I love that you have specific goals for 2025 - I believe if we think it, write it, say it, and share it our goals are 10x more likely to come to fruition.Are you able to do option 2 and just house hack a 2-4 unit building and use a renovation loan which allows you to put down 3.5-5%I highly suggest getting to some local chicago meetup groups (we have an in person one on the 17th)...here is BPs list: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521-real-estate-events-...I also have a full list of the chicago meetups that I can share with you too if that'd be helpful.

I will preface this with the fact that I have a legal background, specifically with estate planning and asset protection.

Are there any specific clauses I should include in a room-by-room lease for a shared living space?

They specifically specialize in group vacations, so kind of similar, and no doubt have spent a ton of money analyzing and figuring out what works. 

The majority of our expertise comes from experience and having a specific book of real-estate clients who are involved in a wide variety of activities.

I’ve never had this specific issue but mistakes like this are pretty common. 

These were not specifically related to owning rental properties but the clients' assets (including any owned property) was better protected due to having umbrella coverage.  

Experienced managers can help evaluate potential investments by providing insights on rental demand, market rents, tenant preferences, and location-specific factors that affect leasing success.For example, rental properties need to be close to conveniences like major roads, shopping, and schools.

So, the first question they usually ask a PMC is about fees - instead of asking about services and HOW those services are executed.EXAMPLE: PMC states they will handle tenant screening – what does that specifically mean?

But for many people, it is one of a number of sources of deal flow, to add to MLS listings, wholesalers, direct owner outreach, auction, etc.Assuming you are specifically talking about sheriff auctions, just make sure you familiarize yourself with the general procedures for the auction.