The tenant refused to communicate about his plans to vacate and finally left the key under the mat on June 2 but made no communication, so we had to make 4 trips looking for the key.

I will secure the loan for everything.

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'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 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.

We do recommend making sure all your data is accurate before finalizing your report.  

For example, if your house is worth $500,000 and you still owe $200,000 on your home loan, you have $300,000 in equity.

I am already have a good lender that has pre-approved me with a DSCR loan so all I need is to find the right market to invest in!

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 am seeing a lot of movement on VA assumable loans.