Any major mistakes to avoid? 

.✅ Knowledge of Chicago Rental Laws – A good property manager stays up to date on local laws, helping you avoid costly legal mistakes.✅ Maintenance & Repairs Handled – No more emergency calls at 2 AM about a broken water heater!

Boots on the ground, or lack thereof, are where the mistakes are made.

I want to avoid mistakes as a new landlord so hoping to learn from all of you! 

Quote from @Alex Moazeni: You are making the common mistake of allowing a tenant to push you around.This is your property.

This was my first property, and while it's been a great learning experience, I made several mistakes along the way—ranging from choosing a realtor who was more focused on closing the deal than finding the right house to having a poor inspection and overlooking issues hidden beneath the surface (literally).

A reserve is unnecessary, but I still keep around $15,000 - $20,000 in my account.The point is, that you should sit down and assess your finances to determine what the worst-case scenario may look like, how much you would need to cover it without impacting your life, and whether you will need to build a reserve.

There were several mistakes made on my tax returns that I pointed out, which required going back and forth with their tax preparers, and asking repeatedly to cut to the chase and have a phone call.

Verifying last 2 years of rental history and income extremely important to find the “best of the worst”.Make sure you understand the Class of properties you are looking at and the corresponding results to expect.The City of Detroit has 183 Neighborhoods we’ve analyzed.DM us if you’d like to discuss this logical approach in greater detail!

I don't expect to know everything by then, but I hope to develop a basic strategy that prevents me from making the most common and costly mistakes that a newbie can make.