North Suburbs (Libertyville, Lake Forest, Des Plains, etc.)

[Joey Kays]

Hi All,

Been a long term reader, first time poster. 

I moved to Chicago 2 years ago for work and have been renting ever since. I've got a lay of the land and i'm ready to jump in but wanted to reach out for some advice.

I work out in Lake Forest and want to keep my commute to a minimum so wanted to live in the north Suburbs. The ultimate goal is to house hack and to get a multi family home, live in one apartment and rent the others out. I've got pre-approved for a mortgage and just about to look for a real estate agent. The second choice is to go for a SFH and bank on the appreciation.

Had a few questions that wanted to get people's advice on:

1) What north suburb should i aim for? 

2) Based on the current markets in the burbs, should i go with the SFH option or the multifamily home option?