Ron Lewis

Chicago’s got a few secrets, and The Ben Lalez Team is here to spill....! Ever wondered what really makes a neighborhood "up-and-coming" or why certain properties seem to skyrocket in value overnight? Let’s just say Chicago is not all about location... #TheBenLalezTeam #ChicagoRealEstate #InsideChicago #RealEstateSecrets #ChicagoHomes #LuxuryRealEstate #RealEstateInvesting #ChicagoLife #WindyCityLiving #MarketTrends

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Interested in having the chance to win a $100 Visa gift card? This summer I am interning for Scott Ferson, CEO of the Liberty Square Group, as he works on a book exploring the political landscapes of the 2024 elections. As part of my research I am talking with young voters about the news and politics via brief weekly google forms. We are looking for more participants between the ages 18-25 as we try to understand the complexities of youth voting behavior. Reach out if you or anyone you know may be interested! #2024election #politicalscience #vote2024

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Seeking recommendations for a top-notch press release service to help boost our commercial real estate visibility. Who's your go-to for impactful PR in the Chicago market? Share your experiences and preferred providers below! Your insights are greatly appreciated. #pressrelease #pr #marketing #communications #businessnews #prservices #contentmarketing #mediacoverage #digitalpr #businesscommunication #pressreleaseservice #networkinghelp #professionalrecommendations #b2b #businessadvice #commercialrealestate #chicagorealestate #exprealty #expcommercial

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Building a Chicago high rise costs millions of dollars to just explore if the project is even possible. That fact was just one point Susan Tjarksen made on this weeks episode of Straight Up Chicago Investor Podcast We see these buildings going up all around us and don’t consider the time and money it takes to do a 50 story project. We broke down a $250,000,000.00 West Loop project on this episode that you will be amazed by. Watch or Listen and share! Tom Shallcross Lantz Kurzawinski Sterling Bay Shea Murray Alex Rodriguez Javier Díaz #chicagowestloop #chicagodeveloper #chicagorealestate #chicagoinvestor

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I’m pleased to share that I recently concluded my term as a Ballotpedia Research Fellow! Over the course of 3 months, I entered and verified data points for almost 100 political candidates across the United States — from legislative to executive, from school districts to water councils, and from Texas to California. Elections remain a critical part of American democracy: speaking out, advocating, and working towards goals to help people in your community. As the presidential election and its hot-button issues take center stage on national news pages, it’s just as important to highlight local candidates: the people that live right next door. Each Google search of a candidate’s name gave me a peek into someone’s life. Through campaign pages and local news posts, I met doctors, electricians, guitarists, teachers, and more — each with their own story to tell, experiences to learn from, and passions for change. Some memorable candidates included: - a father in Florida raising money to rebuild his generations-old general store after the recent devastating hurricanes - an Arizonian mom running for school board to advocate for accessible resources for her disabled son - an urban planner in Ohio pushing for sustainable and accessible infrastructure in his city - a fresh college graduate working to use his cybersecurity degree to enhance his Texas county’s technological resources I’d like to thank Ballotpedia and our Fellows supervisor Kaley Platek for guiding us through these past few months of intensive candidate research! I’m immensely proud to have contributed to Ballotpedia’s mission to provide unbiased, nonpartisan information for voters across the United States. As we reach the final days towards the voting deadline, I highly encourage taking advantage of the Ballotpedia website I had the honor of contributing research to: 🔎 For my fellow first-time voters, Ballotpedia’s Voter Toolkit provides all the resources you need to learn how to vote in your area.  https://lnkd.in/grjD_n5i 🗳️ Ballotpedia’s Sample Ballot resource is a great primer for seeing what exact measures and candidates you’ll be deciding on before you get your real ballot at the polling place or in the mail! https://lnkd.in/gitHPDPH 💻 Ballotpedia’s goal is to compile information on all political candidates into one website, saving voters precious time and effort! Simply look up a candidate’s name on the Ballotpedia site to find links to their campaign websites, social media pages, and contact information! https://lnkd.in/gBk8J-yc

