First Time Buyer & Investor - Multifamily

[Carli Schlaker]

Hi Everyone! I'm new to the real estate investing game and am wanting to purchase my first multifamily property in Chicago in the next 6 months. I'm planning on taking out an FHA loan to take advantage of 3.5% down and living in one of the units while renting out the other 2-3 units.

Is there any advice that you could offer for a first time REI buyer but also specific to multifamily investing?

Lastly, if there are any networking groups that get together in downtown Chicago, I would be grateful for the opportunity to join.

Thanks for all your help!

[Victor So]

Hey Carli, congrats on taking your first steps! Soon, you’ll get some great advice from multiple successful real estate investors from Chicago in this thread. 

But to start I would say, start in your own backyard. Figure out where you would feel comfortable living and what kinds of returns you would feel comfortable getting. And then, start running the numbers and see if it makes sense for you.

There are many meetups you can join that @Mark Ainley and @Tom Shallcross can inform you about. 

When I first started, I read Ben Leybovichs and Craig curelops  househacking books. I also listened to every single BP podcast including the rookie one. 

Hope this helps!