All Forum Posts by: Meghan McCallum

Looking for an investor's club in the area. I'm currently living in Geneseo IL but will mostly invest in the "The Cities". Is anybody out there?

Hey Jeremy,

I'm an investor who just moved to the area and I'm starting up as an agent. I've been spending 10 hrs a day studying the market, meeting with agents, and my mentor is the top producer in Geneseo and the QC. What can I help you with? What are you looking for and why QC? I just moved from College Park. We had purchased an amazing Mid Mod that we are renting now as we get it historically recognized and update and renovate it.

So, I already own a few properties but, this is day three of me considering myself a FULL TIME Real Estate Investor (and three day member here). I have been analyzing and looking for deals and I entered the dark scary world of Auctions.com and started bidding. I didn't win, I was 7500 shy. But, I feel it a win as I held strong to my numbers for my first flip and let it go. I will have to say...when the bidding started getting lower and lower it got hard to stop. But, I used the analyzer tool here and didn't budge past that.  I will consider my first flip that I make any profit or break even as it is the cost of the learning experience.

Back to the drawing board!  Any tips on auctions out there?

Lorie,

Let me help you overcome the fear by telling you this. Your experience in property management gives you an AMAZING advantage to other new investors and I am jealous of your experience in the trenches. You have seen what properties rent for how much, what level of quality in finishes people expect in your area, and you have seen the nastiness and great things that come with being a landlord...without having already been one. People are afraid of things they don't know how to do...so they avoid those things. Why are you afraid? You are already there! I guess, my question is, what exactly are you afraid of. Whatever that topic is...read read read about it. Then post about it and learn from all these mentors. Southern IL seems like it could be a gold mine. I have discovered that small towns have a better likelihood of meeting the 2% and 50% rules of investing. Stay positive, work everyday, and if you love real estate...you will be great at it. Feel free to reach out whenever you like. Good luck!

Hey, I didn't believe it existed either. But, I just realized I was looking in all the places that I wanted to live in vs. places I didn't. If you aren't hoping for the 1% or...I now like the >2% market that I've found, I hope you are investing in areas that are rapidly appreciating...then that would make sense. Ricky, I don't know much about NC Real Estate...but I have a few suggestions. 1) College Towns...especially small D3 colleges or Universities in unpopular or industrial cities 2) Small Towns that are near infrastructure that has public train access to larger more popular cities. I was sure when I first started that popular cities were the way to go...but then I crunched the numbers...not while the market is good again.

Chicago is a tough market, you can't find ANYTHING that meets the 2% rule in the Northside. Investors have already gone and cleaned it all up. Woodlawn is good, but keep you eye on the areas the gays and hipsters are slowly creeping into...Rodgers Park has found a new resurgence and you can get some buy and hold rental steals there if you are willing to buy, fix and rent. In the areas you are looking to get into there will be higher crime rates (for now) and lower rents...but that's the risk you have to take in Chicago. You could have stolen the town 3-4 years ago. Now you really have to troll the borderline neighborhoods. I currently have properties in Chicago, Evanston, the DC area and western IL/Iowa (Davenport/Molive/Rock Island/Bettendorf) . I have a few tricks for finding great tenants. Send me a message if you want to chat more, or, if anyone wants to for that matter.