All Forum Posts by: Paul Brower

Quote from @Jonathan Klemm:

Dude @Paul Brower I think that's amazing and commendable to live-in-flip 3 properties with a family!

What's the end vision of where you want to be with real estate and whats your very next step?

Chicago has a lot to offer so if you decide to invest in this area I am happy to help out any way that I can.

Thanks @Jonathan Klemm, having a partner in this whole thing has been crucial... even though each property was originally FHA which means it was only one of us purchasing each house and qualifying, having the second income was what made for enough confidence and security in all this. I totally understand why so many interested in RE don't go forward with SFH and rather buy condos etc.

Our end vision is to reach financial independence in roughly 10-15 years so depending on market conditions, where we see opportunities and how wisely we keep moving forward I estimate we will reach our goal. What this translates to is difficult for me to say but seeing our current conditions with interest rates as high as they are, I'm inclined to work efficiently with our brrrr strategy... meaning quality over quantity and waiting for the right deals. Since I'll continue my full-time career as a software developer while doing brrrr I don't want to get overly ambitious, so a ball-park goal is at least one large VERY good geographical location SFH each year (preferrably the northwest suburbs of Chicago) for the next decade.

i.e. I'd rather get a slightly larger hard/private loan upfront for a year-long full cycle brrrr (acklowledging the reality that refinances take longer now too) than trying to do 2-3 in a year that would add up to almost the same value as the one nicer larger project.

Quote from @Jonathan Klemm:

Hey there @Paul Brower - If you are looking to get started in the NW suburbs of Chicago you should connect with @Mark F. he is a good reason for that area.

What do you mean by having 4 different properties in different states?  Different geographical states?

I completely get the exhaustion of doing everything you are doing plus having a family...Your 85-year self is grateful for all your hard work!  I started having typed discussions with my future self to help me answer tough questions/challenges I am struggling with...super powerful exercise.

 Hey Jon,

Thanks for recommending such a great connection like Mark, I just sent a request to him. And to explain the 4 different properties, we started our RE journey in Colorado, from there leveraged our incredible timing and heloc from that first property to buy 3 more in the last 2 years! It's been pretty taxing to live and flip with a family... 3 times but hey this led me to where I am now, where I see the value in brrrr since I'm not really capable of slow brrrr anymore.

Quote from @Paul De Luca:

Quote from @Paul Brower:

Hi all,

I'm new to the BRRRR method but knowledgeable having done a fair amount of research for the past year.

I'm hoping to find opportunities in Chicago (hopefully the northwest suburbs) and looking for incredible people to connect with! I'm interested in talking to you as a friend or potential business partner. 

I just finished Greene's BRRRR book and feel much more secure with the direction I need to take.

I currently have 4 properties between 3 different states. Each of these I FHA'd into, live and flipped, refinanced and repeated (funny enough this is just a slow version of brrrr.

As you could probably guess, this method is exhausting especially once you start a family. 

Please reach out with any insight, meetups, or ways I might be able to serve you!

Best,

Paul

 What's your buying criteria? Definitely network with agents and wholesalers to get some deal flow. I can share a wholesaler list if you want it.

I just requested to connect so we can DM the buying criteria, thanks for offering a list of wholesalers that's exciting!

Quote from @Shea Murray:

@Paul Brower Hey Paul congrats on the 4 slow BRRRSs! That does sound exhausting. 

I wanted to respond to the meetups part of this - this is a good resource for a ton of meetups in the area: https://www.straightupchicagoinvestor.com/chicago-real-estat...

Also a great podcast to check out if you like BP. 

Hey Shea,

Thanks for your meetups reference, this is just the kind of resource I was looking for! Do you attend any of those meetups even if irregularly? 

Regarding the slow brrrrs I think we could do maybe one more, but honestly with the second kid coming in a month it's a daunting thought! This strategy has been very good to us so far though.

As a property manager have you seen a decrease in the number of brrrr clients since rates have climbed so high? Like David Greene says, its still an incredible strategy and he says one of the only strategies he'd use in this market because the rates are so high! And I get that, if you find the right all-in cost with ARV it really could be a great to still go even with higher rates.

I'd love to connect and talk through some more stuff.

Quote from @John Warren:

@Paul Brower welcome to the forums! You are in the right spot to connect with folks who are making it happen here in Chicago!

BRRRR is definitely a good strategy when it works. I agree thought that BRRRR investing can be pretty exhausting. It is also pretty tough to find opportunities that pencil now that rates are higher and cash out refinances take longer. Still, it can be rewarding when you find those deals that work.

Which areas of the NW suburbs do you live in?

 I live in Arlington Heights, and would preferably like to work in my 'backyard' but understand it could be much more difficult in this area.  

Quote from @John Chong:

@Paul Brower Welcome! Great portfolio and props on being able to manage them in multiple states. Sounds like you're just looking to scale quicker and not go through the FHA loan process. A hard money loan and DSCR refi might be a good option.

Thanks for the input John, and just curious why wouldn't a Private Loan be more favorable than a hard money loan? Also, what's involved with the DSCR refi?

Hi all,

I'm new to the BRRRR method but knowledgeable having done a fair amount of research for the past year.

I'm hoping to find opportunities in Chicago (hopefully the northwest suburbs) and looking for incredible people to connect with! I'm interested in talking to you as a friend or potential business partner. 

I just finished Greene's BRRRR book and feel much more secure with the direction I need to take.

I currently have 4 properties between 3 different states. Each of these I FHA'd into, live and flipped, refinanced and repeated (funny enough this is just a slow version of brrrr.

As you could probably guess, this method is exhausting especially once you start a family. 

Please reach out with any insight, meetups, or ways I might be able to serve you!

Best,

Paul

Quote from @John Warren:

@Travis Timmons definitely tell @Chris Schoonhoven to visit Chicago in the summer. It is undoubtedly one of the best cities in the world.... especially before winter lol. 

There is a lot of great inventory here though, which Travis highlighted. Ultimately, I always think the best place to house hack is in your own back yard. The game might be slightly different in some areas where there aren't as many 2-4 unit buildings, but there are always strategies like room share, renting out the basement/attic, air bnb, etc. House hacking is all about creating something with nothing/very little. 

 Couldn't agree more John, I decided to move from the foothills of the Rockies to MAKE Chicago my backyard... because at the end of the day it just had too many more advantages over markets like Denver, even with property tax rates being what they are.

Some have previously mentioned Chicago, and I can say from experience this has been a great market for house hacking due to the diversity in the housing market and sheer number of multifamily properties. I came here in early 2022 and bought my first duplex in Forest Park, IL and was able to effectively house hack. One of the main reasons Chicago has a leg up is the number of jobs opportunities. There's literally anything and everything, so to compare it to other good markets for house hacking is difficult due to the fact that other 'good' regions usually come with less job options and therefore in my mind are less secure. Something I talk to a lot of people about as well is Chicago's future position. With various data sources to back me up, many say Chicago could gain even more climate-migrants and the likes from each west/east coast who're facing extreme weather events at unprecedented rates (I lost my home in 2007 in San Diego due to a wildfire, and know many others like me). Not only are these extreme events leading to tragic loss, it's also causing sky-high insurance rates and even large insurers to pull out of some states (like in CA for fire insurance etc.). Also in general the midwest is much more landlord-favoring so there's more control for you here as well.

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