Looking to get into the game

[Joshua Aceret]

Hello All, 

I am just starting out in the real estate game and am eager to purchase my first buy and hold, ideally a duplex. Currently I do not have a great deal of money to start off so I am looking to buy something cheap put a little sweat equity into it and start renting it out. My biggest issue is, I live in Chicago! It seems like everywhere I turn housing prices are far beyond what I can afford. Because of this I have turned my eyes to some less desirable neighborhood but am extremely hesitant to pull the trigger as I know very little about these areas. Primarily I have been looking at the Roseland, Rosemore, Pullman and West Pullman areas. I have found quite a few houses in the areas which I would be able to afford and after running some conservative analysis I believe the properties could cash flow. However, I have no idea what the market is like down there. My reservation is that the rental would sit on the market or I would have to drop the price below an acceptable number. Is there anyone who has experience working in areas similar to these or even these ares specifically? I would love to hear anything anyone has to offer about rentals in not the best of neighborhood. Thanks, Josh