Apartment/Condo/House Thread

[Texsox]

I don't think that math is right. Two families are buying him a house every month? And he'll have 6 by age 40? What, is he 39?

 

He started when he was 27. He is 29 right now. He buys one every 12-15 months.

[Texsox]

Until the tenants stop paying.

 

Again, all that is handled by the management firm. He has had one tenant who came close to defaulting. He has a three month reserve for paying the mortgage and adds a month each year. He isn't taking any profits out of the houses, he is paying off the mortgages as quickly as possible.

[LittleHurt05]

I do have renter's insurance. But none of my personal belongings were actually ruined. It's more the physical place itself (floors, ceiling, cabinetry, etc) that needs to be fixed. Figured that should fall under my landlord's insurance, but there's no telling if he'll just pocket the money.

 

Besides the personal belongings, I think the renters insurance may also cover outside expenses you incur if you cannot live at your apartment like hotel costs, extra meals, etc.

 

As the other posters said, I would definitely document and put in writing when the damage happened, what days you couldn't live there, etc. It might depend on your lease or local laws, but I would think you cloud fairly deduct the rent for the days that the place is not livable. (If the landlord does have his own insurance, it should cover loss of rent anyway, so it shouldn't be a big deal to him either)

[dasox24]

Thanks for the input, guys. I'm working on getting all of this in writing. I'll keep you all posted.

[bigruss]

I've started looking again at condos (just online, not with a realtor) as my lease ends in May (but is month to month after, owner is selling the whole building and will give us a 3 month heads up on when he needs us out no matter what). My current roommate is most likely buying a place and moving in with his girlfriend so that kinda leaves me on my own.

 

Has anyone bought/sold a 1bdr condo, is it really hard to find a buyer for those places? I've been told that they are had to unload. Also, any suggestions for mortgage providers? I bank with Chase so they are always an option, but if anyone has good suggestions or places to avoid that would be great to know.

[kevo880]

I am curious if I am covered by renters insurance if I didn't sign a lease for the house that I am living in. Does anyone know?

[LittleHurt05]

I've started looking again at condos (just online, not with a realtor) as my lease ends in May (but is month to month after, owner is selling the whole building and will give us a 3 month heads up on when he needs us out no matter what). My current roommate is most likely buying a place and moving in with his girlfriend so that kinda leaves me on my own.

 

Has anyone bought/sold a 1bdr condo, is it really hard to find a buyer for those places? I've been told that they are had to unload. Also, any suggestions for mortgage providers? I bank with Chase so they are always an option, but if anyone has good suggestions or places to avoid that would be great to know.

 

DON'T buy a condo in the city

[bigruss]

DON'T buy a condo in the city

Just curious, why? Too hard to resell?

[bmags]

I've started looking again at condos (just online, not with a realtor) as my lease ends in May (but is month to month after, owner is selling the whole building and will give us a 3 month heads up on when he needs us out no matter what). My current roommate is most likely buying a place and moving in with his girlfriend so that kinda leaves me on my own.

 

Has anyone bought/sold a 1bdr condo, is it really hard to find a buyer for those places? I've been told that they are had to unload. Also, any suggestions for mortgage providers? I bank with Chase so they are always an option, but if anyone has good suggestions or places to avoid that would be great to know.

 

The market for 1bdr condos sucks. I won't tell you not to buy condos in the city, but I would say if you are going to buy one, make sure it's in a dense area. Don't buy a condo in like norwood park or oak park.

 

I had 2 friends buy in 2012 with 2bd condos, and now have made 40k in equity. I had others that bought in 2009 and will be underwater for 10 years.

 

I would just tell you to make sure you get a place you can rent out, that is in a neighborhood that is not already priced out, and do NOT buy that with less than 20% down.

[bmags]

Also don't plan on making money. Buy a place whose PITI is reasonable to renting. You can only guarantee that your return is living in a place, not that it will get you money back.

[bigruss]

The market for 1bdr condos sucks. I won't tell you not to buy condos in the city, but I would say if you are going to buy one, make sure it's in a dense area. Don't buy a condo in like norwood park or oak park.

 

I had 2 friends buy in 2012 with 2bd condos, and now have made 40k in equity. I had others that bought in 2009 and will be underwater for 10 years.

 

I would just tell you to make sure you get a place you can rent out, that is in a neighborhood that is not already priced out, and do NOT buy that with less than 20% down.

 

 

Also don't plan on making money. Buy a place whose PITI is reasonable to renting. You can only guarantee that your return is living in a place, not that it will get you money back.

Yea that's what my mom (former realtor) keeps saying, 1bdrs are just too hard to sell.

 

It would definitely be in the city, right now I'm looking around in Avondale and Albany Park since it would be a much better commute than where I currently am.

