All Forum Posts by: Tom Casey

Hey @Damon Aniton!

Avoid the natural disasters and come invest in Chicago! I love what you said that you are not concerned with cashflow. Too many people have tunnel vision for cashflow and overlook the big picture of owning real estate and building net worth/generational wealth, especially in rapidly appreciating markets like many neighborhoods in Chicago. You can get beautiful turn-key 3-4 unit buildings in some of the best neighborhoods here for under $1M. Take a look at 2526 W Lexington. I have that under contract with an out-of-state buyer and the numbers are going to work out amazing for him! He will cashflow pretty decently on a 15% down loan. 

Would love to talk more with you. Chicago is where it's at!

@Lori Fentem Operating an MTR would definitely be more viable for a condo. You just need to make sure that the association is okay with shorter leases. Most HOAs only allow 12+ month leases. However, there are exceptions to that rule, you just have to do some digging. And keep in mind, even the ones that do accept shorter leases almost always limit them to 30+ days. That's why MTR is generally the better option in Chicago. Lots of hospitals, students, travellers, etc in Chicago. There's a strong market for MTRs here, especially in areas closer to downtown.

Hope that helps!

Hey John!

Good insight from @Brennan Crick. I think having water come up from the drains is much more common than actual leaking/flooding. A lot of times it can happen neighborhood-by-neighborhood because if the city's pipes are backed up on certain streets many people will be experiencing water in their basements. This actually just happened at one of my listings during that super heavy Sunday rainstorm a couple weeks ago and I only discovered it when I came for a showing that morning, super bad timing! lol

After it happened, I had a plumber come to assess the situation and he said that it's just water backing up in the clogged city sewer system and making its way up through the drains in the basement. He said that there is a clear and definite way to fix this and it would be adding or replacing the big clapper valve in front of the house that will stop water from coming in through the city pipes even if it's backed up. I'm not a plumber, so someone correct me if anything here is wrong, but that was my understanding of what he told me the solution is.

As for knowing if this has been done at a property, I would definitely ask the current owner if they've had any of that work done. If you don't trust the owner's word for whatever reason, I would also ask an inspector to take a look and see if they recognize any signs/patterns that would identify water entry and whether any work has been done or not.

Hope this helps. Cheers!

Thanks for the mention Paul! 

@Stephen Macenas please take a couple minutes to read this forum post that I wrote about STR considerations in Chicago: https://www.biggerpockets.com/topics/1062934 

Would love to connect further if you have more questions. Cheers!

Try Adi Stanciu (773) 552-0104

He did a big project for a close friend of mine. Very nice guy and knows what he's doing.

 @Mike D'Arrigo Chicago is great on paper for Airbnbs/STRs, but unfortunately the regulations are too restrictive for it to make sense for most investors. Please see my article on considerations for STRs in Chicago here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/... 

Cheers!

@Paul De Luca Thanks for the mention my friend!

@Abby S. Congratulations on what sounds like a homerun deal so far! Appraised at over $100K purchase, that's huge! I specialize in downtown and surrounding A+ class neighborhoods and I'm very familiar with the Wicker Park market. It's generally almost always worth it to improve your properties with nice finishes in these types of areas for two main reasons:

1) You will actually be able to charge more for higher end finishes and features. Unlike other neighborhoods in Chicago, Wicker and other A-Class neighborhoods have a massive pool of high-paying renters looking for properties in tip-top shape with great layouts. Having good taste in your rehabs and hiring a contractor who is super tight and professional is going to pay you dividends in the future through higher rents, prime tenants, and near-zero vacancy. If you go cheap on your rehab, cut corners, and/or go with cookie cutter mid-grade finishes, it's going to show on the back-end when you can't charge as much and you have fewer interested prospects.

2) The rehab will add significant value to your property and you can leverage your newly acquired equity into more investments. So in your example of whether or not you should replace a boiler, just get that CENTRAL AIR! Even if it's expensive, it is well worth the investment for the long-term. When you're getting it appraised, they will value it higher knowing that it has central air and the work will pay for itself through the equity you will build. Also, renters in the $3K+/month range prefer units that have central air.

I love what you said about hacking it up once and never looking back. This is 100% the correct way to be thinking about this. Rehab it right, do it nice, pay the premium, and just watch it build generational wealth for you and your family over time. If you spend your time counting pennies, you'll miss out on opportunities to make dollars. 

Hope that helps. Cheers!

@Victor Steffen I agree with you that STR properties should at least pencil out to break even as normal rentals in most markets (including Chicago). City of Chicago's Airbnb/STR regulations are very stringent and it usually doesn't make sense to pursue STRs in Chicago due to the restrictive regulations. Please take a couple minutes to read this article I wrote on STRs in Chicago:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/530-short-term-vacation-rental-discussions/topics/1062934-looking-to-buy-an-airbnb-str-in-chicago-read-this-first

I agree with Kenneth. Abt is where it's at!

Hi Jessica!

Would you be interested in becoming an IL licensed broker? Our team The Axon Group has a multitude of rental leads within the city and suburbs. I'd love to connect and answer any of your questions if you'd be interested in joining!