CHICAGO | Economic & Business Development

[skyscraperpage17]

Originally Posted by IrishIllini

Lol, cruel...Has Atl 3000 backtracked from "I'VE SEEN THE SIGNED LEASE!!!!!" yet? I'm legitimately concerned for his wellbeing if it doesn't end up in Atlanta. They've been under the impression that it's going to Atlanta for a while. Atl and Skyscraper were the first to throw punches in the Amazon thread and then cry foul when someone punched back. They both went off on bnk a few times...the insecurity is next level.

Please refrain from mentioning my name out of context in a thread I haven't even posted in (until now).

If you have something to say about me or to me, that's what PM is for.

Thanks!

[LouisVanDerWright]

I just started AirBnb in one unit and it's already making about triple what I would be getting in regular rent. Now that's summer, but still quite impressive. Who gives a crap if you don't make as much in fall/spring/winter if you make 3X in the 4 nice months a year? Also then I don't have to deal with any tenants rights bullshit and can just ding their credit card if they break anything.

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/resid...-south-suburbs

Here's one of said articles... How come these guys don't have a show on HGTV? (Maybe they do... my knowledge of HGTV is solely from the dentist's office... but I do have a lot of cavities).

Because HGTV is trash, I actually have gotten calls from reality show producers and none of them are interested in documenting what's going on right now in America's inner cities. Given the rental boom you'd think a show about turning over inner city small multiunit buildings would be a hit. They are only interested in garbage shows that promote the REALTOR TM brand because that's who controls the network and homeownership, i.e. "The American Dream TM", is what they are selling.

[marothisu]

HGTV is hilarious. I have friends who were the people on an episode of House Hunters in Northern Virginia. The show is all set up. You need to own the home or be closing on it before filming, meaning it's all decided beforehand. The funny thing is that my friends were shown a home that was amazing and perfect, but it was not the one they bought. In the episode, my friend who is hilarious but with a dry sense of humor, brings up a bunch of stupid trivial shit for the show to justify not picking it. You'd be really convinced though they were going to pick that one..but...nope. Chose the one they had just purchased in real life a month before the show. He told me it was perfect and they would have chosen it if they knew about it beforehand.

I guess the only good thing is that the realtor on the show was an actual realtor who they became friends with and ended up using a few years later when they were moving to another house

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

I just started AirBnb in one unit and it's already making about triple what I would be getting in regular rent. Now that's summer, but still quite impressive. Who gives a crap if you don't make as much in fall/spring/winter if you make 3X in the 4 nice months a year? Also then I don't have to deal with any tenants rights bullshit and can just ding their credit card if they break anything.
.

^ I've thought about AirBnb, and have even been approached about doing this, but decided against it.

The city has a lot of rules and regulations about this stuff, and God forbid you get caught without the right permit and get slapped with fines....

[left of center]

Isn't it a lot more time consuming as well, as compared to a typical residential rental? I hear from my tenants maybe once every couple of months per building typically (thankfully I have mostly quiet tenants!). With an AirBnB, seems like I'd have to be constantly fielding calls and dropping off keys, answering questions, etc. Whats your experience like, LVDW?

[Halsted & Villagio]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

I haven’t posted these but Crains has posted multiple articles about the huge numbers of rehabs going on on some of the most challenged neighborhoods on the south side and south burbs.

We are seeeing a ton of properties being preserved for the next generation, even while yes, many are being lost.

Still, it’s nice to know that there is a highly active, stabilizing force in many areas, and people are actually making money doing this!

Kudos to them, and keep up the great work.

Good post TUP. On this we can most definitely agree And long term, this will really help turn the image around for the entire city.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by left of center

Isn't it a lot more time consuming as well, as compared to a typical residential rental? I hear from my tenants maybe once every couple of months per building typically (thankfully I have mostly quiet tenants!). With an AirBnB, seems like I'd have to be constantly fielding calls and dropping off keys, answering questions, etc. Whats your experience like, LVDW?

It does take a lot more time, which is why I'm only doing it on the first floor of my owner occupied two flat. It's better than tenants because I don't have to worry about their bullshit and I'mm always around to throw the sheets in the laundry or whatever. Owner occupied building also makes the potential government BS easier because the rules are much easier when you live there.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

It does take a lot more time, which is why I'm only doing it on the first floor of my owner occupied two flat. It's better than tenants because I don't have to worry about their bullshit and I'mm always around to throw the sheets in the laundry or whatever. Owner occupied building also makes the potential government BS easier because the rules are much easier when you live there.

I know where you live. I’m calling the city!

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by left of center

Isn't it a lot more time consuming as well, as compared to a typical residential rental? I hear from my tenants maybe once every couple of months per building typically (thankfully I have mostly quiet tenants!). With an AirBnB, seems like I'd have to be constantly fielding calls and dropping off keys, answering questions, etc. Whats your experience like, LVDW?

A friend runs an airbnb management business. It is a full-time job no matter how thoroughly you prepare and provide information to guests, and that's before getting into the physical maintenance and repair of the units.

