Elite Invest

I have been investing in property for a number of years. Experience has shown me that things don't always go 100% according to plan.  I had one such experience on a purchase I made last year (no fault of Elite). Not only did Elite take ownership of the problem, they came up with a game plan to correct it and ultimately got things back on track. Anyone can do well when things are going well. It spoke volumes to me how they handled things when an issue arose.

Elite is a good property investment group for beginner and experienced investors alike.   

Investing with Elite was a great decision. They were able to answer all of my questions in the beginning, and still reply to my emails quickly. I never feel left in the dark. It was also great to know their Rentals & Management side of the company would stand behind my building and keep it within a great company. 

My wife and I have acquired 3 properties now from Elite Invest in Chicago. Alex, the owner took a lot of time helping my wife and I while deciding on properties. He made us feel comfortable after many calls, emails and a trip out there. We were quite nervous at first and then eased up after our visit out there to see their operation. The whole Elite team is really helpful, professional, and honest in every situation. They promptly got back to us on questions and were helpful getting us set up as new property owners. On top of that, they sent us text notifications whenever there was an approved tenant, passed inspection and whenever our tenants moved in. I enjoyed this very much. We own property in 2 other states and our PMs haven’t adopted this quote yet. Highly recommend this company for anyone looking to buy multi family apartments.

First, Alex is a great sales person and he is great at customer service.  Elite Invest manages many units and I feel that their management quality goes down with the more that they grow.  I am just one experience but take it from someone that had them doing property management for three years with them.

From initial purchase, I experienced "lipstick on a pig" from their turnkey operations.  Make sure that you do a house inspection.  I had visited the unit and I thought it looked fine.  My inspector had a very different experience and showed me all the issues with it.  The floors were double layered to cover the faulty issues.  The roof was also out of code because the multiple layers of roof that they put on it.  The inspector was afraid the roof would eventually fall in from the weight.  The electrical was also in bad shape.

I told Alex that I did not want the unit.  He did find me another duplex that he said would be in excellent condition.  Sadly, I believed him and I ended up purchasing it.  The duplex that I purchased did not have any major issues the first year.  There was some minor expenses but nothing that would deter me of any faults.

However, my second year showed me how they really manage.  At the end of the tenant yearly lease, the tenant immediately moved out.  Elite Invest could not tell me why they left.  I didn't think too much about it.  However, I was surprised that it took them FIVE months to finally get a new tenant in place.  I own other investment properties where it took at most two months so I was a bit surprised but I give them the benefit of the doubt.  FYI, while writing this, five months is insanely high to do tenant turnover.

On the start of the third year, the second tenant left the unit.  Again, the tenant left without any reason.  It was three months and Elite Invest could not find me a single lead or applicant.  Luckily, I did find another property manager to replace Elite Invest.  Alex said he would help me with transition and he would always be available to help me in the future which was nice.  

When the new property mananger took over, he was shocked in the condition of the unit.  Remember, this was a brand new rehab just a few years ago.  The property manager found trash on the backyard.  Just to let you know, Elite Invest charges you a monthly gardening fee that also is supposed to do cleanup.  I don't know why I was getting charged this monthly fee when there is trash just sitting there for months (from what the tenant told us).  When the property manager entered the vacant unit, he smelled a horrible stench.  The fridge was full of mold.  To make matters even worse, he found a basement full of sewage.

The new property manager also talked to the current tenant that mentioned they have been trying to contact Elite Invest for 6 months but they only got voicemails.  Elite Invest ticketing system said there was NO COMPLAINTS in their system.  It seems like their voicemails were going to the trash.  I can relate to the tenant as my voicemails also never got responded unless I told Alex of my complaints.

My new property manager started the marketing process after cleaning up the property.  The cleaning process was not an easy task.  He even had to repaint the vacant unit that I was charged my Elite Invest.  I still doubt that Elite Invest did anything in tenant turnover.  How can Elite Invest team repaint the unit but leave the sewage and trash in the unit?  My new property manager had multiple leads the first day and he even found a tenant in TWO weeks of marketing the unit.  It took Elite Invest five months to do the same thing.  

This is just my experience.  I do know others that have had similar experiences but they probably won't complain especially if they are still being managed by Elite Invest.  If you cannot find a better property manager,  you are stuck with what you got.  Investors be wary and do your due diligence.  Your experience will be great the first year with them but you need a property manager that will be there so you can be a passive investor.  I didn't get into turnkey investments to become an active investor and I highly doubt any of you want to be either.

     This will be a recount of our experiences thus far, the reader can draw his own conclusions.  A little over five and a half years ago, I was looking to own property in Chicago, as my wife's family lives there and we visit semi-often.  Originally, I was looking for a high-rise condo unit downtown that we would use when we were there.  Ultimately, I could not justify the expense, and even if I was to use short-term renters to help with costs, it most likely would not cash flow.  I began a search for a different sort of property, not sure what I wanted, and eventually found Alex as he was starting Elite.  I want to emphasize that my own search turned up Alex, rather than him finding me or coming across him at a sales seminar.  That made it more legitimate in my eyes, as I was not being pitched.

