Jose and Lauren bought a 2-flat in Avondale

Last week, Jose and Lauren closed on a 2-flat in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood. I’ve worked with Jose before, he’s a close friend of mine. I also helped him secure a condo in Rodger’s Park several years back. Looking to expand his rental portfolio, he reached out again. This time, he was looking to do what many real estate investors call “house hacking.” Essentially, house hacking is where you live in a property but find a way to leverage the property to get someone else to help pay your mortgage. Renting out your garage to neighbor, leasing your home on Airbnb or another short term rental site while you are traveling, and leasing out one of the units of a multi-family building while you live in the other unit are all examples of house hacking. Jose opted for the later, looking to move into one of the units while renting out the other unit. This way, he could subsidize his ownership costs and his mortgage. Plus, there are financing incentives to purchasing an investment property this way. Usually for owner occupied home purchases, lenders will give you a substantially better interest rates than what investors would get. Plus, you can put down as low as 3-5% when it’s an owner occupied purchase (investors are typically require to put down 20%-25% minimum).

The search begins.

Soon into our search, Jose and Lauren found a 2-flat in Avondale with perfect location. It was close to main roads, the expressway, public transport, and in the heart of Avondale. Our initial offer on it did not materialize into an accepted offer. The seller had a different price in mind than we had. We kept searching for a few weeks, but the property remained in Jose and Lauren’s minds. A few weeks later we decided to revisit the offer. Both seller and buyer made concessions to find middle ground. Finally- we were under contract on this Avondale home. After doing our due diligence, getting the inspection and property appraisal done, Jose and Lauren got the “clear to close” from their lender. Fast forward to now, Jose and Lauren are now HOMEOWNERS. Congrats you two! Jose, thank you so much for choosing to reach out to me on your home purchase. I always go the extra mile for my clients and, even after the sale is complete, I am always a resource you can count on. I’m always a call, text, or email away.

Are you looking to buy or sell a home in or around Chicago?

Jose and Lauren bought a 2-flat in Avondale, but that’s not all that I sell and not the only area I sell in! Hi, my name is Steven Johnson and I’m a licensed real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Realty. I’ve been a Realtor for over 10 years now and I’m ready to use my experience to help you. I sell homes, condominiums, townhomes, multi-unit buildings, and vacant land. I am licensed in both Illinois and Wisconsin and primarily sell property in the counties of Cook, Lake, Mchenry, Walworth, Kenosha, Dupage, and Kane. If you’re looking for a professional who always goes the extra mile and has years of experience closing 100’s of transactions, then I’m your guy. Give me a call/text at (847) 525-6121. Or, visit my Website, Zillow page, or Google page. I am excited to speak with you and am looking forward to your call!