All Forum Posts by: Linh Khuc

Quote from @Mario Dattilo:

The most concerning issue I see at a glance is the fact that it is in the socialist state of IL. Chicago MSA is the highest risk but you are taking on unnecessary risk buying in that state. 

Some people are comfortable with it either because they already own real estate there or live there but we avoid that state along with CA and NY. 

*Get familiar with the landlord/tenant laws in that state regarding mobile home parks during due diligence by consulting with an attorney and determine if you can get comfortable with it.

Hope this helps! Check out my profile for some resources you can use to learn about mhp investing.

 Mario, 

Thank you for the inputs and I'm one of those who already had the real estate here. 

Hi All,

I'm from Illinois, have been focusing on commercial multifamily investing and I came across MHP in Illinois, I ran through the numbers and it looks pretty good, details is following:

-  5 acre lot, 30 lots and converted to 24 due to city requirement.

- Lot renting only, tenants bring their own mobile home

- Rent is running ~$365/month, 85% occupancy, 15.5 % cash on cash return

- City water & sewer, gravel driveway

- Tenants pay trash, gas, electric, Park owner pay water

From little I know about MHP, I think the following:

-Pros: good on cash return, low maintenance (not having to manage the mobile home), only manage the lot (trees, snow removal...)

-Cons: tough to find new tenant (they need to bring their own mobile home), gravel driveway will be tough to shovel during the winter

Is MHP a good investment in the Midwest, especially in Illinois ?  

Quote from @John Warren:

@Linh Khuc glad I could help. Keep looking near star bucks and Chipotle. That is the way I identify a B class neighborhood these days. If you don't see these types of big box places, you are probably in a C class area. 

 John,

Would Niche be a good source to identify class B, C....neighborhood ? 

Quote from @Chris P.:

I’ve also been looking for some multi family units and they hardly ever come up. What’s everyones thoughts on Westmont, Darien and Willowbrook?

How long you've been looking ? I think they are just like anywhere else in the western surburbs, hard to find multi family but they'll pop up here and there. 

Quote from @Crystal Smith:

Quote from @Linh Khuc:

Hi All,

I've been looking into multifamily investment property (6-12 units), been looking in the Chicago neighbors, western suburbs, dug into information such as population, income, job growth, crime rates, rent vs homeowner ratio....found these facts.

Chicago neighbors, west sides (Maywood, Berwyn, Cicero, Austin, Chicago Heights, Little Village) have higher rent vs home owner ratio, higher crime rates, lower average income, more building available for sale compared to the western suburbs (Aurora, Plainfied, Elgin, Joliet, Rockford). 

With that said, between west side Chicago neighbors and Western suburbs, each of them has pros and cons, the catch is hard to find a multifamily property (6-12 units) in the suburbs compared to west side Chicago, does it mean this is a good sign for the western suburbs ? 

Any investors have any thoughts about better location to invest in those neighbors ? 

It's the nature of big cities with dense populations to have more apartment buildings than the suburbs. This would include suburbs that are right on the edge of the city.  So finding that there's more available on the Near West Side than the far western suburbs isn't surprising.  You'll find this in every major metropolitan area, New York, Atlana, LA,.....

 Crystal,

Thank you for your feedback and your point is dead on, couldn't agree more, this will help my search narrowed down. 

Quote from @Jonathan Klemm:

Hey @Linh Khuc - Your overall assessment is pretty spot on.  I personally prefer the near Chicago Western Suburbs like Berwyn & Cicero.  Cicero still has access to the Chicago Pink like which I really like and if they ever extended it Berwyn would too.  These areas have solidly built structures and good cash flow.

I am from Elgin and believe its also a good cash flow market, however, inventory is even more limited which is why I just prefer investing closer to the city.

 Johnathan,

Thank you for feedback and you are correct, this is the reason why I expanded my search, my initial target has been the western suburbs and would like to expand my search to the city, I'll keep exploring Berwyn and Cicero, I'm using Crexi, found 3 buildings listed for sale in Berwyn, need to do more DD, too new to jump on it at this point. 

Quote from @John Warren:

@Linh Khuc you are lumping quite a few neighborhoods together that are not at all the same class of neighborhood. For instance, you put Berwyn right next to Austin and Maywood... Berwyn recently got a second Starbucks so I am not sure you are looking at the right metrics here. 

There are definitely deals still out there in the 6-12 unit space, but there is less meat on the bone than there was four or five years ago. Many of the Chicago suburbs also have compliance inspections when a property sells which can add complexity for a newer buyer (an annoyance for an experienced buyer). You are almost definitely taking this on as a new buyer since all sellers want to avoid the frustrating repairs that come from these. 

Personally, I think the near western burbs are one of the better places to invest although there are no "easy" places to find deals right now. 

John, 
Thank you for your feedback and the neighborhoods I listed was not in order, it was randomly when I wrote the thread and you're correct, you've brought up a good point and I noted it in terms of neighbor class, I prefer investing in class A, B neighbors. 
The western suburbs is more of my focus, all the neighbors I mentioned are class A, B.  I was trying to expand my search to Chicago neighborhoods to see if I can find anything since the western suburbs are hard to find but I always can wait for the opportunity to come. 

Hi All,

I've been looking into multifamily investment property (6-12 units), been looking in the Chicago neighbors, western suburbs, dug into information such as population, income, job growth, crime rates, rent vs homeowner ratio....found these facts.

Chicago neighbors, west sides (Maywood, Berwyn, Cicero, Austin, Chicago Heights, Little Village) have higher rent vs home owner ratio, higher crime rates, lower average income, more building available for sale compared to the western suburbs (Aurora, Plainfied, Elgin, Joliet, Rockford). 

With that said, between west side Chicago neighbors and Western suburbs, each of them has pros and cons, the catch is hard to find a multifamily property (6-12 units) in the suburbs compared to west side Chicago, does it mean this is a good sign for the western suburbs ? 

Any investors have any thoughts about better location to invest in those neighbors ?