     Alex himself sold the concept of 2-flats in southside Chicago to us.  It was his attention, thoroughness, and straight-up follow through that convinced us to take the chance.  Being native to Chicago, my wife and her family thought us crazy to invest in southside.  However, doing our due diligence as best we could, which included flying out to meet with Chris and touring buildings in various stages of rehab, visiting some of the areas in which Elite operates, and meeting with Alex to grind him down as much as we could about the downsides, a different reality began to contrast with our perceptions.  Elite seems to have a handle on where to invest and that changed our idea of the southside as a monolithic no-invest zone.  We went for it.  We bought, over a couple of years, a total of 9 units.  However, our optimism has soured.

     Elite paints an unreasonable picture of the ROI and the process.  I am realistic myself, and if you are looking to throw down money and immediately start collecting fat returns with no delay, you are in for a rude awakening.  

     Alex used to keep his word, which was the best endorsement that can be given.  It used to be, if he says something, it will come to pass.  Things come up and get in the way, but if he said he would fix it, he would get it done in the end.  The problem I have had for the last few years is getting him to commit to fixing the growing issues I am having.   We have had many issues with property management responsiveness.  Alex has always been attentive in the past, and is working to fix the internal problems within Elite, but they seem to be mounting up faster than he can deal with them.  Most recently, I have not gotten satisfaction on issues concerning water bills, and I feel he has been dodging it, which is not characteristic of him.  We have had many tenant issues, which I put on the fact that ALL of my tenants are of the welfare-class.  Garbage in, garbage out.  This is the reality of renters in these areas, so be realistic about it yourself.  The actual return has been less than the theoretical maximum because of short-paying or non-paying tenants, damage to units, vacancies that stretch for months, legal charges to evict tenants that run into many thousands per eviction, and, recently for me, repairs to rehabbed units that so far have cost me a small fortune.  The numbers quoted by Elite are not achievable.  I no longer share the vision that as Elite goes through more buildings in more areas, things will generally keep improving in the southside for landlords.  The sheer scope of the blight is beyond Elite's abilities.  They have simply underestimated the depravity of renters who have accepted failure and have huge chips on their shoulders. 

     I told Alex in the beginning that if things worked well for me, I would become one of his best customers.  I can't do it in the raw number of buildings purchased, but I can do it as far as backing him and Elite and doing my utmost to continually invest with him when I am able.  Unfortunately, my experiences thus far have given me second thoughts about pouring more money into a hopeless part of the world, owing in large part to the Elite's mismanagement of my portfolio and the lack of responsiveness I have received during the times when I needed it the most.  We have now been losing thousands for the past two months, making $0 for April 2017, after 2.5 years of never hitting the theoretical potential and always being short $1-3K.

A big issue for me is the surprise every month on my owner statements.  My payout is always less (much less, lately, $0 currently), and is packed with charges that are inadequately described.  I do not get quick, concise responses from Elite when i inquire, which is every month.  Some of Elite's staff is exemplary, like Leah K.  However, they are swamped and cannot answer the myriad of issues promptly or completely.  The follow-up to conclusion is rare, as I have to email may times to get partial answers.  It is maddening, but the last straw for me is when my portfolio is half-rented, and still running in the red, and I do not receive prompt attention.  This review can change over time if things turn around, but for now, my experiences have reached the breaking limit and I cannot endorse buying with Elite.

Fast forward to today, and the entire year of 2019 has been a complete loss, due to vacancies that stretch on for most of the year, trashed units every time a tenant is evicted, and chronically short- or non-paying squatters.  I am owed thousands of dollars due to mismanagement.  I am currently working my way out of my buildings and my relationship with Elite.  This review will be updated more frequently as time goes on to reflect what is currently the situation with Elite. 

I purchased a duplex from Elite and we closed the 1st of March. It is almost July and I have yet to have a renter in either unit. I follow up every few weeks and I have to follow up many times in order to get a response. When I finally do, I am assured that this season is "slower than normal" but that it will be rented soon. My insurance company is stalking me and threatening to cancel the insurance because the property is sitting vacant. Additionally, I stupidly listened to them when they said I really didn't need to do a home inspection since the city would so rigorously inspect the property before approving it for Section 8. We recently received a notice from the city in the mail last week that we may have to face "court action" because of a dangerous chimney. Alex assures me that his attorney is "taking care of it," but as of right now I am very disappointed in the experience thus far. I really hope that it will get better and, if so, I will update my review, but if there is a better full-service property management company in Chicago, I am looking for referrals.