All Forum Posts by: Nilusha Jayasinghe

 Thank you for putting things into perspective @Dominic Mazzarella. I knew I had an uncertain feeling about the idea of investing that $$ for a reason...

 Thank you @Tim Delaney, these are great questions for me to think about. As for the first, yes we'd be able to do that (for example, replacing a water heater which is the mechanical that's closest to the end of its useful life). For the second, by "trying" I don't mean that we're struggling to do that but I see why it comes off that way. I just meant to say that it's our next goal to build that up, having just gone on a spending spree on fixing up both properties in a short period of time. I think we can reduce our spending quickly if needed. I'll keep thinking on these questions!

Hey all, I'm a smalltime investor currently living in a flat of a Chicago 2-flat while renting the other out, and also have a SFH rental in OH. I'm not looking to scale anytime soon. I have my personal emergency fund stored away in a HYSA, and am working to build up a15k property reserve as well, but am conflicted on where to keep that 15k. We don't have kids (might in the future), my husband and I are young and healthy, have stable high-income full-time jobs, and just put in a lot of work to both properties so don't expect huge expenses in the near future. Both properties are in A areas with great tenants. I know that the general guidance is that emergency funds aren't to be invested, but given our financial security and the fact that we already have a personal e-fund in a safe, non-volatile location, would it still be crazy/unwise to invest this 15k in an S&P500 index fund in a brokerage?

I've looked through the forums and can't find answers to a question similar to mine so I thought I'd post. Would love to know your thoughts and hear if anyone does anything similar with their personal vs property funds. Thanks in advance! 

Good to know @Mila F.. That's the same site that my brother uses for his rentals, but I read somewhere that the emails that tenants get from that site can be mistaken for spam since they look outdated apparently. But glad to hear you're getting good results with that site, I'll consider it too then.

Thank you for all the insight everyone! I will definitely collect SSN then, and look into the different screening softwares/services you all recommend. Really glad I have the BP community to help with these questions!

Thanks all!

@John Warren Good to know that Smartmove worked out well for you! Is there something you didn't like about it that made you switch? Also John, do you have a specific way that you store tenant SSNs that you collect on paper applications (maybe just a lockbox and then shred when you don't need anymore?)? Do you ever store applications with SSNs digitally?

@Nathan Gesner thank you. As far as I know, SmartMove provides a Transunion credit report but it doesn't give you the FICO credit score. They provide a "resident score" which is their proprietary calculation they've come up with similar to a credit score but apparently it's more robust and comprehensive. I just wanted the credit score since that's something I already know about and know how to assess.

Hi all,

I'm a new small-time landlord figuring out my process for screening tenants for an apartment in Chicago. It seems like most all popular screening services like Mysmartmove, Rentspree, etc use the Transunion "resident score" instead of producing actual FICO credit scores for tenants. I wanted to ideally use a minimum credit score cut off for tenants since that's something I'm familiar with and know how to interpret, so I'm wondering if you all do the same and if so, what screening service do you use that gives you tenants' actual credit score? For those that don't go by the credit score, can you tell me how your experience has been with using the "resident score" for screening?

Also curious to know if you all collect tenants' SSN, maybe  in case of future evictions, dealing with sending tenants to collections, etc? If so, do you use anything to double check that the SSN they're providing is actually theirs? Finally, do you know if there are any legal requirements for how landlords need to store tenants' SSNs?

Thank you in advance for all of your expertise and help as I try to learn!

 Thank you for the rec, yes I called his office :) 

Hi all,

Does anybody have any recommendations for architects who are self-certified and specialize in Chicago residential properties including 2 flats (what we have)? I'm interested in talking to someone about getting our nonconforming basement up to code to either duplex down or make it a legal unit if ADU ordinance passes city-wide. Thank you in advance!

Hi @Samuel Pavlovcik, I know this is an old thread but it’s relevant to what I’m going through right now as I’m thinking of establishing a duplex down into my nonconforming basement and have a question about ceiling height. I spoke with the Dept of Buildings and they actually referenced 14X, not 14B since this is an existing building. In 14X, it says that the ceiling height within a dwelling unit (like in the basement of a duplex down) can be 6’8” and if there are beams/other obstructions that cover <25% of the area, those areas can be min 6’0”. Are you able to clarify if the measurements written in 14B that you mentioned should actually be used instead of these and if so, why? Thank you so much!!