All Forum Posts by: Connor O'Brien

I decided to leave mine the way it is for now

I would talk to an engineer first- I used Jonathan from engikeering. Crack attack will do the physical work once the engineer specified it. Unfortunately they’ll probably tell you the structure is inadequate but you gotta remember it’s probably been there for 100+years and engineering standards have changed quite a bit. 

I was recommended “the crack attack team” by the engineer I was using. They actually came out and were ready to complete the work but didn’t go through with it since we both agreed my tile might crack. The owner of the company came out and looked at it personally later on- he gave me a new quote but said I would be fine for foreseeable future. Long story short I never ended up using them but they seemed like a very honest company at the very least

PSA

federal rental assistance for back rent due to COVID is becoming available. It is distributed through your country. 

Chicago landlords and tenants have until 4/2/2021 to apply. 

application is available here:

https://www.cookcountyil.gov/s...

You seem to know more about this than I do. I was also missing final inspection tho and violations were active when I bought it. I never got the inspection but violations disappeared

I bought a building 2 years ago in a similar state. All the violations were addressed during the rehab and now when I look it up- only active violation is not posting my management sign. 

How bad are the violations? You think you can address them in the rehab?

Nice post! I will definitely read the section on move in fee. Is move in fee limited?

Are there cracks in drywall or plaster? I’m not a structural engineer but that could also be an indication or structural issues. 

I also have tenants in Indiana not paying! I’m curious if anyone has heard of any bills to help landlords

Great comments on this thread- I’ve been house hacking for cash flow for the last 2 years. While the cash has been nice I have friends who  have made more money than I have through appreciation in higher price point neighborhoods (Ukrainian village/wicker park) they bought 2 flats for $600-700k and have made $100k plus in appreciation. Meanwhile my two flat in back of the yards has almost doubled  in value but My equity gain doesn’t compare to theirs.

If you like your day job and have a pile of cash I wouldn’t be afraid to increase your price range and dump it into a quality asset up north. You’re gonna make a bunch of money in appreciation over the long haul plus you get to live in a nice place which won’t be hard to sell for top dollar. 

I like looking at the “profit if sold” portion of the bigger pockets calculator- you’ll see high price point properties generally have better returns but less cash flow (as John Warren mentioned)

If you have your heart set on value add and have more time on your hands I recommend the HUD 203k loan. That's what I did with mine and I love the product. Hit me up if you ever want to talk about that type of loan. The strategy is only better if you are looking to minimize your cash investment though