The end of summer season is typically seen as "renewal season" for many tenants in the Chicago neighborhoods. The cozy 2 bedroom 1100 square foot apartment you have called home the past few years went from being considered "affordable", to what might not seem as much so with Chicago's rental market continuing to rise annually by nearly 7%. Now would be a great time to look at your finances and ask yourself "Should I Buy or Rent?"
I would like to consider the golden real estate Rule of 15, but make a slight adjustment to it. Take a look at the neighborhood you are interested in, and use rental property sites such as zillow.com to research the average monthly rent. For example, an average 2 bedroom apartment in Lakeview is renting for about $1,800 monthly ($21,600 annually.) Rule of 15 would multiply your annual rent by 15 to consider your buy-rent point. Since Chicago's cost of living is slightly higher, consider using Rule of 20. (New York costs roughly 32 times as much as to buy as it does rent!)
Rule of 15=$324,000; If you are considering moving out towards the suburbs this would be a greater factor to consider.
Rule of 20=$432,000; If you can find homes in your neighborhood in this price range or less then you the option to purchase should be a strong consideration on the table.
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