Straight Up Chicago Investor

There's a reason Ben Walhood has already been a featured guest on numerous high-profile podcasts, including Bigger Pockets, The Best Ever Real Estate Podcast with Joe Fairless, Target Market Insights with John Casmon, and has been interviewed by CNBC and The Chicago Tribune. Over the last decade, Ben has consistently grown his portfolio in Dupage County by expanding his network and buying the best property available to him at the given time. Like many investors, there were initial painful experiences, and we discuss how these experiences became the foundation for Ben's success, and eventually allowed him to leave his well-paying job as a neurosurgery sales rep. Ben's story is a great example of how to continually evolve your approach while remaining disciplined to long-term results. Take a listen as Ben provides granular advice on networking, adjusting your strategy, and of course, how to succeed in the different Suburbs of Dupage County. Ben is also the previous president of Chicago Area REIA, which is linked if you're interested (check it out, for real). If you found this valuable, please subscribe to our channel for all our updates and find us on Facebook! ----------------- Connect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com Email the Show: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com Guest: Ben Walhood of Apex Landlord Services First National Bank of Brookfield: https://www.fnbb.com/ Chicago Area Real Estate Investment Association: https://www.careia.org/ Rich Dad Poor Dad: https://www.amazon.com/Rich-Dad-Poor-Teach-Middle/dp/1612680194 ClickInvest: https://www.clickinvest.com/ ----------------- Landlord Tip 4:30 Guest Intro 6:20 Guest Questions Accounting for property value when comparing brick vs frame 3:14 What types of deals are you focusing on today? 7:25 How has DuPage County changed since 2012? 10:00 What was the acquisition strategy for bolingbrook? 11:40 When you're relying on third parties for deal finding, how do you keep consistent? 14:18 Tell me about DuPage County and what you like about it? 16:55 What's the housing stock like in the western suburbs? 19:50 How has your financing strategy evolved over time? 24:25 Are there any banks in the western suburbs that you'd recommend to investors? 26:10 What are some nuances between suburbs you invest in? 27:00 What turning point in your career gave you the confidence to go full time REI? 31:05 Where there any big mistakes you made early on in your career? 33:10 How did you get involved in the Chicago Area Real Estate Investment Association? 36:00 Wrap up questions What's your competitive advantage? 38:00 Can you give one piece of advice to a new investor? 38:59 What do you do for fun? 39:45 What's a good self development product you're using? 40:00 Name one person in your local network you'd recommend to investors to utilize. 40:50 How can people learn more about you? 41:23 ----------------- Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of Straight Up Chicago Investor 2020.

With 20 years in the business, Joe Mueller got his start buying REO (bank owned) properties at auctions. From there, Joe networked extensively to develop a robust acquisitions strategy and eventually implement multiple streams of income. Most recently, Joe started a title company suited for investors who wanted to transact in off market property without a broker. Joe shares remarkably deep insights on how to successfully buy properties in the far northwest burbs, especially in McHenry and Kane County, and provides excellent advise that investors can use all over Chicagoland. If you find this podcast helpful, please leave us a review and share us with a friend! ----------------- Connect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com Email the Show: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com Guest: Joe Mueller of TANIS Group Realty Joe's Title Company: https://investorstitleservicesllc.com/ Tom's Tax attorney: https://www.ksnlaw.com/timothy-c.-jacobs Mark's Tax attorney: https://railapc.com/ Podcast Recommendation: ‎Real Estate Disruptors on Apple Podcasts Book Recommendation: Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine Monthly Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/investor-empowerment-chicago/ Join the Wholesale List: http://www.reinvestsells.com ----------------- Landlord tip from Mark 2:50 Guest intro 5:00 Guest Questions Why does it take 2 hours at closing with the title company and how does your company address this? 9:10 Why should you have an attorney when you're closing on a property? 12:00 What types of properties are you invested in? 13:40 What does an attractive deal look like to you? 15:55 How do you take rental license requirements and inspections into account when analyzing a property? 19:50 How are you using freedom of information act (FOIA) reports to your advantage? 23:15 Are there specific pockets where you're finding more deals than others? 25:10 Do you have competition with the newer homes in the areas vs your renovated homes? 27:15 How does investing in Kane vs McHenry county differ? 28:20 How are you financing the acquisition of your properties? 30:15 Have there been any people who have come into your life over the past 20 years that have been true game changers? 35:00 What are your top priorities for right now and going forward? 38:12 What experiences from 2008 have you reflected on during the current Covid crisis? 40:15 Wrap up questions What's your competitive advantage? 42:00 What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone? 43:40 What do you do for fun? 45:16 What's a good self development activity you'd recommend? 45:55 Do you have someone you'd recommend in your local network as a quality resource? 47:40 How can you be reached? 48:15 Thanks for listening! Keep learning, stay hungry, and we'll see you next time. ----------------- Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of Straight Up Chicago Investor 2020.

