Should I buy a condo in CHI?
1st year analyst with no debt and ~60k in investments—15k liquid. I’m curious as to whether or not it’s worth it to take out a mortgage for the 2-4 years I’ll stay in this role and try selling the property for less of a loss than just renting for 2-4 years. With average rent running about 2.4k/mo in Chicago I was thinking that as long as my closing costs and commission fees along with any potential depreciation doesn’t exceed the ~30k/yr it’ll cost me to rent, then it’d be a good idea? But in all honesty I’m still trying to figure this out and would appreciate some opinions/guidance.
Property taxes are crazy high in Chicago. Not saying don't do it but just something to consider
You’re either paying property taxes yourself or paying someone else’s property taxes through rent.
bump
It’s not a bad idea if you can afford if. You can get a decent sized 1br condo for around $300-$400k, which comes out to around $2.5k a month all in (P&I, HOA, taxes, etc.)
Something to consider is that interest rates right now are way higher than where they were even just 6 or so months ago. If you’re only planning on staying for 2-4 years I might get a floating or balloon mortgage. I bought around 8 months ago after a little over a year of working and it was genuinely the best idea. Building equity + paying less comparatively to if I were to have rented a similar space. Sure I’m somewhat locked into Chicago for the next 2-3 years, but it’s way better than the $30k a year I would’ve spent renting.
I was considering buying—but this will be my first time in Chicago and now I’m considering renting for one year to get a feel for the city and trying to buy a place next year instead. With that said, did you end up buying a place close to work or farther out and commute?
If you've never been to Chicago, yes, better to rent and check out the different neighborhoods over the year to see what you like/what's important to you.
No- you don't have enough money yet. The risk is much larger than the (potential) modest savings over 4 years. Do you know how much nice furniture costs? What's the point of buying a place and then filling it with Ikea?
When you say “modest”, over 3 years wouldn’t that equate to a little over 80k assuming 2.5k/mo rent? Just curious on your rationale here
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