All Forum Posts by: Kate Santon

Exactly my experience as well.  I'm working with Elite Rentals as well---not PFR.   

@Fellipe Novaes

Since I closed last November, rents came in higher than expected and I'm averaging about $750 in cash flow every month after mortgage, expenses and property management fees. It's been good so far. The tenants aren't super quick to pay. One tenant pays on time every month and the other pays a couple weeks late. Property management is generally pretty easy to deal with although they sometimes take a couple days to respond to a question and I wish they could respond a bit more quickly. Other than that, everything has been pretty easy. 

I agree that the neighborhood is a C. I also agree that the properties are very nice and would be ranked a B. The campus nearby is UC. It's about 10 minutes north. The neighborhood is about 10 minutes from the water. I think the Southside of Chicago is slowly being revamped. PFR is partly responsible because of their provision of nice homes. The property is a much better long term investment, as is the case with most real estate generally. Just my two cents. 

Rents are 1100 per unit in the duplex so 2200 total. Both tenants are section 8. My projections show cash flow of 600 monthly. I will track actual cash flows monthly starting next month and can provide more detail then. 

I thought I would provide an update on my purchase with PFR. I just closed on my duplex. This is my first investment property. I worked directly with Alex throughout the process and he was a pleasure to work with. Before putting in an offer, I checked references and the folks I spoke with had good things to say about the company. The rehab was in very good shape. I hired a home inspector who was referred to me by someone on BiggerPockets and the inspector commented that the rehab was well done. There were follow up issues, all of which PFR handled. I worked directly with the lead of PFR's contracting team and he was generally very responsive and handled the remaining construction and rehab issues. The home inspector also noted that he has various clients that are repeat buyers with PFR and that they generally have a very good product. I also hired a lawyer (although I practice law and have a real estate brokers license in California, I do not know Illinois specific law or real estate procedures) who oversaw the purchase, reviewed the contract and generally provided me with Illinois specific information. The purchase price was $170k and the property appraised for the same and passed financing. I went out and visited the property and I think the area is generally a class c neighborhood. It is about 15 minutes from the University of Chicago and the lake. There are a lot of high rise yuppie apartments and condos just 10 blocks north. It seems to me the area is going through gentrification and it reminds me of areas in DC that are very popular now but were lower income about 10 years ago. I'm not by any means an expert in urban planning nor do I have any such training but that is just my perspective. My property is already rented and we have section 8 tenants in it. I just started working with the property management company and they appear to me to be organized, responsive and well managed. I only closed about a week ago so I'll update the thread once some time has passed and I can speak to the rental experience. All in all, the process took 6 months from putting in my offer to closing. That is because the property was still going through the rehab when I put in the offer. If you are on a shorter time frame, I suggest you seek to put in an offer on a property that has already been completed. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

The property is in the South Side near Greater Grand Crossing.  I'm hoping to find someone to do an inspection later this month.  It will probably entail multiple inspections because I anticipate repairs will be needed after the first inspection.  Any referrals are greatly appreciated. 

Hi,

I need a good home inspector in Chicago.  Does anyone have any referrals?

Thanks,

Kate

I'm in the process of buying a property from them right now.  Would be interested to see if anyone else has had experience with them.