Hey Zachary, I've lived in Alabama my whole life and my whole family has been in real estate.

With current interest rates, and they are at least 1% higher with potentially additional points for non owner occupied property, it is hard to find properties that will allow for positive cash flow after paying the mortgage, if you are looking for money for the down payment from a private lender, those are normally at higher than market and I am not sure it would be possible to pay it off.... please remember you need to take into account that you may not have a tenant for a certain amount of time, a tenant may stop paying rent, or you will have a big ticket item to fix, so I would wait if I were you and save to have enough for the down payment and closing costs and perhaps some money set aside for repairs. you also want to make sure that you have your own emergency fund outside of the money needed for the investment property because life happens ....

On buy-and holds we usually replace all the plumbing with pex, no matter what, because galvanized has a life expectation of about 60 years, so I usually take the sooner than later approach.Stick with hard money, like Mach1 or or MKE hard money (Scott Lurie) as they will not leand on a deal that does not pencil out, so you have the added benefit of someone experienced looking over your numbers.

Hey @Mordechai Chaimovitz - It sounds like you are talking about Chicago's NW side because there are definitely tons of areas in Chicago where a 2 flat can cashflow well.I know for me buying on the nw side was critical to my personal well-being and life happiness. 

The Shoals is a great place to settle down and take life slow.

Multifamily mindset has recruited students from all walks of life such as teachers, medical doctors, veterans, real estate agents, business men, and I was included into a group (multifamily mindset encourages students to form groups) and one of them is a veteran who is divorced, has kids to support, not employed during that time, got a loan of $40,000 for the tuition.

What stage in life and in investing are you are questions I think you should ask yourself to get a clear picture.

If I ended up getting only the gas furnace, it was going to be 10k but both the gas furnace and AC were 18+yrs old and at the end of their life cycle.

Building relationships with them early is key.For tenant communication and rent collection, tools like Buildium or Avail can make life easier.

My ultimate goal is to acquire enough real estate to achieve financial freedom, allowing me to travel, provide a comfortable life for my family, and teach my children about discipline, financial literacy, and the wealth-building potential of real estate.I’m here to learn, share, and connect with others who share this passion.