Straight Up Chicago Investor

First and foremost, a huge thank you to all our listeners! Please continue to be active members of our community and help spread the good word!  This Thanksgiving, we want to take a quick moment to reflect on all the great things and opportunities we have in this great city of Chicago. A rich history, epic sports franchises, an extensive park network and some of the best food in the world are only...

Jon Womack of Third City Properties has been investing in the Chicago market for four years focusing on the northwest neighborhoods of Belmont Cragin and North Austin. Jon dives into what the investment landscape looks like in these areas, including tenant expectations of finishes and his general investment strategies. One of the key differentiators for Jon is his involvement in local neighborhood...

With the right mindset, anything can be achieved. Shantanu Kamra is living proof, having moved to the US 8 years ago and Chicagoland just about 2 years ago, he's been able to scale his portfolio in the western suburbs to over 40 units. In today's episode he talks about househacking, BRRRR strategy execution, and scaling into larger buildings. He also gives advice on why coaching has worked for him...

Are you interested in multifamily buildings in the southside of Chicago? Are you looking to know the ins and outs of Bronzeville along with some of its adjacent neighborhoods? Ted Stratman is one of the leading brokers in Chicago and in this episode he lays out invaluable block by block knowledge - including what rents have done over the last twelve months, how demand in Bronzeville and its surrou...

Luke Blahnik of Flor Blahnik, is a true real estate entrepreneur (and owner of Avondale Bowl!). In this episode, Luke provides block by block insights investors need to know to successfully invest in Logan Square. He explains what attracted him to the area as well as the future prospects for growth despite the massive run up over the past 10 years. Luke dives into tenant expectations, rehab expect...

"You have to watch out for your property taxes," has been said in numerous episodes. On today's episode we bring a tax appeal expert to explain how to proactively protect your investment against increasing property taxes. Tim Jacobs of KSN Law dives deep into the complex world of Illinois property taxes and about the multiple ways you can appeal property taxes in Chicago, the tax assessment cycle...

In this week's episode, Sean Morrissey of Chicago Realty Group LLC breaks down investing in and around Aurora, focusing on the downtown redevelopment taking place to bring the old riverboat city back into the spotlight. Aurora is full of diverse opportunities, including tax credits, and unique zoning discrepancies that allow the clever investor the ability to redevelop mis-zoned land. Sean also ex...

Ciere Boatright is the VP of Real Estate and Inclusion at CNI and has managed the planning and development of over $350 Million in new investment in southside neighborhoods. Today, Ciere walks us through several of those projects, with a focus on CNI's successful revitalization of Pullman.  Ciere explains CNI's approach towards creating jobs and affordable housing in specific communities, and why...

There are over 125,000 RE/MAX agents in the US, and in 2019 not one of them sold more properties than REO expert Ryan Smith. That's right, our guest is #1 out of 125,000.  In this episode, Ryan Smith and his partner Mike Harvey discuss REO properties, how to work with REO agents, and the difference between foreclosure and pre-foreclosure. Ryan and Mike shine light on the nuances a Chicago investor...

Jason Marcordes, owner of Landmark Property Management, provides insight into how Pilsen has evolved and why he thinks it still has a runway for growth. Jason dives into tenants expectations and several nuances that come with investing in one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city.  Aside from Pilsen, we touch on surrounding neighborhoods such as Little Village and Bridgeport, and analyze price p...

Neal Bawa, the founder of Grocapitus, has built an immense empire of 3,000 units with nearly 40,000 students studying his data driven approach. On today's episode, Neal dives into the key advantages and disadvantages of investing in Chicago compared to other major metros. He also provides his thoughts on opportunity zones, including the major benefits of OZs and why some are destined to fail. Bein...

Today's episode provides great insights for anyone investing in Chicago, specifically for those unfamiliar with the area.  Author, coach, and entrepreneur Kathy Fettke has been featured on The Wall Street Journal, ABC, CNBC, NPR, MarketWatch, among other major media outlets. With over 50,000 members following her advice through her RealWealth Network educational platform, Kathy's team of  investor...

