Article
Chicago Condos---Buy or Rent ?
Putting money in real estate in the middle of downturn! Most of us get nervous at this proposition. If you are attracted to the many benefits associated with condo living, but not in a mood to buy one, you can explore the condo rental market. Especially when it comes to the city of Chicago, the condo rental market is well developed and replete with choices.
But before taking the final decision---to buy or to rent---you must compare the options carefully. For that, you must have a basic understanding of the Chicago condo market.
Before the recession struck, thousands of real estate investors resorted to “flipping” for making quick bucks out of their Chicago condos. An unlimited activity of flipping inevitably leads to inflated prices for the properties in that market. This is followed by disillusionment for the buyers, who bought the overpriced properties with an intention of flipping them at the first chance. But as the rules of economics take charge, the real estate boom is destined to come to an end. And this is what most of the real estate markets in the USA have experienced in the recent times. The owners, who bought Chicago condos at the peak of condo- boom have suddenly woken up to the realization that the boom is over and the market is stale. And this is where the rental market took off.
The last few years saw a spurt in the construction of new condos in the city. A number of new projects are either on the card or are near completion. This makes buying Chicago condos at the middle of recession a bit risky, as you may find it difficult to find buyer for your unit in an exceptionally slow market. But it makes a great business sense in buying Chicago condos, when you are planning to live here for a pretty long time. By buying at a time, when the prices of Chicago condos are coming down and developers are offering a number of incentives to attract customers for their freshly built condo units, you can make some cool bargain.
However the same phenomenon makes it difficult for the owners to re-sell their condo units. As their family expands or job takes them to different places, the condo owners feel the needs for upgrading to a larger home. But the low price, reservation of buyers and over supply of new Chicago condos makes it difficult for them to sell off their units.
This leaves them with no other option than utilizing their unit as a condo rental. And in the process the landlords of Chicago condos become the competitors of the builders who are supplying new condos in the market.
When you can not make up your mind whether to buy or rent Chicago condos, take cues from this market trend. This will add to your bargain power. Your logic would be: when you are getting comparable brand new condos from the developer, then why you should rent a property? When you are armed with the information about the new Chicago condo prices in the area, you will be in a position to fix up a rent that is fair and competitive.
For the landlords, good tenants make great asset; after all he also has to pay his mortgage payment from his rental income. This knowledge also adds to your bargain power and gives you the upper-hand in making your landlord treat you fairly.
So where all theses lead us to? If you do not have any long term plan with regard to your Chicago property or have plans to upgrade in near future, but attracted to the many benefits of condo living, then do not block your money by buying Chicago condos; at this moment rental property can better take care of your needs. At the same time, if you can afford to hold the property for at least five years, then this is the time to strike gold mine with Chicago condos.

