All Forum Posts by: Justin Poulsen

Jefferson Park is a great neighborhood.  It seems like a lot of the planned development is near the blue line on the northwest side.  I think you picked a great area to start investing.

Crashpads can work out really well.   They are definitely a super narrow niche.  Very hard to scale.  Very hard to market unless you're already in the airline world.  Depending on where you operate you may have some zoning headaches.  

Plus it is way more work than a traditional rental.  All utilities, furnishings, and cleaning service provided.  Many also provide transportation.  Then on top of that you get to manage a community as well.  

You can make money, but you also earn it.

Hey, your question is 6 months old, but I just saw this.  

I run a crash pad in Chicago.  It is definitely a niche business.  But it can provide more cash flow than a regular rental.  If you don't have airline connections it can be hard to connect with the tenant base.  The best online listing site is crashpad411.com, but typically most people find crash pads through word of mouth.  

The business model is definitely full service where you provide a fully furnished place with all utilities and a cleaning service.  You also need to manage a community along with the rental property.

Good luck if you decide to go for it.

lI don't think you will have a hard time finding tenants in Jeff Park.  As you said the area is mostly homeowners, so there are less rentals to compete with.  Also Beaubian is one of the top elementary schools in CPS and a lot of people look to live in those school boundaries.  

Hey, do you have a source for that info or some place I could find out more about it?

Thanks.

I currently manage a crash pad in Chicago.  The short answer is that you can definitely get a premium rent for your place. 

But you also need to furnish the place, pay all the utilities, you may need to provide transportation, or hire a cleaning service.  You also have continuous turnover, and you need to collect rent from multiple tenants who have irregular schedules.  

I would describe it as active income instead of passive.  

The last thing I'll mention is that it is pretty hard to get into this without some connection to the industry.  Most airline crews find their places either from flyers at the airport ot through the grapevine.

So I am looking for a new place to live.  Rent or buy, either way.  My monthly budget is XXX.  I want to get the best place for my budget.  What is it I'm looking for?  

Location, Size, Condition...   Unless I am specifically looking for solar panels either to be green or save money on utilities then it doesn't add value.  

In other words I wouldn't pay extra for it.  It's a nice gee whiz, but I think most people aren't specifically looking for  a place with solar panel.

This is s picture from the article showing the overvalued and undervalued markets.  A rational person might think you should avoid the overvalued markets and that there are deal to be had and money to be made in the undervalued ones.  

I am not in a hurry to buy in Camden NJ or Detroit MI.  And I am also not in a hurry to make financial decisions based off random internet articles.

Craiglist car update.  The car is sold.  

For a couple weeks I placed a new add only after the old one had expired.  Not a single call.

Then, I posted a couple adds yesterday.  4 calls and the car is sold.  I think if I had known how much of a difference this would make I would have sold the car for a higher price.

What's true with cars is true with real estate.  Effective marketing is key.

Your tip about CL is awesome.  I recently tried to sell a car via CL in Chicago. It was listed well below blue book and I didn't get a single call. I'll try posting more often and see what happens.  

When you are posting, do you refresh your add or do a completely new one?