House Hack - 2 Flat in Uptown Chicago near Andersonville

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House Hack - 2 Flat in Uptown Chicago near Andersonville

Taylor Doyle
Investor 路 Chicago, IL 路 Member since 2019 路 6 posts 路 7 votes

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $520,000
Cash invested: $340,000

This is a House Hack investment property in Uptown Chicago near Andersonville. My wife and I live on the 2nd floor and rent out the first floor. We have been repairing various aspects of the building since 2019. We gut renovated the entire 1st floor, the 2nd floor kitchen and bath and turned the basement into a Garden Unit. It's been a long journey (fired our first GC, GC'd it ourselves, then hired another GC) and we've learned a lot from the experience.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

We wanted to have passive income from rental properties. We also were looking for a condo, but found them all to be very expensive. This building was in the location we wanted and we were excited about the idea of being able to remodel it while making income from the rental.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Searched on Redfin and our Realtors listings. There were several interested buyers. We offered $5k over any other buyer's asking price up to $520k (with proof of verified offer).

How did you finance this deal?

15% down and 30 year Mortgage

How did you add value to the deal?

Nearly gut renovated the entire thing over 5 years

What was the outcome?

We still live here as of 2024! We love the space. It cost way more than we budgeted for. We found out a year ago that we were having a baby and we were able to make a new opening in the first floor so that we could expand into it and use both floors for ourselves. We are preparing to rent out the newly renovated garden unit.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Vet your contractors better and don't let positive past performance excuse current poor performance. Our first contractor in retrospect was not great. They were fast and cheap, but the quality wasn't always there and they were a mess. It got worse over time, since the contractor lost a few key team members and we should've let him go then.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Elizabeth Amidon, Lorenzo with Archetype Construction

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Victor SoBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent 路 Chicago, IL 路 Member since 2017 路 325 posts 路 193 votes
2y
Quote from @Taylor Doyle:

Investment Info:

Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Purchase price: $520,000
Cash invested: $340,000

This is a House Hack investment property in Uptown Chicago near Andersonville. My wife and I live on the 2nd floor and rent out the first floor. We have been repairing various aspects of the building since 2019. We gut renovated the entire 1st floor, the 2nd floor kitchen and bath and turned the basement into a Garden Unit. It's been a long journey (fired our first GC, GC'd it ourselves, then hired another GC) and we've learned a lot from the experience.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

We wanted to have passive income from rental properties. We also were looking for a condo, but found them all to be very expensive. This building was in the location we wanted and we were excited about the idea of being able to remodel it while making income from the rental.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Searched on Redfin and our Realtors listings. There were several interested buyers. We offered $5k over any other buyer's asking price up to $520k (with proof of verified offer).

How did you finance this deal?

15% down and 30 year Mortgage

How did you add value to the deal?

Nearly gut renovated the entire thing over 5 years

What was the outcome?

We still live here as of 2024! We love the space. It cost way more than we budgeted for. We found out a year ago that we were having a baby and we were able to make a new opening in the first floor so that we could expand into it and use both floors for ourselves. We are preparing to rent out the newly renovated garden unit.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Vet your contractors better and don't let positive past performance excuse current poor performance. Our first contractor in retrospect was not great. They were fast and cheap, but the quality wasn't always there and they were a mess. It got worse over time, since the contractor lost a few key team members and we should've let him go then.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Elizabeth Amidon, Lorenzo with Archetype Construction


Wow! It looks like you went through a lot. Congrats on getting through it. Glad it all worked out. 馃檶馃憦

Victor So Real Estate LLC517 Reviews
WebsiteView Page
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  • Victor SoBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent 路 Chicago, IL 路 Member since 2017 路 325 posts 路 193 votes
    2y
    Quote from @Taylor Doyle:

    Investment Info:

    Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

    Purchase price: $520,000
    Cash invested: $340,000

    This is a House Hack investment property in Uptown Chicago near Andersonville. My wife and I live on the 2nd floor and rent out the first floor. We have been repairing various aspects of the building since 2019. We gut renovated the entire 1st floor, the 2nd floor kitchen and bath and turned the basement into a Garden Unit. It's been a long journey (fired our first GC, GC'd it ourselves, then hired another GC) and we've learned a lot from the experience.

    What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

    We wanted to have passive income from rental properties. We also were looking for a condo, but found them all to be very expensive. This building was in the location we wanted and we were excited about the idea of being able to remodel it while making income from the rental.

    How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

    Searched on Redfin and our Realtors listings. There were several interested buyers. We offered $5k over any other buyer's asking price up to $520k (with proof of verified offer).

    How did you finance this deal?

    15% down and 30 year Mortgage

    How did you add value to the deal?

    Nearly gut renovated the entire thing over 5 years

    What was the outcome?

