Straight Up Chicago Investor

Jeffrey Ma joins us to share his experience as a real investor, broker, and wholesaler including various creatively structured deals! Jeffrey starts by discussing his upbringing, start in real estate, and how he established a focus on wholesaling. He dives deep into "creative" deals including one deal where he was able to close on a property minutes before it would have been foreclosed on. Jeffrey...

Wyatt Simon, owner of Full Circle Real Estate, discusses the successes and lessons learned in his journey to building a $20 million real estate portfolio! Wyatt starts by talking about how a successful BRRRR deal allowed him to gain momentum early on in his investing career. After a homerun deal, he shares lessons learned from a bad deal that involved getting caught doing construction without a pe...

How does credit effect DSCR loans? ============= If you enjoy today's episode, please leave us a review and share with someone who may also find value in this content! C onnect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com Email the Show: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com Guest: Eric Workman, Renovo Financial Link: Workman Lending Team - Renovo Financial - Real Estate Investment Loans Link: B...

John discusses his start in real estate over a decade ago and reflects on missed opportunities, lessons learned, and success stories! He shares practical advice on simply structuring partnerships and talks about Forte Properties' plan for growth in the western suburbs. John dives into starting a property management company along with building and remaining loyal to a team to support his portfolio....

Scott Henry, Founder of Celadon Partners, joins to discuss the ins and outs of Affordable Housing Development including tax credits, grants, and construction considerations. Scott starts by sharing his experience working at JPMorgan's Low Income Housing Tax Credit investment group and his transition to developing affordable housing! He provides a case study of an adaptive reuse project and gets gr...

What actionable steps do I need to take for the Northwest Side Preservation Ordinance? ============= If you enjoy today's episode, please leave us a review and share with someone who may also find value in this content! C onnect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com Email the Show: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com Guest:  Brie Schmidt, Second City Real Estate   Link: Northwest Side P...

David Lanciotti and Del Denney of The Land Trust Company explain why all real estate investors should understand and consider utilizing Land Trusts! David and Del jump right in by explaining the basics and complexities associated with land trusts. They dive into the challenges that may arise when transferring properties into land trusts. The duo provides real life examples of how a land trust can...

Tom Raleigh, Founding Attorney of Halsted Law Group, returns after being on Episode 40 to talk evictions! Tom jumps right in by breaking down the eviction process and the timelines in 2025. He gives great tips on getting ahead of the process and emphasizes the importance of staying on top of tenants and not waiting too long to file the eviction case. Tom hits us with rapid fire eviction stats incl...

What can I do to maximize my tax returns? ============= If you enjoy today's episode, please leave us a review and share with someone who may also find value in this content! C onnect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com Email the Show: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com Guest: Michael Procaccio, Pro Financial Services Group Inc. Link: Build Your Team | Straight Up Chicago Investor Po...

Tom and Mark interview some of Chicago's Real Estate Heavy Hitters during Kiser Group's 20 Year Anniversary Celebration! Conversations range from condo deconversions, the attorney review side of a commercial deal, and the origins and evolution of Kiser Group. This show is full of wisdom from Kiser Group's top brokers and business partners so prepare to learn from some of the best folks in the indu...

Frank Montro, the King of Chicagoland, returns to share how he and his real estate team have remained top producers during recent years of high interest rates and prices. Frank explains how he coaches buyers to understand monthly payments as opposed to being scared off by rates and pricing. He discusses the keys to getting off the ground as a new broker and/or investor including tips on networking...

What Can I Write Off as a Chicago Househacker? ============= If you enjoy today's episode, please leave us a review and share with someone who may also find value in this content! C onnect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com Email the Show: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com Guest: Michael Procaccio, Pro Financial Services Group Inc. Link: Build Your Team | Straight Up Chicago Invest...

