Episode 262: From FBI Agent to Hundreds of Doors In Chicago with James Williams
Release Date: 12/07/2023
Episode 293: Help! Firefighters, City Inspectors, and Police Officers Are All at My Building With Anthony Rodriguez From Drexel Properties
Straight Up Chicago Investor
Anthony Rodriguez is an experienced Chicago Property Manager who manages over 300 units for Drexel Properties! Anthony starts by discussing his previous experience in other industries and how those skills have translated into his real estate career. Then, Tom and Anthony retell the story of how their team managed a boiler explosion in a multifamily building. They break down how they notified the City and other stakeholders, relocated tenants, coordinated the boiler repair and City Inspections, and finally returned tenants back to the building! This episode is full of great insights on how to...
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Episode 292: Why Investors Need to Know a Good Public Adjuster with Dorian Bezanis
Straight Up Chicago Investor
Chicago Native Dorian Bezanis is the president of ALPHA Adjusting and has nearly four decades of investing experience in Chicago’s Northside! Dorian jumps right in by discussing the investing portfolio he’s built in Edgewater and Rogers Park over the last 37 years. He explains the role of a public adjuster, the immense value they bring to investors. Dorian gets granular by sharing how to handle fires and other losses at investment properties. He closes with a five year outlook on Chicago including a bullish take on rent growth! If you enjoy today’s episode, please leave us a review and...
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Episode 291: What Every Investor Needs To Know About the Rehab Draw Process
Straight Up Chicago Investor
How does the draw process work when taking on a construction loan? Connect with Mark and Tom: Email the Show: Guest: Eric Workman, Link: ----------------- Production House: Copyright of Straight Up Chicago Investor 2024.
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Episode 290: Want To Make It 20+ years in Chicago REI? Learn How With Neena Vlamis
Straight Up Chicago Investor
Neena Vlamis is the President and Owner of A and N Mortgage. Born and raised in Chicago, she discusses building her mortgage company along with developing an impressive real estate investment portfolio in Chicago. Neena starts by explaining how she scaled her mortgage company, building a culture, and behind the scenes challenges. She provides insights on how lending regulations vary across states and talks about what makes A and N unique. Neena gives her take on adapting to a higher interest rate market and the recent NAR settlement. She closes with a bullish outlook on the Chicago Real Estate...
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Episode 289: VA Loans, ADUs, and Turning a Funeral Home Into an Airbnb with Andrew Dorazio
Straight Up Chicago Investor
Andrew Dorazion is a former Army officer and accomplished real estate broker, investor, and property manager! Andrew jumps right in with a cool story involving a funeral home turned short term rental! He shares tips on finding partners and structuring partnerships to help scale more quickly. Andrew drops valuable nuggets on pumping a building’s NOI through reconfigured floor plans and adding ADUs. He does a deep dive on the Zoning Change Process in Chicago! Throughout the show, Andrew emphasizes the importance of taking action to propel your growth in real estate and any other endeavor! If...
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Episode 288: This Is Where Interest Rates Are Going Next...
Straight Up Chicago Investor
Where Are Interest Rates Heading and What's Happening in The Capital Markets? Connect with Mark and Tom: Email the Show: Guest: Eric Workman, Link: ----------------- Production House: Copyright of Straight Up Chicago Investor 2024.
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Episode 287: Why Your Customer Experience is Falling Short with Joey Coleman
Straight Up Chicago Investor
Joey Coleman is a best selling author and founder of a branding firm that specializes in helping businesses retain customers and employees! Joey jumps right in by explaining the difference between customer service and customer experience. He explains the best ways to handle routine tenant check ins and disagreements with tenants all through the lens of optimizing customer experience. Joey shares how the Eight Phases to “Never Lose a Customer Again” apply to prospective tenants. Joey closes with an amazing story of how a human-level connection and a small gift resulted in a tremendous...
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Episode 286: The Chicago Investor’s Guide to Public Relations with Sabrina Wottreng
Straight Up Chicago Investor
Sabrina Wottreng is a Chicago-based Publicist and a “Friend of the Pod.” Sabrina’s company specializes in the real estate sector and has helped many Chicago-area real estate teams with their public relations (PR) and communications strategies. Sabrina explains how she got started in PR and her introduction into commercial real estate. She dives into the value-add that her company brings to real estate investors and gives tips on building an online presence and reputation. Sabrina emphasizes the importance of LinkedIn, building your network, and even updated headshots if you’re an...
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Episode 285: Diving into DSCR with Eric Workman of Renovo Financial
Straight Up Chicago Investor
How is DSCR calculated, and how does it affect investors' ability to borrow? Connect with Mark and Tom: Email the Show: Guest: Eric Workman, Link: ----------------- Production House: Copyright of Straight Up Chicago Investor 2024.
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Episode 284: Triumphs and Troubles From a Decade of Experience on Chicago’s Southeast Side with Jared Kott
Straight Up Chicago Investor
Jared Kott returns to share the ups and downs of his real estate journey that started just over 10 years ago when he left the corporate world! Jared gets right into it by talking about the challenges of operating in C/D class neighborhoods! He shares the cold hard truth of dealing with a slip-and-fall incident at one of his properties where he was found guilty in court. Jared provides insights on the trajectory of the Southeast side and on putting emotion aside to deal with non-paying tenants. Jared closes by talking about his adventures in Michigan involving awesome short-term rentals and...
info_outlineJames Williams is a real estate investor, attorney, and former FBI agent who embarked on his real estate journey in the early 90s!
James starts by discussing how he chose a career path which includes a period of working in the FBI, all while having real estate investing on the back of his mind. He discusses his first real estate purchase, a graystone on Chicago’s Northside purchased in the 90s! James shares insights raising capital, acquiring hundreds of units, and extremely rough times in his investing career that resulted in him selling off most of his portfolio. He shares the impact of losing a valued business partner and friend. The silver lining of the rough times is that James still holds a nice portfolio and has the team in place to continue scaling! Throughout the show, James emphasizes the importance of patience, due diligence, and building a great team. Most importantly, after 262 episodes, we finally get to drop a Point Break reference.
If you enjoy today’s episode, please leave us a review and share with someone who may also find value in this content!
Connect with Mark and Tom: StraightUpChicagoInvestor.com
Email the Show: [email protected]
Guest: James Williams, Mainstreet Real Estate Services
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Guest Questions
02:31 Clean leaves to prevent clogging of gutters and drains!
03:39 Intro to our guest, James Williams!
09:30 James’ quest to buy his first piece of real estate!
18:53 Working in the FBI!
25:33 Raising capital for RE Investing.
37:32 Lessons learned from 4 years in a tough market.
47:55 Selling off most of the portfolio.
53:36 Costs of Selling.
56:35 What’s next for James?
59:43 What is James’ competitive advantage?
61:13 One piece of advice for new investors.
62:50 What do you do for fun?
63:45 Good book, podcast, or self development activity that you would recommend?
64:28 Local Network Recommendation?
65:04 How can the listeners learn more about you and provide value to you?
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Production House: Flint Stone Media
Copyright of Straight Up Chicago Investor 2023.