 

And yea, renting it has to be an option, while I don't see myself moving out of the city really any time soon I need to have that option.

 

I have about 40k to put down, so it's close to the range I am looking at (180-220k), obviously less would be spectacular. I'm still trying to save up a few extra thousand, could easily have than in a few months (I'm covering costs for a trip with friends right now so that's like 2k right there), avoiding PMI is definitely a priority.

 

The place I really like right now is 220k, in Avondale, it's a converted factory loft building (bedrooms have full walls though), 2bdr, 2 bath, plus a den, and has a parking spot. Total monthly payment (including tax breakdown and HOA) is about $1250, so if I do have to rent it out I could easily cover that and should make money off of it.

[LittleHurt05]

Just curious, why? Too hard to resell?

 

Well I am kinda biased and over reactive given that I'm a landlord for two condos now, and not by choice. (One in Old Irving which is near where you are looking) Obviously it's a different marketplace now than 8-10 years ago though.

 

I would say just try to do your due diligence on the building and the association. You don't want to sign your life away then suddenly get hit with a huge special assessment or find out your association is broke. I've heard of plenty of horror stories with buildings needing major repairs, having no money, etc. I got hit with a nearly $6k special assessment to build a new porch and fix the roof and masonry.

 

Also, be sure to look over the by-laws to ensure that you are allowed to rent your place out, some groups forbid it. That's important.

 

The possibility to rent in the future is good, but you should only buy if you are ready to live there for at least the next 5-7 years, if not more. You should be able to rent, but you never know what will happen.

 

[RockRaines]

Alright so I am not new to the city as I lived in the South Loop in a high rise for about three years but we moved over to Little Italy in November and the water here is just gross. I have always just drank tap water because it pours faster than the fridge dispense but here it is a different story. Just cloudy, gray water. I don't even want to make my coffee with it. My dad says it's normal but it just doesn't seem right to me. Does anyone deal with this? Should I just get one of those filter attachments to the faucet?

Its not the water, its probably your pipes. All of Chicago gets the same lake Michigan water and I lived a few blocks from you and mine was awesome.

[RockRaines]

I've started looking again at condos (just online, not with a realtor) as my lease ends in May (but is month to month after, owner is selling the whole building and will give us a 3 month heads up on when he needs us out no matter what). My current roommate is most likely buying a place and moving in with his girlfriend so that kinda leaves me on my own.

 

Has anyone bought/sold a 1bdr condo, is it really hard to find a buyer for those places? I've been told that they are had to unload. Also, any suggestions for mortgage providers? I bank with Chase so they are always an option, but if anyone has good suggestions or places to avoid that would be great to know.

My buddy listed and sold his 1bd on madison st in about 5 days, so there is a market, but the neighborhood demographics are really important.

[NorthSideSox72]

Well I am kinda biased and over reactive given that I'm a landlord for two condos now, and not by choice. (One in Old Irving which is near where you are looking) Obviously it's a different marketplace now than 8-10 years ago though.

 

I would say just try to do your due diligence on the building and the association. You don't want to sign your life away then suddenly get hit with a huge special assessment or find out your association is broke. I've heard of plenty of horror stories with buildings needing major repairs, having no money, etc. I got hit with a nearly $6k special assessment to build a new porch and fix the roof and masonry.

 

Also, be sure to look over the by-laws to ensure that you are allowed to rent your place out, some groups forbid it. That's important.

 

The possibility to rent in the future is good, but you should only buy if you are ready to live there for at least the next 5-7 years, if not more. You should be able to rent, but you never know what will happen.

 

I agree on the parts about making sure you know the condo association covenants, and their financial condition, what their monthly revenue and costs are. Very key.

 

That said, if that all checks out, I wouldn't hesitate on buying a city condo, as long as you aren't in a very fringe neighborhood (which is just higher risk but could be higher reward). We bought out Bucktown condo in 2004, moved out in early 2011 after not being able to sell at a good price (it was the depths of the downturn). But we rented it out the past 4 years and that has gone well - basically break even on a cash flow basis, and make money on an investment basis. Now we're selling, now that the market has improved.

 

Just remember if you do rent it out, work with a realtor or someone to help find a good renter. You lose a half month rent to commission, but the risk mitigation is very helpful.

 

[RockRaines]

I agree on the parts about making sure you know the condo association covenants, and their financial condition, what their monthly revenue and costs are. Very key.

 

That said, if that all checks out, I wouldn't hesitate on buying a city condo, as long as you aren't in a very fringe neighborhood (which is just higher risk but could be higher reward). We bought out Bucktown condo in 2004, moved out in early 2011 after not being able to sell at a good price (it was the depths of the downturn). But we rented it out the past 4 years and that has gone well - basically break even on a cash flow basis, and make money on an investment basis. Now we're selling, now that the market has improved.

