New Member From Chicago, Illinois

[Martin Lawrence]

Hello! My name is Martin Lawrence and I am in Chicago, IL. My wife, daughter, son, and I moved here from Virginia Beach, Virginia in August. I work for a local event production company, handling the technical aspects of weddings, corporate events, galas, social events, etc. My wife is a full-time Domestic Engineer.

I have always had a strong interest in real estate. We own a 2/2 condo in Virginia Beach, and have a tenant with a three year lease. When we moved to Chicago we were renting an apartment in Boystown. Because of our son being born, we needed more room, so we just closed on a condo for ourselves in Uptown at the end of February.

After the closing and our son being born in March, I kept thinking more and more about what I can do to get actively involved in real estate in this area. I found BP and immediately started listening to podcast after podcast; learning what works for some and not for others. I then called my realtor, spoke to him about my idea, and he said, coincidentally a builder/contractor he works with a lot called him a couple of days prior about flipping houses. We decided to schedule a meeting for this weekend for us all to discuss ideas and make a plan.

While I am interested in flipping, I don't think I will be able to be heavily involved in the process. Since we just purchased our second condo, we don't have a whole lot of cash available. My other thought was getting into multi-family units, renting them out, and renovating as much as possible. I am worried about this in the Chicago market because the laws absolutely favor the tenant over the landlord.

So that is my, not so simple, introduction. A couple of questions I would like comments and opinions on are:

1) For the Chicago market, do you suggest flipping condos/single family homes, or buy and holding multi-family?

2) Does anyone have recommendations for financing for both options. We may be able to come up with some cash for a down payment, but not a whole lot.

3) Any other, quick advice, you think would be beneficial for me to know.

I am really excited about this next chapter in our lives. I am ready to work hard, make great connections, and grow not only as a real estate investor but also as a person! Thanks everyone!