All Forum Posts by: Mohammad Alabsy

Thanks for the post. Lesson learned for sure. I took pic of before progress and after.

This is post I to help expose scam artists in the real estate industry. I hired HJ solutions as a general contractor for a job in he south suburb of Chicago. He said he can do everything (demo, patch, paint, porch, floors, bathroom tile and finishing basement) in 5 week time frame. He gave me a reasonable quote (not a very attractive quote but reasonable one). He sent his two guy crew to start the demo before he got any money. We met first day at the job and said he always gets 50% down payment for his projects. I said it's a big project and 50% seems too much to pay upfront. So I paid him 10%. His crew finished demo in couple of days (not a lot of demo. Just removing tile and carpet). Then he asked for more money. He said if you want thing done on time you should pay 33% of total. I had a trip overseas coming up so i decided to pay 33% (big chunk of money). I was overseas for about three weeks I came back and there is hardly any progress. The same two guys doing the demo were also painting (btw I bought the paint separately) I was wondering why it's taking this long. But Ezra jack was no where to be found. Even his two guy crew couldn't contact him for payment. So we finally got in touch with him and he said project will be completed on time even though most of the work needs to be done still. So I decided to give him two more weeks. So he brought an unlicensed electrician/Plummer to do some work. I was not happy with that and was not happy with the rookie inexperienced tile guy he brought to do the tile. I called and told him I'm paying him for licensed skilled workers but I'm not seeing any of that.. he couldn't argue with that he just got upset and pretended he did not know they were unlicensed (even though he told me before they have been working for him for years and he crew also confirmed that). Long story short. Got rid of the guy. Job was not close to 40% complete after five weeks when it's supposed to be 100% complete. Even the 40% they did was terrible. The paint job was very spotty with large areas in ceiling/bathrooms unpainted. One of his guys laid tile on top of wooden floor in laundry room and bathroom!!! (Bad idea, so I had to demo his work). During the demo some wood work was destroyed and ruined. 5 weeks basically for a half paint job and some demo. I was very upset I paid the guy hat kind of money upfront. On top of that they stole some stuff when they left the job site.. It's unfortunate to have people like that in his industry but they do exist and beginners have to really watch out for them. I'm trying to get some of my money back from this this guy.. I know some did have luck getting money back from scammers like that. Any help will be appreciated.

So with land contract property does not have to be in live able condition for the tenant? What if roof is torn down and leaking (which is the case for most of those cheap houses)? Who would look at that and be ok dropping 5k dpmt an fix roof and pay rent. With that kinda money you are near luxury living monthly out of pocket pmt. One more thing, even if roof is good (besides other necessary household utilities) 5k down pmt is a significant number for anyone ok living in 10k house neighborhoods. Question is how are you going to find those buyers who have 5k down pmt in cash and want to live in such areas? Appreciate you bringing up this topic for discussion but I don't see this as a sustainable model with growth potential.

Problem with Airbnb is too much political risk. Can be as bad as just one law from the very many entities out there and it's game over.

Hi, I suggest looking for properties on the homeopath.com website. Think that would be more suitable for your situation and many times properties are listed for a good price. Also on top of that investors are banned from buying and are forced to wait few weeks while property is being offered to live in buyers. If you need any help, please don't hesitate to reach out via PM. Best of luck. Mohammad

Hello fellow Biggerpockets members,

I hired a painter for a 2 Bedroom condo paint job in Oak Park IL (West suburb of Chicago), He did majority of the work except two rooms  and some touch ups on Windows wooden frames. He had to take a break due to temporary family issue. Would like recommendation for a reliable temporary painter who knows how to paint wood right. Any recommendations would be very much appreciated.

Thank you.

Mohammad Alabsy

Tons of money still looking for parking and many people hoarding properties using other people money.. just to say we have this many doors.. no real reason. When returns on other forms of investments go up with interest rates you will see the bubble begin to burst it's a cycle and I wouldnt want to be caught holding a bag. just my 2 c.

How about the real risk is not getting paid your rent

Seems to me properties are actually selling for more now there. Think it maybe due to out of state investors buying in areas sight unseen and without any clue or knowledge of the Chicago market (bad idea). This scenario is a prime example of how bad investors ruin it for good ones. Bad investors take properties off market and lose money while it could have been a profitable deal if taken by a good investor.

@Anthony Martino

Just sent you a message. Thanks