All Forum Posts by: Lars Olsen

Hi @Andrew Dorazio

I just joined BP for the same reasons, also out of Chicago.

What kind of criteria have you set for your investments? Certain neighborhoods, building type, size order or unit mix you prefer? 

Lars

Hi Patrick, 

Good question. Though I'm relatively new to the real estate profession I did spend an awful lot of time researching and thinking through what I wanted to do in RE. 

Living and wanting to work in Chicago and its immediate surrounding area I figured that getting my license and working for a broker was my best bet. 

Now after a while on the job (we mainly sell investment properties in the $1mill to $30mill range) I have yet to see any of our clients get sweet wholesale deals. Even on not-so-awesome deals there plenty of activity, so I cannot imagine that in a market like this there would be enough "hidden gems" to make a living of off. But then again, I'm in a niche and know very little about what's beyond said niche. 

Also, I learned so much from taking my license and I feel like I'm more credible to buyers and sellers alike when I have that label. In short: I doubt you would ever regret getting your license. 

Not sure if that was helpful or not. 

Lars

hahaha! @Brandon Turner I love that movie!

And thanks for the warm welcome!

 Hi Rob, I just searched the forum for threads that mentioned Marketplace. So no formal review I suppose. Thanks for helping me clearify!

Hi All, 

This morning I went Pro, and it feels good. What to do now? I'll tell you.

But first I'd like to disclose my reasons for going Pro: 

1. Give something back (I'm new to the forum and haven't used many of the resources available here, however I've been feasting greedily of off the podcasts. Boy are they excellent). Keep up the awesome work, Brandon, Josh and all the other people making BP the best resource to anyone in real estate. 

2. I'm aiming to be an active member and meet new people to do business with, share experiences with and maybe even establish friendships with. 

3. I will occasionally be posting sweet investment opportunities that my brokerage are marketing for sale. Normally we would only engage our in-house network and sell our properties that way, however it's time to embrace the future and social media to reach a bigger audience. ( I also have a few years of experience consulting Fortune 500 companies on new-media strategies, meaning I do have a bias towards social media as I've seen it transform the way marketeers reach their audience and have direct effect on the bottom line). 

Also, I did  some research on the success of the Marketplace and I read mixed reviews, but I'm a glass-half-full kind of guy so I hope to prove the negatrons (glass-half-empty people) wrong. Please share do's and don'ts from your own experience with me!

I'm excited!

Lars

Thank you all for very valuable input, there was definitely a couple of things here I hadn't thought of!

Hi All, 

I did search the forum in case someone had asked before me, but to no avail. However I am new to BP so please bare with me if I messed up. 

Background for my question: My wife and I are looking to buy our first live-in investment property some time the coming 12 months in Chicago were we both live and work. Ideally a 4-flat with garage. My parents are from and live in Norway, but visits regularly and I'd like for them to have their "own place" here. Needless to say it would be a little extravagant if their place would be empty 11 months or so out of the year. Therefore I was thinking to operate 1 of the 3 rental units as a vacation home (inspired by last week's amazing podcast) aiming to keep the unit occupied enough to generate a similar or even higher income to the other two long-term units.

Does anyone here have, or have had a similar set-up, and would like to share their experiences with me? Any obvious pitfalls I need to be aware of, in general and for the Chicago market specifically? 

Any input would be valued, be that tips on landlording or the financial aspect of an investment of this nature. 

Lars