Chicago Real Estate Investing Blog

By Tom Shallcross

A Recap of RE Journal’s Chicago CRE Forecast Event

RE Journal recently hosted the 21st annual Chicago Real Estate Forecasting Conference. It was a great event with several hundred attendees and numerous accredited speakers. For those who were not able to attend, below are a few tidbits that may assist you as you progress in 2023....

By Tom Shallcross

What is Debt Service Coverage Ratio?

What is Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) and as a Chicago real estate investor why should you care? DSCR is a measurement of your property’s net cash flow compared to your debt obligation. To calculate your DSCR you take your annual net operating income (NOI) and divide b...

By Tom Shallcross

How Chicago Investors Benefit From the NSBC

By: Tom Shallcross, an interview with Nicky DeLeon and Jeff WeinbergI had the pleasure of sitting down with Nicky DeLeon and Jeff Weinberg who head-up the Northwest Side Building Coalition (NSBC). The NSBC is one of several great organizations within the Neighborhood Building Own...

By Tom Shallcross

CHICAGO’S ADU ORDINANCE - WHAT INVESTORS NEED TO KNOW

At the end of 2020, Chicago approved the Additional Dwelling Units (ADU) ordinance in hopes to leverage the city’s existing housing inventory to provide affordable housing options. The program identified five pilot areas within the city in hopes of incentivising building ow...

By Tom Shallcross

Cut Your Rehab Costs Through Illinois and Chicago Enterprise Zones

Want to cut down on your rehab costs? Then familiarize yourself with Illinois’s Eneterprise Zone Program to minimize material costs. Straight from the state’s website, the “Illinois Enterprise Zone Program is designed to stimulate economic growth and neighborhoo...

By Tom Shallcross

What Do Chicago Investors Pay in Closing Costs?

Are you aware of the different subset of fees that exist on the settlement statement? Are you able to accurately estimate your closing costs on your next purchase? If you are not confident in your answers to the above two questions, then this will be a helpful line-by-line walk t...

By Tom Shallcross

Five Things to Look for When Choosing an Agent For Your Chicago Househack Investment

By Tom Shallcross with Interview Insights from Brie Schmidt“I’m looking to buy ### amount of properties in the next year and hoping to sync-up with an investor-friendly agent” is thrown around Facebook and Bigger Pockets forums on a daily basis. Dozens of agents...

By Tom Shallcross

THE NBOA in 2021 and What’s Ahead

I recently had the pleasure of recapping 2021 with the President of the NBOA (and father of an Olympian), Mike Glasser. Over the past year, Mike did a tremendous job leading an organization of over 600 members spread across nine neighborhood building groups. Our team at Straight ...

By Tom Shallcross

Understanding 2-4 Unit Appraisals in Chicago

For those looking to purchase a 2-4 unit building in Chicago, one of the most important variables to accurately forecast is the appropriate value of the property - whether it be a stabilized purchase value, or the anticipated after repair value (ARV). The appraised value of 2-4 u...

By Tom Shallcross

A RECAP OF BISNOW'S “CHICAGO STATE OF THE MARKET

Earlier this month I was fortunate enough to attend Biznow’s “Chicago State of the Market.” The half-day event featured panels of city officials, architectects, capital market executives, construction leaders, mega developers, and even past Straight Up Chicago I...