Post: #1

Is there anyone in this fórum who is inside the real estate world or knows useful information about this world?

The only place I know about this kind of info is:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums

Post: #2

Read this thread:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/30/bus...ing-99351/

Post: #3

Never invest in a place you have not lived in yourself.

Post: #4

(03-16-2014 02:15 PM)renotime Wrote:  Read this thread:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/30/bus...ing-99351/

Beat me to it. That thread is gold. Credit to WIA for sharing it with the forum.

Post: #5

I used to really like the idea of REI for generating passive income but I've kind of soured on it know. Having to deal with tenants, cronyism, general wear and tear, etc..its not really passive.

If I bought real estate, it would be in a place I could actually see myself living. You can't go wrong with that.

Post: #6

(03-16-2014 03:15 PM)Cincinnatus Wrote:  

(03-16-2014 02:15 PM)renotime Wrote:  Read this thread:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/30/bus...ing-99351/

Beat me to it. That thread is gold. Credit to WIA for sharing it with the forum.

That was WIA? Hmmm, I thought it was someone else.

Post: #7

(03-16-2014 07:22 PM)renotime Wrote:  

(03-16-2014 03:15 PM)Cincinnatus Wrote:  

(03-16-2014 02:15 PM)renotime Wrote:  Read this thread:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/30/bus...ing-99351/

Beat me to it. That thread is gold. Credit to WIA for sharing it with the forum.

That was WIA? Hmmm, I thought it was someone else.

Nevermind - I stand corrected. The first time I remember seeing it was in a WIA post - you were the one that linked it, though.

/thread-20515-...66746.html

Credit to yourself.

Post: #8

I have one rental house. I bought the house back when they had the 7K housing credit. I bought it sorta planning to flip but okay with the idea of renting. A flip wasn't gonna happen so wound up living in the house with friends for about 4 or 5 years, they got cheap rent but also coveered my entire mortgage so it worked out well for all of us.

If your younger and have friends and dont mind roomates I think this is a great strategy. Your friends will be paying you cash so you won't have to report rental income like you would renting to strangers.

Finally a few years down the road my parents moved down to South Carolina just for about 2 years so I did them a favor, rented out my house for about $400 over what my mortgage is and am renting my parents house. Since I'm doing them a favor I'm only paying $1,000 for a 3000sq foot 4 bed, 3 bath house finished basement, pool table, hot tub so kinda nice for me.

I plan on buying a building in pilsen which is sorta near little italy not far from downtown, kinda an up and comming area so i hope to not only make money off the rental but as the property appreciates maybe worth twice the price 5 years down the road.

I'd recommend starting off slow get a house for yourself that you can rent when away. I've definately learned some lessons the hard way as things I should have written into my lease. Overall I've been pretty fortunate though they pay on time, take care of the house, etc. I'd recommend starting off slow, get an income property but also be okay with living there if you can't flip it or cant find a tenant.

Post: #9

Anyone have any good links or info to rehabbing a home?

I just bought a home for a great deal but it needs some work done. This would be my first go round doing this and wanted to see if others have done the same and had any good resources.

Post: #10

check out http://www.123flip.com. he's got some good stuff if you poke around in resources, education, and even the blog pages. he will also respond quickly if you post comments with good questions.

think it was mentioned earlier but wwww.biggerpockets.com has some useful forums as well.

Post: #11

Read tons of books and articles about real estate.

Post: #12

After doing nothing but lose or break even on stocks moving forward I'm going to be focusing on real estate. On my current rental not only do I get my mortgage paid building equity but I also see $400 a month profit in my pocket. No stock dividend for an equivalent investment is going to get me those same returns plus I feel there's much less risk assuming you screen tenants well. I know housing market collapsed some years back but as long as rents in your area cover your mortgage plus say 10% which is easily doable you build a nice cushion should you get a nonpayer. I got a lot of great advice from sammythebiker who seems to be a real estate expert.

Post: #13

I have three rules in RE:

- buy a house you wouldn't mind living. When you invest ask yourself if one day everything would go wrong would you mind living on this place.

- Know the area. Don't invest in places you've never been. Even in an area you are familiar with check the coffees and restaurants and ask the people working there info on the house/owner.

- Know the prices. Everyday check the MLS listings. Personally everyday before I go to bed I check 4 major internet portals. You will know the average price of a house.

Some other rules:

The houses in suburbs have normally biggesr yelds. But also bigger headaches.

When you negotiate with the seller always calculate the yeld. If the house is worth 60k And you can rent for 500€ the yeld is 10%.

I normally aim for 10%.

If posible deal directly with the owner and not some midleman. Intermediaries make the house price rise.

Analyse people, agreements mean nothing. When dealing with investments what matters is if people are trustworthy. If the seller/owner Looks suspicious double check or walk away.

There's no agreement that will protect from a fraud.

Post: #14

@ Jamaicabound

Are you still looking in Pilsen? What kind of building are you looking for?

Post: #15

(08-28-2014 03:40 AM)Pepini Wrote:  I have three rules in RE:

- buy a house you wouldn't mind living. When you invest ask yourself if one day everything would go wrong would you mind living on this place.

