New Real Estate investors moving to the in Chicago Area

[Preston Phillips]

Hello fellow Bigger Pockets members, I'm a recent BP Pro member and I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Preston, my fiancée (Jade) and I will be moving up to Chicago next summer/fall from the Kansas City area. We were wanting to connect with local real estate enthusiast as we begin preparing for this journey. We will be looking into the multifamily space (owner occupant), preferably 3-4 units with the possibility of a basement unit as well. Looking to get any insight, feedback, advice necessary as currently our research has been reading, listening to podcast, and watching YouTube videos. We were able to visit a few neighborhoods over the past year and will be making more trips up there in 2023 as well. We would love to connect with any likeminded Indvidual's as we begin our journey, any and all feedback and advice is encouraged. Our current portfolio is only our single-family home in Kansas City (Overland Park area). Thank you! 

[Paul De Luca]

Quote from @Preston Phillips:

Hello fellow Bigger Pockets members, I'm a recent BP Pro member and I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Preston, my fiancée (Jade) and I will be moving up to Chicago next summer/fall from the Kansas City area. We were wanting to connect with local real estate enthusiast as we begin preparing for this journey. We will be looking into the multifamily space (owner occupant), preferably 3-4 units with the possibility of a basement unit as well. Looking to get any insight, feedback, advice necessary as currently our research has been reading, listening to podcast, and watching YouTube videos. We were able to visit a few neighborhoods over the past year and will be making more trips up there in 2023 as well. We would love to connect with any likeminded Indvidual's as we begin our journey, any and all feedback and advice is encouraged. Our current portfolio is only our single-family home in Kansas City (Overland Park area). Thank you! 

 Welcome to the forums! I'm house hacking in Chicago as well and there a lot of different neighborhoods to consider depending on your exact criteria but 2-4 unit properties are all over the city. If you need recommendations for some lenders to explore your house hack financing options shoot me a PM. Some general advice:

1) Define your criteria (budget, location, # of units, cash flow, CoC return, etc)

2) Connect with investor-friendly lenders to explore your financing options and pick the best for you.

3) Analyze properties before seeing them in person to see if they pass the "sniff test"

4) Be patient with the search

5) Don't bite off more than you can chew

6) Have enough reserves to handle unforeseen expenses

7) Run your numbers conservatively

8) Don't look exclusively for "home run" deals or you'll likely be disappointed