All Forum Posts by: Lucas Hammer

Thanks Frank. You have guys in the area you could recommend if we decide to add the bathroom?

Thanks John, appreciate it. I may check back if we decide to move forward and see if you have any contractors you'd recommend in the area.

Hey everyone, looking for referrals or just anecdotes on adding a bathroom to finished space. Fairly basic, vanity, shower/tub combo and toilet to second floor room that's currently a bedroom. It's nearly directly above another bathroom so the plumbing runs likely wouldn't have to go that far. Is there a ballpark price you guys have run into or even a large range so I can figure out how doable it is. For reference, the house is in the city, near Midway.

If you're on the Northside there's a meet up on the far northwest side. 

I was wondering how many people have SFRs in the city. The southside has plenty of single-family homes and I wonder if anyone holds those as an investment with renters. I've tried searching houses for rent, but damn near everything I find is a unit in a multi-unit or at least part of a 2-flat, so I'm not sure how to determine rent on something like that.

I am not a zoning expert, but RS3 should only be for SFH or 2-flat. I don't know if properties can be grandfathered in or not though.

Not sure how much repair is needed but I'm in Little Village and just had Crack Attack tear out and repair a retaining wall, 4 concrete steps and replace them. Their price was reasonable for the amount of work and the concrete was done well. 

That's a super impressive rehab for 16k. Did you do the work yourself or hire it out? 

So I'm putting in an offer on a place in the morning and I think it's a little overpriced because I plan on putting some work into it. The thing I'm debating is whether I should ask for more credit since the cash will help me get the work done or a lower purchase price.

I'm confident it'll appraise at asking, but I'll probably want to ask for more after inspection. Is it easier during negotiations under contract to ask for more credit or lower sale price?

I live/invest in Little Village and you have to be 100% sure on your numbers if you want to BRRRR right now. People are cashing in on Pilsen's popularity, especially near Cermak between California and Western, and the prices are drastically higher than they were even a year ago, but rents haven't caught up. It's not uncommon to see listing with 500-700/month rent.

While you can kick everyone out and try to jack up the rent there are still units keeping the prices down for everyone. 

That said, I absolutely love the neighborhood, both for living and investing. There are a lot of recent problems in the area so do your research if you decide to start here.