There's a recipe for creating the best chance of a bidding war. 

These aren't my thoughts, just the data as of the time I"m posting this and it's general for Chicago (not neighborhood specific)Median Price- $339K; Market Time 79 days; (this is a long time considering what's going on w/ Single Family Market Times)Selling on average at 98% of List Price (No bidding wars in the condo market); Contract to Close 44 days; 5.1 Months of supplyEvery submarket is different so you can't use these numbers for planning purposes.

This is why real estate agents will price a property lower to ignite a bidding war.

High demand is butting up against near record-low supply, resulting in bidding wars for the vast majority of listings

I am 20 and looking to 'house hack' a duplex ASAP.From my limited experience the market appears crazy in this area right now, with sky-high prices and bidding wars left right and centre.

Used the loan estimate while it was processing as my proof of funds for the new purchase.I used HELOC that was closed/paid off with this cash out as down payment for numerous investment properties over the years.

If the seller sold me two of the 4, I could do it on my own, the problem is, all 4 of the townhomes are under one mortgage, and I'm not sure the seller wants to separate the places, especially since there will be a bidding war for these properties if it hits the market.

On top of that most hot properties are getting into bidding wars with your closing price far exceeding the asking price.

There are city areas called "war zones".

The dilemma that we see before us is one that resulted via numerous different implications.