So I told the old owner I will trade you the house and landbank the loan..

I will secure the loan for everything.

I initially got a variable loan.

I have 9 loans currently so looking to do a conventional loan on my next depending on that process.

Long term buy and hold RE in good locations is probably one of the lowest risk investment vehicles IMO, similar to blue chip aristocrat stocks except even less risky because even long-established companies can go out of business but real estate very, very rarely ever goes to zero. 

I have 2 options:- finance the construction pre-selling the apt, and take my profits (expected to be around 700K pre-tax); or- finance the construction with a 6-7%/year loan (collateral = my house), keep the 10 units, and once the building is completed in 24 months, rent them for circa 180K/ year gross.

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.

Quote from @Nicholas Dillon: I read somewhere that you can request to have your mortgage insurance dropped once your Loan to Value reaches 80%.

I'd target areas near colleges or transit hubs for affordable properties, and I’d look into financing options like FHA loans or creative financing to make the most of my capital.

I am seeing a lot of movement on VA assumable loans.