All Forum Posts by: John Warren

Portfolio lenders are banks that carry their own paper. Mostly they are smaller banks. Where are you in northern Illinois? 

have you tried any local banks or portfolio lenders to do a cash out refinance on the properties you own fee and .clear?

Have an investor friendly realtor set you up with auto listings for your target areas. It costs nothing but you eventually get a feel for going prices and learn to recognize a good deal!

You could always become a leasing agent. If you decide to move closer to the city you can make decent money as rents are pretty high. 

You could also find a way to get a job in the meantime and buy a 3 or 4 unit property. I wish I had done that at your age!

@Jeremy Kolasa there are low price areas all over the place in Illinois. I am not sure how much you have to invest, but I would agree with others and invest close to home for your first deal. Look at all the angles- cost, price to rent ratios, taxes, type of area, etc. I have found that cheap does not always equal greater return! 

Also, if you invest close to home you can easily manage small multifamilies or sfr's. Most property management firms around me charge 8-10 % plus half the first months rent. I would look to self manage so you can keep that part of the return. Just my 2 cents! 

Hi @Maciej Michalak!

If you are going to live in the property, then you definitely would want to use either an FHA loan or an FHA 203K loan if you are buying something a little rougher. The PMI shouldn't kill your deal, as long as you buy a good one. You can easily refinance your way out of PMI after 6 months if you buy a great deal and force value in some way. What neighborhoods are you looking in?

Welcome to BP Jeremy! Why not start around where you live? There are some decent deals near Elgin. I know Rockford has some good areas and some really tough areas. Are you familiar with the area?

Hi @Jack Taylor

You will end up paying for the buyer's realtor if you use a flat-fee place. Its obviously up to you if you want to allow realtors to show buyers the place, but all the data is out there about realtors helping you sell faster and for more money. 

If you feel confident about your ability to price the house, then the flat fee person may be the way to go. 

Feel free to pm me if you decide to list FSBO. I can help you get the disclosures you need at least.

welcome! I live right by you in North Riverside! We should catch up some time soon! I highly recommend the West Suburban Land Lord Association in Berwyn if you are doing buy and holds.

Jack,

Out of curiosity why are you listing FSBO? You can use a flat fee realtor for under $500, and they legally have to take care of all this for you. If you want to list on-line, it ends up costing you almost as much to get your listing on the MLS anyway.