    We still live here as of 2024! We love the space. It cost way more than we budgeted for. We found out a year ago that we were having a baby and we were able to make a new opening in the first floor so that we could expand into it and use both floors for ourselves. We are preparing to rent out the newly renovated garden unit.

    Lessons learned? Challenges?

    Vet your contractors better and don't let positive past performance excuse current poor performance. Our first contractor in retrospect was not great. They were fast and cheap, but the quality wasn't always there and they were a mess. It got worse over time, since the contractor lost a few key team members and we should've let him go then.

    Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

    Elizabeth Amidon, Lorenzo with Archetype Construction


    Wow! It looks like you went through a lot. Congrats on getting through it. Glad it all worked out. 馃檶馃憦

    Victor So Real Estate LLC517 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    2Reply
  • Jonathan KlemmBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Contractor 路 Chicago, IL 路 Member since 2016 路 4k+ posts 路 2k+ votes
    2y

    Wow @Taylor Doyle that's an awesome deal story!  I love that area of Chicago around Uptown, Edgewater, and Andersonville.

    Would love to connect to here your general contractor stories...seems like you had some ups and downs, but most importantly came out on top!

    That tip is spot on Vet your contractors!  One of the hardest lessons for me to learn was to avoid putting bandaids on open wounds, but when I did...I needed to rip the bandaid off instead of thinking it was going to heal without stopping the bleeding first!

    [email protected]
    Quality Builders4.966 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    2Reply
  • Taylor Doyle
    OP
    Investor 路 Chicago, IL 路 Member since 2019 路 6 posts 路 7 votes
    2y
    Quote from @Victor So:
    Quote from @Taylor Doyle:

    Investment Info:

    Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

    Purchase price: $520,000
    Cash invested: $340,000

    This is a House Hack investment property in Uptown Chicago near Andersonville. My wife and I live on the 2nd floor and rent out the first floor. We have been repairing various aspects of the building since 2019. We gut renovated the entire 1st floor, the 2nd floor kitchen and bath and turned the basement into a Garden Unit. It's been a long journey (fired our first GC, GC'd it ourselves, then hired another GC) and we've learned a lot from the experience.

    What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

    We wanted to have passive income from rental properties. We also were looking for a condo, but found them all to be very expensive. This building was in the location we wanted and we were excited about the idea of being able to remodel it while making income from the rental.

    How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

    Searched on Redfin and our Realtors listings. There were several interested buyers. We offered $5k over any other buyer's asking price up to $520k (with proof of verified offer).

    How did you finance this deal?

    15% down and 30 year Mortgage

    How did you add value to the deal?

    Nearly gut renovated the entire thing over 5 years

    What was the outcome?

    We still live here as of 2024! We love the space. It cost way more than we budgeted for. We found out a year ago that we were having a baby and we were able to make a new opening in the first floor so that we could expand into it and use both floors for ourselves. We are preparing to rent out the newly renovated garden unit.

    Lessons learned? Challenges?

    Vet your contractors better and don't let positive past performance excuse current poor performance. Our first contractor in retrospect was not great. They were fast and cheap, but the quality wasn't always there and they were a mess. It got worse over time, since the contractor lost a few key team members and we should've let him go then.

    Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

    Elizabeth Amidon, Lorenzo with Archetype Construction


    Wow! It looks like you went through a lot. Congrats on getting through it. Glad it all worked out. 馃檶馃憦

     Thanks, @Victor So! Lol, we did go through a lot... So many expensive but highly valuable lessons!

    0Reply
  • Taylor Doyle
    OP
    Investor 路 Chicago, IL 路 Member since 2019 路 6 posts 路 7 votes
    2y
    Quote from @Jonathan Klemm:

    Wow @Taylor Doyle that's an awesome deal story!  I love that area of Chicago around Uptown, Edgewater, and Andersonville.

    Would love to connect to here your general contractor stories...seems like you had some ups and downs, but most importantly came out on top!

    That tip is spot on Vet your contractors!  One of the hardest lessons for me to learn was to avoid putting bandaids on open wounds, but when I did...I needed to rip the bandaid off instead of thinking it was going to heal without stopping the bleeding first!

    @Jonathan Klemm, Ya it'd be great to discuss. I signed up for your virtual walk-through on Saturday, so looking forward to that!

    Ripping the band-aid off is right. I have a much keener (but still developing) eye for when to cut ties. Firing our first contractor was an invaluable experience (well, I guess I could put a value on it, but the ROI is going to be worth it, lol)

    1Reply
  • Jonathan KlemmBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Contractor 路 Chicago, IL 路 Member since 2016 路 4k+ posts 路 2k+ votes
    2y

    I 100% feel you @Taylor Doyle....those experiences are honestly priceless! Those types of ROI lessons are intangible!

    Firing people isn't easy but super helpful when it's the right thing to do!

    [email protected]
    Quality Builders4.966 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    0Reply
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