Building relationships with them early is key.For tenant communication and rent collection, tools like Buildium or Avail can make life easier.

I live in Lebanon, IL and this property is also in Saint Clair County in Belleville.I plan on managing this at first, but want to build a proper amount into my budget.What would you recommend for budgeting for in terms of good property management in this area?

I would focus on being an agent and building that business.

Starting sooner rather than later allows you to benefit from long-term appreciation, build equity, and gain hands-on experience, even with a smaller property.

In the multi unit buildings I put on lease "Each tenant shares responsibility for removing snow and salting on both walkways and sidewalk infront of property" and I have them initial before we execute lease.

There was a news reporter at the sale and they interviewed the high bidder, who admitted that they had not seen the property, but were certain that they would be building their family home there. 

Really just trying to build a solid base and gain as much knowledge as possible and eventually specialize in something.  

I got into this by accident when i took a job via upwork as a VA  for Vontive and stated at interview  i could lower there costs and stress by automating there lead gen.I automated the lead gen and they didnt need 5 0f the 6 VAs they hired and we cut there costs by nearly 60%.Thats when i realised that you could automate even the cross platform data scraping.Then i got some extra clients from Upwork and now Im on here to help, offer the same and expand to others.going to the recorder office/courtYou only need to go to the physical building if thre is information on the documents that you need but cant view online.

It sounds like you've been through a challenging process, but it's great that you're continuing to build your portfolio!

It may not be “sexy”, but it works with a low risk and long term wealth building