Hey fellow suburban Illinois BPers - Not sure if this has been sent/shared previously, but thought it'd be good to recap - Chicago Agent Magazine recently reported that suburban Chicago was ranked the second-hottest rental market in the nation (Here’s the article.).This confirms what a lot of us have seen: demand for rentals is really strong in the suburbs right now.

I can second that @Wale Lawal is amazing and knows what he's talking about! 

BPCON attracts investors from all experience levels, including folks looking for their first or second deal.

I’d recommend waiting till you have a cushion of some sort depending on your comfort level before you take the plunge and buy the second deal.

We eat the first one, thy get a picture of all the glory the plumber pulled out and the second time they get billed.

The second you are introducing metrics to change your marketing that have nothing to do with generating the leads you need, you introduce uncertainty to your systems. 

Nightly rates: Yes, but the benchmarks should also be lower.Year 2 turnaround: What strategies could we implement to project a higher ROI in our second year?

I renovated the first floor already (where I currently live), and now that I am evicting my tenant (yippee lol) I am looking to renovate the second floor when she leaves.I was hoping to do a HELOC, but after looking into it realized my only option is a Conventional Cash out up to 75% Loan to Value.

I grew up in the real estate industry watching my father raise money with a PPM for large multifamily value add projects and a developments.

A second STR in a market with year-round cash flow potential might balance out your portfolio and give you more consistent income.