Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2020 · 20 posts · 9 votes
Hi BP members,
I'm looking to get started in the RE investment game as a way to generate some passive income outside of my W-2 job. I currently live in the Naperville, IL area (western chicago suburbs) and think I want to target a single family live-in flip that I would buy and hold. I'm ideally looking to find an investment property where I can leverage my own sweat equity and get my feet wet to eventually list the property as a rental. While doing this, I want to list my current town home as a rental.
Questions that I would appreciate support / advice with:
- naperville generally looks to be very difficult to find a cash flowing property. Are most people investing in this area for loan pay down and appreciation?
- are there other areas that you would recommend where equity deals may be more available - lisle, downers grove, etc
- any advice on wholesalers for the area or investor friendly agents?
- any advice on local laws / regulations to be aware of
Real Estate Agent · Naperville, IL · Member since 2013 · 402 posts · 177 votes
5y
@Dale E. I am an investor (and realtor) in Naperville! Welcome to BP! This area is tough to find a cash flowing property currently, especially with interest rates the way they are (higher sales prices)
Appreciation is the play in Naperville, but depending on your budget a live in flip wouldn't be a bad idea in some areas. If you move west, you will find more "affordable" options (Aurora, yorkville, plano, oswego, etc.) Aurora does have some specific landlord rules to follow!
Feel free to DM me with any questions! I am happy to help answer any questions, or help you with the purchase of a new place!
Real Estate Broker · 3412 S. Harlem Avenue Riverside, IL 60546 · Member since 2015 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
5y
@Dale E. congratulations on looking to make such aggressive moves! Naperville has been tough to find cash flow in, but it is not impossible. I showed a home recently to an investor that would have cash flowed. If you see one though, you have to immediately jump on it. If you want to explore other markets you could look towards Bolingbrook which provides a bit more cash flow and is cheaper to enter as an investor.
Bolingbrook Illinois · Member since 2018 · 50 posts · 33 votes
5y
@Dale E., Cash-flowing single family houses in Naperville are few and far between. Of course, cash-flow is in part directly impacted by how much of a loan you'll be carrying (ie., 80% down and 20% mortgage loan, verse 25% down and 75% mortgage loan. Or perhaps no loan at all). So the "Cash-flow" benchmark can be achieved, but in and of itself its a worthless matrix if not considering what is behind the cash-flow number.
All that said, I would agree with @John Warren in that Bolingbrook is worth while looking into. I am an investor as well and I have several single family rentals in Bolingrook, 2 of which I acquired within the last 2 months, and all cash-flow nicely with 25% LTV plus about 5% to 12% more in rehab expenses.
Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2020 · 20 posts · 9 votes
5y
@Marco Anemone thanks for the input to you and everyone on the thread.
As I continue my search, its becoming more apparent that I may need to enlarge my funnel by looking to additional areas. My core criteria seems to keep coming back to areas with solid school systems which expands to several other suburban areas close by (wheaton, bolingbrook, etc).
While I'm on the topic, does anyone have suggestions on local agents?