All Forum Posts by: John Westbrook

Hey buddy, call Family Heating and Cooling(Luis).  Best price in town.  He likes to know when he can start and be specific to what you need(new furnace+AC?) If you don't currently have A/C, now would be the time to add it.  I would guess he does both for <$5k if you already have ductwork ran.

Luis-773-575-3423(Let him know you know me!)

Cheers!

I just added an electric charger to my 3 flat in Humboldt Park, much easier than I imagined!

Added a 50amp breaker to the buildings public breaker panel and ran conduit to our exterior parking pad to a weather safe 220 outlet. Took my electricians roughly 3 hours and they charged $450.  It's now there forever and feel that when I move out either a future tenant or an airbnb guest(unit #1) would see it as a huge bonus. DO IT!! 

You did great through the whole process and clearly learned a tons already, I was happy to help.  Excited to see you and @Andrew Lake grow!  This is just the beginning.

Howdy fellow Chicagoans!  Thanks for starting this conversation @Joey Nakayama.

I was excited to wake up today to the news of this passing.  While most of my properties aren't in the pilot zone, you would think that it will expand shortly afterwards.  I have a few thoughts/questions, wondering if anyone has suggestions or advice on these ideas:

-BUILDING SIZE:  Is there a cap on # of units that a current property has to be eligible for additional units?  It seems like a green light for 6flats and below, but no specific language prohibiting a 20 units building in an R zoned area adding units(I'm most excited about this).  

-LENDERS: Do we anticipate that most projects applied for on 5/1/2021 be funded with cash, or will there be lenders that will interested in providing construction loans? Would love to connect with any lenders that are working to lend to ADU's in both the residential and commercial loan market.

-ARCHITECTS:  I'd love to connect with any and all architects that have been putting in time for this over the last 6 months.  I want to find someone that has out of the box ideas for coachhouses.  Specifically, how can we build a unit over a new masonry garage?  I owner/occupy a 3Flat that is set on the back of the lot, and would like to build a front facing coach house and match it to the architecture of the existing blonde brick building. I think this will be super fun, and the water service and sewer line already run under where the new structure will be.  

All in all, I'm excited to see how this shapes Chicago and connect with the minds of each trade that will make it successful.  

-JW

Nothing closed in 2020, but under contract to purchase a 38 unit brick courtyard beauty in Chicago early 2021.  We were looking at dozens of buildings a month, this was the first one that excited us!  We are excited to more than double our portfolio in one transaction.  

In due time, young grasshopper.  

You and Reed will know more in a few years than any 20 something in Chicago.  Keep looking at deals, asking questions, and meeting cool people. 

Hang out with me and the @properties Logan Square team more... ;)

In all seriousness, you and Andrew will look back in 5 years and be so proud of how much you learned.  Stay on this path and work hard everyday.  

Hello fellow Chicagoans! We are actively looking to take our business to the next level and are seeking a hungry individual to serve the role as our property manager. I currently manage our properties and have reached a tipping point of where we see value in bringing someone onto our team.

Here is my Vision--- A young and hungry superstar that has strong social skills and is compassionate to others. You want to learn anything and everything pertaining to buy and hold multifamily and is a seeker of knowledge. We feel that we can open our books to you and create a scenario where you are learning and making money in a unique niche of Chicago real estate. We are looking for a problem solver that can handle the ever changing environment of multifamily real estate.

Things that will make your life easy:

-We own and purchase great real estate in great locations(Logan Square, East Humboldt Park, Old Irving Park). Head over to my "investment" section of my profile to see our portfolio.

-We have done a gut-rehab to all of our properties with condo quality finishes=wonderful tenant base with little to no maintenance requests.

-We have an amazing maintenance man(building engineer) that the tenants love.

-Everything is already set-up within our property management software (Buildium) and we have systems in place that were created from the experience of working for one of the largest real estate companies in Chicago.

-Our team is young, fun, and we have just begun. I'm 29 years old.

If this aligns with your current and future goals, send me a direct message. I'd love to answer any questions you may have and get a better idea of your personality.  

John

Howdy Chicagoans!

I have been quite excited about the possibility of this ordinance being passed and in effect 8.1.20 and have been thinking about the best way to implement a strategy. For those who are just hearing about this, on May 20th the long anticipated ADU ordinance was introduced to Chicago's City Council. I really like the way it was written as I think it will be able to remedy some pent up demand for affordable housing, legalize in-law units and coach houses that have been there for a long long time, and add conversions units and new coach houses!! I certainly recommend reading the details, but here is a few snapshots of what we can expect-

"3. How many ADUs could be built on a property?

Property owners in “R” zones can choose to add either one or more conversion units or a coach house. Coach houses would not be able to be built on any lot that has a conversion unit.

If adding conversion units

Owners of single-family houses that are 20 years or older would be able to build one “conversion unit”. All other residential buildings that are 20 years or older would be able to add 33 percent of the number of existing units, and rounding up or down.

• 2-flats: 2x0.33 = 0.66 rounding up to 1 unit
• 3-flats: 3x0.33 = 0.99 rounding up to 1 unit
• 4-flats: 4x0.33 = 1.32 rounding down to 1 unit
• 5-flats: 5x0.33 = 1.65 rounding up to 2 units
• 6-flats: 6x0.33 = 1.98 rounding up to 2 units
• And so on.

If adding a coach house

All properties that are either vacant or have a single-family house, 2-flat, 3-flat, or 4-flat would be able to add one coach house as long as there is no conversion unit on the lot."

If you have an Rzoned lot(majority of lots in the city) you would be able to, by right, add 1 unit. My thought is that if you have an open basement, it would be the most cost effective way to utilize the new ordinance. A coach house could be 700-1400sq feet as the footprint of the CH has to be 700sq ft, but maybe some builder creates an affordable CH design for the inevitable demand coming.

This should increase property values of current owners even if they haven't utilize the conversion or CH because a future owner could monetize that.

Where I'm really excited is the idea of adding 33% more units in a big building with an open basement. Lets say you already own a 45 unit courtyard building with an open basement that used to house the boiler, W/D, and electric panels but you have already HVAC'd each apartment, added in-unit W/D , and moved electric panels to the units. By right you would be able to convert that empty ground floor space to 15 apartments!! Half of these apartment will need to be affordable ($1,069.50/mo) for the next 30 years and half could be market rent apartments. Assuming 100k/door to create these 2bd/1ba units, you could hit the 1% rule on the affordable units and close to 2% on the market rate apartments. You could refi the building after all of the new conversion apartments are rented and recapture 100% of the capital needed to create these new apartments. You just took your 45 unit building and converted it to a 60 unit building with no money out of pocket, created 1.5m of equity(assuming $200k/door ARV), and cash fow . That is the very definition of "highest and best use" and will make a lot of folks $$ while also contributing 8 affordable units to the city of Chicago.

I would love to hear others thoughts, and how they would take action if passed!

-JW
https://www.chicagocityscape.com/blog/chicago-s-adu-ordinance-was-introduced-see-what-you-could-build-583f436600?utm_content=bufferc493e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Howdy @Nate Grabner!  That is exciting that you want to take the leap to owner-occupy a 2/3 flat.  The neighborhoods you mentioned are the exact locations where I have been buying 3-12unit buildings for the last 4 years.  I currently owner-occupy a 3flat around Augusta/California and my quality of living is fantastic.  Feel free to check out my profile to see some of the deals that I've done aka "success" stories.  I'm a broker as well and would be happy to hop on a call with you to get you on the right path.  Shoot me a DM!  Cheers!

John