Investor and property manager Jared Kott lives and breathes the Southeast neighborhoods of Chicago. After leaving corporate America in 2013, Jared enrolled in a property management class the following Monday to get his feet wet doing whatever takes. This experience was the springboard that lead to Jared owning over 100 properties, predominately in the Southeast. Jared gives detailed descriptions on several Southside neighborhoods and covers topics ranging from key differentiators in neighborhoods, to screening tenants, managing vacancies, and planning for the unexpected water bill. If you enjoyed our guest today, please subscribe and share us with a friend! ----------------- Connect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com Email the Show: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com Guest: Jared Kott of Marblestone Property Group Chicago Housing Authority: https://www.thecha.org/landlords/property-rental-assistance-program Community Investment Corp.: http://www.cicchicago.com/ Cook County Land Bank: http://www.cookcountylandbank.org/ Podcast recommendation: https://andyfrisella.com/blogs/mfceo-project-podcast Book Recommendation: https://www.amazon.com/Rejection-Proof-Became-Invincible-Through/dp/080414138X Lending referral: https://www.renovofinancial.com/ ----------------- Landlord tip 2:07 Guest Introduction 3:50 Guest Questions How did you start buying properties on the south side? 7:00 Talk about how you get involved with your community. 10:15 What's different about south chicago than other areas? 11:05 What percent of your portfolio is market rent vs CHA? 13:00 Does the cook county land bank still have opportunities for investors? 18:50 Tell us about the housing stock in your areas. 19:50 What are the taxes like in the Eastside? 24:10 Did you explore other areas while you scaled up? 25:20 What are the differences between underwriting SFH vs MFH? 29:45 What are some misconceptions you've noticed in managing properties on the south side? 33:50 Can you share a lesson you've learned along the way? 35:25 What are some internal checklist items you have for evaluating a deal? 36:20 Where are you finding most of your leads? 37:10 Wrap up questions What's your competitive advantage? 38:00 What's one piece of advice you have for someone who has yet to buy their first property? 38:10 What do you do for fun? 38:25 Any self development products you'd recommend? 38:53 Local network recommendation? 39:40 How can we reach you? 40:20 Thanks for listening! If you found this episode useful, leave us a comment and hit that like button, it helps us out tremendously! ----------------- Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of Straight Up Chicago Investor 2020.

Chicagoland is an insanely competitive market, making constant deal flow one of the toughest challenges for investors across the city. As an investor, how successful would you be if you constantly had 80-100 off-market deals calling you each month asking you to make an offer? Through years of hard work, our guest, Blake McCreight, has created that exact infrastructure. Not only has Blake developed a constant funnel of deals, but he's doing so in a way where the prospects are inbound leads reaching out to him. Blake has built a scalable system that allows him to target specific areas around Chicagoland, and double-down on marketing efforts as necessary. If you're serious about lead acquisition, raising private capital, and growing your business in Chicagoland, you won't want to miss Blake's insights. And please make sure to share this episode with other investors looking to increase their deal flow. ----------------- Connect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com Email the Show: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com Guest: Blake McCreight of Express Property Solutions Village of Dolton permit site: https://vodolton.org/business-2/building-permits-inspections-license/ Deal Machine - Driving for Dollars app: https://dealmachine.com/ LendingHome: https://www.lendinghome.com/ Chicago Broker Recommendation: https://frankmontrohomes.com/ Extreme Ownership Book: https://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Ownership-U-S-Navy-SEALs/dp/1250067057 Profit First Book: https://www.amazon.com/Profit-First-Transform-Cash-Eating-Money-Making-ebook/dp/B01HCGYTH4 Business Wars Podcast: https://wondery.com/shows/business-wars/ Blake's Cell - Text first: (847) 212-1029 Blake's network recommendation - Vince Incopero: https://www.reallawgroup.com/vincent-bio ----------------- Landlord tip 3:20 Guest Intro 5:15 Guest Questions What is your business focusing on today? 6:40 What's step 1 for finding off market deals? 11:40 What areas do you like today? And have they changed over time? 14:10 What are some nuances of Dolton that someone needs to be aware of? 18:20 Why do you like the 100-200K property range? 21:15 At what point do you decide what strategy you use on a property? 23:20 Do you think it's worth it for new investors to get their real estate license? 29:50 How do you raise money to execute your strategies? 31:05 Wrap up questions What is your competitive advantage? 3:12 One piece of advice for someone looking to buy their first property in Chicago? 39:14 What do you do for fun? 39:45 What's a good self development tool you've been using? 40:00 Contact info? 42:10 One local network recommendation? 43:10 Thanks for listening! If you found this episode useful, leave us a comment and hit that like button, it helps us out tremendously! ----------------- Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of Straight Up Chicago Investor 2020.

