All Forum Posts by: Svend W.

Dennis, 

for the same reason some people rent minuscule studio apartments and cook on hot plates, and others rent out most of their homes to boarders, and yet others live in properties gutted down to the studs while they do rehabs, etc.   If it is legal, works economically  and is tolerable for the person doing it, I don’t see the problem. 

I’ve read accounts by RE investors boasting about living in the cellar (not even the basement) as a  strategy for rapidly paying down a mortgage.  Obviously it’s not for everybody. And hopefully they weren’t breaking the law.

Thanks

Hi, Brie. 

To be clear, I'm not looking to do anything illegal. I'm not talking about faking residency for the purposes of enrolling a child in a school, either.  If I were, posting here under my own name would pretty crazy.

I merely want to know if there is any flexibility in this particular situation, where the basement is reasonably habitable. 

People subdivide homes in all sorts of ways and divide their time between different places. I know this wouldn't be legal for renting out to a tenant-- I'm wondering if this might be kosher when you're the owner and given the lack of safety concerns.

Thanks.

I'm considering purchasing a 2 flat property in a suburb of Chicago but the timing isn't great for the family to move--I would rather not pull our child out of middle school during the last year--so I'm wondering if there are any limitations on me making the basement my legal residence while the family continues to live elsewhere. 

The basement is finished and has a toilet and sink, but no shower or kitchen. It has a carpeted floor, 2 means of egress, a normal-height ceiling and a good-sized normal window in the front room and a glass block windows elsewhere.

Are there likely to be any limitations on a landlord choosing to make in such a basement their legal residence? And could it be shared with a tenant (e.g., just one room reserved for me)?

Thanks in advance.

Hi Tyler

Thanks very much for the analysis and great suggestions.  

I did make a  mistake with the combined rental income, which is $2900 rather than $3300.  I was trying to incorporate the higher rent that I'm currently paying as renter but which wouldn't be paid if I moved into one of those units into the equation.  I wanted to revise the report and update the post but didn't have time.

The taxes are from the MLS listing, but it may be out of date or just wrong. So that's a great idea to check on the county appraiser website. 

You're probably right about the insurance being off since this is a relatively expensive area (Evanston, on the north shore of Chicago). I was spit-balling after I wasn't able to get a quote quickly from an insurance company.

Thanks.

Hi everyone

I'm new to this site and REI in general.

Wondering what you think about this property. It's a two-flat home, in which I'd be living in one of the units. 

This would be my first home. I want to finally take the plunge and buy, but would prefer a property that also has a tenant.

BTW, if anyone has tips on how to use this calculator in this situation (partially owner occupied multifamily home ), I'd love to hear them. 

Thanks in advance.

Svend

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*This link comes directly from our calculators, based on information input by the member who posted.