All Forum Posts by: John Warren

Are you looking to live in these, or just buy them as investments? In most of the Chicago market it is much more challenging to buy the good deals because of the competition. The best opportunities I think are for owner occupants. 

I finished the BRRRR strategy on a 4 unit two years ago. Here are the big take aways that I found.

-I inherited 4 great tenants, and I raised the rents very slowly because the place was cash flowing well. I have not had a turnover yet, and hope to delay turnover for as long as possible!

-Paint is the single best thing you can do for most places. I painted all the windows, trim, doors, etc. This is the best type of "sweat equity" I put in. 

I have been experimenting with flooring and renovating units. So far, if I could I would go with hard woods if they exist. If not, I have been using vinyl plank from Menards. I would not go nuts on counter tops. Just use nice, stock laminates from Menards. Keep current cabinets when you can, and don't overdo the rehab budgets. Good luck!!

I would think that with that type of money to invest you could purchase a few apartment complexes that would help you accomplish your goal in short order. My partner and I just purchased one in the midwest that should be netting us between 5 and 6k per month, and we only invested 100k! 

Like others have said, I think I would focus on learning about a strategy before deploying capital. 

Hi @Brian Karlow

Congrats on finding a multifamily deal! Those are few and far between in the Chicago area! 

My partner and I just closed on a 9 unit in Berwyn that sounds similar to your deal. Our  insurance is running about $2700 per year for replacement cost insurance. Hope that helps as a comparison!

John 

Hi Pedro,

What type of work are you looking for? Flip? Rental turn over?

Out of state can be very lucrative if you take your time to research the area. I just purchased in Indiana, which for me is a 2 hour drive. You have to do a lot more due diligence and be very careful. Still it can be worth it as long as the returns are strong enough to help cover some of your mistakes!

As others have said, land lord locks is the way to go. It is a little painful up front to replace perfectly good locks,  but your time is valuable too! I hate being stuck outside a building going through keys trying to find the right one!!

we just changed all the locks on our 23 unit. It is an investment, but we used land lord locks so we won't have to change the hardware again. Next time we can just change the cylinders. 

in Illinois you would have to give. Notice of no agency form to disclose that you are not their agent.

I think an investor friendly agent should be an investor as well. Before I became a broker, I tried finding investment properties with brokers who did not own anything other than a personal residence. They didn't understand what I wanted in an investment, and they didn't have the contractor contacts I needed to get things done for reasonable prices.