All Forum Posts by: Tanner Thoman

Welcome Nick!

As a newer investor myself I would like to say, you have definitely landed at the right place.

You will not find a better community or source of information for RE investing.

I am also a tech-guy in my day job (security/networking) and I work and live just South of Chicago. I am a little more than just a hobbyist, but I am definitely not full time in RE.

However, I can tell you that once you get past that "analysis paralysis" things really get exciting.

I started this journey about a year ago and currently I am waiting to close on one property, have another under contract and made 2 more offers today. 

Buying investment properties almost becomes an addiction and with the wealth of information you can get here, you can do it smartly. 

Best of luck in your upcoming journey!

I live about an hour south of you, but I work about 10 miles outside of Joliet. 

I am not a wholesaler, but I may be interested in properties you find and might be interested in attending some meetings.

I know this is an older thread but I just went through this and wanted to add some information. You can form a standard LLC in Illinois for $500 or form a Series LLC for $750. You CAN later file articles of amendment to convert a standard LLC to one that is authorized to establish series, but the fee is $400 (as opposed to the $150 it normally costs to file articles of amendment). Your annual fee with a series LLC is still $250, plus $50 for each individual series. There are significant cost savings if you need multiple entities.

Interesting. 

Even if your ARV is only $150,000 with only $104,000 in it you are still under 70% LTV.

How many lenders have you called? This seems like something that should not be too difficult to do, especially as an owner/occupier. 

Since you are going to live there are you in an area that is serviced by USDA Rural development loans?
I used one to purchase my primary residence and got a great rate and took an extra $15,000 for repairs. Of course, their process takes a couple months at least.

I would suggest calling more lenders and ask what their policies are. You can try to avoid having each one ding your credit, but generally as long as you are within a couple week period multiple dings are not too bad.

Since this thread has been revived I would also like to add that a friend of mine (who is an adviser) told me that C-Corporations that file as S-Corporations cannot have more than 25% of their income coming from passive sources. 

If you do, the IRS will just disregard the S status and the entity will be taxed as a C corp anyway.

He almost always advises using LLCs unless you are seeking a large number of investors.  

@Jelani Tate, I am about an hour or so South of you but work in the Joliet/Morris area.
The market up your way is much more active than it is down here and I am highly interested in moving into it. Especially Naperville.

I would consider partnering on the right deal and could help with the down payment.

I am kind of in the same boat. 
I have a job which I have no intention on leaving but have been contemplating getting my Broker's license as well. 

In Illinois once you meet the Broker requirements you have to be sponsored by a "Managing Broker" for 2 years before you can become a Managing Broker yourself at which time you just keep your education current and you are good. 

I am thinking it is worth it to pay whatever fee for the 2 years, complete the Managing Broker requirements and then be independent.

Here is the thing, tax appraisers (like most people) try to be as efficient in doing their job as possible and thus they look at just a few properties in an area and if their value has increased then that gets applied across the board. 

For instance,... I have a home in Rural Illinois and the township there built a new building on their property and renovated another. The net result was a 30% increase in their property value. 

I got a letter from my insurance company saying I needed to re-paint my house (wood siding) and then got another letter from the tax assessor saying my assessed value had increased by 30%. 

I called the assessor's office and they candidly explained that since the township's property had gone up they just applied the increase to everyone in the area. My taxes were re-assessed, went down below what they were the year before and did not go up for 2 years after that. 

Now, this is a small county and the process may be different where you are at but mine was solved with a simple phone call. 

My first home I purchased here in Illinois I did not pay taxes on for the last 2 years I owned it before selling. I got notices but no action was ever taken and I (obviously) paid the taxes off when I sold the house.  

I personally know a homeowner in Central Illinois that did not pay taxes for 7 years on a property before foreclosure was started. 
The taxes were sold to investors every year, but no action against the property owner was taken for quite some time.

Of course, the end result was that person fire-selling a $250,000 property for around $75,000.

Do you do Real Estate contracts Lisa?