Greetings from Windy City!

[Alex Pot]

Hello Bigger Pockets!

Before I start talking about myself I would just like to say THANK YOU EVERYONE for helping people and being a part of this great community.

So, my name is Alex, I am 28 years old and I’m comming from Chicago.

I work in IT, I really love and enjoy my job but as pretty much everyone else here, I would like to reach financial independence in a “near” future and have more time for my family, travels and generally enjoy life a bit more.

I have been reading forums, books, listening podcasts, got familiar with basics and I’m eager to learn more and more.

Generally, I would say that I am type of person that is ready to take a risk if I am okay with loosing what’s on stake.

For my first investment I would like to go with house hacking plan and I would try to get a triplex. When it comes to loans we would probably go with FHA loans since I have read somewhere that for conventional loans you need to have 15/20% if buying a multifamily property.

Now, when it comes to loans, there are some things that I am still trying to catch up with but maybe someone can help me and clarify my doubts.

I see there are some programs that can help with downpayment here in Chicago/Illinois but there are some income criteria.

For ex:

https://www.ihda.org/income-and-purchase-limits/

https://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/mayor/general/HomeBuyerAssistanceProgramFlyer.pdf

Now, my wife and I are meeting those criteria with our tax return from last year but next year we will be way over it. We both got new jobs and pretty much doubled our income.

Of course, doubt that I have is, get to the action now, try to get loan approval this year and use those programs or wait next year and then apply for a loan and be 100% sure that we will be approved.

There is a chance that we would be able to meet criteria for Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Loans from a 2nd link above but I do not know are there any other conditions for these that we might not be able to meet.

So, from investors perspective and experience, are these programs something that it's worth of chasing at all and or should I focus on getting a better conditions taking a regular FHA loan?

I would like to get in touch with Loan Brokers and Real Estate agents from Chicago so if there are some here, hit me up!

I work downtown and I am always in a mood to get a coffee/drink/lunch and chat about this or really any other topic :)

My post came up a bit longer than I wanted, hope you guys don’t mind that and all the questions :)

Thanks! Alex