Purchasing a Home During Residency?

[alison]

Dh and I are thinking about buying a place. We're sick of renting and want to build up some equity. We're debt free and are thinking about a 1-bedroom condo in Chicago and renting it out after residency if/when we move.

Did any of you buy a place during residency? Recommend or discourage it? Any Chicagoans out there who know about Illinois First Time Buyers?

I'm concerned because I would prefer NOT to live in Chicago when residency is over. Is it worth it to buy if we're here only for 3 more years?

I think Chicago is one of the few places where you can be reasonably secure in it being "worth it" for 3 years. We did buy during residency (yr 2 of 6), and are only NOW unloading the house after it's been vacant since July. That said, we were in a seriously depressed market on the very end of a dead end street, so we didn't have lots of drive by traffic or anything.

Chicago is such a competitive market and the values just keep going up, I think it would probably be great if you can swing it.

we were in a seriously depressed market on the very end of a dead end street,

Sounds like a real estate country western song.

I agree with Jenn about the local market. For both houses we have owned, because of the appreciation, it would be a resounding yes it is worth it.

[alison]

It DOES sound like a song!
I think we'll seriously look into it. As much as I like Chicago (it's grown on me over the past 5 years--I'm even picking up the Chicago nasal vowels!), I can't imagine having a family here. I do see the city's potential for appreciation and that's what is sort of tempting me to buy. Thanks for the advice.

[alison]

I'm curious which neighborhood you're talking about. Sounds either like Roger's Park or out near Wicker Park.

It looks like the area near UIC is up and coming, but it's still a bit iffy as far as safety. They're really desperate to gentrify the area around Taylor St and building $300,000/unit condos.

We live in Lincoln Park and are dumping $1200 in rent each month for a tiny place + an extra $200 for parking; this makes no financial sense.

a friend of mine just bought a great condo still under construction in Lakeview. I think it was in the mid-$200's for a one bedroom WITH a washer / dryer hook up. Sheffield Arms maybe? I know it's on Sheffield.

[alison]

Oh! Sheffield Arms sounds very familiar. Aren't those lofts?

[Auspicious]

I don't have anything to add, but please keep us posted, as I'd love to hear your experience with how this plays out for you.

(We're going to be renting for now, probably in Evanston or Skokie or somewhere up there--we're going to go out to find a place at the end of next week.)

[alison]

Hmm... I don't know about the Taylor St. area. I got mugged there when I used to rent around Racine/Taylor. I know it's much much better there by now. They've put in a Potbelly, some new restaurants and a new Dominick's. I just have bad memories of Little Italy.

Wicker Park is a neighborhood that has become really popular. Lots of kids and families by now which has jacked up the prices in recent years. When I first moved to Chicago it was an artsy fartsy, not so safe part of town.

I like Evanston, but the commute on the Edens for dh would be atrocious. Oak Park would be convenient for getting into the city, but when we looked out there to rent, it was SO dead. The South Loop area is booming, as is south of the UIC campus.

I'll definitely keep you all posted!

[Flynn]

We bought in our R2 year....7 years later it was a FANTASTIC choice financially.

It depends on the realestate market where you will live and the length of your residency.

[Vishenka69]

We decided not to buy in residency as that would make us house poor. While we stayed in NYC for both med school and residency, we did move around the boroughs and buying would have made commuting hell. While the monthly costs would have been close to what we paid in rent, we'd have to scrape for downpayments/closing/renovation costs. We decided to enjoy residency by have a social life and taking lots of vacations instead.

[alison]

I totally see your point, Vishenka and it is a valid point to consider. Dh and I visit his family in Germany about 1x/year. And we fly to Seattle about 2x/year. And then an actual vacation NOT visiting family gets really tight for us financially, but we still try to pull it off. So if we were to buy a place, this lifestyle of traveling and splurging at restaurants while we travel would be severely curbed.

So that is why I played the bitch card when my mil called to beg us to come to Germany this summer (ticket prices will be insane with the World Cup). I put my foot down and told her we won't be traveling to Germany for at least a year, and if they want to see us they have to make the trip to Chicago. We've gone twice to Germany in the past year.

Same for my parents. This won't be an expense for us this upcoming year because we won't fly out for at least another year (of course, other than the wedding that I'm in in July).

How else are we going to save a little?!