Hoarder house turned into a *gem* in NW Chicago!

Hoarder house turned into a *gem* in NW Chicago!

Lender 路 Chicago IL 路 Member since 2020 路 357 posts 路 229 votes

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment.

Single family home in NW Chicago. This is a 1920s brick bungalow that was a hoarder house. It was a foreclosure and bankruptcy property listed on the MLS. Our realtor helped us negotiate this deal against 4 other offers--2 of which were higher than ours. Our terms were flexible and such that sellers could leave the property as is and we would take care of everything. In addition, we allowed the sellers to live in the house for a week post closing to give them extra time to pack and move.

We started renovations May 18, 2020 and completed them Sept 1, 2020. This was a full gut rehab with the addition of large dormers on the 2nd floor, a brand new 2 car garage, and a back deck. Open house is this weekend--Sat & Sun Sept 5-6, 2020!

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

Our goal is first to provide solutions for homeowners in distressed situations by offering flexible terms and strong cash offers. We knew we could negotiate a better price on this type of house considering the condition it was in. Older single family homes (with good bones) on the NW side of Chicago are a rarer find being that many generations of families typically live in them and pass them down to their kids. When one comes up, it's always a great opportunity!

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

It was listed on the MLS. We work with a few realtors who scour the internet for us as well as find us off market deals. In order to secure this deal we:
-Waived Inspection
-Gave a $5,000 Earnest Money deposit
-Agreed to take the house in As-Is condition
-Offered Cash
-Offered flexibility by giving sellers more time to stay in the house and pack--they remained for 1 week post closing

How did you finance this deal?

-Cash on the purchase
-Hard money for 100% of the rehab

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

*Lender: Continuum Capital (Hard Money lender in Chicago) - Very easy to work with and payments always on time
*Attorney: Justin Strane of Shapiro/Strane - He is just the best!
*Realtor: Maggie Antillon-Mathews - Managing Broker at Realty of Chicago - A great resource for us since she has a huge network of industry professionals and is always willing to help negotiate on our behalf

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Rental Property Investor 路 Chicago, IL 路 Member since 2020 路 10 posts 路 5 votes
6y

Beautiful, what a gem!

Would you mind sharing how did you find the contractors for this project, who did you use in terms of design/choice of materials, etc.?

Thank you for sharing!

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  • Flipper/Rehabber 路 Cincinnati, OH 路 Member since 2020 路 300 posts 路 417 votes
    6y

    This is awesome @Jennie Berger, congrats! I'd love to see photos of the inside of the property too, if you want to share them!

  • Lender 路 Chicago IL 路 Member since 2020 路 357 posts 路 229 votes
    6y

    @Rachel Underwood Thank you so much! 馃専I actually uploaded 5 photos and now I cannot see them.馃 Let me look into this...

  • Rental Property Investor 路 Chicago 路 Member since 2018 路 612 posts 路 1k+ votes
    6y

    Anyone who spruces up a NW side bungalow is a friend of mine! Congrats, nicely done. 

  • Lender 路 Chicago IL 路 Member since 2020 路 357 posts 路 229 votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Tom Shallcross:

    Anyone who spruces up a NW side bungalow is a friend of mine! Congrats, nicely done. 

    Thanks Tom! Really enjoy your podcast too. :)

  • Mark AinleyBusiness Member
    Property Manager 路 Roselle, IL (Chicago Suburb) 路 Member since 2013 路 2k+ posts 路 1k+ votes
    6y

    @Jennie Berger what a great breakdown and congrats on the completion!  Thanks for sharing. 

  • Lender 路 Chicago IL 路 Member since 2020 路 357 posts 路 229 votes
    6y
  • Lender 路 Chicago IL 路 Member since 2020 路 357 posts 路 229 votes
    6y
  • Lender 路 Chicago IL 路 Member since 2020 路 357 posts 路 229 votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Mark Ainley:

    @Jennie Berger what a great breakdown and congrats on the completion!  Thanks for sharing. 

    Thank you so much Mark!

  • Member since 2019 路 40 posts 路 15 votes
    6y

    @Jennie Berger beautiful work - congrats! Where in NW Chicago? Curious to ask what were the financials (purchase, arv, sell price)? Trying to figure out my next move in Chicago.

  • Lender 路 Chicago IL 路 Member since 2020 路 357 posts 路 229 votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Fedor Volkov:

    @Jennie Berger beautiful work - congrats! Where in NW Chicago? Curious to ask what were the financials (purchase, arv, sell price)? Trying to figure out my next move in Chicago.

