You can start to educate yourself on the individual components; how much does it cost to paint on a per sqft basis or what is an average kitchen remodel.  

It also saves you some costs, which is helpful when you’re just starting.

Evaluate Property ConditionOlder Chicago buildings often have charm—but may come with hidden costs.

I would set up calls and then sit in and listen, every day, typically a few times a day for around 6 months.

I am sure there is a cost to change the title after the loan closes + paper work.

The challenge with unsafe areas is (1) potentially higher cost of maintenance such as broken windows, etc. and (2) this is by no means meant to be discriminatory but anecdotally from people I've spoken to the challenging tenants tend to be at the lower price points.

.- Expected renovation costs $1MM.

One of the first deals I had (multi in an up and coming area) my buyer was paying cash and the deal was solid.  

I was able to qualify for about $95k in 0% business credit cards (for 12 months), I then liquidated the cash and used a portion of that to obtain the hard money loan that covered the balance of the purchase cost.

Hard money typically refers to a company that has it's own underwriting guidelines, rates (9% - 15%), costs, draw process ect.