Hard money is a great financing program to get you going.

There are many loan programs to help out first time homebuyers so don't feel as if this is too ambitious when there are tools to help you out, like use here on the Forum!

This strategy allows you to do a low down payment because the property will be your primary residence for at least ~1 year (which means you can put as little as 3.5% down, or even less with down payment assistance programs available in CO - happy to offer resources around that as well), and live in the property while having an income-producing component.

With Chicago's new Express Permit Program, it's a bit easier to get permits for work that would have previously required architectural drawings. 

I work with multiple different programs through our housing authority ("Section 8" and similar).

All that garbage made to sell books or guru programs is just that, BS marketing slogans. 

Seller is the Agent.Seller bought property in January of 2023 for $730,000Current “As Is” Value : $770,000Target Acquisition Price: $730,000-$780,000 After Repaired Value: $900,000Repair Estimate: $120,000Initial Offer Amount: $715,000Loan Program: Bank Statement Program.Total Estimated Monthly Payments (Principal, Interest, Taxes, and Insurance) $5500/month (based on $770k purchase price)Estimated Gross Yearly Income from Short Term Rental: $160,000 (65% Occupancy, $700 a night| (STR Listing Comparable properties Listing 1 Listing 2 Listing 3)Net Monthly Income after management and taxes: $11,751.25Net Monthly Income after Mortgage Payments: $6251.25 ($75,015) Per YearTotal Cash Investment: $297,000 ($177,000 in down payment and closing costs and $120,000 in repairs)Average Yearly Return on Investment: 25% yearlyAverage increase in property value per year: 5%Average increase in booking revenue per year 7.5%Property Value average after 10 years: $1.5 millionTotal Cash received over 10 years: $1.3 million.Total Equity multiple min over 10 years: 6x total return on $297,000 invested.

And if someone tries it, without paying for classes or programs, they can either net a deal or loose X number of hours of their time trying it.

My friend spent $81,000 on marketing and told me he could not trace one sale to a lead generated by the program and that the program generated almost no leads anyway.  

There are many communities within each of these areas that run or allow nightly rental programs.