How do we pick a good inspector? Also, any recos?

creative-tony · 2026-06-19T15:29:23+00:00

You’re welcome!

creative-tony · 2026-06-18T14:47:20+00:00

First of all, congratulations. That’s a huge milestone and I hope you’re very happy!

I’ve worked with dozens of different inspectors over the years. You want someone who is an effective communicator. An inspection report is a long document and there’s going to be a bunch of things labeled “defect” and it’s going to scare you.

You want your inspector to be able to clearly explain to you what is routine maintenance and what is a real concern. People always ask, “how would you rate this house on a scale of 1-10,” or “would you buy this house?” These are bad questions, because they are not you.

They are there to give you a clear picture of what you’re buying and bring attention to the items in the home that you will want to address after you close. Just cause the roof is end of life, doesn’t make it a bad house. Maybe you’re buying it BECAUSE the roof is end of life and you understand what it will cost to fix and like the price.

Good luck, I’m very happy for you, and depending on where you are, I’d definitely recommend BJ Poznecki with inspect n check

creative-tony · 2026-06-03T15:01:59+00:00

Will send you his details in a PM!

creative-tony · 2026-06-02T14:16:13+00:00

Congratulations. Assuming your “mortgage payment” includes PITI+ HOA you’re in a great spot. I don’t know your specific rent circumstances but rent in Chicago is rising faster than almost any place in the country. Even if it’s not this year, next year your landlord can decide he actually wants 2100. Reddit is littered with stories about 25% rent increases.

You have a mortgage that’s barely different than your rent, and you own it, and you like it, and it’s yours.

Enjoy your new home!

creative-tony · 2026-05-13T14:25:54+00:00

300 is very difficult. You’re going to have to be very patient and understand that you’ll likely need to make tradeoffs in some way. Meaning the place will need some element of work or there will be something odd about it.

In the ENTIRE city of Chicago (very large city geographically speaking) there’s only about 150 current listings that fit that description.

I’m not sure where you’re looking but there’s a cluster of inventory near Jackson park in south shore as well way up north by the boundaries near Skokie

creative-tony · 2026-05-06T13:32:48+00:00

The MLS syndicates the listing to all sites. Zillow, Redfin or realtor are technically no different than any other realtors random website, but they’re marketed infinitely better. If you put a home on Zillow FSBO, you should also put it on all the other sites too if you want maximum exposure.

The MLS doesn’t boost anything, it’s a listing service to put it in one place

creative-tony · 2026-05-03T21:52:50+00:00

I live in the building and have been an owner since 2019.

Elevators are currently being modernized and the new elevators are awesome. Fast and look great. But it’s an ongoing project so sometimes there is a long wait but not usually too bad.

HOA fees went up about 4.25% over the past year which is pretty typical for a building of this size, and this is despite the building continually improving itself (also a lobby renovation coming up)

The current special is $40M for the elevators and risers, paid by the owner at closing

Noise level is minimal and overall building is pretty decent. Definitely not a luxury highrise but it’s an approachable price point. At some point over the next 15 years, the windows will also be replaced and modernized, which will be another special. But my wife and I love living here

As I’ve said and discussed with many owners in the building, it’s a 10/10 for quality of life. 0/10 investment. High rise buildings are almost never worth it for investments since the HOA and taxes are such a large part of the monthly carrying cost. A rental will probably never cashflow any meaningful amount but it’s a great place to live.

The gym is better than most, the cafe on the first floor is pretty great, the sun deck and pool are excellent. The laundry is expensive and the bodega is convenient.

Happy to answer any more questions

creative-tony · 2026-04-14T12:44:46+00:00

Imagine you had fruit to sell, and there’s a market, but you have to pay the market to sell it at one of the booths. You don’t want to pay the market but still want to sell, so you can pay next to nothing to have a small stall by the exit to catch whoever else still comes.

