Buying a home - how early is too early?

Do you know Chicago? Where in “Chicago” is this job? City, suburbs? The Chicago and suburban area real estate market is huge and diverse. Consider some “hot” city areas alone. Do you know if you prefer Near North, DePaul, Millennium Park, Lincoln Park, Old Town, Near Southside, Wicker Park, Lakeview? All these neighborhoods are within a few miles radius, but have vast differences in character and appeal to people for different reasons. By the way, were you thinking condo or single family home or town home? This will also influence where to buy. Best to understand the options in different neighborhoods before jumping in.

I would advise renting and learning about the city, transportation options, amenities that are important to you, etc before considering a purchase. Not to mention that a first job is often not one that a young person remains in for the long haul and Chicago may not end up being the city where you choose to reside long term.

Very good comments on Chicago and Illinois financial outlooks above.

Another consideration - parking. If you have/need a car you will want to consider parking options for any place you live. Much of the city is permitted parking for residents of the immediate area, but this is not a guarantee that you will find a convenient street spot every time you need one. You may need to factor in cost of purchasing a garage parking spot with a condo or the cost of monthly garage parking - if that is even available near your home.

OP would have to consider parking whether he is renting or buying.

My daughter and her then-boyfriend (now her husband) lived in the Chicago Loop for two years. When they arrived, he had a car. The cost of parking it in a nearby garage turned out to be so staggeringly high that as soon as they had finished shopping for things they needed to furnish their apartment, he sold the car and they relied on car-sharing services and mass transit for the remainder of their time there.

Yes, parking is a rental or purchase consideration but if OP purchases, the situation would be more permanent. It’s a serious concern if purchasing in a dense Chicago neighborhood. People also consider the availability of parking for the future even if they don’t own a car when first buying.

Not sure why parking would be a consideration whether to buy or rent in Chicago, unless some condos in Chicago come with parking. As a New Yorker, I have rented and also owned at one time or another, but the cost of parking was just cost of parking. D1 and her H chose not to own a car. They uber locally and do rental when they leave town. I think many young people opt not to own cars now.

I didn’t intend to be obtuse. OP is considering buying in Chicago. It’s not clear to me that he knows Chicago or the market or the concerns. Parking is something to be considered especially if making a long term commitment to a property or neighborhood.

Condos vary in provision and availability of parking - a buyer needs to find out what is available for each place they consider. Parking space is sometimes included with unit purchase, parking space is purchased separatly from the unit sale in other buildings, some buildings have monthly rentals available in an attached garage, some places can suggest garages “down the street”. Differences that the OP might like to be aware of.

By the way, has OP been back??

Someone upstream suggested a house, not a condo.

This is a new grad, with a first job. If owning a freestanding house is a consideration, they also need to consider things like yard maintenance and snow removal, for example. They either need to DIY or plan to hire someone to do this work.

Also, if the job entails a lot of business travel…walking away from a condo is a lot easier than walking away from a single family home. In the condo situation, there would always be someone watching over the place.

Renting an apartment would offer the same lack of maintenance responsibility as owning or renting a condo.

I think this grad needs to crunch the numbers on all the expenses associated with ownership.

But my first opinion still stands…rent for a year first…and get the lay of the land. Save money if you can. See what you really can save…and spend per month. You will be in a better position to buy a year from now…or you will know that buying isn’t a better plan.

In DC, some buildings sell parking spots separately – to the tune of $50-75,000!

We lived in five places in the first six years of our marriage – all in the Philadelphia area. This was mostly to improve our commutes as we changed jobs and DH went to grad school. Most young people change jobs multiple times in the early years of their careers – that’s a big enough decision without the worry of buying/selling a property.

Is the OP even reading these responses??

@thumper1

Yes, I am!

@Momofadult
My job will be in downtown Chicago.

Within the company I will be working for, I am extremely unlikely to be transferred (engineering teams are all based in and around Chicago). However, job hopping is a real possibility and seems common for software development engineers. I agree that this makes owning more risky. At the same time, Chicago does have a lot of SDE jobs, so there is a good chance job hopping would be between firms in Chicago.

The neighborhoods I am looking to live in: Lincoln Park, Lake View, East Lake View, Wrigleyville; to a much lesser extent: River North and the Loop.

I have no plans to own a car (hope to make use of the L and maybe the buses a lot).

With the software job you might choose to relocate in a couple of years- to a different part of the country. Wait and see how much you like the job before the hassles of condo or whatever ownership. Working will also show you better which specific area you most want. I’ve seen enough House Hunters shows featuring Chicago city neighborhoods to advise waiting until you have more time to figure things out and have a bigger down payment. Talking with fellow employees and finding out how they chose housing during this time will be useful before making the commitment.

I don’t think there is a one answer fits all to this decision. It will depend on so many factors - location (is the market going up?), Your plans etc.

Both my kids bought houses pretty soon into their working lives. My son lives in an area where house prices were shooting up so he bought as soon as he could. 5 years later he is planning to move and his intended destination is much lower prices. Even after realtor fees he will clear a pretty good profit - enough that he intends to buy almost outright with just a very small mortgage. Buying into a booming market helped him achieve this goal.

My daughter and her husband live in a town where the prices are not shooting up the same way. If they were to sell the realtor fees would probably wipe out any profit - they’d probably come out about even (but have lived their home). But they bought in the town they were at college in and they live the town and plan to stay there.

So for both it was a good decision but for completely different reasons. If you are moving to a new location I would definitely hold off a while till you figure out if you like the city and what part of the city you’d like to live in before you buy. I would probably have chosen a different part of the town I’m in once I got to know it better.