home

projects

about

press

blog

process

contact

menu

Appraisal

12 Feb

Posted at 18:31h in Angel Investor, Appraisal, Architect, Architecture, Communication, Finance, General Contractor, Investment, Investor, Mediation, Negotiation, Real Estate, Rehab, Renovation, Residential, Residential Rehab, Stress, Venture Capital by

While we're submitting for Permit at the Hoyne house, drywall is going up in Kenwood - that is, of course, after we figured out how to get 10-foot sheets onto the upper floors (we took out a plank of the floor from the master bedroom...

05 Dec

Posted at 17:59h in Angel Investor, Appraisal, Architect, Architecture, Audio Visual, AV, AV Consultant, Communication, Contractor, Demolition, Design, Electrical, Electrical Contractor, Finance, General Contractor, HVAC, HVAC Contractor, Inspections, Interior Design, Investment, Investor, Mechanical, Mechanical Contractor, Mediation, Mistakes, Plumbing, Project Management, Project Manager, Project Scheduling, Real Estate, Rehab, Renovation, Residential, Residential Rehab, Rough-Ins, Saving Money, Schedules, Scheduling, Shim, Shims, Small Business, Start-Up, Venture Capital by

So, I locked myself out of the Kenwood house today. Not my brightest moment. The very front door no longer has a key, we've been locking the 2nd front door behind it. The 2nd front door was removed apparently. I was knocking on the door as a...

30 Nov

Posted at 17:53h in Angel Investor, Appraisal, Architect, Architecture, Communication, Demolition, Design, Flooring, General Contractor, Inspections, Interior Design, Investment, Investor, Mediation, Mistakes, Real Estate, Rehab, Renovation, Residential, Residential Rehab, Shim, Shims, Small Business, Staircase, Stairs, Stairway, Start-Up, Venture Capital by

Ahh, Thanksgiving week - excess amounts of turkey (no matter how realistic a size we buy), wine, cider, cheesy stuff...

17 Nov

Posted at 17:33h in Angel Investor, Appraisal, Architect, Architecture, Design, Finance, General Contractor, Interior Design, Investment, Investor, Mistakes, Real Estate, Rehab, Renovation, Residential, Residential Rehab, Small Business, Start-Up, Venture Capital by

If it seems quiet regarding the Kenwood house, that's because it has been. Very quiet. Why, you ask? Two words: Plumbing inspection. What do I mean, you ask? One word: Failed. So, here's what happened. First, in the City of Chicago, you need to allow a minimum...

18 Oct

Posted at 17:24h in Angel Investor, Appraisal, Architect, Architecture, Demolition, Design, General Contractor, Interior Design, Investment, Investor, Mediation, Mistakes, Real Estate, Rehab, Renovation, Residential, Residential Rehab, Saving Money, Small Business, Venture Capital, Workplace Politics by

Robert, my GC, is still on vacation this week which creates a stressful dynamic in the renovation process. There were quite a few responses to questions that started with "I think what he meant is...

28 Sep

Posted at 17:11h in Angel Investor, Appraisal, Architect, Architecture, Demolition, Design, Finance, General Contractor, Interior Design, Investment, Investor, Mediation, Mistakes, Real Estate, Rehab, Renovation, Residential, Residential Rehab, Saving Money, Small Business, Start-Up, Venture Capital by

I cannot tell you how many of the million (or 7) GCs that I've met over the past few months have said "Drawings look pretty on paper, but don't always show what's really happening." This was a particularly annoying statement following a demand that I...

16 Sep

Posted at 17:01h in Angel Investor, Appraisal, Architect, Architecture, Demolition, General Contractor, Investment, Investor, Mistakes, Real Estate, Rehab, Renovation, Residential, Residential Rehab, Small Business, Start-Up, Uncategorized, Venture Capital by

Well, we finally made it. Renovations started on the Kenwood house this week! We have "Polish highlanders" handling demolition (my GC was very impressed by this). My main man, Wesley, spent over an hour walking through the house with myself and my GC reviewing the drawings...

22 Aug

Posted at 16:45h in Angel Investor, Appraisal, Design, General Contractor, Human Resources, Investment, Investor, Mistakes, Real Estate, Rehab, Renovation, Residential, Residential Rehab, Small Business, Start-Up, Venture Capital by

So, I was driving to get yet another iPhone 5 fixed today when I received a peculiar phone call from one of my sub-contractors asking about an invitation he received from a team member outside of my company about a client meeting that I have...

14 Aug

Posted at 16:39h in Angel Investor, Appraisal, Architect, Architecture, Design, Interior Design, Investment, Investor, Real Estate, Rehab, Renovation, Residential, Residential Rehab, Small Business, Start-Up, Venture Capital by

So, a few weeks ago one of my favorite brokers in Chicago called me with an off-market listing (by the way, any broker that comes to you with off-market listings is a broker you keep close). After maybe 15 seconds of introduction, I knew exactly...

05 Jul

Posted at 16:35h in Angel Investor, Appraisal, Architect, Architecture, Design, General Contractor, Interior Design, Investment, Investor, Real Estate, Rehab, Renovation, Residential, Residential Rehab, Small Business, Start-Up, Uncategorized, Venture Capital by

So, I was attending a non-politically correct themed party for Independence Day weekend and met someone who was taking his broker's exam next week in hopes to begin "flipping" houses *cringe*. He seemed very excited about his new venture and asked me some questions about...