Price points can be appealing in the Western Suburbs, especially compared to each areas of the city. However, it's not as simple as looking at rental rates and population statistics; our guest today is uniquely qualified to shed light on all the pros and cons that come along with investing in the numerous Western Suburbs East of 294. John Warren is both an agent and investor and founder of the Chicago West Suburban Real Estate Investor Meet-Up. John knows each of these municipalities better than anyone else out there and explains that two adjacent suburbs can be an apples to oranges comparison if you don't dig deeper than the numbers on a spreadsheet. If you've been on Bigger Pockets forums, you've definitely seen the type of knowledge John doles out on a daily basis and know that he is the real deal. If this market has been on your radar, you'll be sure to want to hear this. Send this to a friend, and if you like what you hear, hit that subscribe button! ----------------- Connect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com Email the Show: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com Guest: John Warren of Second City Real Estate RE Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Chicago-West-Suburban-Real-Estate-Investors-Meetup/ Josh Jones - Loan Officer: https://www.loandepot.com/loan-officers/jmjones Podcast Recommendation: https://www.getricheducation.com/podcast/ Miracle Morning: https://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Morning-Not-So-Obvious-Guaranteed-Transform/dp/0979019710 ----------------- Guest intro 6:20 Landlord tip from Mark 2:50 Questions for John Warren: What areas are you spending the most time in? 6:55 What types of opportunities are you seeing in these markets? 8:55 What are the differences between Cicero and Berwyn? 10:25 Are Berwyn and Cicero predominantly city commuters or blue collar? 12:00 Tell me about the areas a little west of Berwyn, are those areas more desirable?16:30 Can you describe the Lyons and Stickney area for us? 20:10 How have these neighborhoods changed over time? 22:20 Can you break down the neighborhood just north of 290? 24:30 What are some key things you talk to someone out of state about when looking to invest? 27:40 What value have you gotten in the Chicago Western Suburbs RE group? 29:15 Has it been beneficial doing virtual meetups since the lockdown started? 30:40 You put a lot of effort into Bigger Pockets, what drives you to provide so much value to that community? 34:00 Wrap up questions: What is your competitive advantage? 36:15 What is one piece of advice you have for an early investor? 36:50 What do you do for fun? 37:25 Self development recommendation? 38:25 What is the miracle morning? 39:00 Network recommendation? 40:45 Thanks for listening! If you found this episode useful, leave us a comment and hit that like button, it helps us out tremendously! ----------------- Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of Straight Up Chicago Investor 2020.

So many people working day jobs want to build wealth through real estate but don't know how to get started. Ibn gives great advice on how to leverage the day job as a springboard to grow your real estate business. Ibn not only oversee his own rehabs and self-manage his tenants, but goes the extra mile to understand his community and create win-wins for everyone. And where there wasn't a meet-up for his specific area, he started the South East Chicago Real Estate Club! Ibn dishes out advice on how to find deals, source tradesmen for jobs, and assess risk. If you like what you heard, please hit the subscribe button and leave us a review! ----------------- Connect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com Email the Show: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com Guest: Ibn Abney of South East Chicago Real Estate Club Chicago Enterprise Zones: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dcd/supp_info/enterprise_zone_program.html Enterprise Zone Map: https://data.cityofchicago.org/Community-Economic-Development/Boundaries-Enterprise-Zones/64xf-pyvh South East Chicago Real Estate Club: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/ChicagoBRRRRTeam/posts/ Book Recommendation - Atomic Habits: https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-Proven-Build-Break/dp/0735211299 ----------------- Landlording Tip 3:00 Guest Intro 5:10 Guest Questions How has the gentrification you saw in Brooklyn influenced how you invest in Chicago?6:20 What are areas you're currently invested in that you see gentrification occurring? 7:40 What can a TIF district do to benefit you? 11:25 How has your background as a W-2 employee benefitted your real estate career? 13:20 How are you financing your investment properties since you do have a W-2? 14:50 What made you start investing in condos? 16:00 What kind of issues do you run into with HOAs, and how do you address it? 18:25 What processes do you have in place to do all this with a full time job? 20:45 How has the age of buildings influenced what you buy? 23:00 What's different today from a few years ago? 31:25 Wrap up questions What's your competitive advantage? 35:05 What's a piece of advice you'd give someone looking to start? 35:40 What do you do for fun? 36:04 Can you recommend a self development product? 36:25 Local network recommendation? 37:30 How can people reach out? 38:10 Thanks for listening! If you found this episode useful, leave us a comment and hit that like button, it helps us out tremendously! ----------------- Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of Straight Up Chicago Investor 2020.

