All Forum Posts by: Sebastian Nadal

I'm in Rogers Park, Chicago. I have several people interested in being my roommate. So far, I have two people who seem they could good tenants. I did find them on Craigslist though.

My mom has one property in Romeoville that she rents out. She always used Zillow and made them apply through there. That way she could see income, credit score, background check, etc. Then she would have them provide a landlord to verify renter history.

Since these possible tenants didn't apply through Zillow, I was wondering how I should go about getting this information? I do have a listing in Zillow, should I make them apply through there? 

So far, I was thinking of having them send me their whole credit karma, send me their last paystubs, and send a landlord to verify renter's history. Only part I got stuck on was how to get a background check. I'd ideally like to do this process and not cost much money, but having a good roommate does matter to me. For anyone who I think might be a good tenant, I'd meet them for coffee/food so we can see how we vibe in person. 

Anyone have any suggestions?

Quote from @Jason Bales:

@Sebastian Nadal

Welcome to the exciting world of Real Estate Investing. I am the VP of OmniKey Realty LLC and we specialize in working with investors to grow their real estate portfolio. I have attached a video from our CEO on the Basics of Investing. Let me know if you find it helpful.

 Thank you! I appreciate it.

Quote from @Jonathan Klemm:

Yo yo yo @Sebastian Nadal!  Which Illinois Suburb are you from?  I am orginally from Elgin, but living down in Logan Square area of Chicago proper!

I love to think about my vision in the ABZ format:

A = Where am I right now

B = What is my most important next step

Z = What's my final destination

I try to avoid thinking or worrying about cdefg, which is almost exactly what you are doing!  Awesome job

If you are interested in some local Chicago Meetups here is the list BP has:  https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521-real-estate-events-...

I have a FULL LIST OF ALL THE CHICAGO MEETUPS that I will send you!  Hope we can see you are our upcoming meetup!

 I am from Naperville! Logan Square is a nice neighborhood, love going there.

I like your ABZ format. I feel I have a rough idea, which is..I'm in Rogers Park, my next important step is to wait out 1.5 years until I can fully rent out the condo, but for the meanwhile get a roommate to save more money. And my final destination is Lake View haha that's the dream.

Thanks for the meetups link! Definitely want to show up to one.

Quote from @Aaron Zimmerman:

Quote from @Sebastian Nadal:

Hi!

My name is Sebastian, and I'm from a suburb of Illinois, but I just got my first 2 bd/2ba in Chicago earlier this year. I am not exactly sure what my goal is for the long run, but for the time being I'm looking to get a roommate, then after 2 years, to fully rent out my place and hopefully get some cash flow. Ideally, my dream is to have a condo in my favorite neighborhood of Chicago (Lake View).

I'm 24 years old. I went to DePaul University for Psychology. I work in IT and I teach a bit of piano on the side. I love going out to try new drinks and try new food. My favorite sport is boxing and I like to run in my spare time. I'm pretty easy going and always down to make friends, so if anyone is around here wants to connect, let me know. 

 Sebastian - welcome to the forums and thanks for posting. I love lakeview as well and live in the area. Agreed that it's the best neighborhood in the city!

Happy to be a resource for you. I'm an investor and used to house hack. 

 Thank you!! Yeah man. Lake View is just so nice. It is my goal to have property there one day. 

Quote from @John Clark:

As others have said, network, network, network. 

Get the roommate and see if you like being a landlord. Before you move out in two years, see what niche of tenants you like, and see if you can market accordingly. For example, some landlords like newlyweds who will move when she gets pregnant but are otherwise quiet. Others would take that 2/2 and rent out each bedroom to undergraduates, or rent to one and allow sublets. Problem comes when you get party animals. Finesse that problem by getting graduate students. Grad students are calmer, quieter, more focused, usually a bit more money. Your niche depends on location and amenities you offer.

 Yes you're right. I will definitely be taking advantage of trying to network with some Chicago people here.

As for looking for a good tenant. I was an undergrad and I had my fun. Although I kept the property nice, I'm definitely going to be weary of that when I search for one. 

Quote from @John Warren:

@Sebastian Nadal welcome to the forums! You are in the right place to connect with other investors here in the Chicago area. I would recommend finding some local meetups to attend, and also tuning into the Straight Up Chicago Investor's Podcast. Chicago has such a great investing community compared to most places in the US I have visited!

Thank you! I'm definitely going to try and find some local meet ups, and I'll be checking out that podcast. 

To be honest, I wasn't sure if buying property in Chicago (Roger's Park) was the right "investment" given our city's problems, but I just love the city so much I just had to get the property when I could. I'm hoping to make this a good start though.

Quote from @John Mason:

@Sebastian Nadal Welcome to BiggerPockets!!  NIce intro and we can connect and I can send you some notes I have made on Real Estate Investing!!

 Thank you! Just sent you a connect and message.

Quote from @Fed Finjap:

Quote from @Sebastian Nadal:

Nice job man. I'm doing a lil house-hack in Rogers Park for 2025. It's just a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom so not a multi-unit unfortunately. I'm trying to save up a down payment for my next place so I can house-hack for real. I'm also looking at Lake View :) Let's connect 

Thanks man. Just sent you a connection request, would love to hear more about your experience in Rogers Park so far

 So far I like Rogers Park. My street is pretty peaceful, lots of families. There are some good food spots around here. I've never felt unsafe, but I hear the danger is mostly around West Rogers Park, and I'm East Rogers Park. My main downside is that it's too quiet lol. I wish I was closer to downtown but not exactly downtown, that's why Lake View is my dream neighborhood haha. Rogers Park is more for older families I feel like, and for me being in my 20s, I'd like to be a bit closer to the action.

But overall, I'm happy with my place, and I like my neighborhood. It takes me 10~ minutes to get on Lake Shore drive, then it's pretty easy to navigate the city. 

Nice job man. I'm doing a lil house-hack in Rogers Park for 2025. It's just a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom so not a multi-unit unfortunately. I'm trying to save up a down payment for my next place so I can house-hack for real. I'm also looking at Lake View :) Let's connect 

Hi!

My name is Sebastian, and I'm from a suburb of Illinois, but I just got my first 2 bd/2ba in Chicago earlier this year. I am not exactly sure what my goal is for the long run, but for the time being I'm looking to get a roommate, then after 2 years, to fully rent out my place and hopefully get some cash flow. Ideally, my dream is to have a condo in my favorite neighborhood of Chicago (Lake View).

I'm 24 years old. I went to DePaul University for Psychology. I work in IT and I teach a bit of piano on the side. I love going out to try new drinks and try new food. My favorite sport is boxing and I like to run in my spare time. I'm pretty easy going and always down to make friends, so if anyone is around here wants to connect, let me know.