- Know the area. Don't invest in places you've never been. Even in an area you are familiar with check the coffees and restaurants and ask the people working there info on the house/owner.

- Know the prices. Everyday check the MLS listings. Personally everyday before I go to bed I check 4 major internet portals. You will know the average price of a house.

Some other rules:

The houses in suburbs have normally biggesr yelds. But also bigger headaches.

When you negotiate with the seller always calculate the yeld. If the house is worth 60k And you can rent for 500€ the yeld is 10%.

I normally aim for 10%.

If posible deal directly with the owner and not some midleman. Intermediaries make the house price rise.

Analyse people, agreements mean nothing. When dealing with investments what matters is if people are trustworthy. If the seller/owner Looks suspicious double check or walk away.

There's no agreement that will protect from a fraud.

I definatley agree with the thing about buying a house you wouldn't mind living in. If your place is for some reason sitting vacant for a while you could always live in it and not take a loss. Also, I kinda like the idea of having a place or a few in the burbs and one in the city, maybe even different states, if I get sick of living in the burbs move to the city for a year, when I get tired of that move back out to the burbs.

I know alot of people just like buying up cheap shitholes but would never live in that area. I like the flexibility having a few places gives and also as a fallback could always live in one if need be.

I'm even considering geting a place down in south carolina. My parents live down there so have some feet on the ground to help rent it, keep an eye, etc. Ideally I'd likethem to rent my place instead of the apt they are in now but we'll see. I like the idea I could go down there live for a year and then come back. I've also found some property managers down there I'm pretty impressed with should I not be down there and my folks move back as well so have a backup plan

Post: #16

(08-28-2014 01:26 PM)thirty-six Wrote:  @ Jamaicabound

Are you still looking in Pilsen? What kind of building are you looking for?

I really like the area around 18th and Ashland though I'm open to areas. Preferably as far east as western as possible as it seems the closer to western the worse the area.

As far as SFH, duplex, apartment building, etc. I'm really pretty open just looking for a good deal. I wouldn't be opposed to say a small retail sotrefront with a few apartments above it or would even get a condo if they were desirable and association dues weren't too high. Basically planning on renting it for a year or two, maybe moving there myself for a year or two after that and then continuing to have it as a rental. I'm hoping the area continues to get hipsters moving in as much as I'm not a fan of hipsters lol and property values rise so I'm not only making money on rent and building equity but hopefully property values rise as well.

Just out of curiosity you have any thoughts about area near united center? people always say its gonna be nicer its gonna be nicer but its super hood and personally I don't see it getting any better in the near future.

Post: #17

(08-28-2014 04:00 PM)jamaicabound Wrote:  

(08-28-2014 01:26 PM)thirty-six Wrote:  @ Jamaicabound

Are you still looking in Pilsen? What kind of building are you looking for?

I really like the area around 18th and Ashland though I'm open to areas. Preferably as far east as western as possible as it seems the closer to western the worse the area.

As far as SFH, duplex, apartment building, etc. I'm really pretty open just looking for a good deal. I wouldn't be opposed to say a small retail sotrefront with a few apartments above it or would even get a condo if they were desirable and association dues weren't too high. Basically planning on renting it for a year or two, maybe moving there myself for a year or two after that and then continuing to have it as a rental. I'm hoping the area continues to get hipsters moving in as much as I'm not a fan of hipsters lol and property values rise so I'm not only making money on rent and building equity but hopefully property values rise as well.

Just out of curiosity you have any thoughts about area near united center? people always say its gonna be nicer its gonna be nicer but its super hood and personally I don't see it getting any better in the near future.

18th and Ashland is real solid. I like Pilsen. I think it's been "up and coming" for about the last ten years, really. I remember hanging out down there 7-8 years ago and it was already a hip spot. So it's not like it's a hidden gem, but these neighborhoods can easily take like 20 years or more to gentrify, and I think it will remain on the upswing.

As for around the United Center it really depends. It can be a game of inches (or blocks) sometimes. It's been hood forever and if you go west, forget about it. You've got the old 'jects right there on Damen from Van Buren to Adams. Everything over to Western and up to Lake is not where I'd want to be. You've got the Kinzie industrial corridor just north of all that. No thanks. But if you go East it's a different story.

Take a ride down Jackson from Ashland to Laflin, that one block, and you're not going to believe it. You're probably not going to be able to buy there either, because it's baller status brownstones with wrought iron in front and trees lining both sides that hang over the street--real picturesque. Go north from there up to Union Park, and you can head up Ogden all the way to the tracks and you'll find cool places and nice spots to live.

It's all about your vibe, too. If you're a young player, you've got bars and restaurants, nightclubs, places to see live shows, hip spots sprinkled all around. Not so sure if it's a place to settle down with a family. So, in my opinion I think staying east of the UC in the neighborhood between Ashland and Halsted is a much better bet than staying right on MJ's ass. It will still be a little gritty, no question, but that can be part of the appeal, too.

Post: #18

what do you think about investing in RE in Eastern Europe? I see that there are lot of western students who go over there to do studies such as medicine,odontology...and more and more western erasmus students are going to study over there