Nothing kills a real estate investing career quicker than a horrendous rehab experience that spirals from the original budget and timeline. In this episode, Bryan Sonn gives golden advise on how to avoid this scenario and ultimately scale your construction process. Bryan has a skill for people that has earned him a consistent network of quality workers. This network, combined with his proven approach to streamlining the rehabilitation process has saved his investors a tremendous amount of money and frustration. Bryan shares some great stories, lessons learned, and wisdom for everyone looking to create value through rehabbing properties in need. His experiences in some of the tougher areas of the city have prepared him for anything and everything. Share Bryan's story with a friend, and if you liked what you hear, don't forget to subscribe and leave a review! ----------------- Connect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com Email the Show: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com Guest: Bryan Sonn of GC Realty & Development Never Lose Another Customer: https://www.amazon.com/Never-Lose-Customer-Again-Lifelong/dp/0735220034 Who moved My Cheese: https://www.amazon.com/Moved-Cheese-Spencer-Johnson-M-D/dp/0743582853 Contact Bryan: bryan@gcrealtyinc.com ----------------- Guest Intro 3:25 Guest Questions Where are the majority of the properties you've rehabbed over the years? 4:40 Why do you need a house sitter or security for your rehabs? 8:00 What did you do to find quality contractors, and how did you keep them working? 14:00 What advice would give to someone looking to build a team of contractors? 19:25 How did you finance the rehabs? 22:50 How does your mindset change from the first property to the 500th? 26:40 Why do you think it's important that you control the rehab materials instead of contractors? 29:00 What's the importance of partnerships in real estate investing? 34:40 What's the oldest home you've ever rehabbed in Chicago? 36:42 Wrap up questions What advice would you give someone about to invest South Deering? 38:12 What's your competitive advantage? 39:00 Any advice for new investors? 39:38 What do you do for fun? 40:35 Any self development product you'd recommend? 41:00 Who would you recommend in your local network? 42:00 Would you ever do another reality TV show? 42:32 How can people get a hold of you? 43:00 Thanks for listening! If you found this episode useful, leave us a comment and hit that like button, it helps us out tremendously! ----------------- Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of Straight Up Chicago Investor 2020.

Have you considered investing in Lake County? Or minimizing vacancies with a 3yr rent-to-own lease? Our guest today, Bill Powers, has successfully done both of these actions to scale his business to 250+ rent to own properties in the last ten years. Listen to Bill lay out his strategies on how to find the perfect asset, screen each tenant, and assist tenants with lending programs, thus enabling him to keep his occupancy at 99%! Not to mention, Bill's short term rental listings were in hot water due to COVID-19; but Bill found a solution to quickly pivot and set himself up for success. If you find Bill helpful, reach out to him, hit the subscribe button and share us with a friend! ----------------- Connect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com Email the Show: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com Guest: Bill Powers of RTO Property "The Golden Rules:" https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Rules-Finding-World-Class-Excellence/dp/125005950X Retire Rich: https://www.amazon.com/Retire-Rich-Rentals-Ongoing-Forever-ebook/dp/B00P9KVE42 Landlord Assistance: https://www.securepayone.com/ Local Financing Options: First bank of highland park - https://www.firstbankhp.com/ Northside community bank - https://www.nscombank.com/ Northshore trust and savings - https://www.northshoretrust.com/ Lake County Property Investors Association: http://www.lcpia.org/ ----------------- Guest intro. 3:00 Guest Questions How is your business different today vs when you first started. 4:40 How do you go about making rent to own part of your business? 6:35 Is there a type of SFH you're looking to purchase? 8:10 What are some things you look for when screening tenants for rent to own? 9:00 What does the Waukegan investment market look like? 9:50 Are there pockets of Waukegan that you prefer over others, what do they look like? 11:50 What are the types of buildings you're looking at in lake bluff?13:30 What are some rules of thumb when you're estimating rehab costs and values? 15:00 Are you ever looking to get outside of Lake County? 18:15 What made you get into the Airbnb and STR market? 19:25 Tell us about the Lake County Property Investor association. 21:57 What did you take from your previous career that benefitted your RE career? 23:10 Wrap up questions What advice would you give someone from out of state? 24:15 What is your competitive advantage? 25:30 Do you have a local referral for someone in the area? 26:40 What do you do for fun? 27:25 Can you name a good self development tool you've used? 27:45 How can people find you and reach out to you? 28:50 Thanks for listening! If you found this episode useful, leave us a comment and hit that like button, it helps us out tremendously! ----------------- Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of Straight Up Chicago Investor 2020.

