First time Multiunit Buyer in Chicago area

[Danny Chan]

Hello everyone,

I’m a young professional who has been renting most of my life. I’m in the Chicago area and I’m finally seriously thinking about buying my first property.

I’ve heard of BiggerPockets a year ago from a podcast, but the mere thought of the repairs, property management, high monthly expenses, landlording, and risk of buying a bad property scared the heck out of me. Plus I have been renting from a friend so rent is very low and calculators determined it would be more worth it to rent than to buy.

However, things have changed and my girlfriend will be moving to Chicago for me. We have looked at various condos, and although nice, it feels like we aren’t getting much value for the price we would have to pay. I believe my options are at this moment, finding a low cost condo to have a low monthly payment, or to buy a 2-3 unit investment property where we can live in one unit and rent the other units out.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can get started on the investment property route in Chicago? Aside from the ultimate beginner’s guide, what are some of your favorite articles/resources that helped educate you when you first started on this route? The amount of information here is overwhelming.

Thank you,

Danny