The outside of the building is under an association but the inside is fully owned by the 2 owners (I am one of them).

I'm still in the "information gathering" phase of the deal, but I've spent the last few days educating myself on hard money loans, the costs associated with them, and the problems that people experience in getting the deal done.

If you are close to Lombard check out the Chicago Creative Investors Association run by Jane Garvey.

Most states and provinces Realtor associations have both lease and option contracts you can use.

@Adam Harlan associations and forums.

@Kenneth Cory Hill another great resource that meets in Louisville is the Kentuckiana Real Estate Investors Association  https://www.kreia.com/ I would recommend that you join this group since it is local to your area. 

In California, the Realtors Association actually created an advisory form just for this reason: https://www.car.org/-/media/CAR/Documents/Transaction-Center/PDF/Standard-Forms/December-2017/WFA_12-17_Draft9.pdf?

I am brand new to BP and to real estate investing. I have opened an LLC and have started saving for a down payment; while learning as much as I can by listening to Podcasts and reading books and articles on real estat...

Try contacting your state bar association and see if they have lists of attorneys by specialty. 

They also did not charge any appraisal or other associated fees.