All Forum Posts by: William Wright

@Michael K. Thank you! It is a legal 3 unit with a bit of everything - 3 bd/2ba duplex down, 2bd/1ba, and 1 bed/1ba with small office. Should be interesting to see which types of renters are drawn to the different sizes over time.

@Jonathan Klemm The next step is to keep learning and do another house hack after 1 year. But will see what lending options are available for a pure investment property before then. The other goal is to build confidence with small renovations.

Right now I'm letting the leases dictate the timeline. Hoping that the 3bd/2ba will sign for another year - it needs the most work but is fine - and refresh the 1 bd/1ba kitchen midsummer (the green countertops do not photograph well). Also will spruce up the backyard and decks in the springtime.

Appreciate the interest in the deal!

Thanks @Jonathan Klemm, I've been in the neighborhood a couple years and was happy to find a property that made sense here - still so much explore.

The program is through A and N Mortgage, they were incredibly helpful and I'm hoping this program is still around for future deals.

And I will keep you guys in mind, your replies in the Chicago BP forums and feature on the Straight Up Chicago Investor podcast were helpful when preparing for this new adventure!

As a new house hacker, here was my funnel for my first tenant:

Pricing - opinion of local realtor, Rentometer to find range of prices and Zillow to compare quality and square footage

Marketing - Zillow, apartments.com, Facebook Marketplace. Used the $10/week feature on Zillow and found a tenant in winter market for the price I wanted, and has a basic prescreening (self reported income, pets, etc.). Make sure you are following Fair Housing Rules with your questions. Use a free Google Voice number to screen calls.

Tenant screening - rentapplication.net (tenant pays ~$40 for credit and background check, I had results in minutes)

Expense/portfolio tracking/document tracking - Stessa (recommended by my CPA)

Rent collection - Zelle (free, fast, integrated with most banks, easy to help a tenant set up)

Leases & signing - local Realtors Association for forms (you may be able to find on BP, too) and HelloSign for digital signatures (free 30 day trial)

Rentometer, then Zillow to compare interiors and square footage

Can't comment on any of the building code, but something you can look into is underlayment and luxury vinyl plank flooring. Underlayment is foam-like pad that installs under the flooring to dampen noise and different thicknesses of LVP for the flooring can provide extra sound insultation.

As others have said, shop around. Sounds like you are just starting out, but if you work with an investor-focused agent they may connections to a local broker who can provide info on investor-focused loans.

In terms of lawsuits, talk with your agent, lawyer, and CPA - what I've heard (and do) is carry an Umbrella policy on top of Personal Liability through Homeowner's Insurance when you're at the 'mom-and-pop' level. Best of luck.

Also in Chicago, here was my funnel. Not all in one place, but easy enough for a first few units:

Marketing - Zillow, apartments.com, Facebook Marketplace. Used the $10/week feature on Zillow and found a tenant in winter market for the price I wanted, and has a basic prescreening (self reported income, pets, etc.)

Tenant screening - rentapplication.net (tenant pays ~$40 for credit and background check, I had results in minutes)

Expense/portfolio tracking/document tracking - Stessa (recommended by my CPA)

Rent collection - Zelle (free, fast, integrated with most banks, easy to help a tenant set up)

Don't overthink it at this point. And set up a Google Voice number to put on your listings, best of luck.

Automate saving by setting up recurring transactions every paycheck to an external savings account.

This does 2 things: 1) since it's in an external account, you have to wait 2-3 days for a transfer and can't impulse spend with it and 2) since they're savings accounts, you can only withdraw 6 times per month before getting hit with excess withdrawal fees - a firm deterrent.

I like having external accounts for Gifts, Car Upkeep, Housing Expenses, and Investing in a no-minimum balance savings account.

Talk to your lawyer about estopell letters. These signed documents are signed by the tenant(s) that confirm the terms of their lease and their last payment date. In some places these are more common than others.

Also, get a copy of the leases and ask for a rent roll if you can. A combination of these can improve your confidence that rent is being paid and (again talk with your lawyer) potentially provide some recourse later on.

Find someone who has done it before! I would recommend finding a top-performing, investor focused agent who can double check your numbers, estimate repairs, and provide introductions to their network. This can work well since they should have much more local knowledge than you, their interests should be aligned with yours (if your first deal goes well, they will get repeat business), and since they're a top performer, they don't need you to purchase ASAP so they can pay their bills. Also, talk with friends about real estate, sometimes it's surprising who owns a property or two.