Hi Elia,With your experience and drive, scaling your portfolio is within reach.

It’ll be helpful for you to study up on expense vs capital expenditures, and then read up on safe harbor allowances.

This change improves privacy and minimizes unauthorized access, but it's essential to consider local building codes and regulations, as many jurisdictions require safe egress routes for basement units in case of emergencies.

This scarcity will drive both property prices and rents upward.Housing supply and demand dynamics are more determined by interest rates and state/local economics than by the president and Congress.SummaryWaiting for the election outcome won't give you an advantage.

Hi Cherilyn--I have done this:  Face to face visit (hopefully you feel safe or take someone with--if not a call). 

Craigslist wasn't safe 20 years ago and it still isn't safe.

Premium increases are rippling through the market; the state is also always going to be financially strapped/high tax due to union pension commitments from past generations and the high tax, high services nature of Chicago.I'd highly recommend getting on a plane and driving around before you buy anything there. 

I think it was a double whammy when the fed rate was boosted from nothing to 5-5.25 and the fed was also selling a bunch of the bonds they had bought before to drive mortgage rates down. 

The interactions were mainly me sending places I wanted to go look at, and making offers with very little guidance from them, ultimately only to lose out on the bid.All in all, I've learned that being this early in my investing journey, I need an agent who is not only familiar with investing (or is an investor) but will reciprocate the same dedication and drive. 

If you need the extra funds then they're already factored into your numbers and if you don't need them then you're being even more profitable. 10% in contingency is typically a pretty safe number for this.4.