All Forum Posts by: Robert Andersen

Just something else that could break and doesn't bring increased value. Nobody is going to say "I love this place but we don't want it because it doesn't have a garbage disposal unit". People will abuse it and shove stuff down the drain that clogs up the pipes to. 

I paid 8000 for a rheem hvac in a 1200 square foot apartment (both heat and air conditioning) with all new ducts. The building originally had gravity fed ducts which were all torn out. The only thing they didn't do was the drywall soffit which was 1800. 

Mini-split would be a good option. They have mini-split systems now with 4/5 units per compressor so you'd likely only need two compressors.  

High velocity is also nice but it's going to be considerably more expensive and louder then any other option. Would be the least invasive and you'd hardly notice the vents vs a giant mini-split vent thing on the wall. 

Get a lot of quotes. I've had guys come out and quote me 22k for a hvac install. That's robbery. You should be paying 9000/14k'ish for a traditional hvac system with soffits.

The first property I bought needed a partial rehab. Opening up walls is risky because you're going to find all the handyman work that the previous landlord or contractor did. A lot of work won't be up to code and you're always going to go over budget. I would not attempt this unless you're also very handy and can take on a few projects of your own. 

A lot of it also depends on how far you go with the rehab. A lot of people only do cosmetic rehabs where they replace the kitchen/bathroom and refinish the floors. This isn't very expensive. 

If you're talking about removing all the walls and replacing the plaster with drywall, all new trim and new floors/sub floor you're going to run into a lot of unforeseen problems.

You also have to be careful about who you hire. A lot of contractors do subpar work if you're not there to watch them. They get paid by the job so the main priority is getting it done. That doesn't mean getting it done right. They''ll nail a subfloor down instead of screwing it to save a few dollars and time. A few days to weeks later you'll noticing it squeaking. 

How's the plumbing? has it ever been replaced or upgraded? copper pipes?

What about electrical? Have the panels/service been upgraded to something more modern?

What about heat/air conditioning. Do you plan on removing the central boiler and replacing it with in-unit heat/ac? 

Congrats on your building. I also purchased a 2-unit with a in-law apartment in the basement on a FHA. This was a real headache because a lot of sellers and some agents don't like dealing with FHA loans. I had to buy a building where the seller had an urgency to sell it without a lot of offers. This meant buying a building which actually needed more work which is funny because that's exactly with the FHA program is trying to avoid.

I'm doing the same thing. Updating all three units for higher rental rates but I only paid 415k. 570k is going to be a little hard to make the numbers work and show a profit while you're living in it. Your building isn't really in an "up and coming" part of Chicago. Logan square is very nice and the rental rates are also very good there. I bought mine about three blocks from Humblt Park. 

When doing the renovations I would highly recommend doing as much of the work as you can yourself. I saved myself over 60k so far. I gutted/rehabbed all three kitchen and bathrooms and installed new vinyl plank floors. When it comes to the kitchen cabinets look for places in the south like KY. You can buy them for 1500/2500 for the same quality here that you would also pay 6k for. 

Disagree with the good bones statement. I bought a brick building built in the late 1800's and a lot of the design and construction was vastly inferior to what you would find today. Lath and plaster that had to be removed from the ceiling because it's weak without the wire mesh. The floors had to be completely redone down to the floor joists because it would squeak really bad and move around as you walked on it. Bathroom walls unsupported from underneath so they could run plumbing, gravity fed heat ducts which all had to be removed and replaced with more modern heat. I can keep going. It was one nightmare after another. 

Luckily I could do all the work myself. Paying someone would have been over 100k in repairs. I believe I spent 50k in material to bring it up to modern living standards. 

A building from the 1940's or so might not be as bad. 

Despite popular opinion on here. Most of the buildings in Chicago have illegal units. Drive down any block with lots of apartment buildings and you'll see occupied basement units. Do you really think they pulled permits on all those buildings then dug down to the footings and added an overhead plumbing system? No, it's simply not profitable and you'll never see a return. 

I want to say around 90 percent of the brick buildings built from 1890 to 1950 have around 6ft 5/7ft basement ceiling height. Once you start adding duct work for heat/ac you'll never have enough height to make it legal unless you dig down then you have to worry about plumbing backing up. 

The worst thing that's generally going to happen is a bad tenant is going to call the city on you and you'll get fined. You're only going to get into serious trouble if you don't have a second exit for the unit. 

This area seems about as competitive as the north side of Chicago. 20 grand over asking price and seller not even willing to entertain my offer. Really sucks to be a buyer right now compared to 4 years ago. 

I'm looking at a few 3/4 flat's in West Lawn/Chicago Lawn area. The numbers for this area look to good to be true. My primary concern with the area is - would I be able to find good tenants? 

Hi, I'm doing research on buying my first 3/4 unit apartment building in Chicago with an FHA loan. I have some question and confusion about the self sufficiency test.

1) When adding the income for your total net rental income do you include the unit you're going to be living in?

2) Can you use a non-conforming or in-law (basement) apartment towards that income?