If you are just getting started here in Chicago, house hacking is the ideal situation.

Typically starting with a smaller rehab budget of $50K or less (maybe a max of $75K) and avoiding a 1 to 1(or higher) ratio of purchase to rehab costs is recommend when you are first starting out. 

And I understand that there is a person here on BP that started a meetup for St Joe, but I have not seen them posting it lately..

Hi Drake,You are in the right space to get started, so congrats on taking the first step.

I am ready and will be starting with property number one sometime, hopefully, quarter one of 2025 with a possibly 2 bedroom and 1 bathroom single family home; as this is within my current budget.

Start with the list criteria that will put you in front of likely sellers.

Honestly, it seems like you’ve got more skin in the game than I do since I’m just getting started as a bird dog, but I really admire your approach.I think your focus on tax-efficient strategies and building a reliable team is spot on.

I am a newbie in BP, just started listening all the podcasts, fascinated by the community!

Probably starting out small Jaycee - SF or maybe some smaller duplex type properties.

Therefore start with the min. requirement your lender will accept and see if that matches up with what your partner is willing to accept.