Jake Fugman and Mike Scanlon of The Axon Group return to discuss Chicago's REI market performance, predictions, and exciting developments! Jake and Mike kick things off by assessing their 2024 predictions regarding mortgage rates, appreciation, and cap rates! They then break down the impacts of the Northwest Side Housing Preservation on landlords in the area and provide noteworthy predictions for...

Mike Bednarz, an accomplished real estate investor and HVAC business owner, joins us to share his inspiring trajectory of growing a real estate portfolio and overcoming a scary accident! Mike explains how he lived frugally to save a down payment and buy his first multifamily investment property in Edison Park. He discusses the discipline he used to acquire his second property and how he found a ni...

What are the current political issues Chicago investors need to be aware of and how can the NBOA help? ============= If you enjoy today's episode, please leave us a review and share with someone who may also find value in this content! C onnect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com Email the Show: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com Guest: Mike Glasser , NBOA ----------------- Productio...

Richard Koenig is HODC's Executive Director and has led the development of over 600 units of affordable housing! Richard starts with how he found his "Why" and discovering that he wanted to dedicate his career to helping solve the lack of affordable housing. He gets granular on the financing and approval process on these types of developments. Richard compares market rate housing to affordable hou...

Mike Tenerelli not only has a background in Reality TV, but also in construction, management, and sales which have propelled his explosive growth in real estate! Mike discusses his journey from flipping homes to helping others find the right property. He breaks down analyzing remote markets to find lucrative deals, growing a brokerage business, and adapting to the new NAR rules around buyer's brok...

When Does a 5 Day Notice Become a 30 Day Notice? ============= If you enjoy today's episode, please leave us a review and share with someone who may also find value in this content! C onnect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com Email the Show: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com Guest: Mark Ainley , Straight Up Chicago Investor Podcast Link: Enforcing the CARES Act 30-Day Eviction Noti...

Sam Patterson is a successful Commercial Real Estate Broker, Investor, and Restaurant Owner with vast experience in renovation and property management! Sam opens with his experience in commercial real estate receiverships and his start in investing! He touches on structuring and leveraging partnerships to scale a real estate portfolio. Sam discusses ins and outs of DeKalb including the housing sto...

Josh Bandoch is the Head of Policy at the Illinois Policy Institute where he works to spread awareness on improving housing policies to promote affordability and social mobility. Josh starts by describing how he got into housing policy and the mission of the Illinois Policy Institute. He explains some of the prohibitive policies in Illinois that restrict development and the increase of housing sup...

What IL rules changes do investors need to be aware of in 2025? ============= If you enjoy today's episode, please leave us a review and share with someone who may also find value in this content! C onnect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com Email the Show: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com Guest: Mark Ainley , Straight Up Chicago Investor Podcast Link: Cook County Landlords Won't N...

Joey Turano is real estate broker and investor who has leveraged partnerships and low down payment loans to quickly build his multifamily buildings portfolio! Joey starts by describing his "soul searching" journey in Europe and realizing that real estate would be his career path in life! He explains how he got scrapy to bring value to a Top Producing Real Estate agent and eventually joined the tea...

Boyan Salha is a seasoned General Contractor and the leader of his company Best Fit Homes. He joins us to share how he learned to source and renovate deals from working with a large investment group. Boyan starts by explaining the investing lessons learned by working with a large investment group alongside previous guest Kirby Atwell! He breaks down how he sources and finances distressed propertie...

What do investors need to know about the new tenant credit report law? ============= If you enjoy today's episode, please leave us a review and share with someone who may also find value in this content! C onnect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com Email the Show: StraightUpChicagoInvestor@gmail.com Guest: Mark Ainley , Straight Up Chicago Investor Podcast Link: How 2025 Illinois Tena...

Pete Neubig joins us to discuss how he built and sold a 7-figure property management company and started VPM Solutions; a platform designed to help property management and real estate professionals with staffing to improve efficiencies and profits! Pete starts by explaining how he went from IT to building and selling a 7-figure property management company! He shares a brief horror story about gett...