All Forum Posts by: Sean Douglas

So I inherited a house in 2019 and ended up embarking on a rehab to fix and sell it. I finished it in December of 2021 and since then have spent a lot of time working on personal things and figuring out the goals I set and want to pursue seriously. This sparked a huge passion for real estate and it is very clear to me that I want to pursue something along the lines of an inspector or an appraiser.

I would be open to other things but those are the two that heavily interest me. I have reached out to multiple inspectors and have had no luck. I have not found a personal reference to an appraiser to speak to so I have not reached out to an appraiser I am sure online there is information but my issue is online only can cover certain things. A conversation in person can help me decide which I want to be and what it would take to get the correct training and education to be one of those things. Ideally I would like to talk to one of each regarding an inspector and an appraiser. Though I will happily take any guidance I can get.

I know people may say that an appraiser and an inspector are completely different things and have different skill sets but both interest me heavily. I spent many years in sales and service in automotive so I am comfortable with the mechanical and labor nature of inspector. I have a high attention to detail and don't mind attics, a roof or a crawl space.

An appraiser I know takes an incredible amount of schooling and is more analytical and numbers based while not spending a large amount of time in the house which I also find an appeal to. I am very driven and I want a career dealing with real estate in this way as an agent really doesn't have a high appeal to me. So all the leg work is not really a factor to me if I could get someone to show me the ropes or even guide me in the right direction.

Overall I am really just hoping to speak to someone with experience in one of these two fields or who maybe has experience in something else real estate related that would be open to discussing it. Any and all responses and guidance is extremely appreciated. :)

I am brand new to real estate investing and I am hoping genuinely the BP community can help me out. I am in a somewhat unique situation and would love some references and guidance on the issues I have. 

I have a home that was built in the mid 1950s and needs major renovation. I own the house outright and need help finding a reliable and quality contractor who won't try to gouge me. I am also looking for an agent or a contractor who does flips in this area who can provide me with the best value adds. the house is currently a 3 bd 1.5 bath and turning it into a 3bd 2 bth I am unsure how it would work due to the layout being a bit odd. Looks like parts of the building were built as additions probably in the 70s.

I am living in the house and have done quite a bit of renovation already but I have essentially hit my skill barrier. I am concerned about cost to a degree but I feel if I have the correct guidance on what would be the smart way to use my money on the house it could be of huge value to me.

Any and all suggestions and guidance are welcome and appreciated. 

The area for this property is South Suburbs of Chicago IL. Alsip - Oak Lawn - Crestwood Area.