Investors, especially those newer to the Chicago Market, often see the neighborhood of Englewood in Chicago as a red flag. I'm here to tell you why Englewood should be one of the focal points for anyone interested in investing in C and D-class properties.
A few years back, with ongoing affordable housing developments and the promise of Englewood Connect to grow Englewood Square, which was a shopping center anchored by a Whole Foods, the world of investors was very hot on Englewood. Quite frankly, the prices got a little out of control; however, since Whole Foods has now shuttered, the investing market has come back down to earth and is being overlooked by many investors. So let's dig deeper into the world of Englewood and see if it's the right place to find an investment for you.
Englewood is filled with Chicago's famous two-flat brick buildings, making it a perfect spot for newer investors with only enough to put a down payment on a small building. You can find a two-flat that needs work for between $60,000 and $175k, and once you turn the property around, you can flip it for somewhere in the mid-$300,000s. Because of this, not only is Englewood an excellent place for buy and hold, but it is also a great place to do flips to raise enough capital to secure a great buy and hold.
The issue when buying in Englewood, especially for inexperienced investors, is that it is a C-minus to D-Plus neighborhood. This means most of the building stock is really old and outdated, and tenants who move into the area often have lower credit scores and incomes. These things can present some challenges when investing in Englewood. The simple fix is to make sure you have a lot of reserves when buying the building in order to be able to cover any repair or eviction costs (in addition to covering the mortgage while you are not getting rent from a tenant that needs to be evicted). This is why finding good tenants in the Englewood neighborhood and screening them properly is essential to your investing success.
With that being said, one of the best ways to make sure your C and D class properties stay profitable is to hire a Chicago property manager like Chicago Style Management to run everything from your work orders to finding and collecting rent from your tenants.
If you're out looking at properties in Englewood, make sure to check out Baba's famous steak and lemonade, and try their fried Philly steak sandwich. It's somewhere between a steak sandwich and a pizza puff. Definitely not healthy, but absolutely delicious.
Thinking about buying an investment property or want to see your investments perform without you? Give us a call at 224-601-5415 or leave your info at https://www.chicagostylemanagement.com/chicago-property-management. Hiring a local Chicago property management company will allow you to buy your time back and make more money over time with less stress.
