Highland, IN · Member since 2012 · 253 posts · 36 votes
I recently decided to focus on this area after talking with a family friend who actively invests in this area (primarily acquires SFRs, rehabs them, and then rents them out). This person is willing to help out/partner on deals I come across, hence my decision to focus on this area (plus the fact that my wife is from here).
I was interested in hearing from other BP members who are active investors in this area. How are people coming across deals in this area (bandit signs, direct mailings, foreclosures, etc.)? Are there any specific areas within NW IN that are seeing a lot of investor purchases? Are investors holding properties as rentals or rehabbing to sell at retail (assuming there is a mix, but is it weighted in a particular direction in this area)? How does Lake County, IN compare to Will County (IL) and south Cook County?
Hopefully some of these questions can spark a good discussion.
Welcome to BP @Kyle B. , and @Michael Cacovski , be sure to read up in the Learn section above its loaded with great information. Be sure to set key word alerts for areas of interest to you like the area you are marketing in. Good luck.
IN has a 2% tax cap on property taxes, I don't know about IL but from the nightmares I hear about property taxes in IL I'd guess they don't.
I'm from Lake County IN (crown point) originally and the investors I know in that area get great rent rates and claim demand is high. Just be wise about your areas.
We've had a lot of luck in Northern Indiana, but not that much in the Gary area. For some reason we've had trouble getting the spreads that we want there. In all fairness, we don't invest directly in real estate, but we do buy the delinquent mortgages on the properties, collect the deals through until we get the property back, and then sell off the real estate to investors. What we have found in Will County is that the discounts we were getting were much less than what we were getting in towns like South Bend. Since we're managing the portfolio on a National level, its sometimes hard to get the best spreads from lover 1000 miles away. I am interested to read this thread and we love doing business in IN, but in many areas, we don't have to resources to maximize returns for our portfolios.