Investor in Champaign, Illinois

[Dan Sargis]

Hi everyone, I've been loving learning from this site and listening to the podcast.  I just wanted to introduce myself and start getting more active on the forums.  I currently have two buy and hold rental properties and I'm looking to add to my portfolio.  My goal is to generate enough cash flow to be able to support myself and my family so that I could quit my job if I wanted to.  I do have a great job, but I really desire the independence of not relying on a paycheck.  

My current rental properties are both single family residences, and I'm looking to scale up into small apartments.  I would love to be able to get a fourplex with a 30 year mortgage with current interest rates.  I have a few target areas I'm looking at that include Champaign county, the southwest Chicago suburbs (I'm from Midlothian and my parents still live there), and the Quad Cities.

I've learned so much from the podcast and from reading the books recommended here.  I'm still trying to learn more about creative financing and setting up business systems.  Right now I feel like I'm just doing the brute force method of putting down 20% and then landlording by myself.  I've come across some great answers for these problems on the site and I'm looking forward to learning more and implementing them myself.