Im looking to purchase a couple of 3Br 1bath SFH in Cahokia IL and rent them to Section 8.Does anyone have experience with the local Section 8 authority?

If your local market is very active and homes are selling fast, you may be able to get by with doing less.Your Home’s Condition: If your home is vacant or has a unique layout, using a professional stager who can bring in the right furniture and accessories may help buyers truly visualize its full potential.Your Budget: Talk to your agent to get an idea of staging costs in your area, as it can be the difference between your house selling and sitting.

Have you tried searching through local Facebook groups?

With technology and the right culture property management companies can be successful with a mix of local and remote team members. 

Are you local and can you oversee renos? 

You should engage with the local players in the commercial market i.e.

Post on local Facebook pages for contractor referrals, go to local REIAs, and ask your potential agents and PMs (even if not using a PM at first...you may at some point).There is only so much that service providers can do and many of them are far from "experts"; so, be prepared to be your own expert at being willing to figure stuff out as you move forward.

A client of mine recently invested there and raves aboutt the ease of finding solid contractors who stick to the budget.One piece of advice: before jumping into any market, spend time understanding the local economy, demand drivers (like job growth and population trends), and the landloard laws.

I'm pretty neutral on the local market outlook for the next year. 

Getting out to the local meetups, in my opinion, is one of the most important things we all can do as investors.