All Forum Posts by: Steve M.

I am doing some research on getting into rental properties.  I am leaning more towards a multifamily deal and have been looking at them in the price range that I know I could afford the mortgage on, and what I could be approved for on a single family home.  

I just read that you can be approved for a multifamily differently than a single family, they will consider up to 75% of the mortgage as covered by the other units.  If this is true then it would substantially better my options regarding the quality of property I can afford.  

Does anyone have any pointers for learning about this?  I would not mind living in a unit for a year to get started.  My inclination to this point has been to just get an affordable 4 unit residence, keep some financial reserve for emergencies, and let the income fund the next one.  

Thank you Gideon, I've joined both Facebook Groups.  I just completed the application for membership for JRLA, I may just wait until January to submit it though since it prorates July-December and the membership renews in January.  As of now, I'm also not an owner/manager of Rental Property.  I'm planning to start that process in the spring once I finish some rehab I'm in the middle of.

I did this type of work for several years.

This is from 9 months ago, however, the "B Box" is really a valve in the front yard with an access pipe on top of it that can be manipulated with a valve key.  In the event that the copper is 3/4" at the valve, then it is almost assuredly 3/4" all the way back to the water main.  If the water main is located on the same side of the street, it's generally easy enough to just go back to it and make a new tap (unless the water main is really old, then it's highly probably that it'll break, and my require a tapped repair saddle.  If the main is across the road, that is another story, you would need to dig on someone else's property, the road can be either open cut, or using a pneumatic mole or mini auger you can get through it.  Sandy ground is going to require digging, unknown buried utilities will also require digging.  I don't believe that Countryside was sandy soil though.

Steve

To add some clarity, covering this pool simply involved lagging some boards around the inside edge of the pool to carry the new joists, the boards were held down the height of the board plus plywood, meeting the edge of the concrete.  They also provided an access, to the pool area via a trap door..

Hello all,

I wonder if there is a group local to the extreme SW suburbs that has a recurring meetup? I'm located in Morris and Joliet is an easily attainable destination for me. I am newly coming into REI, however I have worked construction for over 15 years total (on and off), and have rehabbed my two homes. I am currently in the middle of a bathroom renovation on my current residence, hope to be complete by spring, planning to pull equity out and purchase one, maybe two, fourplex units.

     My goal is to just start building a relationship with experienced people, I could lend a hand on occasion as well.  

Thanks,

Steve

I'm new to learning about REI, however I'm pretty experienced in the construction side of things. Someone I know who rehabs homes actually abandoned an indoor pool, placing a false floor over it, and simply expanded the living space. I don't know if he knocked out the drain or placed a sump pit in it to keep it from filling up however. I don't believe that an indoor pool is really very desirable, I don't even think most people want an outdoor pool?

@Nicole Heasley

I guess I was not aware you could pull hard cash out of a credit card. Something to look into. I think I'll be good for a couple of multi-family properties, but this could get me a flip. Thank you. I have not had a credit card in about 15 years or more.

How do you use Credit Cards to buy a house?  I can see their usefulness funding a rehab, but I can't see how you'd pay the down payment with them.

Hello all, 

     I'm new to the forum and live in Illinois.  I'm currently reading some blog posts, articles and some of the tutorials.  I am looking to get into buying rental properties, ideally starting next spring.  I'm going to spend some time working on learning up until that point. 

     I have experience working in the construction industry for several years, I moved from there into technology, to IT networking and system administration, cybersecurity to working on Industrial Control Systems.  My reasons for pursuing real estate investing are just to balance out my retirement options, essentially supplementing my income with rental agreements.  

     I currently own a house, which happens to be my second house.  I'm likely going to sell in the spring and use the equity to purchase hopefully a couple of properties, staying in my camper for 6 months and saving for another one.  I am uncertain if I'm going to carry on in that manner or look to obtain another home to live in before winter, which could be a duplex with the intent to again move out of in the spring to rent out.  

     Anyhow, I'm mainly looking to learn, read a lot, probably ask some questions, and dive in.  

Thanks, 

Steve