New Investor in Near Western Suburbs of Chicago

[David Ocampo]

I'm a beginning investor starting out with specific sub-markets in the near western suburbs of Chicago. I've done my due diligence with regards to finances (paying down non-productive debt, accumulating cash reserves) and have begun reading all of the recommended books per the ultimate beginners guide.

I need some assistance in the following areas:

• Analyzing deals: I have calculator (link) that uses assumptions to determine if the property merits further investigation. Is this a decent way of a first pass? How can I improve upon it?
• Finding deals: properties around my selected sub-markets are a tad bit inflated and finding deals that meet the 1% rule (or anything close to it) are hard to come by. Do I lower my expectations, say to 0.5%, or expand to another more affordable sub-market of which I am less familiar. My primary focus is on multi-family (duplexes in particular), but I may persuade myself to start with SFH if barriers of entry are too high.
• Networking: I would like to network with like-minded investors in these sub-markets. I recently joined a landlord group and plan on attending their monthly meeting, but what other methods would you recommend for networking?

Any help is truly appreciated!