Nate’s Pick of the Week

Nathan Schwartzberg scours the streets of Chicago to find the best deals for our investors. We often wonder how he finds these amazing deals, but he’s not talking.

Nate’s Pick of the Week is the culmination of years of experience in assessing properties for rehab. It’s akin to a prospector who knows a diamond in the rough.

It’s not just knowing the ins and outs of what to do – it’s a certain sense about properties and the neighborhood that gives Nate his edge in finding the best picks.

Our listeners and investors benefit from the seasoned wisdom of this young investor.

Finding the Picks

So what makes one deal better than another? “A certain sense about the property”, says Nate. “Years of experience in looking at properties gives me an edge that others don’t have.” Unsatisfied with this response, we press further to get something we can understand…

“It’s really straightforward”, he quips. “First I look at the neighborhood. Is it well-maintained? Is there a sense of pride? Are there signs of families?” One of the key aspects of resale of investment properties is desirability – that people want to actually live in that area. It’s all about location, location, location.

If the neighborhood is not acceptable, Nate just moves on. There are plenty of properties that will make sense for our business model. If the location works, we look at the property itself. We tend to consider only brick houses, so if the brick structure is solid, we don’t much care about the inside.

As a matter of fact, the uglier inside the better. We prefer to completely gut the structure and re-build it as a new home inside of a gentrified beautiful brick shell. So, unlike most of us, Nate gets really excited by disgusting, smelly, broken-down, trashed-out, non-functional homes. Go figure.

Diamonds in the Rough

Just as we said before, Nate is prospecting – looking for those diamonds in the rough that he knows will eventually be a beautiful home for a family that may never have expected to live in a house so well appointed.