All Forum Posts by: Sarah Ziehr

Get your license through your local Association of Realtors. 

Yes, it is worth being trained by a brokerage. The challenge is finding one that really will actually train. I would say Keller Williams or Baird and Warner may be your best bet. 

And don't worry about a resume, because no one cares about that. Many brokerages are eager to collect a technology or start up fee from you and could care less if you ever sell one property. 

Do you have a sign in the yard or in the window? What is the average rent for the area, and what are you basing your asking price on? 

Sounds like you have it priced too high and are attracting people that are not familiar with the area. 

You need a local broker who knows the area well and can pull comps for you on price and rents and give you their perspective.

I am not from the area, but just from looking at google maps/street view I think you may have a hard time finding tenants who will want to live there.  

Lastly, this is a homepath property and they don't care for investors- so you may not have any luck getting your offer accepted. 

First question to answer is if you are able to purchase an investment property based on your current DTI. You will also need 20% down minimum.

Personally I would pay off that PMI unless you found an income property that was bringing in more than $300 per month.

Cap rate depends on a lot of things. Is the property in question class A, B or C? What kinds of tenants are you going to attract? 

Cap rate of 6 sounds pretty bad at that price point. Even in Chicago in the best neighborhoods with just a $300k investment you get a 7% cap rate at a minimum. That isn't the best return, but vacancy is low and these areas attract high income tenants. 

I say invest in the Chicago market! Solid returns are all around. I am currently in the process of two sales-  

1. Property was purchased for $40k last year, after a cheap rehab (laminate floors, low grade tiles, etc.) the buyer is now purchasing for $140k with 3% closing cost assistance and we are closing next month. 

2. Property was purchased for $186k in September, after a full rehab the property is now under contract for $395k with 3% closing cost assistance. 

If flipping isn't your thing, there are plenty of multi family properties with NOI of $30k per year and up.

Tenant references are kind of a joke. If they are bad, the Landlord may give a good reference just to get them out of there. 

1. What did your broker comp the property at? Was the sellers broker at the appraisal, providing comps? 

2. Get a second Appraiser to come out

3. Renegotiate the price with seller 

Go back to the family and tell them you would like to accept them, but another applicant is offering $150 additional- and would they match that? 

No way I would go with the guy unless you pulled his credit or background check yourself, saw his most recent paystubs confirming employment and income and got a double deposit. 

I work with many tenants, I was a leasing agent for several years full time. Most tenants prefer to pay online. In Chicago a lot of Landlords use Chase quickpay. There are other providers that provide tenant reporting to the credit bureaus and collect the rent for you, but I believe you need to have several properties to use their services. Most property management companies also have an online payment portal, but then you pay them a monthly fee- usually it is around 7%.