24 Feb 10 Approvals for Chicago Loft Mortgages

There are plenty of inaccurate theories surrounding the best deals on lofts and also the difficulty in obtaining mortgage financing.   When it comes to Chicago loft financing, the truly good deals are very effortless to finance.

Let’s begin first with wherever the myths are coming from.  You will find a few listings at prices that are too extremely good to be true that cannot be financed.   The seemingly logical conclusion is that it is challenging to obtain a house loan approval in today’s market place.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.

The reality of it’s that the “best deals” within the condo and loft market right now are simply not good deals.  They’re just low costs and they are unnecessarily risky purchases.  If I was buying a loft in Chicago right now, I’d have five questions that I’d use to determine if the  property is a safe purchase.  Here would be my big five:

   1. Is this building predominantly owner-occupied or does it contain many rental units?
   2. Is there a large single-investor holding additional than 10% of the units?
   3. What percentage of the unit owners are past-due on their assessments?
   4. Are there pending special assessments or legal actions against the association?
   5. Does the homeowners association have adequate reserves to cover general maintenance?

Should you look solely at today’s home prices versus the prices from a couple of years ago, there are some properties that seem like incredible values.  For quite a few of them, they’ll fail a single one of those huge five tests.    Failing any, let alone much more than one, can mean that values in that building are likely to fall even further.  In a market where house values are stabilized and now rising, there is no reason to take an unnecessary risk.

Buying a loft in Chicago can be a great investment if you buy in the right building.  It’s still possible to find a great Chicago mortgage loan.

Use our Chicago loft search tool.