All Forum Posts by: Alex Buscaglia

@Andrew M., awesome story! I love the idea of a letter going in with the offer.  Are you planning on selling the house at some point/use it as an investment? Did you mention that to the seller? I'm wondering how that comes off to a home-owner if they have emotional investment in a property and you go and say "oh i'm gonna rent it out to make money" in better words.

Also, if you don't mind me asking, where did you come up with the renovation money? Did you get another loan for that from somewhere or use a HELOC? Or was that just funds you'd saved up?
Thanks for the story!

Thanks @Brie Schmidt for the insight! That will definitely change some of the properties I have down to see. And thanks for the reassurance about the market. I knew it was going to be slow, but I also thought there would be some good deals due to timing and people not wanting to pay for properties through the winter if they could help it.

Hey Everyone,

I've been looking to get involved in duplexes in Chicago for the past few months.  After putting my first offer down last week and being passed up because of too low of a down payment, I've started to look in other directions (at least until the beginning of the new year when hopefully the pickings won't be so slim).

Single-family homes have started to look enticing, but the problem is, with the price of them and the price you could rent at, the numbers don't make sense.  They would, however, make sense if it were a duplex.  That being said, does anyone have any experience splitting utilities (electric and gas) in Chicago? Is it a pain or relatively simple? I know that zoning and the ability to make it a two-unit comes into play, but if that wasn't an issue, what kind of numbers am I looking at? And if not in Chicago, does anyone have any experience with doing this in general? Things to watch out for?

Thanks in advance!

Wow thanks everyone! Seems like everyone is hitting on the same point that there are better times but necessarily terrible times to be renting (aside from christmas...but even then).

Thanks for the breakdown @Joe Splitrock! My goal is to buy sometime around January, so that timeline makes me feel a bit better.

Thanks again for all the great comments and insight!

Hey Everyone,

I was wondering if all you midwestern investors could fill me in. I know there's no better time than the present, seize the day, etc. etc. However, do you all feel like there's a better time than others to purchase a property (first property) to give yourself the best chance and snagging a renter soon thereafter? I know renting in Chicago is best to do around May and around September, but how does that compare to NW Indiana? Or nothern similar midwestern areas?

Thanks!

@Lee Smith great info, thanks! Makes sense about the owner paid utilities. I know I've done that with the heat, but because I've never had a landlord pay for that, I was the only one who got burned (no pun intended...well maybe).

Thanks again for the information. I look forward to possibly connecting with you in the future!

@Jack Taylor I'm in the same position as you. Chicago doesn't seem to be the best option for starting out/cash flow in general.  NWI sounds like a good idea, @Adrien C.! I hadn't thought about that. Better start looking at that area too.  Jack, if you're interested in getting together sometime as newbie REIs for coffee or something, DM me. I'd love to start meeting people with similar goals!

Thanks @Laurice Allen! I was thinking it should be based on future goals and not current financial situation, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something in terms of a beginning necessity.

Thanks @Phillip Dill! I haven't read much about wholesaling yet, but it's been thrown around a lot in podcasts and books.  Guess that means I have more reading to do!

Thanks, Steven! Looking forward to this opportunity!

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to the real estate investing world and want to get started as soon as possible.  At 27, I already feel like I've wasted time with my money and investments and don't want to continue down this path.  The problem is, I currently rent and don't foresee that changing in the near future (Chicago is not the best bang for your buck at the moment!).  With this in mind and seeing as I wouldn't be able to self-finance with a property/get a home equity line of credit for the first property, does investing in rental properties still make sense?

All of the stories I'm hearing are of people that refinanced their home or used a HELOC to get started on their first property. After that, with private money and portfolio loans, I know there are other options for funding. I'm just wondering if I'm jumping the gun. I don't think so, but maybe?

Thanks for any insight and look forward to bouncing ideas off each other!

Alex