Chicago · 2 to 4 unit buildings
Use an agent who owns small buildings themselves. Then let that agent help you fill the other four seats. Here is the whole team, seat by seat.
First, the building. A 2 to 4 unit building is a small apartment building: a 2-flat, 3-flat, or 4-flat. Most of the country calls the two unit kind a duplex. Buying one is buying a home and a small business in one deal, so every person on your team should do this exact kind of deal all the time.
This is the seat that fills the other seats, so pick it first. You want an agent who buys and owns these buildings with their own money, not just sells them. Ask two questions: how many 2 to 4 unit deals did you close in the last year, and what do you own? Then ask them to walk you through the rent and cost numbers on a real building. An agent who does this daily will show you how to run those numbers yourself, so you can spot a good deal on your own. That is what we do, and it is the difference between shopping and guessing.
Loans on 2 to 4 unit buildings have their own rules, and the good ones surprise people. If you live in one unit, a regular loan goes down to 5% on buildings up to four units, and rent from the other units can count toward what you qualify for. A loan officer who mostly does condos may not know that math. Ask any lender: how many 2 to 4 unit loans did you close this year?
Chicago home deals close with a real estate attorney on each side, and yours matters more on a small building than on a condo. Your attorney reviews the contract, checks the leases that come with the building, and makes sure tenant deposits transfer to you the right way at closing. Use one who closes 2 to 4 unit buildings every month.
Most Chicago 2-flats were built about a hundred years ago, and a hundred year old brick building has its own checklist: the roof, the porches, the boiler, the electric. An inspector who knows these buildings tells you what needs work and roughly when, so you can price the work into your offer. That turns surprises into line items.
A building with tenants needs a landlord policy, not a regular homeowner policy. It covers the building and the rent you would lose if a unit could not be lived in for a while. Set it up before closing, and ask about an umbrella policy, which is cheap extra liability coverage most owners add.
Here is the good news inside all of this: you only have to find the first seat. A busy 2 to 4 unit agent already knows the lenders, attorneys, inspectors, and insurance people who do these buildings well, and hands you the list.
If a small building is on your mind, reach out and we will help you build the whole team. You do not need to know exactly what you want yet. Most people who reach out don't.