In Edgebrook and in Sauganash, we don’t have a large stock of multi-unit buildings (2-4 flats), let alone multi-family buildings (5+ units), due to the single family residential character of this part of Chicago. Overall, in 60646, there are tiny concentrations of small multi-unit buildings in southeast Sauganash, in South Edgebrook, and in the northern parts of Gladstone Park which would constitute the southwestern part of 60646.

If you purchased your multi-unit building 30 or 40 years ago, nowadays you’d be looked at with envy by some, because the low 5-figures that it took then for you to become the proud owner of a 3-flat in Gladstone Park or Sauganash, have appreciated to a handsome mid 6-figure today, provided that you have taken proper care of your building(s). Now, please don’t misunderstand me, I realize full well that 35 years ago, $18,000 was a lot of money too, to come up with for the purchase of a building, and mortgage interest rates back then were by far not as low as they are today. But with the generally sluggish real estate market conditions that we are facing today, it is quite likely that the “appreciation party” in our neck of the woods and elsewhere in Chicago may have come to an end. At a minimum, temporarily, and nobody knows for how long.

When you purchased your 3-flat in the 1960′s or 70′s, your primary goal may have been to live in one of the units with your family, and rent out the other two units so the rental income would help you with covering your bank- or seller-financed mortgage. Chances are, by now, your mortgage has been paid off long ago, and you have actually moved out and into a condo or single family home with your family. But you kept your 3-flat and have thus become a real estate investor. Your goals with regard to the building have probably changed too: Cash-flow for retirement income, and/or appreciation so your offspring would one day enjoy the fruits of your investment. Nonetheless, it is an investment, and the goal with any investment is always growth.

As mentioned above, growth may be coming to a halt in our parts. But not in others. And I’m talking about the good ole US of A. Enter the BawldGuy, aka Jeff Brown (we have him listed in our blogroll on the right sidebar). Jeff is a real estate investment planner out of San Diego, CA. He owns and runs Brown & Brown Investment Properties, and if you asked him how to grow your real estate investment, after he’s analyzed your situation, he may actually tell you to sell your 3-flat in Sauganash, and buy four 2-flats in Kansas City or Austin, TX, because there might be much better cash-flow for you. I’m not kidding you. 1031-(Starker) exchange anyone? Jeff’s blog (BawldGuy Talking) is chock full of awesome real estate investment advice, written in a style that even I can understand (doesn’t take much, I know). But do yourself a favor: As a building owner, if you don’t read anything else about real estate investment, at a minimum, bookmark Jeff’s blog, or better yet, put him in a feed reader, like I do, and read his articles. I promise, you won’t be disappointed.