House Hacking Multi Units in Chicago too competitive?

[Nicholas Pascullo]

Hey BP!

I spoke to my first realtor today, and told him that my goal was to buy a multi(2-4) unit building in a neighborhood like Humboldt Park, Avondale, or Bridgeport in downtown Chicago. Both he and the mortgage broker I'm talking to warned me that it would probably be very hard to find a property like that, because the areas are "flooded with investors" making cash offers, and coming in with an offer, planning to pay with FHA loan with 3.5% down, it would be really hard for me to close a deal. They were much happier with the idea of me buying an attached apartment/condo in one of the "hot" downtown neighborhoods(west loop, lincoln park, river north).

I'd love to hear the opinion of some seasoned and knowledgeable Chicago area investors, or anybody who could lend some insight. Is it true that I'll have trouble closing on a cashflowing multi-family property, even if it's in an area of Chicago that hasn't blown up yet? I'm going to be coming in with a 3.5% down FHA offer. I don't have trouble coming up with listings from zillow, realtor.com, etc...