Starting Up in Chicago

[Alex Krebs]

Hello everyone!

My wife and I are gearing up to begin our first house hack in downtown Chicago, possibly in West Town or the Lower West Side.

We've saved up a considerable amount of cash to put down 20% on a multi family in one of those areas but we're still considering utilizing an FHA loan.

Other than that, we’d love any advice that the community has about Chicago or getting started with a house hack!

Kind regards,

Alex

[Crystal Smith]

My advice- Keep the following options open as you explore West Town & the Lower West Side

• Expand your search to the Near West Side- There are some opportunities. The closer to Western the better.  Also expand to Bridgeport. Naturally you'll have to consider if the particular block or area is someplace you'll want to be in the long term, but if the plan is to house hack, live for a short time and then repeat consider expanding the search
• Also consider not jut the FHA, but the FHA 203K. With the 203K you may be able to pick up a property that needs repair and have the repair $ included in the loan. We've found many of our clients using this loan end up with a bunch of equity after the renovation. i.e. the after repair value is much higher than the cost to acquire and renovate