All Forum Posts by: Rishi B.

@Jonathan Bombaci what a great tip!!!

Hi all - thanks in advance for your help! I'm looking to update the brick exterior on a 6-flat. I've been trying to research whether any type of permit is required. 

I do see that masonry cleaning/chemical wash (the prep work) -
"may require an air pollution control permit from the Environmental Permitting and Inspections Section of the CDPH"

And then digging further I see there's also a separate Architectural Surface Cleaning Permit could be required.

Anyone have experience with this? Thanks!

Great post @Tom Shallcross. Was able to get the exemption on renovating a building in Bridgeport earlier this year, thought it might be helpful to others to detail how it works with specific vendors –

Home Depot – easiest vendor to work with, they’ll link it to your phone number and also it will stay on your online profile for online orders. If you do self checkout in store, you’ll always have to hit “request help” before paying, an associate will have to come over to enter in your Tax Exempt ID/phone number for you

Menards – pretty easy as well, sign up on their site, they’ll email you barcodes. Keep one on your phone for them to scan after they ring everything up at the register. It will also stay on your online account for online orders.

Lowe’s – not as easy, at least for me. They require something like re-registering your status every 60 days. Need to sign up on Lowesforpros.com, they have a separate Tax Exempt management system that’s kind of scattered.

Amazon – if you don’t have one already, I believe you’ll need a separate business account to add a Tax Exempt ID. Careful, they automatically apply it to things in your cart for whatever you buy (they’re not discerning what’s building materials for you). You can manually remove it for certain items, but I did a lot of returns on non building material stuff I bought because I didn’t realize it was being automatically applied until well after.

Ikea – I think it only works with online orders/kitchen dept for them - I used it for countertops but wouldn't have made the effort if I knew beforehand how much trouble it was going to be. It's nearly impossible because you can never get anyone on the phone, I found a gracious person on the Ikea subreddit who helped me out. Send me a message and I can provide the email addresses I used.  Had to email my docs to    get confirmation from them that it was in good standing. Then, I made my purchase, paid the sales tax, emailed the receipt and my EZ form again to , and they just credited the CC with the tax amount about a week later without even emailing me anything/providing a receipt or any sort of transaction record.

Side note, the Enterprise zone may also save on transfer taxes if the building is 1-4 units, my initial closing statement had it in there, but I think it was the title company who caught that it was a 6 unit so it didn't apply. But this piece can be a massive savings opportunity in addition to materials costs.

Thanks for the heads up @Joey Nakayama.   I pasted the Crain's article below.  

July 13, 2020 05:07 PM

Aldermen resist plan to allow coach houses, granny flats

A City Council vote on an affordable housing measure legalizing so-called accessory dwelling units has been postponed.

DENNIS RODKIN

A plan to open up Chicago’s residential areas to building new small dwelling units such as coach houses and basement apartments will not go up for a vote at the City Council later this month after the initiative met resistance from aldermen.

Supporters of reversing the 63-year-old ban on building accessory dwelling units, often called ADUs or granny flats, say it will “help middle-class people stay in their neighborhoods in the city and provide some of the affordable housing we need,” as Ald. Harry Osterman, 48th, who chairs the City Council’s Housing & Real Estate Committee, put it to Crain’s on Monday.

Osterman is one of five aldermen sponsoring the ADU ordinance that was introduced in May with Mayor Lori Lightfoot's backing. The notion of permitting ADUs was introduced in 2018 by Lightfoot's predecessor, Rahm Emanuel, as a way to spur creation of new affordable housing options in increasingly expensive neighborhoods, particularly those where single-family homes predominate.

Osterman said ADUs are a way to “create more housing options” that may suit single people, young adults returning to live with their parents, and retirees.

While his proposal had been scheduled to go up for a vote July 21, Osterman said it'll be postponed after several aldermen expressed strong opposition at a hearing Friday that lasted more than three hours.

Individual aldermen aired concerns about increasing neighborhood density, absentee ownership of the new units and the difficulty the city would have enforcing a promised prohibition on using ADUs for Airbnb-style short-term rentals, according to WTTW.

Two of the aldermen who opposed the proposal as written said, in essence, that a one-size ordinance may not fit all neighborhoods.

Ald. Pat Dowell, whose 3rd Ward includes a swath of Bronzeville from Roosevelt Road to 55th Street told Crain’s that she supports allowing ADUs, but only if the owner lives in one of the units on-site.

“I have a thousand privately owned vacant lots in my community,” Dowell said. “I’m concerned about someone being able to build extra on that lot without having a principal resident living there.”

The existing ADU proposal does not stipulate any ownership requirements.

Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson, 11th, told Crain’s the proposal could have at least two unintended consequences.

First, in the hot Bridgeport neighborhood, which is part of his ward and where he lives, the ADU ordinance could have the unintended consequence of making property less affordable rather than more.

If owners know it’s permissible to add another rent-generating unit to a residential property, Thompson said, “they’ll charge a higher price for (selling) it,” adding to the escalation in home prices there.

Second, encouraging construction of additional units would intensify development in neighborhoods like Bridgeport when what’s needed to help solve some of the city’s inequities is a push for development in Englewood, Austin and other disinvested areas.

“You’re going to get more vertical growth, but we need horizontal growth in this city,” Thompson said.

Osterman said delaying the vote gives him and others time to resolve the aldermen's concerns.

“It’s fundamentally important that the city add more units of housing, so we’ll look at how to make this work across all neighborhoods,” he said.

*bump*  

Great discussion!  Was wondering if anyone had any updates on if this was voted on/when it could go into effect if passed?  

For some reason I thought this would be voted on end of June, and potentially go into effect August 1st, but can't find any material updates from googling.  Much appreciated!

I second @Mike B. 's recommendation for First Eagle in general, they're a portfolio lender also who can get creative on financing for 2-4's particularly when it comes to rehab costs - not too many lenders out there who will finance construction on smaller properties but they're one of them. Let me know if you want an intro to my contact.

But to try to answer your question "Would it be reasonable to say that the differences in working with a smaller local bank are less relevant to small (2-4) multi family deals?" the key nuance doesn't seem to be 2-4 vs 5+/commercial here, it's that you'd be living in the property so it'd be owner-occupied.  An owner-occupied 1-4 unit property has many more attractive financing options vs. an investment property that you wouldn't be living in.  You'd likely qualify for a conventional Fannie loan and could potentially put 5% down, but a smaller community bank likely will still require the 20/25% down.  Your interest rate would probably be lower too. It's been a while but I used a Guaranteed Rate mortgage broker for this before.

Good luck!

Thank you in advance! We're rehabbing a 6-unit in Bridgeport with a built-out attic space; Ahead of starting the refinance in January, I wanted to ensure the two 3rd fl apartments would receive the proper bump in income on the appraisal report for being duplexed-up apartments. 

The questions are mostly around how to configure access/locking doors. We wanted to stay in front of any technicalities that might make the appraiser NOT count the attic spaces as part of the 3rd fl apartments. (The building is a 3 story+attic with apartments in the front and rear of each floor).

Would appreciate any and all opinions - ideally someone with previous experience as an appraiser who could walk the building quickly - I'll be sure to pay it forward! But really anyone who might have any helpful info on this topic. Much appreciated and stay warm everyone!

Not sure if you've already done this, but I think ensuring there is proper insulation on the water main on whatever portions you have access to in the basement/crawl space could help as well. 

Hi all and thanks in advance for your help!  I try to put stainless appliances in my rehabs but typically don't buy new - below are the two stores for scratch & dent appliances I've purchased from, but would love recommendations for other stores to explore and that you've had a good experience with!  I see so many when driving around throughout Chicago but am not sure on which ones are worth considering.

-Mike's Furniture & Appliances - Wicker Pk (across the street from Lowe's): large store, great selection for basic models, not as much for higher-end models.  For reference, ~$350 for a stainless 30" width top-freezer fridge.  Open to negotiation if buying 3-4 appliances at a time.  Lots of staff, free next day delivery with professional staff.  30-day guarantee with free repairs if anything goes wrong with the appliance within that time period.

-L&L Appliance Mart - Humboldt/Wicker Pk area on North Ave.: more of a mom/pop operation, more willing to negotiate on prices than Mike's, sometimes will have very high end models for not that much more than basic stainless, less professional when it comes to delivery/scheduling.  More of a handshake agreement that the appliances will be operational, which in my experience they did honor when an oven stopped working in 3 weeks (they sent a repairman and replaced a part for free).  

Hello and thank you in advance!  I'm set to close on a 6-unit in the next month and am currently working with my contractor on the construction budget.  Post construction, almost everything will be new.  My past rehabs were smaller buildings with extremely old appliances/finishes that I either donated to the H4H ReStore or allowed my subs to take for their own use.  However, given that this building will be vacant at closing and I have the opportunity to sell all the old stuff within 1-2 days of closing, I wanted to get some advice on how fellow BPers were able to liquidate their assets' existing appliances/cabinets/vanities/etc. to help offest some construction costs.  Perhaps a "garage" sale posting on Craigslist?  Any better solution out there?  Thanks!