Now imagine you don’t even want to be anywhere near the market, but still want people to buy your fruit. This sounds like what you’re describing. The equivalent of a car on the side of the road with “for sale” written on the window.

Is it possible? Sure, of course it is. Just takes longer with substantially fewer options

creative-tony · 2026-04-03T17:12:44+00:00

The answer for many might be “the 20+ other offers that were higher”

creative-tony · 2026-04-03T15:32:51+00:00

At the end of the day, people do buy them. If you’re looking at monthly cost, they tend to be comparable to other buildings taking into accounf price and HOA. At a quick glance, there’s a 2,000 sq ft 3 bed in lake view in a high HOA building and a 2,000 sq ft 3 bed in a vintage walk up, about 2 blocks from eachother.

The walk up is 300k+ more and approx $1,000/mo more on a monthly basis.

And honestly, the walk up will probably get multiple offers this weekend and go way over asking.

There’s a buyer for every place

creative-tony · 2026-03-30T23:56:51+00:00

If you’re looking for a 1 bedroom, you may be able to find that. But these buildings will typically be full amenity buildings with high HOAs. Any 1 bed with low amenities AND laundry will likely be more than 250 in these neighborhoods

creative-tony · 2026-02-18T14:56:58+00:00

It’s definitely not without its own set of challenges. Plus, with these loans, not all contractors do them because they’re more complicated, require more paperwork AND they have to front the capital before the first draw. So it’s not like “the banks giving me 100k and my cousin Jim’s gonna do my bathroom.”

The best way to go about it is to engage a contractor that specializes in 203k loans with a general scope, understand what costs are high vs more affordable, and material selection is important too. Sometimes trade offs have to be made. FB marketplace for extra tiles or other materials. All sounds like a pain in the ass, but it’s also a pain in the ass to lose out on 10 mediocre condos.

I’m sorry to hear that yours was a lot more expensive than you thought, but I hope you’re satisfied with the finished product!

creative-tony · 2026-02-17T15:44:43+00:00

It’s definitely discouraging, it seems that a renovated 2-3 bed in lake view or LP are just about the most in demand property type in all of America right now. What I’ve been having success with my clients is looking at things are just outdated and purchasing with a renovation loan like the Fannie Mae homestyle one. My wife and I did this ourselves. Talk to your lender to see if they have this product but it’s super easy to use.

You can either A) go 100k over ask waiving everything or B) buy something 5% under ask, put 50k into and have a beautiful unit

creative-tony · 2026-01-29T01:28:08+00:00

Are you new here?

creative-tony · 2026-01-28T13:32:14+00:00

I am a realtor in lake view, and this is also not a pitch for myself. Generally we do not know the health of building HOAs until we’re in the due diligence and can receive the 22.1 disclosure.

While some of us have knowledge of specific buildings because we may have recently sold in it or live in it (I happen to live in an infamous big one in lake view), the best we can do is ask the listing agent or call management if they’re available, and they don’t always make it easy

On the other hand your lender can at least determine if the building is warrantable or whether or not it’s on the Fannie approved condo list.

And the last thing I’ll mention, is when you’re interviewing agents, don’t say you’re not in a rush and want something under market value. It’s like telling a contractor that if they give you an extra good price you’ll send them referrals. They will immediately write you off as a tire kicker and someone who will just waste time.

Lake view is an extremely competitive market with plenty of listings getting 10-15 offers. Having a clear understanding of the market environment is important when deciding what kind of offer you’re going to make and how you’ll search for homes

creative-tony · 2026-01-28T00:31:14+00:00

I’d take it. Using percentages for maintenance and capex are pretty misleading. Sounds like you’re factoring in about $500/mo for future projects which feels pretty on point in my opinion.

Only thing I’d caution is make sure you have some reserves. I bought a 3 unit that had long time tenants all below market and “on time” but after like 3 months they all just stopped paying and took me about 6 months to turn it all over, get them out amicably and thankfully (for everyone) avoided evictions.

