That being said, one tip I can give new investors and out of state investors is to have at least some sort of grasp on the neighborhoods to invest in before just diving into making offers and such.With Chicago being such a large city filled with a ton of vibrant neighborhoods, I don't believe that it should be up to you as a first time investor or out of state investor to learn about these neighborhoods through your own research.

Vinh, what flavor of Commerical real estate?  

Agreed @Justin G. and I will add a few more flavors of diversification an investor can achieve:Project type (Value-add, stable cash flowing, etc)Sponsor diversification 

Little Havana is a very touristy location full of vibrant culture and nearby to downtown.

So, it's not about catering to the whimsy of folks who just want to live in world class cities, it's about keeping the critical elements of a vibrant city all getting what they need so they continue to stick around and contribute. 

So before you take one set of questions – please add you flavor to match your expectations.

Hi BP friends,Can you recommend a real estate photographer in Maui that makes pictures vibrant and delightful?

Once you get a flavor for the cap rate you should be able to accurately determine the value of the building from the NOI and understand if a refinance is "worth it" in your situation.

As a side note, we had an airbnb in Aiken SC and did very well there...it is a unique community that has alot of horse and polo people traveling from all over and it has a vibrant Artists community.

However in this case it sounds like the lien has been released so the question is moot.yes foreclosing a junior lien does not remove a senior lien not matter what it is.. although in practice its pretty rare to have IRS lien senior to bank loans.. maybe a private loan where a lender never requested lenders title insurance.Not as rare as you might think, liens of all flavors get missed all the time in title searches.