sublime1 wrote:Sweet Home Chicago!
It seems like a mortgage would be cheaper, then again property values probably reflect that cost.
A one bedroom condo is from $200,000 to $250,000 in Chicago or more the closer to downtown you get. Are the property values similar or is the rent just astronomical?
Well, in Manhattan, all the way up to spanish harlem on the east side, and about up to Columbia University on the West, it is just astronomical. There are some better neighborhoods up higher that are cheaper, but they are out of that "sweet zone", which is Manhattan. I thought about trying to buy something (in fact, I have thought about that every since I first moved here seven years ago), but I just don't have enough money. I think there might be some exceptions, but these condos/co-ops all want 20 percent down, and even the cheapest studio nowadays is around $200,000. I'd say a nice one bedroom in Manhattan would be at least $300k.
Of course, if you go to an area that is still kind of a shithole, but near a nice area, like Spanish Harlem, there may be deals to be had. The only problem with that is you have to wait about ten years before your neighborhood moves beyond being a hellhole.