Chance Badertscher from Lavelle Law, specializes in Commercial and Residential real estate as well as business formation in and around Chicagoland. In this episode, Chance provides nuggets on how to properly interview a real estate attorney and how an attorney should quarterback your transaction. Chance also goes into the role the attorney plays in Chicago real estate transactions and how they can...

Our guest today, Noah Birk, is the highest producing multi-family broker in Chicago since 2014. In this episode, Noah provides great hyper-local insights on MFH investing in neighborhoods like South Shore, Auburn Gresham, Washington Park and Englewood. We discuss the impact that the Obama Center and Tiger Woods Golf Course play into the area's appreciation as well as key mistakes to avoid on the s...

Matt Fritzshall is the President and Founder of Triton Realty Group with over 200MM in transactions under his belt. Matt was highly successful during the Logan Square boom and in this episode, he'll discuss other Northside markets such as Hermosa and Belmont Gardens that have the potential to be the next Logan Square. Matt also weighs in on the age old debate of starting small or going for a large...

Prashanth Mahakali is the owner of PMPC Architecture firm here in Chicago and an active contributor to Bigger Pockets. He is also an investor and has built his firm under the notion of smoothly handling all headache permits for his clients. In today's episode, Prashanth talks in depth on handling building violations, expediting permits, and navigating the city's easy permit process. Prashanth prov...

After selling a successful logistics company, and actively investing in real estate, Jake Fugman has carved a niche as a high-performing investor-friendly agent. In this episode, Jake provides a ton of market knowledge and deep insights into many desirable and upcoming Chicago neighborhoods, including Hermosa, Belmont Gardens, Portage Park, Marshall Square, Pilsen, Little Village, along with sever...

Last week we got into the top ten mistakes borrowers make with Renovo Financial. This week ,  Eric Wo rkman continues counting down the top 10 with numbers 5 all the way down to #1. Eric has a long background in real estate with experience in construction, brokering deals, flipping houses, etc. When Brandon Moulton, our guest from the previous episode, tried to get Eric to do his financing with Re...

You've heard their name tossed around on earlier episodes, and now we have Renovo Financial here to address some of the biggest mistakes they see when dealing with Chicagoland investors. Brandon Moulton is the Senior VP of Lending at Renovo Financial and has been featured on Crain's Chicago People on the Move. Brandon takes on Part 1 of the top ten mistakes Renovo sees in their day to day interact...

Local real estate and commercial litigator, Bibek Das, has spent the last 20+ years educating and protecting Chicagoland investors and landlords. In this episode, Bibek drops a ton of knowledge (and NUGGETS!) to ensure you are running your real estate business appropriately. This includes an overview of Chicago's Residential and Landlord Tenant Ordinance (RLTO) (and what to know if you are a house...

After a successful career in corporate finance, Eric took his skillset (which he originally honed at THE University of Illinois) and transitioned full-time into real estate. Eric is a co-founder of 33 Realty, a vertically integrated company that has the ability to takes its clients through the entire lifecycle of a real estate investment. In this episode Eric discusses the Northside neighborhoods...

John Casmon is a successful Chicago househacker turned syndicator and the founder of Casmon Capital Group. In addition, John hosts the Target Market Insights Podcast, heads up the Chicago Multifamily Club Meetup, and is the co-creator of the Midwest RE Networking Summit (coming up on 7/25-7/26). In this episode, John provides a wealth of knowledge, including his experience investing in Chicago, ta...

One doesn't accomplish $600,000,000 in real estate transactions without thoroughly understanding the ins and outs of the business and which neighborhoods are primed for sound investments. Our guest today, Brian Kochendorfer, has a ton of nuggets to drop from his experience as a broker, passive investor, and managing member of Arc Equity Group, where he is a general and limited partner of $60M in r...

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...

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 insi...