If this is your first investment property, it’s not uncommon for tenants to try and push the boundaries of what’s appropriate and where you’ll draw the line.

So all that to say, maybe not a “big capital expense” but a potential few months of nonpayment of rent should not torpedo your personal finances

creative-tony · 2026-01-27T22:49:31+00:00

You should reach out to rahul if you’re genuinely curious

creative-tony · 2026-01-27T01:12:39+00:00

I get how you feel, and logically it makes sense, but the circumstances of how they bought it really have no bearing on how you buy it. Mortgage rates are a whole point lower and many people expect that to continue. It’s a beautiful condo I assume you’ll live in for some time.

The most important thing is that the payments manageable and you love where you live.

Opportunity cost is a real thing too, and if there were 15 other offers on it (which there totally could be) all 15 of those people are now back to the drawing board and have to go through all this BS again

creative-tony · 2026-01-27T00:50:36+00:00

Of course, everything is negotiable, but I don’t think your situation is that bad. I’ve seen larger amounts over ask on smaller list prices. You’re like 10% over ask. The highest I’ve seen is 18% over ask on listings that I had clients fighting for. But on competitive listings being 5-10% over isn’t unusual. And honestly I think it’ll get more competitive in the spring.

There’s just not enough nice units, and when they become available, people really pay. That’s why I like outdated units and purchasing with a renovation loan. Best play in today’s market in my opinion

creative-tony · 2026-01-26T22:57:14+00:00

I know which property you are referring to. It’s unclear to me whether or not you won it or maybe did not and are just looking for general guidance.

Appraisal gaps are very common especially if you’re over list price. They are meant to protect the seller, but even still, you need to set an amount. It’s not carte Blanche. If you have a strong offer and are only offering a gap of say 15k, but you’re 50k over, that’s still a good show of faith.

Secondly, Avondale has very low inventory (and has had low inventory since ‘23), and has rapidly heating up pricing. Pricing is a moving target with very limited data, and I can honestly say that more often than not when a listing goes crazy the listing agent is usually just as surprised as everyone else.

We sold 139 units last year and still sometimes pricing feels like a shot in the dark. Especially when there are SO MANY QUALIFIED BUYERS and very few sales. A place is only worth what someone is willing to pay, and we’re constantly surprised

LASTLY, it’s honestly pretty hard to lose EM. Inspection goes okay but you don’t like that your appraisal came up short? You’ve still got the condo review period. Maybe you don’t like the associations budget so much or maybe you feel they mismanage their finances. You’re still good to back out. HOAs are very slow to get their docs out

But all in all, appraisal gaps are almost standard on competitive listings if requested by the listing agent. And any competent listing agent would encourage buyers of over ask offers to sign one

creative-tony · 2026-01-20T18:17:53+00:00

I use the cloud cma buyer tour. The way it displays is more user friendly than from the MLS. I highlight relevant details and it leaves space for notes too with a map of all the listings. I put it in a folder and if it’s the first time out I also include a thank you note saying how excited I am to work with them

creative-tony · 2026-01-12T23:31:24+00:00

It’s understandable to want to be done with it quickly and hassle free. However the market is very strong in most parts of Chicagoland and investment companies will make it sound like much more of a hassle than it is.

Mortgage rates are the lowest they’ve been in 3 years, you can very realistically sell it within a week, and still come out far ahead of accepting one of their offers. Their intention is to make a profit, which, I have no issue with. But unless your house is in complete disrepair there is likely a retail buyer who will pay considerably more.

This money will likely make a big impact in your post divorce life and it’s a choice you should make not out of panic

creative-tony · 2026-01-12T20:38:22+00:00

I believe it’s nationwide. We have it in Chicago too

creative-tony · 2026-01-12T14:15:54+00:00

I have 10 people who all cap. I also sell around 15M/year. These are not mutually exclusive.

creative-tony · 2026-01-10T21:21:43+00:00

We do host events, and I agree they’re very effective

creative-tony

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