All Forum Posts by: Michael R.

Thank you, everyone!  I appreciate all of the great responses.  I think I'll actually learn from some of the pain felt by those who have come before me instead of learning the hard way (my usual preference ;P).  I'll keep it to 25-30 mins max, stay patient, and use some marketing strategies to find off-market deals.

Regards,

Michael

I'm located in Cary, IL which is a suburb roughly an hour NW of Chicago.  The multi-family inventory is pretty low out here and I'm considering doing deals in Chicago, and various suburbs to broaden my scope.

For those of you who are full time W2 employees and part time investors/landlords how far from your place or residence do you generally pick up buy-and-holds?  Do you generally pick up units that have been recently renovated to cut down on repair frequency or are you still willing to take on somewhat "long distance" projects to maximize returns?

Thanks!

-Michael

Welcome to BP, and great story!  It looks like you have a nice chunk of equity to play with.  I'm sure you'll find BP to be full of great resources just as I have. 

For market rents I like to use a combination of calling local rental agencies, throwing the address on rentometer, zillow, and lastly......craigslist for the low end of the range.  The more data points you can gather the better.  I don't average these, but lean more towards the numbers I get from the agency and rentometer.

@natchan Their lease expires next April - they had a 2 year lease.  They store all of their belongings in the garage since they foreclosed on their previous home.  I'm assuming they both are receiving disability.  I didn't ask or do my due diligence other than screening the previous owners as to their payment history.  I'll have to talk to the son to see what he would like to do.   It's interesting that my first landlording experience has me really testing the balance between humility and business.  

@MaryB.  I will certainly do so.  I can't imagine what that must feel like to be in their situation.  He understands that the business end of this must be upheld so that helps us level with each other . 

@Michelleprunty that's great advice.  His future employment would really be a deciding factor.   It's the affordability that I would be concerned about since the rent is $1100.

edited

I inherited tenants in a recent house hack purchase who are in ill health.  The mother is in the hospital and it's not looking like she will make it much longer.  The father had a stroke, and is receiving home healthcare. They have a 24 year old son who takes care of the father as well, but is unemployed at the moment.  I really feel for them, and think it's commendable what the son is doing to help take care of his family.  The first rent check was a couple days late (the son delivered it) and I had a brief discussion with him to see how we can make sure he A) pays on time from here on out and B) has a plan if, heaven forbid, something happens to his parents.  

It's the parents' names on the lease.  In the event that the parents pass away what options does the son have?  How would you handle this delicate situation? 

Hey Everyone!

Let me just start by admitting that my whole day revolves around BP, whether it's reading the forums, or listening to the amazing podcasts driving from place to place.  Very excited about this first post and looking forward to hearing your feedback.

I just bough my first investment:  A duplex, completely remodeled in 2007, with existing tenants on an 11 month lease.  I'm house hacking at the moment and will pull some great cash flow out of the deal once I move out.  The house is right across from the train station in a town called Cary, IL, and the 6 houses on either side of me are all multi-family with long term tenants and very low vacancy.  The house is also a 5 minute drive from my job so a huge win there.

Now, I'm not sure how common this is but, being that the lot is a narrow half acre all of my neighbors have separate 4-5 unit apartment buildings in their back yard.  After speaking with some of their tenants (most of whom have lived in those units for 8-10 years) they are all 2 BR units at $850-$900 a month.  The idea of doing the same has me really excited for the possibilities, but I really have no idea what such a venture might cost.  I have a line on the capital I would need for the project through a private investor so that's reassuring.

When I came to look at the property the seller informed me that he had drawings made, presented them to the village, and after a couple attempts they told him they wouldn't let him go through with the project since they plan for that strip of buildings to "go commercial" in the near future.  The land is currently zoned multi-family.  I will be investigating this further on my own of course.

Here are some pictures, one of an overhead view of the open part of my lot highlighted in green & the neighbors "backyard buildings" circled in red, two others of my neighbors houses where you can see their 4-5 unit buildings in the back yard (also circled in red):

- Can anyone give me a brief overview of what this type of project would look like in terms of time and capital?

-If you were facing this type of resistance from the village/county what avenues would you consider?

-Would it make more sense to put a couple 500-700 sqft "small" or "manufactured" houses back there instead?

-Would you just take your cash flow from the deal, be happy, and buy more multi-family housing elsewhere?

Thanks in advance!!

-Michael

Lisa, 

Congratulations on this amazing renovation!  Your story has encouraged me to take a similar approach in the Chicago land area.  Could you, by chance, send me a private note with your lender info?  Any advice would also be greatly appreciated! :)