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What do backyard gardening and Advising in higher education have in common? Find out in my new five-part series for the Plaid Analytics blog: Cultivating Advising Success. The first post, Should You Restructure Your Advising?, looks at Advising's role in strategic enrolment management and how cross-unit collaboration and interconnection is required for the success of any Advising model. "The solution to a struggling unit is not always a redesign; while restructuring and redesign can be an obvious way to show students you as an institution are addressing the challenges, it can be less effective than taking a more strategic, holistic approach to understanding the units’ challenges." The series will also cover topics such as the theoretical approaches in Advising practices, structural models for Advising, advisor types and advisee needs, and taking a strategic approach to an Advising review. This series will help you understand whether your Advising approach needs to be restructured or if it might thrive by adding supports to the existing model. https://lnkd.in/gTXwZ7kC

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Pro-Housing Claims: Speaking Up at Columbus Zoning Meetings We're diving into the crucial role of housing in Columbus. Join us as we confront city council members about their pro-housing claims and highlight the consequences of their decisions at upcoming zoning meetings. Your voice matters! #ProHousing #ColumbusZoning #CityCouncil #CommunityVoice #HousingCrisis #PublicSpeaking #LocalGovernment #UrbanDevelopment #HousingMatters #Advocacy

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My biz partner & I just had 3 of our Chicago rental properties turn over tenants as their leases expired. Here are the results: Property #1 Previous rent: $3,500 New rent: $3,800 Term: 1yr Change: 🔼 8.5% Comments: 2 other potential tenants were willing to pay even more for the unit, and for a longer term. Ended up sticking with the current tenants because they are fantastic (clean, professional, communicative, pay on time) and because it saved a fee that we would have had to pay to an agent to fill the unit (one months rent is the typical fee). Property #2 Previous rent: $2,400 New rent: $3,000 Term: 1yr Change: 🔼 25% Comments: In 4 years we've barely raised rents for this unit, so this increase was well overdue. Super pumped about this. Property #3 Previous rent: $4,800 New rent: $4,900 Term: 1yr Change: 🔼 2% Comments: Also had 2 options with this unit. Ended up having them give a "best and final" and went with the tenant offering the ideal move-in date and higher rent. We also took into consideration their better credit and income situation. Overview The good: 💥 9.3% increase in rents across the three properties 💥 No holding costs (i.e. didn't pay a single mortgage payment out of pocket) 💥 Kept the expiration date of all three leases aligned with prime rental season The bad: 🔴 Paid over $5,500 in fees to an agent to get the units re-rented. 🔴 Only 1yr terms on all three units, which leaves us vulnerable to the same exercise this time next year 🔴 Tenant turnover is always a risk, no matter the diligence you put into vetting the new tenants. 🤞 More updates coming soon, for now just wanted to share what's happening on the ground for real estate investors! Cheers

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AI Thoughts for 2025: Last night, I was asking ChatGPT questions about Chicago. At one point it confidently stated that Chicago was 3rd in total number of skyscrapers, and even provided a source. But when I checked the link... the site actually ranked Chicago 8th 😅. Interestingly, everything else it answered was spot-on, but this one didn’t quite “pass the smell test,” so I had to verify. Sharing because I know an increasing number of us like to rely on these LLMs for analysis and research. They’re incredible at saving time—turning hours of work into minutes—and often provide sources that make the outputs seem trustworthy. However, this experience reminded me that we can't yet blindly trust the results. My (unsolicited) advice? Treat these models like your English teacher told you to treat Wikipedia in High School. It's fine if you want to use it to get a general sense of a topic, but if you plan on submitting homework make sure the sources actually support the claims. 

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A few days ago, I had an opportunity to sit in on a presentation by Michael Finke from the American College at the Investments & Wealth Institute Chicago Strategy Forum. Five takeaways I got from his presentation were: 1. The 2 big unknowns in retirement income planning are: i. How long you are going to live ii. What your investment returns are going to be 2. There have been large increases in the longevity of high income and highly educated retirees, both men and women. In this same group, men have somewhat closed the gap on women. 3. Being flexible with your retirement spending in #retirement is key. 4. Start your initial retirement withdrawal at a more modest level. 5. Don't adjust future paychecks based on inflation, but rather on "what the market is giving you". Have you talked with your retirement advisor recently on what the plan is for your future retirement paychecks? #retirementplanning #retirementplan #oilandgas #oilgas Baird Retirement Management #money #investing #personalfinance

