All Forum Posts by: Elliot Rudmann

Hey @Tom Shallcross - I agree with you that Jefferson Park offers great value and tremendous upside. I am biased however, since my wife and I bought a 2-flat here in April. That being said, I have loved living here so far. The community and our neighbors have been very amicable. The proximity to both metra and CTA blue line gives us a lot of flexibility in our commutes downtown. 

Have you seen the Jefferson Park master plan? https://accessjeffpark.org/ - I'm already thrilled to hear that the blue line station remodel will be starting in the fall. Hopefully the other projects mentioned in this plan can be implemented. This should give a lot of potential investors something to think about, as it could completely revitalize the neighborhood.

Alderman Arena, in my opinion, has great intentions for the neighborhood but has deserved some criticism, especially in how he's handled the development of the 5150 N Northwest Hwy project. I'm all for increasing density of Jefferson Park, it definitely needs it! However, allocating 80% of a building to low/mixed-income housing is a bit aggressive given the neighborhood character and the potential effects of that understandably violate the basis for why so many people move into Jefferson Park. While Arena calls his critics retrograde and implies racism (many of whom probably are), I personally find it understandable on a financial/psychological level that empathy diminishes when an event like that stands to decrease the value of the biggest investment (a home) you're likely to make in your life. Overall, I think he needs to be compromise a bit on that particular proposition. 

Nevertheless, I feel that Arena is doing his best to grind Jefferson Park in the direction it needs to go - which is making it an attractive, denser neighborhood for that will allow a new, younger socioeconomic base that will spur commercial growth and promote long term stability. The neighborhood now is still unrecognized by many millennials and feels stagnant and I wish many of the older, rock-ribbed residents would realize that that needs to change to some degree.

@Ray Harrell

I've heard conflicting views on whether or not a closet is necessary to "legalize" a bedroom and I can't find anywhere in the Chicago building code where it mandates one. We had a small 9x9 room in our house with no closet (but with a window and ventilation) that appraised as a legal bedroom and this was 4 months ago. The bedroom wasn't in the basement though so maybe the standards are different for bedrooms below grade? I can only find this:

@Kevin O'Brien - You've already done the smart work of making your offer contingent upon them proving that the 3rd unit is a legal dwelling unit so I'm surprised they haven't already. Have your lawyer request the zoning cert ASAP so you don't waste any more time. I went through a huge ordeal on a short sale where a coach house was not legally cert-ed and it took a few weeks before the listing agent convinced the zoning board to add it. Good luck!

@Henry Lazerow - thanks for sharing those numbers. Was this particular coach house apart of an HOA? I see a lot of coach houses in Lakeview/LP/Wicker that have an HOA fee even though they are completely detached dwellings (maybe because they share the same pin?). I would think the involvement of any such association could be a hindrance to running a legal short term rental since so many restrict them.

Hi Chris, 

I would look into a doing a Freddie Mac home possible loan which have no UPMI fees and very similar low down payment options and low PMI rates. PMI also automatically goes away when you reach a specific LTV ratio, unlike FHA that requires a refi. My wife and I just purchased our 2-flat (to owner occupy) in Jefferson Park using this style of loan.

Home Possible does have certain qualifying income restrictions depending on where the property is located but some areas on the north side have no income limit. You can use this link to see if your property of interest has such restrictions. http://www.freddiemac.com/homepossible/eligibility...

Good luck! 

@Syed Lateef - those occupancy rates look really good. The demand for AirBNBs in Jefferson Park surprises me a bit since there's not as much action in this part of Chicago than say, Wicker Park or Lakeview. My wife and I currently live in Portage Park and are strongly considering purchasing a multifamily in Jefferson Park to owner occupy & rent out, possibly AirBNB... How have the last 3 months been in terms of occupancy? I'm very curious. I've heard it can be difficult to rent out units (short and long term) in Chicago during winter months.