I will definitely be taking advantage of trying to network with some Chicago people here.As for looking for a good tenant. 

How do 5-7 people share food space, kitchenware, cooking time, etc?

The contractor will give you better pricing the more you use them, some GCs increase their price, but those are the ones you would like to not use (side note, of course with inflation you need to pay your people right, but it needs to be reasonable).

Do people take those credentials home with them and continue using your account. 

For people that want to close and make it pretty/official/permitted/etc once they are owners, the question is "what is the cheapest way we can get this to pass an appraisal without the appraiser calling for a licensed/bonded/professional/whatever to fix things prior to closing?"

A sign doesn't draw people like it did 10, 20, 30 years ago especially in a more rural setting with less people driving by to see the sign.

Home runs are far and few between.Oh I wish more people were honest about their deals.

You can also partner up as well/have multiple people on the loan for down payment purposes!

Other companies people use are SNSC, FCI, Landhome, Homekey and others.That would be your best bet.

Yes, it must be the rent prices, but also there seem to be a lot of 1 or 2 people travelers needing a small place for a short time.