com/open?id=13wx2QPC-mvSm04SuUJ0bhBfS-8YMCpEk

I make over $500 with a Subaru Forester in Chicago. I love it. It pays for the car and then some.

How on earth did you rehab that for only 33k???

Great job btw.