 

Just remember if you do rent it out, work with a realtor or someone to help find a good renter. You lose a half month rent to commission, but the risk mitigation is very helpful.

Meet the association president before you buy if you can, I routinely gave people an overview of what was coming in my building as well as "undocumented" regulations. Sellers and seller agents can lie all the way to closing time.

[Texsox]

Hard to sell should mean easy to buy.

 

No rentals usually means a long term stable, nice living place.

No rentals is also risky if you need out and the market is bad.

 

All the negatives are also positives for some people.

 

I have become a big fan of real estate as an investment. I wish I had started sooner.

[NorthSideSox72]

Meet the association president before you buy if you can, I routinely gave people an overview of what was coming in my building as well as "undocumented" regulations. Sellers and seller agents can lie all the way to closing time.

If you request the full condo association rules, and you close based on those with lawyer present, and find out later there were "other" rules... then the sellers were fraudulent or at fault, and you can pretty much say "I'm not following these rules, and if you try to enforce them on me, I'm suing you and will win". Should end the discussion.

 

Anyway, that kind of thing should be rare, if you actually ask for the full condo documents.

 

[RockRaines]

If you request the full condo association rules, and you close based on those with lawyer present, and find out later there were "other" rules... then the sellers were fraudulent or at fault, and you can pretty much say "I'm not following these rules, and if you try to enforce them on me, I'm suing you and will win". Should end the discussion.

 

Anyway, that kind of thing should be rare, if you actually ask for the full condo documents.

Dont forget the minutes as well if there are any. Thats where many of our rule changes were actually documented.

[NorthSideSox72]

Dont forget the minutes as well if there are any. Thats where many of our rule changes were actually documented.

When you register annually with the State, you are supposed to submit the full rules - but I suspect some associations fail to do that.

 

For us, it was only three units, and we were a new building with no previous residents, so it was pretty smooth. And since the three units essentially made up the board, we had complete control without having to worry about upsetting anyone else. Which was nice.

 

[RockRaines]

When you register annually with the State, you are supposed to submit the full rules - but I suspect some associations fail to do that.

 

For us, it was only three units, and we were a new building with no previous residents, so it was pretty smooth. And since the three units essentially made up the board, we had complete control without having to worry about upsetting anyone else. Which was nice.

We had 16 and about 3 years of no documentation whatsover once the building was opened. Pretty standard shady Chicago practice.

[LittleHurt05]

I agree on the parts about making sure you know the condo association covenants, and their financial condition, what their monthly revenue and costs are. Very key.

 

That said, if that all checks out, I wouldn't hesitate on buying a city condo, as long as you aren't in a very fringe neighborhood (which is just higher risk but could be higher reward). We bought out Bucktown condo in 2004, moved out in early 2011 after not being able to sell at a good price (it was the depths of the downturn). But we rented it out the past 4 years and that has gone well - basically break even on a cash flow basis, and make money on an investment basis. Now we're selling, now that the market has improved.

 

Just remember if you do rent it out, work with a realtor or someone to help find a good renter. You lose a half month rent to commission, but the risk mitigation is very helpful.

 

We bought both our condos in late '05, early '06. My wife's place is right near Wrigley and is gonna end up fine whenever we do look to sell. My condo in Old Irving though, ugh. Luckily I put a pretty good down payment on it, or it would be further underwater than the missing Malaysian jet. Renting the places has worked out so far, only have to add a couple hundred a month. We have just used Craigslist and Domu to rent it out, no problems yet. (knocks on wood)

 

Friends ask us if we have started a college fund for our daughter, we just always say yes, but it's in the form of condominiums.

[RockRaines]

We bought both our condos in late '05, early '06. My wife's place is right near Wrigley and is gonna end up fine whenever we do look to sell. My condo in Old Irving though, ugh. Luckily I put a pretty good down payment on it, or it would be further underwater than the missing Malaysian jet. Renting the places has worked out so far, only have to add a couple hundred a month. We have just used Craigslist and Domu to rent it out, no problems yet. (knocks on wood)

 

Friends ask us if we have started a college fund for our daughter, we just always say yes, but it's in the form of condominiums.

I tried renting my west loop place out for a month or so and after meeting about 4 prospective renters I decided to sell. What a mixed bag of sketchy people out there looking for apts.

[bigruss]

Looking at a few condos tomorrow, really stoked and nervous at the same time.

 

Also, never going to lendingtree again, I just wanted to check rates and got bombarded with phone calls. Huge freakin hassle just sorting through that crap.

[bmags]

Still waiting to hear back from bank. Felt really anxious end of feb, now realizing we should just enjoy the ability to save with very low housing costs.