All Forum Posts by: Joseph Tuczak

@Henry Lazerow thank you for the response. 

Confirmed- 3 residential and 1 retail. The retail (corner store) unit was converted to residential over 20 years ago. As such the building was zoned B1-1 due to 1 unit intended for retail use.

It would be great to see a use case for the conversion that allows convectional financing for the zoning change to residential RM-4.5.

Hi Team,

I have been renovating a 4 unit building in South Shore/The Bush. I was able to purchase the property through a commercial loan, as residential financing is not supported by through commercial zoning. This required previous rental property ownership history and a personal balance sheet the bank used to underwrite their risk.

Due to these barriers to entry, I have been exploring a zoning change from B1-1 to RM 4.5 thinking the change will open up the pool of potential buyers with the ease of residential financing. This would in-turn increase the building value.

I have identified total costs and time for this potential change, and was curious what resources or anecdotes you may have to analyze the cost of the zoning change vs the residual outcome and lift in value driven by an increased buyer pool. Worst case, I can look up zoning changes and match the address with recent sales, however, if no permits were pulled I do not know if renovations occurred further increasing the value. Happy to edit the post and share details as needed- thank you!

Hi all, if a multifamily asset is within the Opportunity Zone outlined by the city, what measures should I take to understand what it may qualify for?  Are the specific tax documents I should request or consult with a particular accountant?

I appreciate the help, and happy to provide more context if needed

Hi Team- after almost a year of lost rents, legal bills, police involvement, & destruction of property, two tenants/units were evicted by the sheriff.  After restoring the shattered windows, common areas, and the units themselves that were left in poor condition as a result of their tenancy, I was hit with two code violations that will be large construction projects (garage repairs & window sills).  I am doing the right thing by improving the quality of housing for the other tenants, but it has run up the bills with a lack of income to support further drastic repairs that are benign & coming out of pocket (as I had underwritten). 

I have a court date in mid-October.  Has anyone received a building code violation and attended the hearing?  Do I need to hire an attorney to represent me for this case?  I want to explain the financial burden I have absorbed, taking on risks to provide good housing they might not see, before chalking up two more substantial projects.  

Thank you for any thoughts!

Hi Team, does anyone have recommendations or partners they work with for housing/resident placement in South Shore?  I am currently marketing several units on the CHA website, and recently heard of Center for Housing & Health that takes Landlord housing provider interest.

I appreciate any thoughts or recommendations!

Hi team, unfortunately cash for keys and a few other mitigation strategies did not work and we needed to leave it to court. After several months the judge officially ordered an eviction with the cook county sheriffs office. It has been just over 2 months since the eviction was ordered (8 months all in at this point) and my attorney has been unresponsive to call, email and text (left them a google score as a request for communication). I am watching the cook county eviction log and emailed the sheriffs department with no luck. Hoping to learn any tips you may have and can help me problem solve:

Is there a clear way to understand where an eviction order is in the sheriffs department queue?

How long are your sheriff lockouts taking in Chicago once the judge has ordered?

Happy to share link and case number but figured that was sensitive to posting rules.

Thank you both, had several vendors scope it out and most were $750 door + $450 motor.  Went with someone slightly below and adding for reference to others.

Hello Team,

I recently closed on a 3 unit north side property and have a 2 car garage that has been unused for the past ~10 years, sitting on $250/mo of potential income.  The issue is, the garage lift door was installed onto the track to enclose the garage but the remaining overhead supports and track to roll up and open were not installed and various pieces are missing from the parts I could find.  Additionally, there is no insulation on the interior and some exterior siding that could be replaced.  I have called several recommended handymen to see if this project would be in their scope of work but have not heard back.  Hoping to see what they would be able to complete/assess before taking it a step further and engaging a contractor.

Do you have any handymen recommendations?  Should I reach out to a contractor for this type of work?  Looking to BP for any further tips and comments to make this efficient, thank you all!