All Forum Posts by: Maciej G.

Hey guys I have an update

First off I want to thank everyone who participated and supported me through those turbulent moments. The lawyer suggested to send emails to all my tenants saying that there is 0 tolerance policy in the building for interfering with other tenants' right to quiet enjoyment and utilities. She had me do that so to cover my bases in case it  escalates further, so I sent emails to each one of my tenants including the aggressor from the attic. The next day was inspection, but few hours before the inspection was due, I received an email where he says that "we shouldn't be dancing around this issue" and that we have bigger issues so as long as I can ensure that his power stop going out he wont bother me. I guess his idea was to scare me with those emails and maybe gains something like another free month but since I wasn't gonna give up easy he proposed a truce ?? I dont understand it honestly, but all in all he moved out and left an apartment in crisp condition, well... maybe with exception of plate with cocaine residues and insurance card to chop the lines, I did spend 175$ on a lawyer and I think that money was well spent. Some people suggested cash for keys but I dont think that was a good solution in this case. I was ready to go through an eviction process, that would cost me less than Cash for keys, and he would end up paying for it so I guess in my mind cash for keys is something I would offer a tenant I know is outta control and does not care getting his record damaged by eviction

You are right @John Warren. I spoke with the attorney and we came up with a plan. Thanks to everyone for participating

Thanks for the responses. I set up an appointment with the lawyer, the consultation will be 175$ for an hour and that will be deducted from cost of legal representation in Court (1000$)

Thank you @Jonathan Klemm This is in Logan Square / Humboldt Park. 
@Paul De Luca one of the violations would be "Quiet Enjoyment"

Hey guys

I would like to ask for a legal advice.

Year ago I screened a tenant and except for a bankruptcy and finding out he used to a lawyer whom license got suspended I decided to give it a shot. I own 6 unit building in Chicago with non conforming attic unit (which I rented to mentioned tenant). When the summer last year came and attic started to get hot it was the first time he threatened to sue me, I panicked and immediately hired a company to insulate the attic, and waived his rent for that month. That kept him happy for a while, next issue was when his power started going out due to not enough power supply to the unit, I called electricians but he did not let them in saying he was busy. Almost a year later 3 weeks before his lease expiration he begged me to extend for additional 2 months which I gently rejected because I already have tenant in place plus I don't want to deal with this person ever again, and thats when everything started... He bought big speakers and decided to play the music up until 4 am . My other tenants used to tolerate this but quickly got fed up due to lack of sleep. They started flipping his breakers, in return he started flipping breakers to all units. At some point he met with my other tenant who lives in the apartment directly under and threatened him with a gun. We called the police and got the report, my tenant was shocked had to take sick days off work due to insomnia caused by stress and loud music. I never touched his breakers but at one point I caught him drunk messing with breakers and I filmed it. When I told him about this evidence he sent me somewhat informal email saying that he demands compensation for his electronic equipment that was damaged due to the power outage, and legality of the unit in which he stayed. This looks like a step before taking me to court. He still plays loud music at night and my tenants cant sleep because of it.
I would like to thank to everyone who made it this far, I know I have lots to learn about managing the property and please don't say things like "hire a manager" because those are the things I already know but I still want to learn as I am a firm believer that "Still sea never made a good sailor" I would like to ask you for either your advice on how to solve this or contact to some legal advisor that could help me in this case, 

Hey guys

Thank you very much for participating. I refinanced in September 2021 and that decreased my monthly mortgage payment by 200$, so refinance or HELOC does not seem to be an option here. @John Warren I wonder about the appreciation, I am not sure what the actual appreciation would be but also this is not a typical building and 2 of the units are non conforming so I rather not do an appraisal. 

- Are you saying I should buy a single family and then convert to a bigger by 1031 exchange ?

Hey guys

Last year I purchased my first multifamily building with FHA loan, as I am preparing for my second purchase I am hitting major roadblock from lender side. It turns out nobody wants to give me a loan for less than 20% down for multifamily property investment. I am still new to this but if that is the case how is scaling possible in those circumstances, multifamily homes in Chicago cost +350k, my downpayment for a multifamily would have to be around 100k which is something I wont be able to accumulate for a while.

Is there any way, that you may know about to obtain a loan for less than 10% down? I currently have FHA and moving it to commercial is not possible due to many reasons.

Thank you very much for any kind of help 

Hey guys

I am looking for a public adjuster in Chicago area. Do you know someone that you worked with and had good experience ? If yes please send me their contact. I have a 6 unit building with deteriorating roof and siding that was damaged by wind and hail. 

Thank you for all your help. 

Hi guys 

I apologize for the late response but I was quite busy.

First off I want to say thank you all for the support, it was very low point in my life I was scared, running out of $, and was not sure what to do, but your advices kept me going and I know now I have lots of friends I can count on. You guys are truly amazing and I will be praying for each one of you.

With that being said...

I ended up getting few more estimates and decided to move on with insulating the attic as I think it will provide the most value to the property with the least amount of financial stretch. I hope this fixes the issue. Due to your advices I don't think I will be installing the central AC and will PUT MY FOOT DOWN :) especially since AC was not included on the lease. The contractors did a great job and if any of you live in Chicago I can give you a phone # to this company. 

The AC was not included on the lease so before I had this disturbing conversation with tenant he installed 8,000 BTU AC unit that was not enough to keep the place cool.

As much as I appreciate your advices I think that getting property manager is taking easy route and I like I mentioned I am pretty new to this and want to learn as much as I can and sometimes it is just not pretty and easy but I still think its worth to managing the property on my own so that if I ever end up getting property manager I know what to expect of them and how to manage them!
I also have no lawyer so, requesting of tenant to contact with my lawyer is not an option.

There is only one window in the unit because of the layout of the unit, it is not zoned as legal unit so it looks like one big corridor with a door on one end and window on the other end. I FHA'ed the building and I am technically live there but in my unit I am doing a gut rehab so I am not physically living there.

I apologize for not being more active on here I really appreciate each and every one of your posts for the support. You made me not want to give up

Hello everyone

I am relatively new to being a landlord and today I had very unusual situation that I don't exactly know how to tackle.

I own a 3 story building with poor attic insulation and during the summer the attic gets very hot, since there is only one window the tenant can only have 1 AC unit that can't cool the entire place down. Recently the thermostat was showing 90 degrees for couple of days and tenant was very upset about it (understandably) and informed me about the excessive heat in the unit. I immediately called the contractors to see what can be done, and decided that best option would be to insulate the attic. I was very fast and scheduled 3 contractors the next day. This job should cost me about 1400$ for blown insulation. Later I called an HVAC guy for estimate and he said to install central AC it would cost about 3500 - 4000$. I went to talk to the tenant today and he was very angry at me, and started to make threats. He said he used to be a lawyer with big experience but had to quit due to his temper. He later said that he wants to sue me for 20 000 $ an amount that will include move out/in fees, lawyer fees, days off he took when contractors were doing their job and place was too hot. He demanded of me to install central AC or he will have to take this matter to court. When I went to see him today after part of the place was already insulated he gave me all this talk and under the pressure I said I would waive the next month's rent, and if the place is still hot we will install central AC. 

I wanted to ask more experienced landlords how should I have handled this situation. Does the tenant have basis to sue me if I do everything I can to fix the issue ASAP. Last question I have is that what should happen in a situation where tenant asks for upgrades that I cannot afford ?