All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Pliszka

Originally posted by @Joe Splitrock:

@Nick Doria that is great you are working at a property management company and getting your realtors license. 

@Jonathan Pliszka I really like your suggestion on charging a move in fee and pet fee. Do you do that instead of deposit or do you do both sometimes? Do you ever find that people are less motivated to leave the property in good condition when they move out, since they have no money coming back? 

I'm confident enough in my screening process that I won't run into tenants who would be less motivated to leave the property in good condition. I like to think the folks I've selected would see the reputational risk in doing as such. 

Originally posted by @Nick Doria:

@Jonathan Pliszka

The areas of the city that i'm looking into are in the northwest side of the city so: albany park,Jefferson Park, Portage Park, Edgewater(if a good deal comes along lived there before and i love it there would like in this building if i had one there), and Rogers Park.

You read my mind with your reply on section 8 since i didn't believe you could be forced to comply with section 8 housing standards but with it being such a sensitive subject i want to have a very solid policy on this. 

i am in favor of doing a move in fee over a deposit for the specific reason that you brought up deposits cause so many problems when it's time to give them back and people tend to like move in fees since it's easier for them to move into a place since it's normally never more than say like $500 or $600. with your pet fee do you charge a monthly rent amount as well ?

I don't charge a monthly pet rent fee because quite frankly I build it into the price. I charge a bit higher for my units than cookie cutter property management companies who have no pet policies. Tenants with pets WILL seek you out and WILL pay a premium rent.

@Adrian Chu What exactly is your question? Are you simply looking for thoughts on the neighborhood? 

@Nick Doria 

Greetings! What neighborhoods in Chicago are you looking at? Please find my answers below. Happy to chat further.

Section 8 - I've never had this issue. In Cook County, in order for your unit to qualify for Section 8 you have to go through a certification process. It's not realistic for the city to require your unit(s) to be Section 8 certified. A non-issue, really.

Credit & Background Check - Reasonable. I'm a little bit cheaper than that, but this isn't excessive. I don't try to make money with these.

Pets - I did away with security deposits. I'm a big fan of the "move-in fee" in lieu of a security deposit. All the attorney's I've spoke with explained that 90% of lawsuits related to landlord-tenant comes from security deposits. I've even heard a crazy story about a landlord getting sued by a tenant for OVERPAYING them on the security deposit. I do a $500 non-refundable move-in fee and $250 non-refundable pet move in fee.

Hints - Book appointments in 15 minute intervals. People get competitive. I've had people offer me higher rents, months up front, etc. because they really want a unit and know other people are interested.

Welcome to BiggerPockets, @Solveiga Jurgaityte. I'm a DePaul grad. Let me know if I can be of any help.

I see you're in Chicago, so I'll put this in neighborhood terms. Granted, we could have completely different goals, so keep that in mind. Quite frankly, I've never seen any numbers for a property in Lincoln Park that make sense to me. Show me the numbers for a multi-family in Lincoln Park where you're cash flow positive. Just my two cents.

I've never heard of Humphrey Park. I am personally bullish on East Garfield Park in the long term, like 10+ years long term. 

I've been there,@Clark McNally. However, being a young person investing in real estate you'll almost always need to make some sort of sacrifice to get started. I bought a three-family in Old Irving Park (think Addison Blue Line) when I was 25 with 3.5% down on a FHA mortgage. I didn't want to leave Lincoln Park/Lakeview, but didn't have the means to buy there. My friends thought I was crazy to move away from Lincoln Park/Lakeview and I found myself taking the bus/Uber to Lincoln Park/Lakeview to visit them, but I could justify the time/money of travel because I was living for free by house hacking. I lived in the building for two years, cash out refi'd and bought another property in a cooler area, Logan Square. Now, I own multiple properties in the city and my buddies are still paying rent.

You're doing yourself a disservice by only wanting to live in Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Bucktown or Wicker Park, but at 23, I get it. I was there too. I went to college in the city so by the time I bought my property, I got the Chicago bar scene out of my system. 

Obviously everyone is different, but just sharing my experience. Feel free to reach out if I can help answer any more questions. Good luck

Hello to the fine folks of greater Hartford, CT and Springfield, MA. I would be grateful for some recommendations on the following: - Property Managers - Mason's I have a duplex in Enfield, CT that I need some assistance with. Thanks!

Welcome to BiggerPockets @Earl McCoy. I once ate lunch at the Flagstop Cafe in Boerne, TX. It was a fun place to eat lunch with all the Texas stuff. Best of luck with your investing!