All Forum Posts by: Victor So

I know you said Chicagoland but exactly what area are you in? If you’re in a Chicago suburb, could you Airbnb? If you’re in the city, could you rent by room? I do a combination of both and has worked for me despite having a high mortgage. DM me if you want to discuss. 

Hey @Krunal Patel ! I’m going to be moving to Schaumburg soon! We should connect. You mentioned you want to do long-term rentals. So, are you looking at purely investment properties or is Househacking an option? 

@Bob Floss II  is the man!

Hi Mark, is your buyer currently in Chicago? Also, is he/she looking to househack or buying as an investment property?

Quote from @Alvin C.:

Hey everyone! I'm a new investor interested in house hacking a in Chicago. I prefer living closer to the city and like areas such as Logan, Wicker, etc. but I'm open to other areas. Would love to connect with anyone experienced in house hacking in Chicago!

What are good areas? Are there good opportunities in Chicago? 

Looks like you got some great advice above. I’ve househacked for the past 6 years and acquired a handful of properties this way. Let me know if I can be of any assistance! 

Quote from @Yanaki Bitsin:

Hello everyone I'm new to real estate and trying to learn as much as I can. Right now, I'm working on getting pre-approved to buy a property and want to make the best decision in terms of optionality (exit strategies). Right now, I have come to the conclusion from everything that I have consumed so far on the internet that STR and MTR strategies are the best in terms of ROI and producing cashflow. So I do want to eventually get involved with it, but because my credit isn't great and my starting capital isn't much (less than 10k), I can probably qualify to buy something under $200k, so I'm thinking about buying something for myself as FTHB to live in and then having the option to rent it out, ideally as a mix of STR and MTR, but I would be happy if I could just do the MTR. My questions are:

1. how can I check with the HOA that I have the option to rent it out as MTR or STR?

2. and in terms of location, how can I research which areas have demand and the gap?

Hey!
1) Your real estate agent should be able to find out that information for you by contacting the HOA manager. However, note that most condos on the north side of Chicago ban airbnbs. In addition, many condos require 1 year leases when renting out. You may have more luck in the suburbs but you need to check with the village. There are some suburban cities that allow Airbnb, some that don’t, and some who have no regulations around it. All in all, do your due diligence by looking up bylaws and checking with the city. 
2) Airdna works. But you can also just go on Airbnb’s website or app and perform various searches to see what STRs and MTRs are going for. This process takes longer, but I find that it gives you a better impression of the location and market. 

@Kadeidra Honey-Brooks I've had situations like this where I needed to cancel a booking for a guest. First off, I wouldn't just cancel on your end since this will affect your superhost status (or prevent you from getting it). I would first explain the situation to the guest and see if the guest would cancel on their end. You could also provide an extra $50-100 bucks to assist them in finding another place to book. Usually, this works for me. Otherwise, you can contact the airbnb help desk and ask them if they would assist you in helping the guest find other accommodations although you'd have to come up with a good explanation as to why you need to move them. For example, I've had to move a guest before because of a flooding incident in my basement. I called airbnb and explained to them that this was a "safety" issue and needed help finding another place for them. As soon as they heard the word "safety," they were very prompt and provide accommodations right away. 

@Jonathan Klemm It’s really weird. I’ve never heard of this either until recently when I showed 2 condos in different buildings in Lincoln Park which had this 1-2 year max rental restriction. I was confused at first. Thought they meant owners weren’t allowed to rent their units until 1-2 years later but I was wrong. I wonder if this mostly a Lincoln Park thing. 

Just curious - what is your strategy you would want to employ?? 

Quote from @Jordan Mathews:

I'm looking to house hack a 3 to 4-unit property in the city of Chicago and I'd love to connect with some local investors to get advice. If anyone in the area is open to meeting for coffee (my treat of course) or hopping on a call to discuss strategies for getting started, I would greatly appreciate it!

I currently live in a 3 bed 2 bath condo in Bucktown that I bought just before the pandemic. I'm not sure how this unit will play into my strategy moving forward but I've considered selling it or keeping it and renting it out.

Hey Jordan, I’ve househacked quite a few properties on the NW side of Chicago. Happy to share my experiences. DM me!