All Forum Posts by: Sam H.

Hello, I am an investor here in Chicago and saw a property in McKinley Park that looks great, but I'm not certain about the rental dynamics and upside to achieve a nice cap gain. The broker's been comparing it to Pilsen and Bridgeport, but I'm not sure that is accurate. The property exterior is well maintained with high end finishes and nice features inside.  I'm wondering how the rental market is there - easy to rent units, do they sit a while, will I have trouble with a top of the sub-market price point?  

I'll of course be reviewing comps and doing additional research to help fill in the blanks myself. However, is there anyone out there with experience in this neighborhood who could give some advice? Curious about your experience here and your thoughts about the future of the neighborhood. 

This post pertains to a property in Chicago, IL. Please provide knowledge based on this specific location! 

I have a unit with 3 tenants on the lease, but one is moving out and all 3 current tenants want her name off the lease. I don't really have an issue with this and am looking for advice on the best way to amend the existing lease to their liking. Is it best to cancel the lease and then create a new one with the 2 remaining tenants. If so, what's the best way to legally cancel the existing lease? 

I just purchased another property and am in the process of renting out garage space. I've had trouble finding a standardized parking lease for Chicago. Does anyone in Chicago or Illinois have a good parking lease template that they wouldn't mind sharing? Thanks!

Everything is situational and unique in real estate. Depending on your property and the market it is in, you may not incur any extra costs or headaches by listing the unit. Who knows, maybe the unit is in great shape and doesn't need much work, maybe it does need work... You'll need to assess the costs of a turnover. If you decide to turn it over, you should time things so that the unit is listed for rent a couple months in advance of lease expiration to avoid vacancy. Even at the increased rate of $1650, you are losing $200 a month in opportunity cost. $2400 of missed income per year is greater than a one month leasing fee of $1850, so it's worth the increase even if you use a leasing agent (which you shouldn't so you can keep that money).  Depending on your market, you may be able to charge a move in fee which will add to your bottom line and offset potential turnover costs. If you plan on selling the property to another investor, you will increase the value of your sale as well by having higher rent in place. Having a great tenant is great, but have you considered the fact that the new tenant might be just as good or better? Properly screen them and you're usually fine.

@Basit Siddiqi Thanks for the examples - extremely helpful. I'll reach out if I need further help.

@James W. Thanks to you as well for your write up. I'm essentially doing the same thing as you are now, but using quickbooks for income and expense entries. Ultimately, I'm going to be sponsoring investment deals and will likely use a CPA for reporting to make sure everything is right, BUT want to be sure I get it too. With these deals, quarterly reports with balance sheets are common, so I'll need to make sure that's right. The P&L is the easy part. Also, by properly booking mortgage expenses I can truly see my equity in real time (even though, yes, it is more work).

@Dan V. Thanks for the advice. I currently am not using a CPA for this property, but will be reaching out to someone per your advice. 

I am always looking for good contractors that service Rogers Park in Chicago. Work needed this year includes - tuckpointing and lintel replacement/repair, electrical - adding breakers and moving circuit(s) to correct meter, gap sealing to prevent mouse entry, complete unit rehab - refinish floors, paint, possibly new carpet, partial bathroom gut, kitchen gut, and roof maintenance.

Let me know if you or someone else has expertise in these areas and we'll touch base to see if we can't work together! 

I'm trying to clean up my books and need help resetting my balance sheet - I believe I need to go back in time and essentially reset the initial entries. Basically, if someone can tell me how to set up my books starting from the closing that would be a huge help. I also need help with the proper way of accounting for mortgage payments.

I use quickbooks, so any advice you have using that software would be great. Thanks!