Future investor from Naperville, IL

[Chris Wange]

Hey everyone!  I'm really glad I found this forum, and wish I found it sooner, because I'm sure it's going to be hugely educational.  My wife and I currently manage 2 townhome rentals in the area, and they are both our former primary residences.  I bought mine new in 2000 and started renting it in 2014.  She bought hers in 2006 (I know, great timing!), and we started renting that out in 2011.  We've been fortunate to have great renters so far and in the next couple months will be signing two year leases for both!

I've been strongly considering investing in multi-family housing as of late.  We both have secure, decent paying jobs so I definitely am not going to rush into things.  I have done the majority of the management of our current properties and would consider leaving my job to do this full-time if it pans out.  I'd like to (at least starting out) stick to the area before possibly branching out elsewhere.  Right now, I'm just trying to edumacate myself as much as I can about the proper investing terminology and how to analyze deals.  I'm also going to talk to a couple small banks and credit unions in the area about what types of loans they could offer and what is required of me.

Is there anything else people have found helpful (or wish they had learned) before starting to scale?

Thanks, and I look forward to meeting people and filling my brain with this stuff!

Chris Wange