e3geek

Hi guys, I have recently got my visa approved and I will now be moving to Chicago for work from Sydney Australia. I was looking at rental condos in and around Chicago land and stumbled across quite a few condos for sale in the area. Coming from a city like Sydney where property prices are on fire the prices in Chicago land are tempting, the least I can say.

A condo sold in Sydney for 300K in a cheap area is available for 50K around Chicago in a nicer suburb. I was looking at trulia and found heaps of them.

http://www.trulia.com/property/31383...-60202#photo-5

Evanston is considered one of the best areas to live around Chicago. It is on the north side and very safe area. Can anyone comment on it if I am missing something here. This sounds too good to be true. What could be the catch?

Although I am not a US perm resident yet but this still sounds a good investment. If there is not catch in it can you list all the steps that I need to take to acquire one of such condos like:

- talk to a realtor
- visit the property
- arrange money/loan
- arrange a lawyer
- investigate property financial obligations
- settlement

Noorah101

I know the one thing you don't need is a lawyer. The realtor handles everything.

Rene

e3geek

So I am not looking at a dodgy website. The prices are all real?

Jerseygirl

$50K for a condo sounds very suspicious to me...especially in one of the US's largest cities. Perhaps someone who is familiar with Chicago will comment further. Check out the monthly condo fees...what do they cover...is there money in the reserve to cover major repairs? What are the annual property taxes?

Pulaski

+1 Agreed. Just looking at the link, some of the schools are rated 2/10 and 3/10, averaging 4/10. Poor schools are often a symptom of wider social or demographic issues that make the area less than desirable. On a condo the fees can be very high, to cover repairs to the outer shell of the building and the common areas. It is also unit #3, which looking at the picture is likely a ground floor, or even basement level unit. I see lots to be concerned about without even visiting the property.

Scouse Express

Yeah - What she said!

Condos in the City go for 200K Northwards, usually.


Jim.

e3geek

This one is in Evanston.

Scouse Express

50K still seems cheap. The Burbs are usually in the 125-175 range, for a Condo. Piss-Poor Public Transportation in the area. Not set-up like Europe.

So, choose wisely depending on where you will be working/living and what you intend to do with your free time.

Jim.

e3geek

Thanks... Not in a hurry but trulia shows heaps of such condos. I really mean heaps.

Pulaski

There is a reason for that.

robin1234

First very general comment, if you are a single guy, you can reasonably choose to live in an area with cheaper property where you probably wouldn't choose to live as a family with school considerations etc. I personally do not know Evanston at all, but I was under the impression it was a relatively desirable place with good train links to Chicago and elsewhere.

One thought about surprisingly cheap condos; those older buildings are often cheaper because the units have just one bathroom. Not really desirable by modern standards. I know that's what most of us had when we grew up, but now we want that second bathroom!

Macca67

Evanston's an expensive burb about 30-40 mins from downtown. Also a big student town hosting Northwestern University. They've just built a load of new apartments at the south end of the town which are renting for silly money. I'd be very surprised if you could buy for 50 grand.

Macca67

Public transport's not too bad. Purple Line runs to Evanston with plenty of good connections.

robin1234

And yet, it is so. Plenty of one and two be apartments in that price range.

Here's a thing about buildings of that age, built in the 1950s and 1960s. Someone's aged parent may have died, the family just want to sell the apartment, after having simply cleaned it out. No redecorating, no new carpets, no new bathroom or kitchen. They just want to sell the place, and not have to pay taxes and fees any longer. That may be why it is $50,000 instead of $150,000.

Bob

Check to see if there's any back tax owned.

The missus knows someone in a similar situation who quickly bought a bargain for $40K in cash and a year later got hit with $300K in back taxes :/

But anyway, then you've got other condo fee's which could be several hundred a month.

Plus all the other issues mentioned.