All Forum Posts by: Raji Kaur

Going and looking forward to it.

@Jon Holdman Thanks Jon. I guess maybe I over estimated due to lack of knowledge of what costs what. I am planning on taking a GC out there with me this wknd to get a better idea of the estimate. Im trying to be very conservative with the comps but just not sure of ARV with so many comps in poor condition.

@Brie Schmidt I had my realtor do a CMA. It includes listings sold and on the market within a 1 mile radius of the property within the last 6 months.

I'm looking at at SFH in Chicago thats listed at $125K. Its in decent shape and needs work but not foundation or anything major like that. I am not sure about the rehab costs but I will be very consverative and say its between 30-40K, mostly cosmetic. So thats about $170K in not including any other costs. My issue is that its a 5 bedroom and and I'm getting comps for 4 and 5 bed, but seems like all but one of the Sold properties recently has been a fixer upper or in bad shape. I am assuming the Appraiser will use these numbers for the sale price now, but for ARV - I only see one comp which is at 224K. I would be ok with that, but I'm wondering when it comes time to sell, how it would be appraised when there aren't many "nicer" homes to comp with. Anyone have experience with this?

@Paul Timmins

Thanks Paul. I have listened to several podcasts and they're all so great and inspiring and have read through the beginners guide. I'm also attending a gathering next week in the city to meet some of the many people here who have been very helpful so far. All this helps in the process, but I think you've got a great idea about contacting PMs to get their insight on the neighborhoods. I didn't think about that so thanks for that.

Hey Guys - I'm sort of new to the Chicago area. I lived in Michigan for most of my life and was a realtor there for a few years and am very familiar with most of the neighborhoods in Metro Detroit. Now coming here, I'm just starting to get familiar. Last week, I checked out a few properties in Elgin and all were really old homes that all had either structural or foundation issues. For a newbie, I want to stay away from that. Next, Round Lake has some potentials in my budget. But I'm not familiar there either. Chicago itself has so many neighbhoods, but I hear some people who have success and some horror stories. I guess for my first rehab, I want to play it safe. But now I'm wondering if I shouldn't just look to invest in Michigan since I can renew my license there and have MLS access and know the areas. But with a rehab I want to be around while the project gets done. So I'm really confused - spend so much time trying to find a location here or go back to what I know and try it long distance in Michigan.

If anyone's been in a situation where they were new to an area and a newbie, how did you handle that? How do you find a neighborhood that works for you when you don't know the neighborhoods?

Hey Sharad - we wuold have been neighbors. I live just a couple of buildings over. :-)

Hey Polina - seems we're literally on the same path. :-) And I look forward to meeting everyone at the April meetup

Thanks Tim and thank you Brianna. I happened to see that meetup on another post and added it to my calender.

Does anyone invest in the Uptown or Edgewater neighborhoods? Or around north part of the city?

Hey All - what a great source of information and I just stumbled on this site today. Already have spent a couple of hours reading through some of the forums. I decided to create a profile as well and introduce myself.

I was a Realtor in Michigan for about 4 years and bought and sold homes for others but now want to buy investment property for myself. I've been looking into it for months but having a 9-5 job also gets in the way. I know, thats an excuse but I'm trying to get back into the mindset once again. I'd really like to take action this time, rather than just thinking about it. I moved to Chicago just over a year ago and currently live in Edgewater. I'm getting quite familiar with the surrounding neighborhoods and am looking forward to meeting some of you at the meetups and networking events coming up. And thanks to everyone for sharing the knowledge.