Fresh out of college and looking to purchase first property!
Hi all! New to Bigger Pockets (discovered through listening to the podcast) and am excited to join the community.
Some background on myself - I recently graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with an Masters of Accounting Science degree and am currently employed at one of the Big 4 accounting firms. I'm currently renting an apartment in Lincoln Park, but given the nature of my work I've found myself staying at my parent's house in the northern suburbs for the majority of the time. Having to pay rent on property that I'm not even living in is what prompted me to look into purchasing real estate, and as I started doing more and more research I eventually stumbled across this site.
Currently, I've got about ~$18k saved up after working for about 5 months and have started looking at property listings on Realtor.com/Trulia/Zillow/etc. and have noticed that I'm basically in the running to put a down payment on a 2-3 bed/bath condo in Chicago, but any multi-unit properties are basically out of the question based on cost. This wasn't super surprising to me as I realize how expensive real estate gets in the city, however it was still somewhat disappointing as my ideal plan was to purchase at least a duplex and rent out the one half of it.
Given the position that I'm in (recent college grad/young professional who works in the city), what would you guys and girls recommend that I do? I definitely plan to live in the first property that I purchase and would ideally like to live in the city. However, if the potential for profitability is night and day between purchasing in the city vs. the suburbs, I would definitely be willing to make sacrifices to my personal preferences.
Is it worth it to be investing in a condo if I can rent out one or two bedrooms, or would my money be better spent on investing in a duplex in the suburbs?
If investing in a condo, where would be the best neighborhoods to look at? So far I'm considering Logan Square, Bucktown, Lakeview, and Uptown just based on things I've heard, but have I already missed the boat on these?
If looking at the suburbs, where are the best spots to buy? If I had to go this route the first place that comes to mind for me is Evanston (just because it's relatively easy to get to the city from there and I enjoy the "vibe" there). However, I'm sure there are other (better) options available and I just don't know where I should be looking.
Thanks in advance for your help!