If a grouping election is in place the lisses apply to the grouped activity as a whole.

@Allan Guerra, at least in Ohio, you cannot receive a commission based on the purchase price of a property without being a licensed real estate agent.  

I knew the good and not so good areas.

It has been my life's mission to build my own duplex, house hack it & use it to catalyze the BRRR cycle.As I get closer to breaking ground on the project, I'm still not 100% confident in it's feasibility due to the costs of land & construction considering it is mandatory to secure an appraisal 20% above build & land cost. 

Where in the Chicago area do you invest?

Are you all local to the area or are you still in Ohio? 

If you truly just want your primary paid off you can just do a cash out refi on your investment, still in your own name, and pay off your primary.

The cash investor who "saw the property on zillow" but doesn't really understand what REO means or how the banks operate. 

It just does.  

If you plan to sell it in the near future, I would focus more on the added value overall.