All Forum Posts by: Lorenzo Perez

Hello All,

I am currently looking at a couple of properties in the McKinley / Brighton Park / Garfield Ridge Area. Can anyone recommend GC's that work in these areas  that do full /semi gut renovations on MFH? Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

Hello All,

I am in the process of buying a 2 flat in Brighton Park on the same block i grew up on. As long as I could remember this building has had a basement unit that has always been occupied in addition to the 2 above ground units (25 +years). How can i determine if this basement unit is legal? or if it has grandfathered in from previous zoning ordinances, currently the entire neighborhood is zoned for RS-3. If this is any help, the basement unit has always had 2 points for egress. Any help would greatly appreciated, I am having trouble finding information online. 

Thanks,

Lorenzo  

The Chicago landlord tenant ordinance states the the landlord must provide livable premises. Not having a bathroom would make this apartment uninhabitable. Consult with a layer but you I believe you do have to have to put them in a hotel until the problem is fixed. Even in if they have a month to month they require advance notice. 

Here are some websites (county and city) to complete your due diligence. 

Find property PIN and property TAX information

http://www.cookcountypropertyinfo.com/Pages/PIN-Search.aspx

Find City of Chicago building code violations

http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/bldgs/provdrs/inspect/svcs/building_violationsonline.html

Find record of deeds

http://cookrecorder.com/search-our-records/

Find more tax information on property & delinquent tax info

http://www.cookcountytreasurer.com/payment.aspx

http://www.cookcountyclerk.com/tsd/delinquenttaxsearch/Pages/DelinquentTaxSearch.aspx

Building Permit Information

http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/bldgs/dataset/building_permits.html

City of Chicago Land Lord Tenants Rights

http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dcd/supp_info/rents_right.html

A HELOC should be based on the equity you have on your current house, not sure why the amount of units would matter. It's a line of credit and not conventional 2nd mortage so you should be able to use on what ever you want just like a credit card. I have a 2 flat and was going through the process with Chase they never brought up number of units being an issue. What banks did you try out?

Like people said before, if the numbers works for you then good. You should be able to get at least $ 1000 per apartment. That area West of Ashland is still not the best but it will get there. 

I agree with  raising the rent in the long time renter to $750. That is still average for that area. Asking $900 for that area is a bit high in that area ( I live have a multi in Brighton Park). If you fix the other unit a bit ( I wouldn't recommend doing anything extravagant for that area) you should be able to get 750-800. You should be able to get min $1500 for both. But like Justin said, I would do an inspection to see any other major ticket items are required ( IE roof, windows, HVAC). This would be a good deal though if it pans out.  

Thanks all for the advice. I have been working with this real estate agent for a couple years now (Used her for my first home) and would like to keep a good relationship with her as I would like to use her in the future as well. She should be understanding of the situation given that I explained the circumstances to her before the fact.

Hello all,

I was driving around town and found a house that is being sold through for sale  by owner. I looked at the house and it needs some updating but is livable in the mean time. Would you recommend that I use a real estate agent to help me work through this deal or just go through an attorney? We have a real estate agent and we already had her run comps in the area since we had been shopping in this area.

Most major banks only offer 80% LTV with fluctuating rate and varies by the market your home is at. Last i checked with Chase it was at 8% which is high for my liking. Your best luck would be to check with local banks or a credit union.