Newbie from Chicagoland

[Sue Bradley]

Hello!
I'm not a real estate investor, but I need some advice from some.
A few years ago, my husband and I tried to get involved in it. We bought the Carlton Sheets tapes, bought all the books that were popular at the time, started going to REI club meetings... All the usual beginner steps. After a lot of work and a few bad, costly experiences, we were reluctantly forced to give up.

We recently went through a few rough years that pretty much destroyed our credit. Things are looking up now, but we find ourselves needing to buy a house and having quite a bit of trouble doing it. We know all the "right" buzzwords - motivated/creative sellers, lease options/owner financing available... but all we're finding are internet sites offering to sell us lists of homes for sale if they let us run a "free'' credit check. I don't trust them.

So now I'm here looking for any hints, tips, and suggestions you all have to offer. We would like to get back into real estate investing some day, but for now we just need help finding a house for ourselves.

Can anybody point us in the right direction?