New member from Chicago area

[Brandon Yee]

Hi everyone! 

My name is Brandon. I've been in Chicago for the past few years doing programming and digital publishing. I started hearing about BP from colleagues and from cruising around the internet, and after listening to some podcasts, I got excited about the idea of building wealth through rental properties! Since then, I've been constantly reading this site and the resources recommended on it (J Scott's flipping book, estimating rehab costs; Brandon Turner's books on rental properties; etc). 

A few months ago, I realized that a good strategy for me to start out with would be to do "househacking" -- I'd save money that I'd otherwise be paying on rent, it would help me learn the ins and outs of managing tenants, and it would help me learn how to maintain and repair a property. I have little to no background in real estate or fixing properties so I wanted to make sure I didn't bite off more than I could chew with trying to do flipping. And since I have a lot of flexibility in where I can live (Not married; can work from home), househacking a small multifamily (2-4 units) seemed like a great starter step.

After searching through a ton of listings around the surrounding Chicagoland area (the city itself is too expensive) and submitting offers with my agent, I finally got a 4-unit property under contract a little over a week ago in the south suburbs of Chicago (woohoo!). It's been a stressful but rewarding experience so far. I thought I'd finally make a post in the forums to introduce myself and hopefully be able to contribute to the community since I've gotten so much from it already. Excited to connect with others in the Chicagoland area as well as others in general!