All Forum Posts by: Steve Kachniewicz

@Robert Collins just ask yourself.... would you go into a war zone??? If the answer is no then you have answered your own question.

Hi, I live in park ridge and own 4 rental properties in town as well so let me know if I can help you....

These neighborhoods are not the best . Especially with the high crime rates soaring in the city. All cash is pretty much the only norm right now in the good deals. I really feel that there will be another downturn in the housing market and waiting a while will greatly increase your chances of getting a good deal. And your getting emotional about investment property and that's definitely not what you should do. Words like desperate to get the property are a terrible way to look at buying a property. This will cloud sound judgment and force you to overpay for something. If you do your math the price will be determined by that and that only not emotion. If the math doesn't work then move on. There are thousands of properties on the market. Patients pays off in the long run.

why are the HOA fees so high? Certain neighborhoods are harder than others to cash flow. I've found cities like des plaines, niles, franklin park, Schiller Park etc cash flow well..

I don't advertise if I do not have a vacancy. I really do not see the point. Why take the time to field phone calls and answer emails if you don't have any vacancies? Waste of time imo.

If you have cash it shouldn't take more than 2 minutes. Skip the agent and do it yourself. Agents just get in the way imo....

Welcome. From Park Ridge just outside Chicago. No slam on real estate agents but when I buy an investment property I rarely bring an agent into the negotiations. For one I can negotiate myself and I have found that most agents will try and talk you into taking a counter offer so they can just close the deal. I hear lines such as "I really don't think they will come down anymore" or "it's a fair price for the property" or "it's going to go quick". Obviously the higher the price the property sells for the bigger the check they get. Also if I come to the table without an agent the selling agent will get the entire commission and therefore will most likely be willing to sway their client to take my offer over others that bring an agent to the table. All you need is a good real estate lawyer once your offer is accepted. This has worked very well for me. The bottom line is after doing the math I know exactly what I can pay for the property to make the investment work so what is a real estate agent going to do to improve the odds for me? Just my opinion...

The one thing most people just can't seem to grasp is that when you live in a big city like I do (Chicago), sfh's DO NOT CASH FLOW! Unless of course you want to be in a war zone. Condo's cash flow. I have 5 and all cash flow around $400-$500 after hoa and mortgage/taxes. Plus the assoc. manages everything (heat/air/grounds/maintenance etc. it's all about the deal and the math. If I were in small town USA I could probably make sfh's work but then I have to be 100% involved with everything that can go wrong with owning a home. And the list is endless. I'll take the hoa fees and my cash flow for now....

Insurance seems way high and why are you hiring a management Co.? Seems like you could easily manage this on your own. The other numbers look good Thought.

I'm from Park Ridge just outside of Chicago and I have not heard many good things about Englewood to be honest. Where you ever scared to go into that Neighborhood? I have to say I don't think I would even consider driving through it. But the rehab looks amazing and congrats on it!