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All Forum Posts by: Tom O.

Tom O. has started 10 posts and replied 208 times.

1. Did you take a security deposit? If the answer is yes you do NOT want to evict unless you are confident your security deposit game is perfect. In evictions the tenant rights attorneys ask prospective clients one question: did your landlord take a security deposit? If the answer is yes, they will take the case. If the answer is no, they will typically refuse to take the case. 

2. I would meet with him and bring a "cash for keys" agreement. I would also bring any notices required by Chicago or Illinois for eviction to move forward (mediation thing, etc.).  But cash for keys is great because it provides the carrot and the stick. Carrot -- take my $500 and leave. Stick: eviction. If you bring both and serve the pre-eviction stuff it makes it more clear that you will evict. 

This is where you need to talk to your eviction attorney NOW not later after you've already screwed it up and wasted time.

3. If you don't have an attorney for your eviction I would retain this guy now to get your advice on exactly how to move forward and what notices are required, etc. But I think knowing how backed up Cook County is and how slow the process is moving (all cases go to one court like a central station) I would do anything I could to avoid eviction including cash for keys. Maybe you pay him $500 to get out. Find out what the attorney will charge and offer the tenant some amount of that. 

His name is Rich Magnone and he knows his stuff. This is his highly informative blog: 
https://www.chicagoeviction.co...

Read David Lindahl's book: Multi-Family Millions. 

Post: Bad Tenants Want Lease Renewal

Tom O.Posted
  • Chicago
  • Posts 212
  • Votes 163

Read their lease carefully. See if it has a "holdover clause." So you need to terminate the tenancy in many states with a notice of varying lengthy. Often 30 days. Figure out your local/state law requirements. That's step one. 

Step two: if you do nothing it becomes a month to month. But if you give them notice you are not going to renew and you are terminating the current tenancy that should make it NOT become a month to month. Again, check your state/local rules/laws/ordinance and read the lease to see exactly what it says. 

Step three: if you have a holdover clause it will say something like: if you stay after being given notice of termination of tenancy you are a "holdover" tenant and your rent will increase by $ XX a month/week. You can put in your notice with a citation to your lease that if you stay after xx date you are a holdover and your rent will be $ XX. 

I used that clause to nicely ask a tenant to leave at the end of the lease terms and they did leave. This was NOT California, however, it was in a much more landlord friendly state. Good luck.

In LA, it would be incredibly expensive to build a multi-unit building. Generally, new RE investors start by buying a small multi-unit and fixing it up and leasing it or selling or re-fiing it to get their money out and repeat. Or do a few light flips to get the hang of rehabbing costs. 

But for a noob investors to say "I want to build a multi-unit building" in a place like LA it's like going to Hollywood, walking into a studio and telling them you want to star in a major action film. 

My advice: 

1. Start small. 

2. Start somewhere affordable. Not LA. 

3. Read David Lindahl's book "multi-family millions." 

Post: Ima New Veteran with minimal knowleds

Tom O.Posted
  • Chicago
  • Posts 212
  • Votes 163

What's the question? Why don't you raise the rent a little each year to get closer to market rent? If you have equity in the building you can HELOC or Re-Fi to possibly pull it out and buy another building but make sure it still cash flows.

Not a scam. I only take cash for the move in. R.J. Lange is right/wrong. He's saying "most companies or apartment complexes" won't take cash which may be true. But you are not dealing with a company. You are dealing with an individual owner. That's why cash is required. Cashier's checks can be fake. Electronic funds can be backtracked. Older landlords prefer cash so they know they got paid. If the manager had keys and opened the place they should have the authority to lease the place. Execute the lease AT the apartmen when you hand over the cash and make sure you have working keys at that time. 

I'm confident this is NOT a scam. The scammers don't typically have keys and access to the units. 



Originally posted by @Alex Ballesteros:
Hi R.J., thanks for the response. I love the place, & really want it (if i'm chosen to be the tenant), so what advice would you give me if I were to proceed? Can I safeguard myself in any way (if I proceed by giving the owner cash for first month rent + deposit)?

Originally posted by @R.J. Lange:

Alex- This is not common practice. Most companies or apartment complexes will have all payments online and avoid cash or checks. Cashiers Check for same day move ins are the only exception- funds need to clear prior to move in. 

Applications are very thorough and will include all of the information you listed- typical. 

Either Love it and ask lots of questions or leave it. 

Post: Lawyer recommendation for LLC

Tom O.Posted
  • Chicago
  • Posts 212
  • Votes 163

And what's the point of this structure in your mind? 

You're really putting the cart before the horse here aren't you? You don't even have your residence and you're already trying to get around the mortgage/investor rules on your second place which you also don't own yet? I can think of so many other things you should be thinking about and not this. 

But to  give you something of an answer: your best bet is what's called NOMAD where you keep buying your own residence and live in it for a year before repeating. That way you keep getting to put down a low down payment and are not running afoul of anything. Plus, once you buy something what do you really think your odds are of having the ability to buy another something right away? That you want to live in? 

I love my guy Juan Hernandez. Seven-Zero-8-374-238 TWO. He's rehabbed 3-4 apartments for me; two roofs and a ton of other stuff. At a good price with quality results. 

Originally posted by @Henry Lazerow:

My favorite area right now is Albany Park plus it's a great place to live for those who want to House Hack. Rents are shooting up and for nice rehabs the tenants are 700+ credit scores. Lots of higher end bars popping up and new spec home builds. Prices for multi family still cashflow if you update the units and bring them up to market rate. Also Irving Park, West Edgewater, West Logan Square and on the southside Mckinley Park, Bridgeport and Brighton Park are all on the up. Huge increases in rent in Mckinley/Bridgeport today then even 3 years ago and it's still gentrifying fast. 

Couldn't agree more about Albany Park. Great place to house hack. Probably won't cash flow so great but nice for a househack. My buddy's three flat is going up on the MLS today or later this week. 4533 N. Kimball. I like Little Village onthe SW side as well.

 https://www.realtor.com/reales...