Straight Up Chicago Investor

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.

Andrew and Angie Taggart, an electrician and a teacher by trade, walk us through how their drive for learning and growth has pivoted their careers into scaling up a real estate portfolio. They give tons of great information on networking events that have been pivotal in getting momentum, the strategy they use and unique rules relating to BRRRR investing that young investors can easily overlook. ----------------- Connect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com Email the Show: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com Guest: Andrew and Angie Taggart of Taggart Electric Inc. REObroker Site: https://www.reobroker.com/ Auction Houses: https://www.hubzu.com/ REI Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Chicago-Real-Estate-Investors-Mastermind/ Taggart Electric: https://www.taggartelectricinc.com/ Multiple Streams of Income: https://www.amazon.com/Multiple-Streams-Income-Generate-Unlimited/dp/0471714550 Rich Dad Poor Dad: https://www.amazon.com/Rich-Dad-Poor-Teach-Middle/dp/1612680194 Van Blackman - Wholesaler: https://www.networthrealtyusa.com/ ----------------- Guest intro 2:36 Questions for Andrew and Angie: What is the most overlooked aspect of the BRRRR strategy? 6:00 How do you handle financing? 8:15 What REI meetups are you parts of? 10:15 Tell me about your strategy of determining location. 11:25 How would you describe your areas to someone unfamiliar? 15:00 Why invest in single family over MFH? 17:10 What are some challenges you face after you close on a property? 19:25 What's the scope of a typical rehab you're doing? 21:20 Have you had to fight an appraisal before? 26.45 Wrap up questions: What's a piece of advice you'd give a novice? 31:00 What's your competitive advantage? 32:04 If you could go back three years, what would you do differently? 33:37 How do you have fun? 34:30 What's a good self development product you've used? 35:16 Local network recommendation? 36:23 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.

Originally from Philadelphia, Dan is a great case study of how an out of state investor can crush it in this market. Today he operates in three markets: Chicago, Philadelphia and Atlanta. Starting in '06 as a wholesaler with not much guidance, Dan gives tremendous insight into his journey from those early days wholesaling to today where in 2019 he closed on 223 deals with 5MM in profit for him and his partners. Dan is an expert at what he does with tremendous discipline, meditating every day and prioritizing sleep to accomplish everything he does. Listen in for his playbook and tips to scale up to his level. You can find out more about Dan at his website and podcast REIDiamonds.com or dealswithroi.com to see his active wholesale deals. ----------------- Connect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com Email the Show: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com Guest: Dan Breslin of REI Diamonds Wholesaling distribution list: https://dealswithroi.com/ How Dan presents deals to investors: https://diamondequity.com/private-lenders/ Book rec: https://www.amazon.com/Super-Human-Bulletproof-Backward-Forever/dp/0062882821 Book rec: https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Sleep-Unlocking-Dreams/dp/1501144316 Self development product rec: https://choosemuse.com/ Link: https://kaufmanlawchicago.com/index.php ----------------- Guest Bio 2:30 Questions for Dan Breslin: How did you hone in on specific areas? 4:45 How are you positioning your marketing budget? 8:00 How do you decide whether to personally flip/invest vs wholesaling to your clients? 10:25 How can investors set up a relationship with companies like yours?13:05 What signs should people be looking for to identify gentrification? 17:30 What are some of the attributes that separate markets you like vs the ones that you look past? 24:00 How are you finding deals and how do you get financing to do the amount of volume you do? 28:40 What pitfalls should people look for when dealing with wholesalers? 32:55 Wrap up questions: What is your competitive advantage? 35:40 What is one piece of advice for someone yet to do their first deal? 36:20 How do you have fun and decompress? 37:15 Self development tool you would recommend to someone? 37:40 Network recommendation 40:40 ----------------- Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of Straight Up Chicago Investor 2020.

Mark and Tom introduce the first podcast to deep dive into real estate investing in Chicago and its surrounding suburbs. We are going to take a look at specific neighborhoods and specific strategies, dissect obstacles that real investors have dealt and explore the solutions used to overcome them. Listen to Mark and Tom have a candid conversation about how the current environment has impacted their territories. Connect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com Email the Show: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com ----------------- Production House: Flint Stone Media Copyright of Straight Up Chicago Investor 2020.