All Forum Posts by: Pat Dansdill

That's very helpful - Thanks, Samuel!

Hey BP,

I'm considering a BRRR property in the Chicago suburbs, and it's located in an incorporated part of town. Near schools and a major intersection (not far from amenities). In thinking through getting it rented...what are some pros/cons to having a rental in an area such as this? Illinois has high taxes, and being unincorporated, it would obviously lower the taxes, but from a renters standpoint, what would deter them from wanting this property. The only thing I can think of is having well water.

Thanks for your insights!

Thanks guys!

BP Community - thanks in advance for your time and efforts! 

I'm renting my house out soon, and want to make sure I have systems in place to save documents, hold security deposit, keep track of repairs, etc. I've created another bank account for deposits to go to, but what systems do you have in place to make tax season go more smoothly? What could I be forgetting about?

Thanks - Pat Dansdill

@Kaitlyn Bjerk

I am on the other end, having made 1 of those choices already, wishing I had made the other choice. I bought an older house that needed to be rehabbed, big time. I had been listening and reading from BiggerPockets but didn't really internalize all that info and didn't TRULY know what I was doing (I imagine you are wiser than that). All to say, I spent all my savings on the rehab, did it inefficiently, and was incredibly stressed trying to manage everything. I didn't know what I didn't know. All this time (7 months later), I wish I had just bought something more rent ready (with some rehab) and house hacked for a year. You may not be in that situation to house hack, so I would advise buying something with light rehab needed. You'll learn a ton and be able to handle something 1.5x more the next time - as David Greene mentioned in one of the podcasts. I've learned a lot during this, but now I'm looking for a property to BRRRR and need to raise funds to do so. If I would have lightly rehabbed, I'd still have learned a lot and would be ready for something a little bit bigger without having to wait to save my own capital.

Hi @Sarah Richards and welcome! I am in a similar situation in the Western Suburbs of Chicago, currently house hacking a live in flip, learning through BiggerPockets along the way. If you're ever in the burbs, I'd love to sit down and talk with you and your husband!

Thanks everyone! We ended up not pursuing that property after determining the amount of work necessary was going to be too much - I appreciate all your insight!

BP,

I'd love some feedback on how to best proceed with a potential live in flip that I'm considering.  I walked the house yesterday with my realtor and a GC who gave us a quote. There were three different horizontal cracks in the foundation, all on different walls. 

...worth proceeding? 

The cracks didn't seem very big, but if they're fixed correctly, will that be sufficient for the next buyer in 2-3 years? The current owner also gave us the receipt from fixing the 4th wall, which we think had the same issue, but not certain. It was around 12k to fix that wall.

Thanks,

Pat

Matthew-

Thanks for the insight, that's exactly my goal! However my immediate area has very few multi-units, so I will most likely choose a SFH. Thinking back, I didn't realize that I could pull money out with a refinance, and was instead planning on a HELOC (which I now see both have pros/cons). I'll have to do some more research to figure out which would be best for me.

My next question is: If my end goal is to sell this live-in flip property in 2-4 years (to gain exemption from capital gains taxes), does either refinancing the house or taking out a HELOC make that more complicated to do?

Thanks,
Pat

@Jason Munger @Jason D.

Thanks!

That's the explanation I needed to verify I was thinking through the BRRRR process correctly. Interests rates can change, but the ultimate goal is to pull money out and repeat the process, thanks for also confirming that I could pay slightly more in interest. Actually, I am first hoping to buy a live in flip, using an FHA loan (which is where the 5% came from, incidentally), and eventually use the BRRRR strategy on additional properties after that, of course with a higher down payment than what I'm aiming for with the live in flip.

I appreciate the help!

Thanks,

Pat Dansdill