[left of center]

Fermilab to upgrade accelerator that will boost particle physics research for years to come
Source: ChicagoTribune

ermilab physicists in Batavia are excited that they have received both federal and international support for an accelerator upgrade project that will provide powerful, high-intensity proton beams to experiments some 800 miles away.

The lab recently received the latest in a series of approvals from the U.S. Department of Energy to proceed with its design of the Proton Improvement Plan II, an accelerator upgrade project that will provide increased beam power to generate an unprecedented stream of neutrinos needed for the next level of particle physics research, according to a Fermilab press release.

The subatomic particles, officials said, could potentially unlock our understanding of the universe and lay the ground work for particle physics research for years to come, officials said.

The accelerator upgrades are a major component of the Fermilab-hosted Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment in South Dakota, which is the largest international science experiment ever to be conducted on U.S. soil.

It is the Proton Improvement Plan II that has Fermilab physicists excited because it is the first U.S.-based accelerator project with international partners, officials said.

"We think of PIP-II as the heart of Fermilab: a platform that provides multiple capabilities and enables broad scientific programs," said Lia Merminga, Fermilab PIP-II project director.

...

Fermilab expects to complete the project by the mid-2020s.

Very cool news. Fermilab seemed to amble around looking for purpose ever since the particle accelerator was shut down due to larger ones coming online elsewhere in the world. This project I feel will ensure this huge Chicago area laboratory remains around and active and continue to pull in large amounts of federal dollars for Illinois!

[left of center]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

It does take a lot more time, which is why I'm only doing it on the first floor of my owner occupied two flat. It's better than tenants because I don't have to worry about their bullshit and I'mm always around to throw the sheets in the laundry or whatever. Owner occupied building also makes the potential government BS easier because the rules are much easier when you live there.

Makes sense, it would be a hell of a lot easier to live on site and manage an AirBnB apartment. I am not really too close to any of my rentals (they are in the inner west burbs) and fighting traffic on 290 to go to and from there on a regular basis isn't my cup of tea

Potentially could attempt this one day when I acquire an investment property in the city.

Thanks for the info!

[the urban politician]

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/comme...wntown-space-0

[Randomguy34]

350 N. Orleans St has been doing really well in terms of leasing activity

With the Shoprunner deal in hand, the building will be less than 8 percent vacant, down from 25 percent at the end of last year, according to real estate information company CoStar Group.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by Randomguy34

350 N. Orleans St has been doing really well in terms of leasing activity

It's gotta be the paint job. Instalease TM concrete paint: It really realllly works! Buy one before the end of this commercial and get two free!

[marothisu]

Article states they have a few dozen people there but plan on expanding to 100 within the next 18 months.

[left of center]

It may be an ugly building, but you can't say it isn't profitable. Since it ain't going away for a long time, I'm glad that Wolf Point will obscure it into visual irrelevance.

Also glad to see the occupancy rate drop that quickly in one year. River North is the weakest office sub market in the city, so space tightening up there might mean Chicago could see another office tower get proposed and/or built before the real estate market goes belly up.

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by left of center

Also glad to see the occupancy rate drop that quickly in one year. River North is the weakest office sub market in the city, so space tightening up there might mean Chicago could see another office tower get proposed and/or built before the real estate market goes belly up.

Where did you get the idea that River North is the "weakest" submarket? I believe it has the lowest vacancy rate

[left of center]

^ Yup, you're right, I remembered incorrectly. River North is one of the tightest sub markets in the city, behind only the South Loop.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by left of center

Isn't it a lot more time consuming as well, as compared to a typical residential rental? I hear from my tenants maybe once every couple of months per building typically (thankfully I have mostly quiet tenants!). With an AirBnB, seems like I'd have to be constantly fielding calls and dropping off keys, answering questions, etc. Whats your experience like, LVDW?

There are services that will handle everything for you. I am a long-time host, but I live in my listing and only Airbnb my guestroom, not the entire place so my experience is a bit different, but beyond services, there are ways to self-manage that don't require all that much extra effort. Many guests actually prefer it if they can check themselves in, so if you have electronic locks or a good place to leave keys, you can avoid trying to coordinate checkins yourself. I insist on meeting the vast majority of guests myself, so that is what takes the most time in my case, but many hosts don't really spend much time doing that. Even if you don't go the management agency route, you can get housekeepers to do a lot of the prep work. Management or housekeepers eat into your profits, but if it's an investment property you just factor it into the business model and can still earn a nice return. The one downside to renting whole places is that you're more likely to run into inconsiderate or malicious guests. It's still mostly rare, but if it happens, it's far more likely to happen when you're renting out a whole place as an investment and, in the big picture, probably no more likely than having a bad long-term tenant.

[marothisu]

Popular Pays raises $5.5M to help brands get better at digital advertising

https://www.builtinchicago.org/2018/...ries-b-funding

Popular Pays, a platform companies in need of digital content can use to connect with creators, announced on Tuesday that it has raised a $5.5 million Series B.

The company received a $5.2 million Series A in April of last year and is hoping to build on foundations established following that round.

The company’s team nearly doubled following its Series A, moving from 23 employees to 40. This funding will allow Popular Pays to add another dozen employees over the next year.