All Forum Posts by: Drew Millard

We renovate about 300 multifam units per year for ourselves and third party owners.  I have multiple guys you can reach out to if you have a good track record.   Wintrust, Lakeside, Rupublic, Heartland, MB, etc...   Happy to chat with you about it.  I'll reserve putting their info out on the public forum so message me and we can set up a call.

Hope this helps

We manage about 2000 units around the Chicago area.  We only do move in fees due the overwhelming liability of holding deposits in Chicago (Suburbs are different).   Our vacancy is under 1% so I don't see the move in fee as a detriment whatsoever.   

We also ran analytics portfolio wide over a given year and found out the cashflow was actually better for the owners/us by taking a $250/person move in fee in lieu of deducting things not considered wear and tear out of the deposit.  We ran these metrics b/c we were very hesitant to move our entire portfolio over to move in fees.  Thank goodness we did b/c its not if you are going to get sued in Chicago for SD its when.   The tenants are literally becoming experts on how to sue landlords for the most minor infractions.   For example when you renew your tenant you must send them the few cents in interest yearly, if you forget something as small as a unit number in the address its 2x the deposit.  So on and so forth.  Absolutely brutal.  

So there are positive metrics on admin fees and it is very advantageous for risk mitigation.    Just my 2 cents.  

Drew

When you google "building violations chicago" you can take a look at all the violations, permits and specs from the building department.  One of the categories says DU which is legal dwelling units.  The zoning cert is the end all be all but this will give you a much quicker answer.  You can also pull a FOIA from the department of buildings to attain legal DU.  If you want to give me a call I can walk you through it.  

I have a simple excel model I use when purchasing property.  I'd be happy to share it.

I have a simple excel model I use when purchasing property.  If you want to email me I'd be happy to share it.

Happy New Years!

I used to use a series LLC and now I use individual LLCs at the guidance from my atty. For the cost of $1000 or so for each deal I'd properly insulate yourself.

I keep all my property policies separate per LLC and I have my own property management company with an umbrella on it.

Money is so cheap right now I'd definitely lever the assets.  With 25% down and a 4% interest rate your cash on cash yearly return typically shakes out to about 2.5% higher than all cash.  As interest rates move my philosophy here will change. 

Hopes this helps.  Fellow Park Ridge guy.  Sent you a colleague request.   

Matt,

Happy to talk whenever.  Give me a call.

Drew

Matt,

I highly recommend you buying a 2 to 4 flat and living in one of the units.  In fact, that is how I started investing in RE.  I bought a 3 flat on Addison and Kedzie in Irving Park and fixed up the other units while living in one.  I really like Irving and Avondale b/c the prices are reasonable and with mildly upgraded units you can really push rents while attracting a very nice professional renter.  I found that I get a lot of renters that actually work in the suburbs so they want the NW side of the city for convenience to work but so that they can get into the city for entertainment.  

I have since bought a few other buildings in the area and the returns are some of the best in portfolio.  

If you want to call me or shoot me an email I'd be happy to share more information about the areas.  I also own some buildings in Humbodlt and can give you some information about that area as well.

Good Luck

Drew

I've been to a ton of those guru seminars and never was impressed. The one club I really like is REIA. It has some of the most prominent real estate investors, service providers and lenders in the Chicago apartment market. Lots a great networking and a ton of knowledge.

I have found over the years it really comes down to who you know and experience by actually transacting, rehabbing, leasing, etc...  A solid industry partner or mentor is also a wonderful thing to have.   

 Jenkins,

When I said group that may have been misleading giving the impression that we were a local organization that meets, does education, mixers, etc...  My investment group is called 33 Capital Partners. Our minimum contribution to a deal is $50k as a limited partner.  You can see some of our deals that we've done in the past on our website at (http://33capitalpartners.com).  

Let me know if you have questions about this market.  Always happy to help fellow investors.  

Kind Regards

Drew