If you've gone on the Bigger Pockets forums, you've probably seen the wealth of knowledge she shares with everyone, but today Brie Schmidt of Second City Real Estate is getting down to the Chicago specific details for you. Ever wonder why north center has had such a strong population decline while prices have skyrocketed? Or how you can house hack a property yourself? Brie tells it all for you without selling sunshine and rainbows, but her expertise keeps her clients coming back year after year. Not only that, Brie gives some insight into how she optimized her schedule from working 60+ hours a week to 20-30 max giving her more time to focus on her own life. You're not going to want to miss this. ----------------- Connect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com Email the Show: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com Guest: Brie Schmidt of Second City Real Estate Bigger Pockets: https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/chicagobrie Book rec: https://www.amazon.com/Super-Human-Bulletproof-Backward-Forever/dp/0062882821 Midwest Real Estate Summit: http://www.midwestresummit.com Book rec: https://whttps://www.amazon.com/Getting-Things-Done-Stress-Free-Productivity/dp/0142000280ww.amazon.com/Why-We-Sleep-Unlocking-Dreams/dp/1501144316 GC Realty Section 8 Blog: https://www.gcrealtyinc.com/blog/what-will-section-8-pay-for-rent-in-cook-county 2018 Payment Standards: https://thehacc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/2018-Payment-Standard-7-01-2018-approved.pdf ----------------- Mark's tip on section 8 housing 1:27 Guest Bio 3:04 Guest Questions What are some assumptions, either correct or incorrect, about the Chicago Market? 3:39 What neighborhoods are you in and how have they changed over time? 8:30 Is there anything happening in Irving Park and Avondale? 10:17 What are some of the expectations you set with clients looking to househack? 13:45 When does a househack not make sense for a client? 19:50 How do you show properties with illegal garden units? 23:50 What should clients expect when working with you? 28:52 What caused you to start investing in Milwaukee? 33:55 Wrap up questions What is your personal advantage? 44:50 What is one piece of advice you'd give a novice? 45:40 What do you do for fun? 46:00 What is a good self development product you've used recently? 46:30 Local network recommendation? 47:40 Thanks for listening! If you found this episode useful, leave us a comment and hit that like button, it helps us out tremendously! ----------------- Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of Straight Up Chicago Investor 2020.

How can you use your skills from your day job to scale an investment portfolio to 450 units? Listen to our guest, Ron Plonis, explain how he used his computer science background to help him build systems and scale his own portfolio, then sold it off completely. His career has spanned nearly 15 years, and his experiences give insight into how things have changed from pre '08 to now. Things from raising capital, selecting areas to focus on, and how to determine the greatest point of value creation are all topics covered in this as Ron lays it all out for you. ----------------- Connect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com Email the Show: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com Guest: Ron Plonis of Kiser Group Reach out to Ron! Email: rplonis@kisergroup.com Cell: 312-286-8216 Book rec: https://www.amazon.com/Subtle-Art-Not-Giving-Counterintuitive-ebook/dp/B019MMUA8S ----------------- Landlord tip of the day 1:30 Guest intro 4:00 Questions for Ron Plonis: What made you get into SFH from working a 9-5? 8:30 Can you talk about raising capital? 13:30 Can you tell me about Glenwood? 15:50 How did you end up selling your whole portfolio? 17:50 How did you transition from SFH to MFH? 19:00 What is one thing that's surprised you since getting into REI? 21:25 How do you think the post COVID -19 rental environment will look? 23:19 Do you see a chance of Cap rates staying the same or contrasting? 27:30 What advice can you provide about MFH to an out of state investor? 29:40 What kind of systems does someone just getting started need to get in place?31:35 What advice would you give someone just starting out? 34:42 Wrap up questions: What's your competitive advantage? 38:40 What do you do for fun? 40:50 What's a good self development product you'd recommend? 41:15 Who would you recommend in your network as a quality resource to someone? 42:10 Thanks for listening! If you found this episode useful, leave us a comment and hit that like button, it helps us out tremendously! ----------------- Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of Straight Up Chicago Investor 2020.