ILLINOIS - Investment Opportunities

I have available an old school built in 1911. It is very structurally sound with solid concrete and brick walls (interior and exterior walls). It has a full basement, and 2 more floors. The two top floors have 4 rooms each, with an average of around 1000 square ft per room. There are 6 huge closets on the 1st floor, and 4 huge closets on the 2nd floor. The ceilings are all very tall, and are probably tall enough to add a second floor in the apartment for lofts. The building has a lot of potential, and is perfect for someone who wants to make it into an apartment complex. I don't have a solid price on it yet, but I can discuss that with an interested buyer, or someone that would love to invest in me turning it into an apartment complex. It should be safe to rent out each apartment for $600 - $650 a month, depending on what each apartment has to offer. The school is a local landmine, and I believe that people would love to live in the school that they grew up in. Please contact me if you or someone you know is interested in the project. Thank you for your time and good luck to everyone.

A very interesting project you have there. I would have never thought about living in my old school. I hope you find investors to help you out with it. You may want to check out Ibank.com or enote.com. You may find some $$$$$ help there.

If this investor has been sitting on this property this long ask him to sit a little longer. Put in an offer and lock it up then do what Dean did and pre-sale.

Pre-sale the apartments/units and deed each one to the buyer. This will raise the money you need to purchase and repair the building. Lets get creative. Pre-sale enough for the purchase and cost of repairs and also enough to sustain the taxes, insurance and other billables until you open. Find a project manager skilled in construction projects and utilize them - they will keep you on schedule and on budget. THINK!

Thank You Anita for your encouraging words. So instead of renting each apartment and collecting the rent, you suggest selling each one, so that they actually own each apartment. I hadn't thought of that one yet. I do like that idea, that's a great idea. The only con of it is my location. I don't know if people in this area would actually purchase an apartment, mainly because there is nowhere in town where it is offered. This still may work though, I'm going to have to look into it. Then if you sell it all, what do you do about maintaining the grounds and general building maintenance?

You charge them yearly maintenance fees like living in a private or gated community. Or call them homeowners dues etc.... lets say you charge them 300.00 per year for example. If you have 20 units lets say, then that 60K a year for repairs and maintenance every year.

Thank you again Anita for your help. I never thought of those ideas until you mentioned them, and they are great. If anyone reads these messages we've been sending back and forth, just because you are upset that a plan you had may not come through, don't worry, be happy. If you "Think A Little Different," or associate yourself with people that do, you can make it happen!!! Thanks to Anita I may just be able to make this deal happen without even having a private hard money lender, instead people that purchase each apartment will be investing into it. Thank you again Anita, and the large community of people on here that are here to help others succeed in what ever they do. You all have the potential, just... you know... think............. Have a great day and year everyone!!!

You are turning them into condos. It's more complicated than that. I am nowhere near an expert on condo conversions but your city/county will almost assuredly be involved. Permits will be required and you will need new plat maps ie right now one person owns the entire building but you are changing so that multiple people own different parts of the building.

You are turning them into condos. It's more complicated than that. I am nowhere near an expert on condo conversions but your city/county will almost assuredly be involved. Permits will be required and you will need new plat maps ie right now one person owns the entire building but you are changing so that multiple people own different parts of the building.
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That is true Mark but he has a good relationship with the owner and he may be able to find a way to extend the time he needs. The owner is an investor of sorts himself and maybe he can even help him or partner with him on getting the project done, permits, licenses and all.

The owner and I have a good relationship together and he is also my private lender, so in short I am not worried about taking possession of the building. I can also go to the court house and get deeds on each apartment for a very low cost. I'll have to go to the city meetings and get approvals, permits and many other things. There will be a lot of paper work, but as long as I do my research and homework I will have a better chance of succeeding. If for some reason it doesn't work out, then it doesn't. But I'm setting my mind to making it work. I thank you for your coments and I will keep all of your concerns in mind while making this process work. If you have any more comments or concerns or advice, please send them my way, I am open to them all. Good luck with your real estate success.