.✅ Stronger Tenant Relationships – Being involved directly allows you to build rapport with your tenants, which can lead to better communication and longer leases.Cons of Self-Managing❌ Time-Consuming – Dealing with maintenance requests, late-night emergencies, and tenant disputes can quickly become a second job.❌ Legal Risks – Chicago has strict landlord-tenant laws.

You have a job that keeps you busy, but you want to start creating wealth through Real Estate.  

I am looking in the greater Austin area, with plans of securing a job and house-hacking a quadplex or triplex.

Looking for ways to expand my network as well as possible job opportunities. 

That creates a really nice price / rent ratio which is favorable for investors looking for cash flow.

I would suggest getting another full-time job for the time being and investing/doing STR on the side until you can fully and comfortably replace the income that you would be receiving from your job.Is your LTR in need of repair?

Newbie investors talk about how they are going to get rentals so they can quit their job.

I focus on mid-grade quality items that are durable and pleasant to use yet not so nice that people are tempted to swipe them and are then expensive to replace.

Also, focus on 2 years of job/income stability.Class D Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciationVacancy Est: 20%+ should be used to cover nonpayment, evictions & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores under 560 (almost 30% probability of default), little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, recent evictions.

We just really wanted to see if we can get something back because they are really bad at the job and have cost us many thousands of dollars (if not more).