If your property management company is good and has built an internal maintenance team which has set rates and had strong relationship relationships with licensed contractor which should keep costs in control, you should never need to shop contractors on your own I wouldn't think.So in short, our policy is give us your preferred contractors upfront if you have them, but then we work all tickets to resolution including dispatch, and payment of invoices.This is of course for operational expenses.  

I am looking to network and build a strong business relationship with a local real estate agent.

If you have any tips, resources, or advice for someone just starting out, I’d greatly appreciate your insights.Some specific things I’m working on right now:* Building a strong buyers list.* Identifying motivated sellers and honing my outreach.* Learning the ins and outs of structuring win-win deals.I’m open to partnering, collaborating, or just grabbing coffee to exchange ideas.

By building strong connections and sharing knowledge, we can support each other's journeys and uncover new pathways to success.Moreover, let's not forget the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

I would strongly consider building equity to make a stronger down payment and further decrease your monthly cost. 

I'm not sure why not - one of the great parts about real estate investing is that you can build a team around you for aspects you aren't as strong at or simply want to delegate to someone/expert and do the others yourself - look up "Core 4" for example - where you can have an agent, lender, manager, contractor all at once for your investments and can theoretically just let them do all the interactive work

The Midwest, including cities like Detroit, offers some of the best opportunities for affordable properties with strong rent-to-price ratios.

Detroit has a mix of affordability and strong rental demand, with properties under $200k that can cash flow if approached correctly.

Here are a few additional strategies that might help mitigate risk if you decide to rent the property:Hire a Strong Property Management Company: While you’ve already spoken with some PMs, consider finding one with extensive experience managing single-family rentals in Cook County specifically.

City-Data and Census.gov are solid resources, and sites like Rentometer can give you a good sense of rental prices.After that, I narrow it down to neighborhoods with strong fundamentals—good schools, low crime, and convenient amenities.