I'm presently a facilities engineer by trade, who does some construction and maintenance for landlords on the side, hoping to get back into the private real estate game.

The deposit amount when working with a lender comes from the lender - it is basically the amount of skin the lender wants you to have in the game. 

My girlfiend and I are looking in La Grange and Brookfield which is not quite as fast west as you, but my aunt lives in Wheaton so I am quite familiar with your area.What's your game plan over the next two years? 

Play it smart by aligning your investments with your goals, timing, and risk appetite.

in the desert units are often on the roofs.. you can only hope the criminal stumbles and falls off the roof and breaks their butt and decides thats not a good play for them..

Networking plays a crucial role in this industry and remember to keep learning continuously.

I would get back to local real estate investor meetups so you can connect with locals to the area and kind of get back in the game slowly that way.

I vote for gladiator games; last man/woman standing gets to post 🤣

This is a numbers game so you may have to take an aggressive approach towards negotiating several deals before one of them actually works out.

I guess an appreciation play would be the only thing that makes sense over here.