All Forum Posts by: Tito Q.

FHA or similar programs are the way to go. I’m a broker and used a FHA to do my first house hack out south in the city. You’ve got the right idea, like others have said, you have to make sure you buy right on the front end. I’m well versed on the south side neighborhoods and markets. PM me and we can bat some properties around. Louis Trinca

Good morning and happy Friday peoples! I find myself in a bit of a dilemma. I have a two flat ("duplex" for you non-Chicago folks lol) under contract and after weeks and weeks of back and forth with lenders and grant programs, I am ready to close and received my CTC letter! EXCITING! We were set to close this week, but upon my final walk through of the property, I found that the second unit is still occupied by a tenant who was supposed to be out before the closing. The current owner is a church and they have been letting this guy (the pastor's nephew, I believe) live there with no lease, no payment or anything. I immediately had my attorney on the phone with the seller's people and they said that they did not give him notice because the closing had already been delayed about a month because of details on my end. They said that he should be out by this weekend and we all agreed to delay the closing to next Tuesday. Well I just received a call from my attorney saying that the seller may need more time and that they are unsure of this "tenant"s ability to be out of the property by close and that he would need a few more days. It seems like they're just delaying to see IF they can get him out and it's nerve wrecking. In addition to this, the seller's attorney is now saying that somehow she believed that we knew that the tenant would be there and yadda yadda yadda(change of story from what they said at first and very untrue). Sorry about the long post, but is there an option for me to secure the property and close while ensuring that they hold up their part of the deal and get him out? Or should I just wait it out? The sellers attorney indicated that they did not want to extend past the current closing date and I would like to close before the 1st so the pre-paid interest is less at closing). This is a deal that has equity already and is a property that I am highly interested in for my first deal. Has anyone else experienced a headache like this? Any advice or bouncing of ideas is truly appreciated!

Shuatequa Johnson if you won't owner occupy then I believe you'd have to do a conventional loan (10-20% down) pay with cash, or use hard or private money. I would steer clear of hard money if you haven't vetted re-fi lender options thoroughly because you'll need to have an exit strategy from the hard money loan.

I found the property online and it is a large plot of land with a 2 unit home, a coach house, and a mobile home on the same property. The rent calculation they are presenting includes the alternative dwellings on the property and not just the duplex. I'm new to RE so I would heed the advice of more experienced investors to be careful, but I think that alleviates a bit of the skepticism of 4 units in a duplex. Not sure what the laws of having all of these dwellings on one property are or how codes in this part of CA work so you'd have to check into that. 🤷🏾‍♂️

@Maribeth Hamel That makes total sense. I'm going to see what neighbors and some connections I have with the police department say to have a more clear view of what I'm getting myself into and how to move forward.

@Mark Ainley Thank you for your thorough response. Do you know where I can find information about who is paying taxes currently (Cook county)? I can find the assessment information and previously taxed amounts but cannot find out who actually holds the deed.

Good afternoon BP family, I am analyzing deals for my first multi family purchase on the south side of Chicago. I found a vacant 4 unit property where the numbers work, is on an okay block in a lower end neighborhood, across the street from a park, and not far from where I currently live and grew up. The property is good, I just have a concern with an abandoned property that is located next door to the deal I'm looking at. It is a single family home that looks pretty terrible. Does anybody have any experience with purchasing property next to an abandoned one? Does that effect your perspective tenants or how you approach the deal? Any adverse effects I may not be seeing or should be maybe taking a deeper look at? This will be my first deal and I am open to any idea bouncing or advice.

Alex Bok Joe Cantanzriti James Wise Mark Nolan

Alex Bok yes that's the goal, but I've been analyzing a few duplex deals where I could still cash flow decently if bought at the right price. James Wise thank you, sir. Joe Cantanzriti ideally i'd like to stay near my home neighborhood of Calumet Heights. My other tops are Chatham, South Shore, and Woodlawn. I'm a native south sider so I'm very fluent in the areas. The south side can be completely different block by block so I think it's important to have some background in the area. Mark Nolan thank you, I'm seeing that they are a wealth of knowledge.

Hey all!

My name is Tito and I am new to the BiggerPockets community. I am new to real estate investing and am currently looking to house hack my first multi-unit near my current home and where I grew up on the south side of Chicago. 

My goals are more geared toward buy & hold / rehab & flip.

I think that REI can not only be good for investing and business interests, but can also help in revitalization of communities that have been in need of love for quite some time now.

I look forward to meeting likeminded individuals and learning as I continue my journey.