Buying Condo Thoughts (if living for 1-2 yrs) (Chicago: 2013, HOA)

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by RamenAddict

It’s not about the heat but the flooding. A lot of places in low lying areas already flood a lot (I’ve lived in a lot of those areas) and we’re already to the point where 100-year floods happen every 5-10 years.

Also varies over time...

https://www.lre.usace.army.mil/Missi...er-Level-Data/

[RamenAddict]

Originally Posted by BRU67

Also varies over time...

https://www.lre.usace.army.mil/Missi...er-Level-Data/

? I was not talking about the Great Lakes. I’m from Florida and AFAIK, my hometown has experienced flooding during regular storms since my parents moved there 50 years ago. I know people throughout the state who have experienced multiple floods in their homes as well. This is not something that is going to be sustainable longterm, as homeowners insurance rates there are already outrageous.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by RamenAddict

? I was not talking about the Great Lakes. I’m from Florida and AFAIK, my hometown has experienced flooding during regular storms since my parents moved there 50 years ago. I know people throughout the state who have experienced multiple floods in their homes as well. This is not something that is going to be sustainable longterm, as homeowners insurance rates there are already outrageous.

Here's some info on flooding in FL. Some big ones occurred between 1928-2008. And lots of huge rainfall events scattered throughout history...

https://www.weather.gov/safety/flood-states-fl

https://www.charlottecountyfl.gov/de...d/history.stml

[Gaylord_Focker]

Originally Posted by fusillirob1983

True story. There's still people flocking to the most popular neighborhoods in the city, but the 4br 2.5ba houses in Naperville are absurdly overpriced at the moment. It's largely due to low inventory, but I know there's people coming out here from the city moreseo than a few years ago.

I went and took a peak. To me, it wasn't very impressive, especially for the price.

[lepoisson]

I considered buying a condo but the HOA and property taxes were almost the same as the rent I was paying for a 2br apartment. It just didn't seem logical to buy a condo in that environment.

Also, I heard horror stories from friends who lived in condos and had to deal with neighbors who caused trouble with the HOA board or "special assessment" fees tacked onto the HOA to replace expensive things like windows.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by Gaylord_Focker

I went and took a peak. To me, it wasn't very impressive, especially for the price.

Very little is impressive now for the money. Even in the City of Chicago. That's why I wouldn't be giving away my condo at a short sale price and overpaying for a place in Naperville, Vernon Hills, or wherever the cool kids are going just to save 2-3 points on a 30 year fixed.

That interest rate savings will probably get eaten up by your overpay. And if your finances are tenuous enough to where that's going to make a difference, then maybe you should be rethinking your financial situation and fix that first.

Seems like an obviously dumb decision but a lot of people are clearly making it, judging by what I'm seeing in the market. So I go back to my earlier question. Are they teaching economics anymore? Or has that been pushed out under new more "equitable" curriculum in HS and college?

I'm really not trying to be sarcastic or mean. I'm just getting old enough now where I probably went to school where things were very different than today. So I'm just trying to understand. Thanks! Please no one get mad at me lol!

[ChiGuy2.5]

Originally Posted by BRU67

Very little is impressive now for the money. Even in the City of Chicago. That's why I wouldn't be giving away my condo at a short sale price and overpaying for a place in Naperville, Vernon Hills, or wherever the cool kids are going just to save 2-3 points on a 30 year fixed.

That interest rate savings will probably get eaten up by your overpay. And if your finances are tenuous enough to where that's going to make a difference, then maybe you should be rethinking your financial situation and fix that first.

Seems like an obviously dumb decision but a lot of people are clearly making it, judging by what I'm seeing in the market. So I go back to my earlier question. Are they teaching economics anymore? Or has that been pushed out under new more "equitable" curriculum in HS and college?

I'm really not trying to be sarcastic or mean. I'm just getting old enough now where I probably went to school where things were very different than today. So I'm just trying to understand. Thanks! Please no one get mad at me lol!

I doubt many people can buy or refinance into a lower mortgage rate these days. It recently hit 5% as a standard which is the highest its been since 2018. The time of shopping for a lower rate is over. I did refinance back in 2020 to a 2.75% interest rate and it was worth the fees to do so because it will save me over $40k in the long run, not because I get to save $120 a month.

Anyone who is moving today is likely doing so out of necessity or desire rather than trying to be financially savvy.

With that being said, I think all HS kids could use a better introduction into finances. The best example of a lack of education for younger generations is in the student loan bubble. So many of them took out huge loans at ridiculous interest rates for degrees with a very low expected avg salary. What makes it worse is that it's debt that can never be forgiven. I had a friend who lived on student loans in college.

[Hiruko]

Originally Posted by dadave

Are high rise apartments difficult to get permission to rent out if i ever moved out?

Most condo boards limit the number of units that can be rented out at any given time (many buildings are at their cap) and many also require you to live in the unit for a defined period of time before it can be considered a potential rental. I would strongly caution against flipping in Chicago, especially a condo, because these properties do not increase in value very much.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by ChiGuy2.5

Anyone who is moving today is likely doing so out of necessity or desire rather than trying to be financially savvy.

With that being said, I think all HS kids could use a better introduction into finances. The best example of a lack of education for younger generations is in the student loan bubble. So many of them took out huge loans at ridiculous interest rates for degrees with a very low expected avg salary. What makes it worse is that it's debt that can never be forgiven. I had a friend who lived on student loans in college.

Yes, makes sense I suppose. I just hope they're comfortable if there's a market correction, which history strongly implies there will be.

We agree on finance education, for sure. When I was a lad, we had to take two economics classes in high school. One dealt with broad economic concepts ("macroeconomics" they called it back then) and the other dealt with practical economics, such as balancing a checkbook - when you'd take a little ledger, write down what you made out these little colored slips of paper called "checks" for, and then subtract it from your account balance so you would not spend more than was in there. And no government stimulus money was put in there during our simulated exercises either. Ah, the good 'ol days!

[ChiGuy2.5]

Originally Posted by BRU67

Yes, makes sense I suppose. I just hope they're comfortable if there's a market correction, which history strongly implies there will be.

We agree on finance education, for sure. When I was a lad, we had to take two economics classes in high school. One dealt with broad economic concepts ("macroeconomics" they called it back then) and the other dealt with practical economics, such as balancing a checkbook - when you'd take a little ledger, write down what you made out these little colored slips of paper called "checks" for, and then subtract it from your account balance so you would not spend more than was in there. And no government stimulus money was put in there during our simulated exercises either. Ah, the good 'ol days!

lol. Balancing a checkbook is something I've never had to do thankfully (at least not since HS). I actually had micro and macro economics in high school too. But still my classes were not focused on actual day to day knowledge that would really be helpful as an adult. Instead we built supply and demand graphs and figured out how to calculate how much interest you would pay on a 6% loan. As if the bank doesn't have to disclose the true cost of a loan. It would have been nice if they went over how to analyze the pros/cons of a loan type or how to take ROI into account when deciding between financial vehicles.