All Forum Posts by: Don Bradley

I ended up killing the deal my realtor was obviously not happy. Realtor says they work with investors and none of them use a vacancy rate on condos with less than 12 units. Claims none of his clients ever have a vacancy. Any thoughts? Appreciate everyone's help on this. 

Changed the numbers very slightly from the actual so privacy purposes which is why the cash flow number may have gotten screwed up. The $600 maintenance includes repairs for the year. I know it's a low cash flow number but there isn't many condos that I have seen in a decent area in downtown Chicago that cash flows well. I'll be living there for a few years which will be saving me money rather than paying rent etc which is expensive in the area. My goal after the fact is to rent the property and make a small income. I do expect rent to increase & the property to increase.

HI All,

I just had an offer accepted on my first property. I plan on living there and renting out the other extra 2 bedrooms. However, my analysis is based on if I didn't live there. Main objective is to cash flow as it's somewhat difficult to cash flow in my area. 

Please let me know your thoughts on my analysis as the property will be going into Attorney Review most likely tomorrow. 

Purchase Price: 240,000

Down Payment 5%

Monthly Rental Value $2,400

Property Taxes $5000

Vacancy Rate $2,400

Yearly HOA $3500

Maintenance $600

Insurance $300

Total Annual Opp 12,218

Total Operating Income $16,582

Interest Rate w PMI 4.75%

Estimated Mortgage Payment 1200

Monthly Cash Flow $217

Any comments would be greatly appreciated

Hello, 

I have been working with an agent for the past month but he's not used to working with investors.  My main objective is to purchase a condo in a A or B neighborhood in Chicago that will cash flow. Looking for at least a 2 br and I would rent the other rooms out while living there until I move out down the road. On paper would want the proper to cash flow assuming I was not living there to start. 

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Thank you both for your input. Aly the $150 a month per unit number does that take into account both CapEx and Maintenance expenses? Also, HOA fees seem to be a variable that's hard to control. Do you put aside an allowance to factor in for HOA fees being raised?

Hello,

I am new to investing and am in the process of buying my first investment property which I will live in and rent out. My question is I know most HOA's cover the majority of the exterior maintenance expenses for condos. That being said on average what % of rental income should be budgeted for CapEx and Maintenance expenses? I have seen a number of people saying they budget 8-15% for maintenance and 5% for CapEx but that was for multi family units.

Thanks in advance for your input.

Thanks for the advice Jonathan. I am not necessarily looking to buy the property just wanted some insight on how to analyze such a deal. 

Hi all, 

I am fairly new to real estate and am looking to break into the Chicago market. I am a CPA and work with numbers for a living. I have one question for you. My goal is to buy a 2 BR condo and rent one of the rooms out. As an owner occupant I am pretty certain this would be ok with most condo associations. My question is this, I came across this 2 br condo foreclosure which I fell is dirt cheap for the area as the rent is fairly high. Can someone glance over this and explain to me how this could potentially be a bad deal? 

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3950-N-Lake-Shore-Dr-APT-2315-Chicago-IL-60613/3713619_zpid/

Based on the Zillow my mortgage payment would only be $491 mo (with a 20% down payment) where I know for a fact I could rent the room out for approximately $700-$800 once it's in decent condition. Any feedback would be appreciated. 

Regards, 

Don