    Hey Fedor- thanks! Just listed for sale so will report back once it's sold with price. Our estimates were based on the following #s:

    -PP 250k

    -Repairs 200k

    -ARV 599K

    Best of luck to you and let us know if we can help in any way!

  • Theresa HarrisPro Member
    Member since 2019 路 15k+ posts 路 11k+ votes
    6y

    Wow that looks great...the after photos that is.

  • Lender 路 Chicago IL 路 Member since 2020 路 357 posts 路 229 votes
    6y

    @Theresa Harris Thanks so much!馃檹

  • Rental Property Investor 路 Chicago, IL 路 Member since 2020 路 10 posts 路 5 votes
    6y

    Beautiful, what a gem!

    Would you mind sharing how did you find the contractors for this project, who did you use in terms of design/choice of materials, etc.?

    Thank you for sharing!

  • Specialist 路 Plano, TX 路 Member since 2020 路 2k+ posts 路 861 votes
    6y

    @Jennie Berger this sounds like it was an amazing adventure. Do you have before and after pictures? 

  • Lender 路 Chicago IL 路 Member since 2020 路 357 posts 路 229 votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Theresa Harris:

    Wow that looks great...the after photos that is. Ha :). Thank you!

  • Lender 路 Chicago IL 路 Member since 2020 路 357 posts 路 229 votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Marlen Weber:

    @Jennie Berger this sounds like it was an amazing adventure. Do you have before and after pictures?  

    An adventure indeed! I shared before/after pictures above--scroll up. :)

  • Member since 2020 路 4 posts 路 2 votes
    6y

    @Jennie Berger

    Great job! Beautifully redone!

  • Lender 路 Chicago IL 路 Member since 2020 路 357 posts 路 229 votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Elena Zhebrun:

    Beautiful, what a gem! 

    Would you mind sharing how did you find the contractors for this project, who did you use in terms of design/choice of materials, etc.?

    Thank you for sharing!

    Thanks for the kind words Elena. Happy to share a little bit more about our process. 

    For contractors--we started with a wide search between the following 

    1. Personal references from our coaches/mentors

    2. Online reviews

    3. References/Recommendations from our architect and hard money lender contacts

    4. Facebook real estate groups

    Ultimately we found our GC for these two projects on a Facebook Group called 'The Polish Contractors Network." (;) I know that sounds kinda funny, but...)

    It's worth noting that my partner/fiance has been a GC for the last 20+ years. However, since our plan is to scale our business, we decided that he wouldn't GC our projects and instead act as a Project Manager, overseeing the contractors and process as needed. But I would be remiss if I didn't admit that it was a HUGE help just having his wealth of knowledge and expertise when searching for and hiring a GC. Hiring and dealing with the GC definitely has been the most frustrating part of the process for me, personally, and without him (Gregory, my partner), I don't know where this project would be right now. 

    For Design & Materials: Gregory and I sketched the new floor plan design (mainly Gregory) and we had an architect formally draw up plans for us to submit to the city for permits.  Together, we also chose all our materials and finishes (my favorite part!).

    Please let me know if there's anything else we can share about the process!

  • Lender 路 Chicago IL 路 Member since 2020 路 357 posts 路 229 votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Mariam Berr:

    @Jennie Berger

    Great job! Beautifully redone!

    Aww, thank you! :)

  • Rental Property Investor 路 Chicago, IL 路 Member since 2020 路 10 posts 路 5 votes
    6y

    Amazing! Me and my husband can come help you clean and demolish next time, if you need, we are here in downtown! We need some hands on experience! 馃榿

  • Flipper/Rehabber 路 Cincinnati, OH 路 Member since 2020 路 300 posts 路 417 votes
    6y

    @Jennie Berger Wow, amazing transformation, and absolutely beautiful interior!

  • Lender 路 Chicago IL 路 Member since 2020 路 357 posts 路 229 votes
    6y

    @Elena Zhebrun 馃槉

  • Lender 路 Chicago IL 路 Member since 2020 路 357 posts 路 229 votes
    6y

    @Rachel Underwood Thank you-we are really happy with how it turned out. And our stager did an awesome job!馃檹

  • Investor 路 Oak Park, IL 路 Member since 2014 路 307 posts 路 150 votes
    6y

    With a bungalow in Chicago, one challenge is getting the new work, including the second floor dormer to look in the character of a Chicago Bungalow.

  • Specialist 路 Plano, TX 路 Member since 2020 路 2k+ posts 路 861 votes
    6y

    @Jennie Berger Hmm. I still can't see them, but I'm sure it turned out beautifully. Thanks for sharing. 

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