All Forum Posts by: Heather DeGeorge

Agreeing with @Jonathan Klemm.  We've owned in IL, NJ and Baltimore, MD.  Two of these could've been dismissed with a cursory "taxes are too high".  Taxes are simply part of the equation that you need to crunch to determine if the deals are worth it, but that's a SET of data points vs. one data point.  We've done well in places that others have not investigated beyond the first glance.

Welcome!  Happy to chat.  We have invested in Aurora and Naperville (mostly the same school district).

I like Lori Johanneson at Dickerson & Johanneson.  She's pretty sharp and honest.

It’s a tough call. We have lived in Naperville and Aurora in the last 9 years and owned rentals in both, scout the overall area (and I grew up in some rough parts of NJ). 

I think there is truth in making sure your kids education is top priority but I’m not sure that means Naperville per se. I know everyone thinks it’s great but it’s just good for the area. If you can dig into evaluating schools a bit more and find one in Chicago that comes close and you can also bank your income—I might do that. 

If you can’t get into a good school district and a multi family in Chicago, I’d start looking elsewhere. The only upside to owning in Naperville is that after economic downturns, it has bounced back and appreciated more/sooner/quicker than the surrounding areas—which would enable you to sell and get into areas that are not yet coming back with more money in your pocket.

^^This.  We've owned rentals in incredibly competitive markets and have almost never had unplanned vacancy.  But we also know the market and we keep our units in above-average condition.  We know how hard that is to find because when we first relo-d here, we wound up renting and looking for rentals.

I can't emphasize @George Skidis' recommendations enough.  Especially insuring your property as a rental and knowing the rules of your insurance company about vacant property (how long can it be vacant before you need to alert them, what are the options when it's vacant, etc.)

Not all areas have landlord training, but if the municipality offers it--take it.  The last thing you want to do is learn something the hard way.  Also, if there is any kind of tenant organization, you'll want to hook up with them, too.  They often know the rules inside and out.  Although they are targeted to tenant rights, they're the people that will be on your tenant's side if/when there's an issue.  Best to know what they can use against a landlord so you can avoid issues best you can.

We take ACH/bank to bank transfers. In our market we haven’t been asked to consider other alternatives. 

We are also buy & hold/BRRR. Our Naperville school district properties in Naperville and Aurora have gotten us high enough rents to be worth it. That being said, we get top dollar because we keep the properties very well and not completely outdated the 88 corridor sees a lot of people coming in and out for relo so the transient population is good tenants. We have actually found our properties in the MLS. Not the best deals but still profitable.

I always go through my returns.  To be honest, most CPAs use an organizer which is a document interview about your taxes.  Anything you answer "yes" to and/or enter numbers into should show up on the return.  If nothing else, you want to be sure you know where those are.  If you can't find them, ask.

Ultimately, YOU are responsible for the accuracy of your return.  And if your CPA doesn't want to (or doesn't have time to) answer questions--find someone else.  I do overflow tax prep for a CPA who reviews the tax prep I do for my own clients.  But I won't work with people that won't fill out the organizer partly because I can't be sure I have everything accounted for.  Likewise, sometimes my clients list something on their organizer that I don't have documents for.

@George Skidis—Does LegalShield offer any free services for subscribers?  They have always referred me out to someone that presumably gives a discounted rate for everything except a will.