All Forum Posts by: Robert Rixer

Chicago is definitely an underrated market for multifamily. Florida has the tailwinds but people are overpaying and driving prices too high. Chicago has headwinds but many are staying away causing prices to be actually pretty good for buyers. 

I see price per unit quoted a lot in the smaller apartment range 2-12 units. It's definitely a flawed comp method on it's own but if buyers and sellers put weight on it, then it needs to be considered.  

Good perspective, thanks for sharing. In many markets, there hasn't been a single deep discount sale of a multifamily property. This is allowing existing buildings in trouble to argue the value in their building is still there. A deeply discounted comp would hurt these buildings' and their ability to refi and could cause a trickle down effect to the rest of the market. It's happening in office right now but in multifamily, there just haven't been any truly deep discounted transactions anywhere. All it takes is 1 or 2 dominos to fall in a specific market that could trigger action but agreed the banks could be propping this up from happening.

As a Costar subscriber, I would say no. They own Loopnet and you can find all the on-market properties on there for free. Where Costar shines is being able to look up data on off-market properties and also list commercial properties as well as getting reports on the macro market. If your only goal is just to find more deals, then Loopnet serves the same function but for free.

Good for you. You have 2 limiting factors: lack of consistent W-2 income and minimal capital. Banks lending to you will want to see you have the consistent income. If you "house hack" and live in one of the units of the building you buy, you could potentially put only 5% down. Meaning your 10k could at a maximum get you a $200k building, which may not be feasible depending on where you live. And that's assuming a bank would finance the other 95% which you'd need a job to support.

Keep learning, keep saving and you'll have a very bright future ahead of you.

Location is overrated, it's all about value. No point having the best location if it's 3x the price of the neighboring areas and underwater. A famous developer once said "There's no such thing as bad real estate, just bad prices."

I'm old school but do a trip down there, rent a car and drive around. One thing no google search or stats website can tell you is how a neighborhood feels. Since you'll be living there, it's even more important.

Are you trying to learn and grow in the multifamily space or just keep your money moving? If the former then it could be a good move, if the latter than my opinion is bet on yourself and keep buying SFH's!

Horses for courses - you need to ask yourself what are your goals (cashflow, appreciation, etc.), how much capital do you have to invest (barrier to entry in some expensive cities) and what your risk tolerance is.

No living room sounds like a deal breaker, would at the very least depress the rent you could otherwise get for it. I haven't been a college student for some time now so maybe times have changed.