God bless America! Yes, you can use a VA loan to purchase a Two Flat, Three Flat or Four Flat in Chicago or anywhere else in the nation. Instead of buying that condo or single family home, buy a four flat, call it home and live for free from the rents of the other three units! What better way to start a new career in Real Estate Investing? To be eligible, you must be one of the following:

Veteran
Current or former National Guard or Reserve member who has been activated Federal...

There are some very compelling reasons why you should consider occupying your investment property. Of the many reasons, I have boiled it down for you into the Top 6 Reasons to Occupy Your Investment Property:

1. Managing Your Property: In theory, you are your own best manager for your property. Assuming this is true in your case, what better way to make sure your property is well-maintained and that tenants are following the terms of your lease then by occupying one of the units?...

In this post, I want to share with you the most important things to look for when buying your first Two-Flat. Whether you’re a first-time homebuyer, or you have owned condos or single family homes in the past, it’s important to know these key factors that will affect the value of your two-flat. Since I’m a numbers guy, let’s start there!

THE NUMBERS:

In my opinion, cash flow is the most important financial measure of the building you intend to purchase. Even...

Some of you may already know, but the FHA (Federal Housing Administration) allows home buyers to purchase multi-family property using a mortgage for as little as 3.5% of the purchase price. Recently, the FHA reduced the loan limits in Illinois which will affect the purchasing power of future buyers who plan to use an FHA insured loan for their first or next purchase.

Here are the new loan limits for Cook County Chicago, Illinois:

Two Units: $468,150 Maximum Loan Amount...

In Chicago, a large amount of lots in the city are filled with multi-unit buildings including two-unit buildings called two-flats. The standard two flat is made of a wood-frame, brick or greystone and will be two stories high with a basement and a 25 foot wide x 125 foot deep lot.

These two flats in Chicago have been used for decades as a way for families to have friends or relatives live in the same building while providing separate places to cook, shower and sleep. But as time...