buying a multi unit building (Chicago, Bridgeport: for sale, real estate, rental)

[urbanlife78]

Okay, I have been playing with redfin.com lately and one of my favorite time waster things to do is look for real estate. Hopefully in the future I would like to get into building owning and being a small time landlord and developer. Something that could go along with my architecture background. Anyway Chicago is one of the cities that I could end up living in in the future.

I was wondering what people on here would do, if you were looking for an affordable building 2-6 units that was under 250K (just ballparking a figure) what neighborhood would you be looking in and why?

[ChiGuy2.5]

Unless you want to live in a sh*t hole neighborhood, you will never find any property in Chicago for under 250K. Not trolling, I think you just dont realize how expensive property is here.

[urbanlife78]

Oh no, it wouldn't be something to live in, I am thinking purely as it being a rental property only. I have noticed little buildings in that price range in Albany Park area near the Kimball stop, so obviously they do exist at that price range.

But what would you consider the low end number for a 2-6 unit building in Chicago and what neighborhood would it be in?

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by urbanlife78

Oh no, it wouldn't be something to live in, I am thinking purely as it being a rental property only. I have noticed little buildings in that price range in Albany Park area near the Kimball stop, so obviously they do exist at that price range.

But what would you consider the low end number for a 2-6 unit building in Chicago and what neighborhood would it be in?

Well you can buy multi-units for <50k in large swaths of the southside. Not sure those would be the best investment, however. The tried and true method for investing in Chicago is find a desirable neighborhood (almost invariably on an el line), then go outward one or two el stops. My guess is that for the next 5-10 years, the best bet is Logan Square and Humboldt Park. Other possible contenders further out 10+ years (and here is where the crystal ball gets VERY hazy) are East Garfield Park, West Pilsen, Douglas/North Kenwood, and maybe South Shore.

[Kevin J]

I'm sure that the floor is the limit in terms of low-cost multi-unit buildings in this city. If you absolutely don't care what neighborhood the building is in and how that will impact your ability to rent and maintain your property, then check out the worst neighborhoods in town, like Englewood and Lawndale. I just did a quick google search of property for sale in Englewood and found a two-flat building available for $17,000. It's 110 years old and at that price, both the condition of the building and the location have to be horrendous.

If you're thinking about more transitional neighborhoods where property values might be poised to rise, then Albany Park, Rogers Park, east Humboldt Park, and Bridgeport, among others, might be where to look. Prices in these areas are going to be much higher than the $17,000 two-flat in Englewood; probably more along the lines of what you saw in Albany Park.

[soulful]

Originally Posted by urbanlife78

Oh no, it wouldn't be something to live in, I am thinking purely as it being a rental property only. I have noticed little buildings in that price range in Albany Park area near the Kimball stop, so obviously they do exist at that price range.

But what would you consider the low end number for a 2-6 unit building in Chicago and what neighborhood would it be in?

You may want to check out realtor.com as the entire Chicago MLS is on the site. Use the advanced search feature to select "multiple family" properties.

Good luck to you

[urbanlife78]

Haha, thanks for the info, and Kevin, and the second list of neighborhoods was more what I was thinking. The extreme low cost of the southside area makes it too difficult to ever want to make any improvements on the building. Chicago would have to do some serious drastic work to make that area work for the city again.

If I ever got into the landlord market, I would be more interested in neighborhoods that would be more working class, even poorer yet stable neighborhoods starting off.

But it is definitely fun to learn these dynamics about Chicago, so thank you guys for all the info so far.

[koctail]

Why not just get your feet wet with something like this:

2941 S MICHIGAN Ave #509, CHICAGO, IL 60616 | MLS# 07922614

[urbanlife78]

Originally Posted by koctail

Why not just get your feet wet with something like this:

2941 S MICHIGAN Ave #509, CHICAGO, IL 60616 | MLS# 07922614

Wow that place sold for $115K in 2004 and is now selling for that price? People must of really had their butts handed to them when that market fell out. From what I remember when I was looking at the architecture program at IIT, that area wasn't great, but wasn't the worst either.

[cump]

There are condos out there that can be purchased at a fraction of the prices they sold for before the bubble burst. You need to know what you are doing and you need to have a good agent who works in your interest. Look at some, run the numbers and see if you agree.