All Forum Posts by: John Leake

I believe @Mark Gauger is correct I didn't use a FHA loan for two reasons I wasn't going to be living in the property and they wouldn't let us do the work ourselves. I ended up doing a commercial loan but it is still the BRRR strategy after the loan seasons I should be able to pull out my initial investment and have money (and more experience) to work on another deal. if you have money for a down payment a commercial loan may be better or if you can find out what it takes to be a GC there might be a way to work within the system. I didn't think Illinois had very strict laws about qualifications but I'm not really sure.

Good Luck

You might Try First Financial in Bloomington, IL. I worked with Chris Hudgens on my first loan for a 4-plex and he's awesome! I told him eventually I'd like to explore portfolio loan once I get a few more properties and he acted like we should be able to figure something out. If he can't help you I'm sure he'll be very up front and likely even have a recommendation as to who could.

https://www.first-online.com/Business-Banking/Lending/Contact-List

He's at the very bottom of the page.

Good Luck

Also checking in from the Bloomington area I just purchased my first 4-plex in a small town in the area in the past couple of months working on renovations Currently and trying to get it rented before winter!! I worked With First Financial for my loan they were absolutely awesome (Chris Hudgeons) and My cousin was my realtor (Ryan Leake) and did an amazing.

https://www.ryanleake.com/

A bit of an update for those interested at the beginning of this week I submitted for my first draw for the construction part of my loan this has been a learning experience! Between learning what a lien waiver was and educating a fair few of the folks ive been doing business with we got everything together and should be getting checks to pay everyone early next week! we have used about 22 percent of our renovation budget and basically have the top two units ready to be rented. The bottom ones are going to be a lot more work to get ready but we are making good progress!

Thanks,

Welcome @Sean Liszka I'm currently in the process of doing the renovations on a 4 plex in Illinois living in one of the units will absolutely help in financing it was a barrier to entry for me. I had previously purchase a primary residence one of the few things id wish id done differently. Good luck to you and your future endeavors!

It was listed on the MLS and I watched it drop 10,000 a month for several months before I put in my offer to purchase it. Mine is completely vacant as the bottom had water damage in years past and the previous owners gave up on fixing it; but not before tearing out everything leaving me just the studs to rebuild from on the bottom. The upstairs i'm hoping to have rent ready here in the next couple months!

I recently purchased my first real estate deal recent as of 6-14-18. The property is in a small town and is a 4 unit apartment complex that needs lots of attention. My brother is a contractor and him and I will be doing the vast majority of repairs. Getting funding wasn't the easiest as it was a construction loan on a property that I wouldn't be living in. I was able to find a bank, First Financial that would work with me. I got the property bought for 57,700 it had been repossessed by the bank. I also got funding for the renovations of 64,100. The appraisal of the property was 150,000 so when all said and done with the project I will have equity in it. We are already underway on doing the renovations but I felt like this was still a good opportunity to share where I am at so far. Any questions feel free to leave them below and I'll try to answer as quick as I can. Bigger Pockets has definitely expanded my knowledge of real estate in general I never would have guessed all the different avenues that exist to invest in real estate.

Thanks,

Welcome to BiggerPockets! I'm always happy to see people from my area join the site the podcasts are invaluable to use as a learning tool. I'm sorry to hear about your troubles but hope you keep at it and learn as you go! Not sure if I can help but as long as you put Bloomington in your posts I'll see it and help if I can!

@Matt Powell I would love the chance to sit down and pick your brain an just hear your story I work form basically 7am to 6-7pm and I have one Saturday off a month and Sundays as well. Its not so much that I'm scared to invest. I'm just looking for the right deal and to have some money put back for rehab(if necessary) and down payment. I've started the conversation with my lender I used for my personal home to see how they work with lenders but am going to start looking elsewhere soon to get multiple options.

I'm also from the Bloomington area, I'm still in the gathering capital part of the process but would like to buy my first buy and hold or flip in the Bloomington areas or surrounding market. I'm still probably about 8 or so months out from having what I'm comfortable having to get started. If at some point you think a newbie could help you please feel free to reach out to me, though I have no practical experience only what I've learned by reading and being on bigger pockets! Other than that good luck! It was nice to see a post specific to my area as I have keywords set up for Bloomington.