Buy cheap condo in Chicago for renting out and then relocate to Chicago?

[Chicago60614]

Originally Posted by Gramercy

There's actually plenty out there for 75-100k. Some of them decent and in good areas. You just have to make sure the building allows rentals. That was my biggest barrier when I was looking for an investment property.

Most of the cheap ones like that are in somewhat older highrises along the lakefront. The issue is you can score a one bedroom that's functional for $90,000 - but a lot of the reason they're so low is because the assessments are going to run you MUCH higher than a typical condo. Like many many hundreds in some cases....$400....$500....and up in extreme cases. It's going to eat into your bottom line just as much as buying a place that's twice as expensive with $150 a month assessments. I've had two condos in lakeview the past 8 years, one paid $110 a month and my current one is $145 per month. People I know in highrises bought way cheaper than I did, but they pay two or three times as much in their monthly.

[Gramercy]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

Most of the cheap ones like that are in somewhat older highrises along the lakefront. The issue is you can score a one bedroom that's functional for $90,000 - but a lot of the reason they're so low is because the assessments are going to run you MUCH higher than a typical condo. Like many many hundreds in some cases....$400....$500....and up in extreme cases. It's going to eat into your bottom line just as much as buying a place that's twice as expensive with $150 a month assessments. I've had two condos in lakeview the past 8 years, one paid $110 a month and my current one is $145 per month. People I know in highrises bought way cheaper than I did, but they pay two or three times as much in their monthly.

This is true. While I've seen a few that check off all the boxes - nice location/low HOA fee/nice building - they aren't the norm.