What the IRS is concerned with is when you are doing a 1031 and want to purchase a property from a related party. 

Often, it will also need work.So, that is causing investors to lower their standards and buy Class C & D rentals.Problem is, most investors apply Class A assumptions to these Class C/D properties - and then blame everyone else when they don't get their "expected" results.Check out copy & paste info below for more dtails:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

I purchased a property that needed a lot more work then intended.

Purchase price: $122,000 Cash invested: $41,000 Single family home.

You may get better results by purchasing a duplex, triplex, or fourplex.Here's a guide that describes what good cash flow looks like and how to analyze a property.

Deduct NEW property taxes after you buyDeduct home insurance costsDeduct maintenance percentage, typically 10%Deduct vacancy+tenant nonperformance percentage(we recommend 5% for Class A, 10% Class B, 20% Class C, good luck with Class D)Deduct whatever dollar/percentage of cashflow you wantNow, what you have left over is the amount for debt service.Enter it into a mortgage calculator, with current interest rate for an investment property, to determine your maximum mortgage amount.Divide the mortgage amount by either 75% or 80%, depending on the required down payment percentage - this is your tentative price to offer.If the property needs repairs, you'll want to deduct 110%-120% of the estimated repairs from this amount.Be sure to also research the ARV and make sure it's 10-20% higher than your tentative purchase price.As long as the ARV checks out, this is the purchase price to offer.It is probably significantly below the asking price.

Ken’s questions should be foremost in considering the purchase.  

I am curious myself on how purchasing a wedding venue business would turn out.

Are you wanting to purchase in the same area of Chicago?

Yes, there are definitely 15% down options available for investment property purchases!