Buy cheap condo in Chicago for renting out and then relocate to Chicago? (Evanston: short sale, foreclosures)

[MannheimMadman]

Originally Posted by Runuova

Yeah but does that justify a 300k+ condo in your eyes?

You're talking about what condos are typically made for but there are condos all over chicago and including the burbs. In San Francisco I can understand based on the lack of space, but that's not the case here. Everyone's cramming into their top five favorite neighborhoods and running the prices sky high. You have people with decent yearly salaries sharing 2 bedrooms because they want to walk to the nearest restaurant.

For me, personally, I could easily justify that price. All things considered, I'd take a condo over a SFH every time. I totally agree that a house is more work than a condo, which is why I'd never consider it. Heck, I'm less than thrilled about the work I've put in to my condo over the last 5 weeks I've owned it. My time is worth a lot to me, and I'm constantly assessing opportunity costs.

When you said that overall upkeep is more expensive, were you referring to a SFH, or a condominium?

Originally Posted by Haringson

thank you guys for responses!



MannheimMadman,
this is Rogers Park neighborhood?

Real Estate - 10 Homes For Sale | Zillow

have you purchased condo in the ~100k price range?

Yes, you're in the correct general area. West Ridge runs from McCormick (the river) on the west to Ridge Ave on the east and Howard (on the North) to Peterson (on the south.) Rogers Park is roughly Ridge all the way to the Lake, and from the cemetery on the north to Devon on the south.

Depending on what you consider the ~$100K range, yes I did purchase in that range. I spent closer to $150K and got in to a well maintained building with an extremely well run association with healthy reserves. I think the reason my unit may have been 'undesirable' to many was due to lack of updates. Save for new hardwood flooring, EVERYTHING else in the unit was original from 1978. I've just replaced all the appliances for new ones and am now slowly putting together a plan for the kitchen and bathrooms.

Good luck in your search.

[Runuova]

Originally Posted by helena101

You realize that the price is whatever people are willing to pay, right? It's not a random number pulled from the sky. If the price is too high, no one will buy it. If you like a condo but you're only willing to pay $100K for it and other people are willing to pay $200K for the same condo, I guess you won't be getting that condo.

Duh!

[Runuova]

Originally Posted by mannheimmadman

for me, personally, i could easily justify that price. All things considered, i'd take a condo over a sfh every time. I totally agree that a house is more work than a condo, which is why i'd never consider it. Heck, i'm less than thrilled about the work i've put in to my condo over the last 5 weeks i've owned it. My time is worth a lot to me, and i'm constantly assessing opportunity costs.

When you said that overall upkeep is more expensive, were you referring to a sfh, or a condominium?



Yes, you're in the correct general area. West ridge runs from mccormick (the river) on the west to ridge ave on the east and howard (on the north) to peterson (on the south.) rogers park is roughly ridge all the way to the lake, and from the cemetery on the north to devon on the south.

Depending on what you consider the ~$100k range, yes i did purchase in that range. I spent closer to $150k and got in to a well maintained building with an extremely well run association with healthy reserves. I think the reason my unit may have been 'undesirable' to many was due to lack of updates. Save for new hardwood flooring, everything else in the unit was original from 1978. I've just replaced all the appliances for new ones and am now slowly putting together a plan for the kitchen and bathrooms.

Good luck in your search.

sfh

[MannheimMadman]

Originally Posted by Runuova

sfh

Totally agree with you.

From what I've seen, there are two mindsets with condos: you either love them and can get behind the benefits, or you've got displeasure with them, and may have only owned one for a short time as a stepping stone to a SFH.

[Runuova]

Originally Posted by MannheimMadman

Totally agree with you.

From what I've seen, there are two mindsets with condos: you either love them and can get behind the benefits, or you've got displeasure with them, and may have only owned one for a short time as a stepping stone to a SFH.

My Wife and I have already discussed moving into a full service condo once we retire and the kids are grown. Having a SFH to keep up in my golden years just doesn't appeal to me.

[Larry Siegel]

I live near the units on Central Street in Evanston and the one advertised for $75,000 is worth about $250K and the latter is also the Zillow estimate. I am assuming the low price is clickbait and you'll find the unit is "sold" (i.e. never existed) or there is something seriously wrong with it (physically or financially). The neighborhood is upscale, so that's not the problem.

I recently helped a friend look for a "cheap" condo and everything under about $200K was pretty worthless. That is still a huge savings relative to San Francisco and if you move to Chicago you will find everything to be a relative bargain, but don't buy a $75,000 condo.

[Runuova]

Originally Posted by Larry Siegel

I live near the units on Central Street in Evanston and the one advertised for $75,000 is worth about $250K and the latter is also the Zillow estimate. I am assuming the low price is clickbait and you'll find the unit is "sold" (i.e. never existed) or there is something seriously wrong with it (physically or financially). The neighborhood is upscale, so that's not the problem.

I recently helped a friend look for a "cheap" condo and everything under about $200K was pretty worthless. That is still a huge savings relative to San Francisco and if you move to Chicago you will find everything to be a relative bargain, but don't buy a $75,000 condo.

Needs updating if it was on the market for 250k!

That clickbait crap is annoying with Zillow, try Redfin instead.

[paytonc]

Originally Posted by MannheimMadman

Your best bet is probably looking in the top right cluster of properties on the map - this is in the Rogers Park neighborhood, which is touch and go, but probably your best best to get the rent you need.

In Rogers Park, a lot of your rental market might be Northwestern students. Similarly, there are bargain-priced condos in Hyde Park which could be rented to UChicago students.

Not that students are great tenants (far from it), but they do have a way of propping up rental demand. As a result, "student ghetto" neighborhoods can sometimes have an OK yield -- but do a thorough check about rental restrictions in whatever building you buy in, because most condo buildings justifiably want to avoid just that scenario.

[PerseusVeil]

Originally Posted by paytonc

In Rogers Park, a lot of your rental market might be Northwestern students. Similarly, there are bargain-priced condos in Hyde Park which could be rented to UChicago students.

Not that students are great tenants (far from it), but they do have a way of propping up rental demand. As a result, "student ghetto" neighborhoods can sometimes have an OK yield -- but do a thorough check about rental restrictions in whatever building you buy in, because most condo buildings justifiably want to avoid just that scenario.

I lived further south in Rogers Park mind you, but you're probably going to see a lot more Loyola students in Rogers Park than Northwestern students considering the majority of Loyola's main campus is located in Rogers Park.

[paytonc]

Indeed -- typo on my part.