tools: Condos – Renting vs. Owning - 08/29/11 08:14 AM
Although some renters believe that renting is “maintenance free,” they are actually paying for maintenance in their rent – whether they need it or not.  Renting offers you no equity, no tax benefit, and no protection against regular rent increases.  If you’re paying rent, you’re really just paying someone else’s mortgage.  Let’s compare:
 

 
In this example, it might still cost $300.00 more per month to live in a condo than to rent. But when you consider that property you OWN appreciates, but property you RENT doesn’t, and when you consider how rents are likely to grow over time, … (2 comments)

tools: Beginning Investor FAQ #6 - 08/08/11 09:20 AM
6.  How can I minimize the cash I need to invest?
If you already own property in which you have some equity, you might choose to leverage it. How? You might take, say, an 80% mortgage on the new property, but to avoid paying 20% in cash, what many do is to take a 2nd mortgage on some existing property. In essence, they now have two mortgage payments to make (one on the new place, one on the old), but they made the new purchase happen with no money out of pocket.
And, in fact, there are some neighborhoods where … (2 comments)

tools: Beginning Investor FAQ #5 - 08/05/11 05:59 AM
5.  How do I choose the right area?
a)     Going OWNER-OCCUPIED is the only option if the price of property in an area is too high to support a pure rental (and so almost all that is being sold goes to people who want to de-convert or be live-in landlords).
b)     If you want to go non-owner occupied, there are few, if any, opportunities on the regular rental market to cash flow a 2- to 4-flat with any kind of low down. Many believe the best arm-chair 2- to 4-flat opportunities are for Section 8—and rehabbed, Section 8 ready properties … (0 comments)

tools: Beginning Investor FAQ #4 - 08/02/11 04:47 AM
4.  What are common investment options to consider: general cautions?
One option to be careful about is buying a condo preconstruction with the hope of flipping them. While some have made money, there are others who have lost—and some of them BIG. Renting out single-family homes can also be dangerous (as tenants can do a lot of damage).  What about Non-Owner-Occupied 2-Flats? It’s true that they require less of a down payment, but rarely does a 2-flat bring in enough rent to cash flow (and so few find this a viable option). And this is just the start of what you’ll … (1 comments)

tools: Beginning Investor FAQ #3 - 08/01/11 07:56 AM
3.  What are common investment options to consider, if I do NOT have a lot of capital?
Owner-Occupied 2- to 4-Flat. Going owner-occupied means having to put less money down— and can give you a lower payment than if you bought a single-family home. Non-Owner-Occupied 3- or 4-Flat rented Section 8. See FAQ #4 on how this can happen with no cash out of pocket. And this is just the start of what you’ll find at www.Chicagoland2to4Flats.info!!!
… (0 comments)

tools: Beginning Investor FAQ #2 - 07/30/11 06:18 AM
2.  What are common investment options to consider, if I DO have a lot of capital?
a)    3-4 Flats rented commercially (not Section 8). Expect to have to put 20% down and even then, in most areas, you won’t get much pre-tax cash flow.
b)    Commercial property (5 units +). Expect to put 25-30% down for a stable investment with cash flow.
c)    2- to 4-flats to rehab and flip (which means buying foreclosures or property needing rehab).
And this is just the start of what you’ll find at www.Chicagoland2to4Flats.info!!!
… (1 comments)

tools: Online Property Searching: ConnectMLS - 07/26/11 07:50 AM
As much as we love our Magic Map search talked about in the previous post, we must tell you that NO online search system currently available to the general public, including ours, provides the kind of detailed information available through the advanced connectMLS system that we can set up for you.
 
When you’re ready, we can set you up on the advanced connectMLS system (click on Sample Listing or General Description) to learn more about this. Here are two pictures that, even though they’re too small to read, illustrate the difference in level of detail. The public search listing on … (0 comments)

tools: Online Property Searching: ‘Magic Map’ - 07/25/11 04:43 AM
On the Property Search page of each of our websites we offer an ONLINE Property Search with 'Magic Map'. When you move your cursor over the houses, you'll see a description appear—and when you click on a listing, a more detailed listing sheet will open up!!! And that is why we call it the 'magic map!!!
 
 
Be sure to try the Map Navigator (as shown on the right), which allows you to drag the map to whatever section of the city you want, as well as the ZOOM feature and the fact that if you right-click your mouse … (2 comments)

tools: The Universal Four Laws of Real Estate - 07/21/11 03:33 AM
We think there are FOUR “Laws” of Real Estate that, if you have been looking for property for any length of time, your own experience probably confirms.
Law 1 of Real Estate: Big and cheap NEVER equals wonderful.
Many people, when they first start picking property to see, focus on properties that are big and cheap… They are hoping, of course, for big, cheap AND wonderful, but that is like winning the lottery—and never applies to properties that have been on the market for any length of time.
·         BIG, wonderful, and very expensive can be found quite easily.
·         SMALL, … (2 comments)

tools: Websites Related to Real Estate Investing – Market Trends - 07/15/11 07:23 PM
Economic and Real Estate Trends. We are also pleased to provide a link to what we think is the best regularly updated assessment of risk that we have seen, a quarterly report from the people who issue PMI. We think you will want to study the whole report--and quarterly keep coming back to check for the latest version:
•·         Current Quarterly Report from PMI
Scroll down to where it says ERETand click "Economic Real Estate Trends - Quarterly »"
Affordable Housing Assistance. Are you interested in housing assistance plans in the city and suburbs? Check out:
•·         http://www.chicagoareahousing.org.
Rehabbing … (2 comments)

tools: Websites Related to Real Estate Investing – Chicago Neighborhoods - 07/14/11 07:09 AM
Are you interested in learning more about a particular neighborhood of the city? Two websites we think you ought to check out in particular are Wikipedia and a lesser known one called "Center Stage Chicago."
•·       Here is the link to Wikipedia profiles of each area of Chicago:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_neighborhoods •·       Some suburbs as well as many city areas are covered by a very creative website called CenterStageChicago.com. We think you will find their whole site worthwhile-in particular: 
http://centerstagechicago.com/neighborhoods/ http://centerstagechicago.com/lifestyle/articles/l-guides.html http://centerstagechicago.com/virtual-el/ And this is just the start of what you'll find at www.Chicagoland2to4Flats.info!!!
… (0 comments)

tools: Other Resources for the Investor - 06/27/11 12:13 PM
Our website, www.Chicagoland2to4Flats.info, has a page called "Other Resources" with these links on it:

