All Forum Posts by: Larry Smet

Hi @Kenneth Goldman

The short answer is: I've established a great team in Chicago. Not to overwhelm you but over time you'll want to establish a solid team including at least: realtor(s), contractors, real estate attorney, property inspector and insurance agent. All of my team reports to me independently so I get several different perspectives on properties and areas. My inspector also serves as a project manager for my rehabs. At the end of the day it's the numbers that do the talking (in terms of choosing location), but I stay away from war zones. I find if your realtor specializes in an area that can work really well focusing there. After you've done a deal or two in an area you become more familiar and it gets easier because you have a better expectation of the outcome of any particular deal. For me it's critical to get report backs from all of my team members before acquisition and frequently during the rehab.

I think it's great if you are able to focus in your own "back yard" - it will make things easier, especially for your first deal(s).

Keep us posted on your progress.

Regards

Larry

Hey @Kenneth Goldman

My first deal I found through the listing agent of an REO. It was in Northlake, IL and I found it on the MLS - can you believe it?? My 2nd was a short sale off the MLS (in Orlando though). 3rd through 6th deals were all in Chicago. 3rd was a traditional sale (pocket listing) that my realtor found - the same realtor that I worked with on the first flip. The 4th - 6th were done by purchasing judicial certs. The 4th through a wholesaler, the 5th and 6th by tracking properties coming up for auction and knowing the neighborhoods. My realtors have been critical in all these transactions and I expect that they'll continue to find properties for me to flip. Currently working on acquiring #7.

Having said all that, I'm currently also looking for good wholesalers in Chicago to keep things going.

Cheers

Larry

Hi Kenneth

You have to have a lot of persistence to succeed. I know A LOT of people that took at least 6 months to find their first deal (I heard the average for serious investors was 6 months). It took me 8 months. Having said that, as you make more connections and gain experience, you'll find it gets easier. It took me 12 months to find and complete my first rehab and flip. In the following 9 months I acquired 5 more properties and completed 2 more flips. 5 of the 6 in Chicago, by the way. It does get easier.

Keep plugging away!

Good luck

Larry

I was (and still am) an environmental engineer. I learned from some pros how to flip houses long distance (I live in Toronto, but over the last year I've done a flip in Orlando and several in Chicago). I still have my day job and don't plan to change that anytime soon, but having that second income stream is really nice. I plan to continue flipping but also want to start acquiring some rental properties over the next several months.

I know many people investing in real estate and they all come from very different backgrounds - and most didn't have any previous experience in real estate. My engineering background was useful, but certainly not essential. If you stick with it, you can definitely make it work Sierra. Good luck!

No problem - send me a message and I can pass that on to you.

Cheers

Larry

Hi Michal Sieczka, I've used an attorney that I like for my last 3 deals in Chicagoland. Send me a message and I'll email you his contact info.