All Forum Posts by: Chris Adams

If its not really important I wouldn't send out a group email late at night. Personally I shut my ringer off at night, or anytime I want to get work done.

Paul is absolutely correct. 1-4 family rentals are looked at much differently that 5+ unit buildings.

So the first question I need you to answer is do you plan on buying a single family , a small multi 2-4 units or a 5 + unit.

The answer will be different based on what you tell us. And even then that answer can vary from bank to bank.

If it is going to be a small multi, will you live in any of the units yourself? This will help a lot with financing if you do.

 This, and if you run QB look into IPN for collecting rent payments.

Start here

http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investing

I can't say I know of any good books but someone will

If the siding is in good shape I probably wouldn't do the siding unless its been on the market for 30 days with no offers. Assuming the inside is looking good the outside is not so ugly that it would keep someone from making an offer. 

It looks like its in a lower end area, probably around 100k or less. Nice properties are hard to find in that price range. So unless your getting feed back that people like the house, but not the outside, I'd leave it on the market for a bit. 

BUT your selling season is ending in about 5-6 weeks so if your inclined to do it, do it now.

Call the siding guy that recommended him maybe he can apply some pressure. Call the city and see if he is licensed and bonded. ( this should have been done first)  Then small claims court. Is he incorporated or a SP?

Did you get anything from him on letterhead? 

Did he cash the check?

Now me personally, if I had an address I'd be knocking on his door. But I am not as nice as most people. and I don't recommend this move.

I have over 15 years as a GC/Custom home builder in NW Indiana. I am not licensed in IL nor do I care to be, especially in Cook County.

That being said $200/sf not including the land is on the extreme high side. Believe me when I say building a new home, of this size and magnitude, can be a daunting task and should not be attempted by a homeowner period. Hire a GC with a great reputation.

The scheduling involved in this project should be compared to choreographing a ballet. Mess up the window load, which on a home of this size is going to be well over $40k and you can be looking at an 8 week delay.

The most important thing is to find a GC that you feel you communicate well with. Its also important he is readily available to you. i.e. he calls you back promptly when issues arise.

As for saving money, be diligent about having your GC explain a cost to you. If something seams out of line and he can't explain his cost, thats a problem. The more time you spend in the design stage the better off you will be in the end. Changes during construction cost both money and time.

Feel free to contact me with direct questions you may have.

I use IPN, which is a service from Quickbooks. It does not auto debit tho. I email the invoice and the tenant has to log in and pay the invoice online. It cost me $0.50 per transaction. It has made my monthly billing process super easy.

Hi Jerry

My quick thoughts are Prop A has 3 separate buildings so there are 3 roofs, 3 sets of mechanicals, and 3 exteriors to maintain compared to the 4 plex.

I think you have mentioned before its tough to find decent properties that cash flow in your area. Is a 35 minutes drive really to far for you to self manage? I guess that can be a tough drive in the winter for you.

When I plug the numbers you gave into a spreadsheet, Property A = $456/month - without PM or Repair reserves. With PM and reserves of $500/unit/yr its $259/month and runs a DSCR of 1.14. This would not meet my criteria, not to mention you have to invest 100k in the foundation

Prop B on the spreadsheet is even worse, showing a $66/month cash flow w PM and $500/unit/yr repair reserves.

If you would like a copy of the spreadsheet to see my numbers I could email them to you.

I think your maintenance figures are high if it is in good shape.

Now calculate your monthly PITI and add up your monthly expenses including cost for a PM and see what kind of cash flow you end up with. At first glance I expect this to cash flow very well.

If you dont know how to do this just ask and I will help you, but try first and myself or someone else will correct your math mistakes if you miss something.