Contrary to most business lending, the REI industry has a lot of "non-bank" lenders that provide attractive loans that can lower your cost of capital and improve your profit/cash flow. 

Have you looked in finding a short term property manager?

If there are other markets in the mid-west that you find interesting, I would be happy to explore those with you or sticking with what you have explored here will also be good. 

Also seems like a lot of MF sells occupied with tenants in place so you just have to comfortable with that and contracting up from and seeing inside after contracting.    1st step is to find a great lender and get pre-approved for a loan so you know what your budget is. 

When reaching out, it helps to offer value in return—think about tasks like checking on properties when they can't, delivering materials, finding reliable contractors, or even handling basic project management tasks.Building genuine relationships and showing you're willing to contribute will go a long way in earning their trust and gaining hands-on experience.

If you have a 20 year timeline, I'd probably recommend B areas closer to the city or in the better school districts in the suburbs for the highest combined ROI over that time period.Right now you can expect to find decently turnkey multis for about $60-$125k/unit usually all at least hitting the 1% rule in that range.

Too many wholesalers are so eager to get a contract that they lock up properties way above market value, hoping to find a buyer who doesn’t know any better.

I could probably contact the president of North Korea sooner than I could find a good plumber in Japan. 

As a broker, you’ve already got a strong foundation, which will give you an edge in finding and structuring great deals.Since you're in Chicago, have you considered house hacking as a starting point?

I find it hard to believe such a bad market could get worse, but only if you know why it’s doing so poorly compared to the rest of the country.