All Forum Posts by: Joe Garb

Hi David 

Sounds like they are requesting a boundary survey or a plat of survey with your ADU design overlayed. Do you have the existing plat of survey when you purchased this property? If it is recent you may be able to use that and overlay the ADU design on top of that. Check with whomever wrote the comment if this is acceptable.

If you need a new survey you should contact the surveyor that performed the plat of survey to possibly negotiate a cheaper rate since they already did work on the site.  To stake out the actual location of property lines to determine setbacks in the field you should have a survey do this. 

A typical plat of survey for a residential lot (0.25 acres) in Chicagoland area runs for about $500. 

Hey @Mike Neff,

Welcome to BP! I am also a professional civil engineer with construction management experience.

I’m interested in connecting and learning more about your civil engineering experience in land development as well as real estate investing. I operated a short term rental and can share my experience

@Louis Zameryka I ran a short term rental in Chicago.  Initially I adjusted the prices myself until I found the pricelabs pricing tool which dramatically increased my income.  I only had one rental so I took care of the management and turning the unit myself. Good luck with your rental! 

@Jacob Dawson

You can find deals at Home Depot, sometimes they run a 11% off sale which can lead to big savings on bulk purchases:

https://www.homedepotrebates11percent.com/#/home

Hi @Alleia James, 

I was referring to multifamily buildings where one unit’s (usually the garden unit) utilities are tied into the common area building utility meters paid by the landlord.  The majority of Chicago two flats are set up like this where the basement has been converted into a unit and utilities were not separated.

For condo properties, like the one you linked too, it is typical for the landlord to pass the responsibility of utilities (gas and electricity) to the tenant. Just make sure that it is spelled out in the lease. If considering a condo as a rental property you have to make sure there is no rental cap (I.e. no limit on renting units) You will also be dealing with a HOA -which depending on your situation can be a good or bad thing.

Hi @Marshall Shen some other expenses to consider is lawn care and snow removal costs. Also some Multifamily Properties the  landlord pays the electric and gas for the common areas like stairwells.  Something to consider when evaluating. PM me If you need Rental comps for a property you are considering.  

@Francis Rusnak refer to the Chicago zoning chapter 17, the link here should summarize the amount of allowable units based on zoning: 
https://export.amlegal.com/media/12b70ab4bc42a5c7791edc1ccb4024289a556667/DATAOBJECTS/0-0-0-38364.pdf

Thank you for the input @Vincent Incopero I was able to find the plat with the easement information for a private road on Dupage Counties recorders website. I will have to dig some more to find more details.

Hey BP,

I have a parcel of land in a residential area of Illinois. The property has frontage along a busy road. There is also a private road that leads to the property from the back. I do not currently have rights to utilize the private road. The value add to the property would be to access the land and potential future home from the private road. Currently three homes utilize the private road. Does anyone have experience dealing with acquiring rights to utilize a private road? How would I go about finding out details of this ownership agreement between the property owners? My plan would be to approach each homeowner and work out a deal after doing some homework on the situation of course. Any help would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

@Chris Michael

Hey Chris how many units are you looking for? What is you strategy -buy and hold or house hack? What part of the city?