In this corner, the Chicago single family home...

The Secret Route to a Cheap 5-Bedroom Home in Chicago

Let's talk about two-flats. Despite their prominence in some sections of Chicago, They're often overlooked by homebuyers, existing somewhere in the borderlands between a house and an apartment building. They absolutely should not be ignored. If you're looking for a large living space with a yard and garage, and are willing to do some work as a landlord in exchange for a lower purchase price, you're going to find some excellent deals.

Today I've taken a quick survey of the last six months of sale prices across an assortment of neighborhoods, comparing the results of two specific types of property. On the one hand we have single family homes with 3 to 4 bedrooms. On the other, we have two-unit buildings where at least one of the units has 3 bedrooms and the other has at least 2 bedrooms.

... And in this corner, the Chicago Two-Flat. It's the ultimate Chicago vintage property showdown!

The smart reader will realize that this type of two-flat could actually could serve as a five bedroom home if the owner chose to use both units for themselves. Alternately, if rented out, the extra unit could provide some backup income to help with expenses.

A lot of folks think that multi-unit buildings would be more expensive than single family homes. Today's research will show that this is not really the case. In fact, in most of the neighborhoods I studied, the median price of a two flat was comparable or lower than the median price of a single family, and the maximums were all 35-50% lower on the two flats than the single family homes. (more…)