All Forum Posts by: Lisa Rispoli

@Account Closed just to piggy back on your conversation- we haven't missed a single payment in 5 years, AND I've paid 10's of thousands more than my baseline payments to pay down principle faster.

@Eric Hardt I haven't pinned down a specific area yet. I'm waiting for the right property, really. I'd prefer something very close to the border, but would be willing to drive up to 40 or so minutes past the border. I want to capture the migration from Chicagoland to Indiana. The cost of living is lower. The LL/T laws are in favor of LLs. It just seems to make sense to get out of Illinois (especially Cook County) with outrageous property taxes, the new soda tax, and speculation of another rise in property taxes soon.

@Chris Tracy That is one of our ideas as well. 50% (or any percentage) of something is better than 100% of nothing, right? It's just a matter of pooling people who are willing to take a risk. Most of our friends are just starting out in their practices, and when we talk to them about investing, they don't think they're ready. 

@Alec McCullough I agree. I want to get started now rather than wait until all of our debt is paid off. You can only learn so much from Bigger Pockets and other resources. Sometimes you have to learn by doing. I met my savings goal, sold my house at a profit, and moved in with family so I could reduce my monthly spending and have substantial liquidity to purchase my first deal. My hurdle in assembling a team is finding a lender who is willing to be creative, and understand our PSLF payments to see WHY we can invest now. 

@Hau N. and @Thomas S. for clarification, I have about 140K left and my husband has about 400k. He has been on PSLF for about a year. His payments are very minimal (less than $150/mo). I pay my down as aggressively as possible. Mine should be paid off within 5-6 years. My husband's should be paid off in 2026. 

Some speculate that PSLF will disappear. I think that's true for those who are not already in the program. This was written into law by Congress. I don't believe it'll be that easily rescinded for those who are already grandfathered in the program. We pay a small percentage of our income for 10 years, and at the end of the 10 year period, the balance is forgiven. He must work at a nonprofit hospital (most hospitals are). Forgiveness is not considered a taxable event.

I have looked into physician loans. Most banks/credit unions will only consider this for your residence, and we don't plan to house hack. Also, physician loans can even flirt with predatory lending. The interest rates are higher, and some doctor's see the "little money" or "no money down" as an opportunity to over-purchase (as many Americans do anyway). My point is, if we do decide to purchase a residential property over commercial, we'll likely go FHA and then pay down the 22% quickly to shed the PMI.

We're looking for a lender who can help us purchase a multi-family building in NW Indiana. We have 750+ credit scores, decent liquidity for a down payment (we can put 25-30% down), we have modest but stable income, but we have tremendous student loan debt from law school and medical school. In 2019 our income will quadruple. We want to get started now to get the ball moving. Come 2019 we will have great w2 income, and we'll be ready to dive in aggressively with our disposable income. Any tips? Any recommendations for a lender? We live in the southwest suburbs of Chicago.

Pardon typos, please.

Hi, everyone! I'm a licensed attorney in Chicago who is looking to shift focus in my professional life. My husband is a physician. A year ago I began exploring on Bigger Pockets, listening to the podcasts, and focusing on other means of self-education. I recently hit my real estate investing savings goal, and I'm ready to take the plunge and begin. Forgive me if I muddle through the lingo and basics for you well-seasoned investors out there. I now live in the southwest suburbs of Chicago and I'm looking to purchase a multi-family building in Northwest Indiana. My goal is to purchase a 4 unit residential building, or if the the numbers work, a 6 unit commercial rental property. If cash flow is sufficient, we'd like to hang onto this building long term. If it turns out not to be a good fit, we'll hold onto it for a while and do a 1031 exchange to buy up and take advantage of the economies of scale with buildings with many more units. Our goal is to purchase 25 front doors over the course of 10 years. We hope to supplement our regular income slightly (maybe paying myself a monthly management fee) while significantly increasing our wealth/retirement. Because of our goals, we hope to focus on multi-family buildings. Though, of course, our goals may change. In fact, I'm also interested in learning to purchase delinquent property taxes, too. If you're familiar with the area, please reach out to me. I can use guidance in choosing a target city in Northwest Indiana, referrals to assemble my team (especially a very well qualified real estate CPA), and to let me know of local meet-ups near the southwest suburbs of Chicago where there are robust discussions regarding investing over the border in Indiana. Key issues for us is minding the potential for medical malpractice reaching our assets (through sufficient insurance and proper incorporation) and finding ways for me to qualify as a real estate professional to maximize our tax benefits to offset hubby's income (if possible). Our objective is to incorporate an LLC for each property. Also, I'd love to find a mentor to take to lunch and pick your brain. I can also do a little grunt work for you. Though I am an attorney, I would make it clear that I am not acting as your attorney (this is not my area of expertise). I'm went to a top tier law school. I'm a quick study. I could help file paperwork, fill out forms (with guidance), search topics, or just pick up your dry cleaning if that's the help you need! Fun facts about me: I used to be an opera singer. I love Olympic weighting and can squat much more than my husband weighs 🤣. My favorite tv show is Parks and Rec. I recently konmari'd my house (and life). My favorite color is crisp white. I'm hyper-organized and I love spreadsheets and check lists more than any well-adjusted adult person should. I have always been enthusiastic about real estate. Fun facts about hubby: He is a fairly talented beat boxer. He's very handy and does a lot of work himself (most recently wainscoting and crown molding in our last home). He's great at dad-joke competitions, ping pong, and bean bags (or corn hole as some may call it). He had about 30 seconds of fame during a stint in the movie Freakonics (he was a teacher in a prior life). His life goal is to have a wood shop. We're fun, motivated, hard working, boot-strap pulling folks who aren't afraid to get dirty and and dig in!

Originally posted by @Stone Timber:

Chicago is missing from the list.  Realtytrac had a survey recently that showed 5 Chicago zip code with the highest returns for property flips - multiunits included.  Chicago should be on this list.

 Which zips made the list?

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome! I am incredibly excited to start learning more and getting to know my area better. I look forward to networking in-person and on this website!