All Forum Posts by: Joseph Konney

You always have to refer to yourself as an agent and provide a notice of no agency while you are acting as an investor looking to purchase. Tangentially, if you are looking to sell an asset of yours off market, you need to provide the notice of no agency disclosure to buyers which identifies you as an agent. Letting buyers and sellers know you are an investor is only a boost to your credibility and savviness so I'd use it as you see fit. 

Welcome to BP! Feel free to reach out if you'd like some market trends/stats for the particular areas you are looking at. I can also provide MLS data dumps.

Thanks for sharing. Anything you would have done differently in the future? 

Here is the attorney which I am currently using for my personal transactions:

Brian J O'Hara, Attorney at Law

401 William St Unit 6280
River Forest, IL 60305-0160

Welcome to the beginning of your real estate journey! 

Congratulations to becoming a landlord! I am in Villa Park almost daily and grew up in neighboring Addison. I like that it is not far from the city, easily commutable with the highway system, and lots of nearby amenities. 

I will tell you about a local perk you may not be aware of from your local electric company which help reduce energy costs. ComEd currently offers a free Home Energy Assessment. The following is quoted from their home page:

Customers can reduce energy use with FREE installation of the following FREE products:

• ENERGY STAR® certified LEDs
• Programmable thermostats
• WaterSense® certified showerheads
• WaterSense certified faucet aerators for bathrooms and kitchens
• Hot water pipe insulation
• Advanced power strips

For commercial loans I have found this local bank very easy to work with:

Forest Park National Bank & Trust Co.

7348 W. Madison St.

Forest Park, IL. 60130

Specifically, I've worked with Ted Rozmus - Vice President of Lending on several commercial loans in Chicago.

@Pat Baggett You could always try knocking on the door, and the neighbor's doors, to see what info you can gather. Especially if it is boarded up, I'm sure the neighbors would be more than happy to share information in hopes of getting rid of blight. Leaving a flyer on the same doors or at the mailboxes (not in the mailboxes) might generate some leads. 

@Ibrahim Badimoole - You can lookup the exemption status on the Cook County Assessor's website: http://www.cookcountyassessor.com/Search/Property-...

@Phil Janasac - Your analysis is correct. You must be an owner occupant for the entire year to claim the exemption. 

After you look at the CCR as @Tom Shallcross suggested, you may find the owner is an LLC or company name. You may be able to pierce the veil by going to the IL secretary of state website and looking it up which may reveal a person and forwarding address.

Also, another free people finder is called myfamilytreenow.com

“Assume” means the buyer takes on liability, and the seller is no longer primarily liable. “Subject to” means the seller is not released from responsibility.

Conditionally, FHA and VA loans are assumable. If lenders see a sale took place without an assumption, there is a chance the lender will call the mortgage, which is a risk.