Rehab Checklist from CIC
We highly recommend that every prospective buyer download this 12-pg power-packed guide to repair costs. It is produced by the Community Reinvestment Corp of Chicago. CIC specializes in larger apartment buildings, but we think you will find this guide applies to any older building. We add this recommendation: Steve Hier, a leading property inspector in Chicago, says that he has found this guide to repair costs to be very accurate: We would add: we have never seen a better concise guide to … (1 comments)

tools: Condos – Renting vs. Owning - 09/02/10 09:35 AM
Although some renters believe that renting is "maintenance free," they are actually paying for maintenance in their rent - whether they need it or not.  Renting offers you no equity, no tax benefit, and no protection against regular rent increases.  If you're paying rent, you're really just paying someone else's mortgage.  Let's compare:
  
In this example, it might still cost $300.00 more per month to live in a condo than to rent. But when you consider that property you OWN appreciates, but property you RENT doesn't, and when you consider how rents are likely to grow over time, we think … (0 comments)

tools: Beginning Investor FAQ #6 - 07/20/10 05:24 AM
6.  How can I minimize the cash I need to invest?
If you already own property in which you have some equity, you might choose to leverage it. How? You might take, say, an 80% mortgage on the new property, but to avoid paying 20% in cash, what many do is to take a 2nd mortgage on some existing property. In essence, they now have two mortgage payments to make (one on the new place, one on the old), but they made the new purchase happen with no money out of pocket.
And, in fact, there are some neighborhoods where you … (0 comments)

tools: Beginning Investor FAQ #5 - 07/16/10 04:15 AM
5.  How do I choose the right area?
•a)     Going OWNER-OCCUPIED is the only option if the price of property in an area is too high to support a pure rental (and so almost all that is being sold goes to people who want to de-convert or be live-in landlords).
•b)     If you want to go non-owner occupied, there are few, if any, opportunities on the regular rental market to cash flow a 2- to 4-flat with any kind of low down. Many believe the best arm-chair 2- to 4-flat opportunities are for Section 8-and rehabbed, Section 8 ready properties are … (0 comments)

tools: Beginning Investor FAQ #4 - 07/12/10 05:48 AM
4.  What are common investment options to consider: general cautions?
•a)     One option to be careful about is buying a condo preconstruction with the hope of flipping them. While some have made money, there are others who have lost-and some of them BIG.
•b)    Renting out single-family homes can also be dangerous (as tenants can do a lot of damage).
•c)     What about Non-Owner-Occupied 2-Flats? It's true that they require less of a down payment, but rarely does a 2-flat bring in enough rent to cash flow (and so few find this a viable option).
And this is just the start … (0 comments)

tools: Beginning Investor FAQ #3 - 07/09/10 05:28 AM
3.  What are common investment options to consider, if I do NOT have a lot of capital?
•        Owner-Occupied 2- to 4-Flat. Going owner-occupied means having to put less money down- and can give you a lower payment than if you bought a single-family home.
•        Non-Owner-Occupied 3- or 4-Flat rented Section 8. See FAQ #4 on how this can happen with no cash out of pocket.
And this is just the start of what you'll find at www.Chicagoland2to4Flats.info!!!
… (0 comments)

tools: Beginning Investor FAQ #2 - 07/06/10 04:56 AM
2.  What are common investment options to consider, if I DO have a lot of capital?
•a)    3-4 Flats rented commercially (not Section 8). Expect to have to put 20% down and even then, in most areas, you won't get much pre-tax cash flow.
•b)    Commercial property (5 units +). Expect to put 25-30% down for a stable investment with cash flow.
•c)    2- to 4-flats to rehab and flip (which means buying foreclosures or property needing rehab).
And this is just the start of what you'll find at www.Chicagoland2to4Flats.info!!!
… (0 comments)

tools: Beginning Investor FAQ #1 - 06/28/10 03:45 AM
1.  Why should I move from just stocks to having investment property?
•a)     You can buy property with anywhere from 0% to 30% down-whereas with other investments you typically must invest the full purchase price.
•b)    Investment properties tend to offer good CASH FLOW only if you put a lot down. What drives most investors instead are the TAX SHELTER (including depreciation, a tax benefit other owners don't get) and APPRECIATION (which is often the biggest benefit).
•c)    Once you own two properties where you have 10% or more equity in each, leveraging can become the name of the game. Two … (0 comments)

tools: Online Property Searching: ConnectMLS - 06/24/10 07:52 AM
As much as we love our Magic Map search talked about in the previous post, we must tell you that NO online search system currently available to the general public, including ours, provides the kind of detailed information available through the advanced connectMLS system that we can set up for you.
When you're ready, we can set you up on the advanced connectMLS system (click on Sample Listing or General Description) to learn more about this. Here are two pictures that, even though they're too small to read, illustrate the difference in level of detail. The advanced connectMLS listing is on … (0 comments)