All Forum Posts by: John Clark

"Recently did a search and found the taxes (up til 2 years ago) was paid
for by a finance company, then they quit paying them. I tried to find
info on this company to possibly buy the house, or at least find out more
info. Found out this company was merged with CitiFinancial. Cant seem
to get a hold of anyone with a clue. "

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You're looking in the wrong place. Ownership goes with title, not who's paying the taxes. Go to the recorder of deeds office. Look at the chain of title. The last DEED TITLE holder is the person you should start with. Taxpayer is a red herring.

1. Cash means cash. Not "I've got some money in the bank and a good credit score, so I know I'll get financing."

2. If you are going to wholesale, say you are going to wholesale. Don't be coy and don't lie.

3. Don't put gimmicks into your offers like $1.00 down and crap like that. All you do is waste people's time.

4. Always give potential investors/banks real, accurate, estimates for rehab, repairs, cash flow, vacancy rates, your experience, etc. Don't try to rope them in and then pray that it works.

5. Don't whine. Give it your best shot, but remember, the VAST majority of investors fail. Go in proud, leave proud.

Welcome.

My advice: Don't be stupid, and don't be dishonest. Your credibility is ALL. So if you want to make a cash offer, don't do it because you have "some" money in the bank and an 800+ credit score, but insufficient funds to close the deal. Check my posts regarding "Melody" from NJ in another board thread. She whined because she was called out. She also had my excellent analysis of her postings removed. Don't be a whiner -- How? By not going into situations that call you out.

Be conservative in ALL OF your rehabilitation and other estimates, ESPECIALLY your estimates for rehabilitation. The estimates for rehab that your seller, your seller's agent, AND YOUR agent -- are all toilet paper. Why? They get paid if a sale happens. No one is your friend.

House hack? Great. Do it. You WILL get out of your comfort zone at one point or another. That's fine. Just don't lie or coast when you do. Remember: If you are the only credible bidder left standing after the first round bidders have bS'd and failed, then YOU are the last man standing.

You have to look yourself in the mirror each morning, and not recourse to dog-eat-dog philosophy to do so.

What are you trying to accomplish? The energy usage would be minimal unless the laundry room is a laundrymat in disguise. You should be able to estimate common stairway lighting pretty accurately. That leaves only the laundry.

Much better to split out the second apartment.

No harm in asking ComEd to wire in two new meters, I guess, but I don't see the point in busting out stairs and a laundry. You'd get killed each month on the service fee, too, which is over and above the electric use.

@Bill Plymouth ''She was eager to get the ball moving in her investment career. She had no ill intent! Try to keep the criticism constructive as opposed to negative. "
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No, Bill, actions speak louder than words. She knew from the jump that credit score plus some money does not equal cash. She made a BS offer that would have tied up the seller's real estate -- hurting the seller -- for her own selfish purposes. The fact that she compounded her folly by seeking ways to avoid showing her bank account statement when called out on it makes things even worse.

She knew what she was doing, and got called out on it. Getting the ball moving to start your career shouldn't come at the expense of false representations to others, which is what "Melody" did.

"I’m currently starting up my own commercial and residential real estate
investing company and trying to decide to go with Mac or not."

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Apple is more expensive, but you know what they say: "Once you go Mac, you never go back!"

"that guy never even had a job before he became mayor of Birmingham."

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You mean Burlington. He's from Vermont.

1. Who is "we?" The tenant? The landlord? Both?

2. Are BOTH parties (tenant AND landlord) in agreement as to the termination?

3. IF BOTH parties are in agreement, you can do anything, just make sure the agreement is in a signed writing. IF ONLY ONE party wants to break the lease, the law must be followed for notice.

Rent control is thankfully restricted by state law. Even if Chicago voted in rent control it would be illegal to enforce it.

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hy do you feel rent control in CA will affect rent control in IL? In my opinion, there are not a lot of strong parallels between CA and IL and the income-to-housing ratio not as dire here as it is there.

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I am thinking of the political momentum, as in "they did it in X, therefore we can do it here!"

I see in today's (9/11) New York Times that a bill to impose rent control state-wide is advancing in California (increases capped at 5 percent plus inflation, only "just cause" evictions). Will this affect the push for rent control in Chicago if it passes?


What are California landlords doing?