All Forum Posts by: Naeem Barbour

Hey Guys,

For about 2 years it seems like I've been battling to get off of my forbearance plan with my bank. I've had the money from my tenants to pay for the mortgage but the bank has my online portal shut down and when I call I can't make a payment either. Initially when the pandemic started my tenant had stopped working and I had lost my job. I ended up renting upstairs on a two flat unit and my tenant on the first floor started working again.

Since then I've been issued countless numbers of loan modification packets in the mail which I would fill out and submit the requested documents. Each time I get denied for something new and I've been sending in THE SAME documents. They ask for a letter of hardship, the current lease that my tenants have including a WET SIGNATURE (even though we E-sign everything), and a notarized copy of the loan packet.  Every time I submit they tell me everything looks good and then I'll keep getting letters in the mail stating otherwise and letting me know my application was denied. Of course when I go to the branch everyone has an attitude for no reason and tell me I need to call "loss mitigation", who keeps telling me everything "looks good". I've been going through this since 2020 and I'm tired of the run around and scared I will default. Has anyone else been dealing with this or have any resolutions to what I'm experiencing? 

Quote from @John Warren:

@Naeem Barbour I agree with @Jonathan Klemm. You are in the third largest city in the US, and we still have cash flow. Don't chase the 20k properties into low cost areas where the rent is low as well. I would work on getting to know the local markets by you in Chicago. Save money, meet folks at meetups, and start getting ready to make your move. 

 Hey John! Love going to the local meetups. Are there any in person meetups that you now of that started back in Chicago? I remember last time everything was virtual. Also, the few meetups that I've went to haven't really been a success I would say. I've attended a few where there nothing but beginner investors and the main person is speaking on surface level stuff. In other words do you know any more meetups that aren't really someone trying to sell a program etc. I'm all for it.

Quote from @Will Sifert:

Quote from @John Underwood:

Quote from @Naeem Barbour:

Quote from @John Underwood:

Quote from @Marco Bario:

@Hector Casablanca -

Is there still yield left to be made in tax lien/deed investing? I've been under the impression institutional money found the asset class several years ago and drove yield down through aggressive bidding.

Many states are not bid down. You can target properties not in the big boys sand box.  I just got deeds to 3 houses from last year's tax sale. Most expensive house was 29k.

 Hey John, I stay in chicago and was trying to look out of state to basially get started. I heard that properties can be as cheap as 20k but where exactly? What advice would you give on where to look. 

I live in SC and I can tell you that SC is one of the top 5 best states for Tax lien investing. My returns will blow the doors off any Notes.

 I agree with John, but to invest in SC you need to start with a significant amount of money, unlike other tax lien states.  You not going to get far with a couple thousand dollars in SC ;)  I would consider SC to be more of like a deed state when it comes to how much money you need to get started.

 Are you open to sharing some of those states? My goal is to get in around 20k ish. I know I might have to go over a little but I'm just trying to go somewhere that is around that price.

Quote from @Deana Johnson:

@Doug Phillips Thanks! I am currently buying and holding and am getting deals through the MLS. I have opened up to welcome deals from wholesalers as well but have not ventured into the auctions yet. The auction is what I assumed you are talking about when you say you picked up properties in the Spring. If so what was your experience during that process?

So I met this guy who said that the method that he uses is to buy in gary for like 20k and to put about 15k into it then rent it out for 900 a month. Being that gary is like you have to completely rebuild the house. How doable is this method and how easy will it be to rent out. Seems like no one wants to live in gary and its like a ghost town

Quote from @John Underwood:

Quote from @Marco Bario:

@Hector Casablanca -

Is there still yield left to be made in tax lien/deed investing? I've been under the impression institutional money found the asset class several years ago and drove yield down through aggressive bidding.

Many states are not bid down. You can target properties not in the big boys sand box.  I just got deeds to 3 houses from last year's tax sale. Most expensive house was 29k.

