All Forum Posts by: Shawn M Hannan

Hi @Mark Ainley, and an early Happy New Year to you!  :)

We were trying to sell--and ultimately sold--our former home in Hyde Park, but for a period of time it was also listed for rent.  During that time I got a lot of interest from voucher-holders wanting to get into a Mobility Area--so much so that I called CHA to confirm the highest rent amount they would support for a voucher-holder.  It was well below the rent I was asking, so I kept turning away prospective tenants on that basis.  I don't have any other properties in Hyde Park, but if you don't already maintain connections to landlords in Hyde Park or other mobility areas, I would think it would be worth having some.  They should be a decent source of referrals to people actively looking to move.

Shawn

@Erin M. I'm very interested to hear if you find anyone.  We're moving soon, and I had hoped that rather than relying on the moving company, which has already told me they won't disconnect the gas line for the dryer or reconnect it at the new place, there would be someone who specializes in this service--disconnect, relocate, reconnect.  However, I've found no such service providers as of yet...

@Brian Ploszay @Timothy W. @Russell Brazil  Thanks to all three of you for your input!  Calling the roofer was definitely the first step, and the company owner and a team member came this morning and got to work.  They identified the problem--an electrical conduit to the a/c unit on the roof terminates at a junction box (that lies flat on the roof surface) that wasn't sufficiently sealed up.  Water that entered there went in a couple of directions, resulting in ceiling damage on our top (third) level and ceiling damage on our middle (second) level.  Though there is no visible evidence of damage to the walls, the water clearly dropped through an interior wall cavity to make it to our middle level.  Tomorrow morning they're going to open up the ceiling and use fans (I think) to direct air upward into the cavities.  After--what, a couple of days?--they'll seal everything back up and repaint.  I believe the owner is earnest in his intention to rectify everything, and my natural desire would be to just let them do what needs to be done and "have faith."  The more cautious part of me says I need an impartial third party who really knows what they're doing to assess the situation and ensure we don't overlook anything.  I'll mention that my estimate is that I collected between 30 and 40 gallons of water, so something more than that actually penetrated.  I'm attaching a photo for reference.  @Brian Ploszay @Timothy W. I'll follow up with you via PM.  Oh, last thing:  We had a leak about a week earlier in a different spot due to insufficient flashing around an exhaust pipe.  Okay, thanks again!

Hello All,

I'm wondering to whom I should turn for guidance in the following scenario.  I had a roofer do a tear-off and new roof installation of a flat roof on a 3-story townhome in Chicago last summer.  As far as we know, the roof performed satisfactorily for several months, but winter precipitation has brought two leaks to light.  There has been some significant interior damage as a result of the poor roof installation.  My question is who to bring in to determine the full extent of the damage.  Of course there are obvious issues with both wall and ceiling drywall, but I don't know to what extent we should "tear things open" to find less obvious damage.  Do I hire a "public adjuster"?  A general contractor?  Someone else?

Thanks BP Community!

Shawn

Oh, by the way, @Andrew Faukner, you're right:  I'm trying to create one of those win-win scenarios people talk about.  However, I recognize that there's some truth to the old saying, "nice guys finish last."  Which is why I put it out there to the BP crowd...

@Greg H. I went to UT.  You?  :)

Thanks to all of you who replied--I appreciate the contributions to the conversation!

@Greg H. Can you follow up on the "appraisal with a quick flip..." comment?  I would think if other properties in the area have sold for $50-60k, and I make measurable improvements to a $30-35k property to the tune of $20k, it should appraise at $50-60k.  Of course, it might not appraise as desired, but why would it be more of a "crap shoot" than any other flip (or any other appraisal, for that matter)?

Thanks again!

Shawn

Hello All,

I've been working with a lower-income buyer who is anxious to stop renting and start building equity in her first (owner-occupied) home. Due to her income and debt-to-income ratio, she will definitely be going FHA, and her max sales price will be in the $50-60k range.

Independent of the above fact, I've been shopping for my first flip target.

I recently looked at a $35k property (in Northwest Indiana) with the aforementioned client, and she generally liked it. It is in need of a good bit of work, at least from a cosmetic standpoint. I asked the buyer if she would pay $50k+ for the property if it was in better condition, and she said she would. I'm thinking if I could get the property at below the asking price--let's say $30k--I could do some updates and resell it to the buyer. The primary focus of the rehab would be on ensuring it would pass FHA inspection, with any other cosmetic work filed under "nice to have."

This would obviously not be a project with a great ROI, but I do think it could make a little money. More importantly, it would allow me to execute my first flip with a pre-identified buyer. The experience of doing is of greater interest to me than the amount of money made on the deal.

My questions for the BP community are:

1.  The buyer has told me she would be happy and comfortable with this arrangement--me as seller, her as buyer.  Still, I would want her to have an attorney or trusted advisor, and I would want the whole thing to be as transparent and above-board as possible.  How do I undertake this endeavor in a way that would withstand ethics scrutiny, if any were to come?

2.  What other "gotchas" do I need to watch out for?  (Yes, I recognize the biggest one--that the buyer doesn't work out.  I'm looking for gotchas other than that one.)

Thanks!

Shawn

For those of you who might be slightly interested in knowing the outcome of this, I joined a recently-established Listing Leaders group ("Team Cowboy") based out of Hammond, IN.  I continue with my existing firm (Ultimate Realty Group) on the Illinois side.  Thank you to @Adrien C., @Julia Myers, @Ray J., @Melissa Rios, @Jay Bhatt!

Hello, all! I'm looking for a brokerage that serves the southeast Chicago and Northwest Indiana markets, where I can hang IL and IN broker licenses. My goal is to assist investors while also building a portfolio of my own.  Ideally it will be a brokerage "of investors, for investors." Pointers?

Thanks,

Shawn

Thanks, @Mark Sewell -- appreciate it.  It didn't flood.  My best guess is it would take around $60k to make it attractive enough to fetch $400k.  My obvious concern is that we'd put $60k into it, have it off the market for a while to get there, arrive in September/October and find ourselves having to accept an offer at $380k.  It sure seems like everything, even the places that have been nicely redone, is selling at a discount right now.

Our agent down there canceled the listing and is re-entering it at $347k.

Shawn