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Today the Trellis Strategies team released the national findings from the 2023 Student Financial Wellness Survey. The report, linked below, summarizes experiences from over 63,000 learners that responded to our instrument this fall. A few key findings are included below: Mental Health Concerns: Within the two weeks prior to the survey, 32% of participants reported symptoms indicative of major depressive disorder, while 43% experienced generalized anxiety disorder. Alarmingly, 27% suffered from both conditions simultaneously. Basic Needs Insecurity: Over the last year, 58% of students faced challenges such as food insecurity, housing instability, or homelessness—9% endured all three hardships concurrently. Employment: Among the respondents, 68% were employed while studying. Notably, 38% identified more as “workers who attend school” rather than “students who work part-time”, a distinction that has profound implications for institutional policies and student support services. Thank you to all of the institutions and learners that participated in the 2023 administration!

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Exciting news from LiveChiTv! We had the pleasure of joining the @CoffeeIsForClosersTV Podcast to talk about our unique approach in assisting buyers and renters navigate the competitive Chicago real estate market. Discover more about what we do and who we are by enjoying the full episode on YouTube. Your next home, at rates better than you can expect, might just be a click away! #Chicago #ChicagoRealEstate #ChicagoRentals #ChicagoHomes #ChicagoLifestyle #ChicagoLiving #RealEstatePodcast

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Don’t miss the latest episode of the Decoding Cashflow Podcast! where I and Dan Lewkowicz explore the world of net lease commercial real estate investing. With over 15 years of experience, Dan shares invaluable insights on navigating shopping centers, medical offices, restaurants, and more—perfect for both new and seasoned investors!"

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Retail Vacancy in Indianapolis: Insights from Market Data and the CBD Submarket (Q4 2024) --- Indianapolis is seeing significant shifts in its retail market, with varying vacancy rates across different submarkets. Here's an overview of the trends and insights that impact investors and tenants. --- Indianapolis Retail Market Overview: --- The retail vacancy rate in Indianapolis stands at 4.4% as of Q3 2024, reflecting positive movement as the market continues to recover. The city recorded 265,000 square feet of net absorption, indicating strong leasing activity across various submarkets. --- Key Metrics: ➡️ Average asking rent: $16.79 per square foot (NNN), with a 1.2% decline quarter-over-quarter but an 8.2% increase year-over-year. (Source: Marcus & Millichap Retail Q4 Report) ➡️ Vacancy rates remain tight, particularly in prime areas, signaling robust demand for retail spaces. ➡️ Economic growth, including 2.5% job growth and 7.0% increase in consumer spending, continues to support demand for retail spaces in the Indianapolis area. --- Focus on the CBD (Central Business District): --- The Indianapolis CBD, is another story when it comes to retail asking rents, particularly for spaces directly on Mass Ave. The 10% vacancy rate in the CBD reflects some volatility more so closer to the Circle but also highlights the areas where demand remains high. --- The recent closures, such as 9 Irish Brothers and Mimi Blue, have contributed to the higher vacancy rate, but successful businesses like FortyFive Sushi show that adaptability can lead to long-term success. Other mainstay restaurateurs such ones owned by the Cunningham Group have always been around and continue to thrive. --- What This Means for Tenants and Investors: --- For tenants seeking retail space, especially on Mass Ave or near Bottleworks, competition is intense. --- Securing space here means navigating higher rents (close to $35+ PSF + $8-15 NNNs) but also higher visibility and foot traffic. Tenants must be ready to innovate, whether by diversifying their offerings or adapting to shifting consumer preferences. --- For investors, the retail market shows both risks and opportunities. The CBD’s 10% vacancy rate is above the city’s average, but the area offers potential for redevelopment or repositioning. Investors should be strategic, considering long-term trends and consumer behavior to capitalize on opportunities in high-demand areas like Mass Ave. --- Looking for your new retail or restaurant location? --- Get In Touch: Jumha Shatara SKYRISECRE 317-832-2800 jshatara@skyrisecre.com

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