All Forum Posts by: Ronan M.

Tawanna

You wont get any "dings" on your credit until you decide to pull the trigger.

Know and understand your credit and take basic steps to improve it if needed. Pay all your bills on time and reduce any credit card debt. Go on Credit Karma or others and know your credit score. Then when talking to lenders they can give your ball park loan rates based on the credit score you tell them. I am shopping multiple loan products right now and not one lender has run my credit yet. I know my credit score to within 5 or 10 points and so I advise lenders of that and they can still price out the loans for me. Of course when the time comes your credit needs to be close to what you tell them.

Don't be afraid to talk to lenders and when you found the one you want and wish to proceed only then will your credit be run.  

Best of Luck !!

Raila & Associates P.C.

These guys have served me well in the past with tax appeals on my properties.

Plus they will only bill you a portion of any savings realized if there are any.

Hi Malgorzata

Why focus on selling to an investor ?  An investor will have no emotional attachment and will only want to buy low in order to make money. Maybe focus on potential homeowners (somebody who wants to actually live there) and who will have an attachment to it, make it their home and be willing to pay more money. Maybe spend a little on painting, staging, upgrade appliances if needed. I understand that might be difficult if the unit is currently rented but if you want top dollar (who doesn't) it might not be from an investor. Could you incentivize your tenant to leave ?  OK you might lose a month or 2 in rent and some cash to polish the place but that might more than pay for itself in the selling price.

Just a thought. Best of luck.  

Pretty much the rest of the world uses these things except the U.S. They are not new or new technology they are just new to the States. That said I think they do a better job cooling than heating. As an AC add on they are a great solution and as they are "zoned" they can cool only the rooms that need to be cooled effectively and without the cost of cooling a whole house. For severe winters I do think a back up heat source might be needed. But my advice would be talk to a good HVAC guy who specializes in these.

I agree with Brie.

When I started out being a Landlord (5yrs ago) I used a generic or Domu lease. I had an eviction and the judge laughed at me and my lease and basically threw me out of court.

Do not google or go to Office Max

Use a Chicago Assoc of Realtors lease and with tenant turnover keep using the most up to date version they publish.

I consider a Walk Score to be pretty important (in Chicago at least) particularly for Multi Family Buildings.  Many tenants in city apts do not have cars therefore easy access to public transport, shopping, dining etc is important. I also believe the crime rate is a factor in Walk Scores and is an indication of the safety of the neighborhood. If I am interested in a property with a very low Walk Score I usually try to find out why.

If a property is in a poor neighborhood and miles from buses or trains and a grocery store I believe it to be undesirable for a lot of tenants and will greatly reduce the number of potental tenants. Just my 2 cents !!

For a building I have in Chicago the biggest annual expense by far is for heating.

followed by Property Tax

followed by Insurance