 Hey John, I stay in chicago and was trying to look out of state to basially get started. I heard that properties can be as cheap as 20k but where exactly? What advice would you give on where to look. 

Quote from @Nathan Gesner:

Quote from @Naeem Barbour:

Hello my name is Naeem, I am 26 and I stay in the Chicagoland area. Currently I have two Airbnbs in Chicago and one in Houston. I've been hosting on the platform since 2020. Although I have already gained some knowledge and experience, I would like to find someone that is not opposed to sharing with me ways to maximize my profits. New days I'm only breaking even and it leaves me questioning if I should continue to do Airbnb and short term rentals because of the hassle that I deal with and not enough pay out. If you are making a decent profit I would like to know how and what key strategies that seem to work do you have in place to generate the most income in a pretty popular market. The biggest problem I'm seeing is pricing, the dynamic pricing that I use isn't really effective in fact it seems like its slowing down my bookings. Just would like some advice on a continuous bases to help me in the right direction of success.

 Can you give us some numbers? Rent rates, occupancy rates, expenses for utilities, taxes, insurance, consumables, etc?

 Sure, so the method I use is the lease hacking which my landlords completely okay with. 

Rent= 1825

Comed= 70

Gas= 160

cleaners are 90 per cleaning

renters insurance 22.60

comcast =50

rent rates are set to 110 as my base price on pricelabs which takes the average of similar bookings and uses this to make the daily rates.

Getting a lot of helpful responses. I want to ask do you use cameras? If so how do you have them hooked up. Any good cellular WIFI companies that someone recommends? I don't have WIFI running on the property except for the unit in which the tenant pays for. Also I've been using a standard Illinois lease do you guys have any must haves that I need to include that's not in the standard lease besides the ones mentioned above? I'm trying to make sure my tracks are covered on the new tenants.

Hello BiggerPockets Community,

I currenty have a 2 flat which I have a long term tenant who is paying cash living on the first floor & another CHA tenant who lives on the second unit above her.I wanted to go CHA because of the for sure money that will be coming in every month. Everything in the screening seemed to be cool until they moved in. Since he moved in, it has been altercations on a number of accounts. The first one was him getting into it with my long term tenant's son over a garage parking spot. There were death threats made to the her son made by the new tenant and the police were called. Second incident was his guest getting into it over the washer and dry which is free to wash. They have been inviting family members over to wash loads of laundry. Third incident was the tenant having a domestic disturbance to my neighbor on the first unit saying that a couple was fighting upstairs. I've been feeling like I'm mediating grown ups and adults. Looking for advice on how other experienced investors would handle these situations. If I hire a property management company they will eat up my cash flow. Also they haven't been paying water because its not in the lease and my water bill is above $1k. Just need some insight.

Hello my name is Naeem, I am 26 and I stay in the Chicagoland area. Currently I have two Airbnbs in Chicago and one in Houston. I've been hosting on the platform since 2020. Although I have already gained some knowledge and experience, I would like to find someone that is not opposed to sharing with me ways to maximize my profits. New days I'm only breaking even and it leaves me questioning if I should continue to do Airbnb and short term rentals because of the hassle that I deal with and not enough pay out. If you are making a decent profit I would like to know how and what key strategies that seem to work do you have in place to generate the most income in a pretty popular market. The biggest problem I'm seeing is pricing, the dynamic pricing that I use isn't really effective in fact it seems like its slowing down my bookings. Just would like some advice on a continuous bases to help me in the right direction of success.

Hello BP Communinity,

Would like to gain advice on how to legally rent out a condo and have it for corporate leasing and AirBNB. I recently just lost my job and I'm trying to strategize how I can keep income coming on a month to month bases. I saw a guy in atl say that he makes about 2000 a month profits off corporate housing and in between AirBNB. How would i go about finding places to rent out? Do I go on https://www.corporatehousingbyowner.com/properties/23262/ to find a property to rent and are they okay with that? Aren't they corporate landlords themselves? 

Please help me help me with exact steps in doing so. I am located in chicago.