I would also encourage you to get involved in networking groups in the Chicagoland area as well as listen to the straight up Chicago investor podcast.

In fact, we’ve been featured twice on the BiggerPockets Podcast, with our top episode being Show 794, where we dive into how we bought properties with as little as $100 down.Why am I sharing this?

We would recommend just listening to some podcasts / Youtube or jumping on FB and looking for Note Groups. 

BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast host @Dave Meyer want's to help our community learn by giving real life examples of deals folks from our community have purchased or are considering purchasing by reviewing these deals and walking through step by step how he would think of this deal!

I highly recommend listening to the podcast interview with the VP of Airdna either on BiggerPockets the past couple months or maybe it was STR secrets podcast.

Quote from @Bruce Schussler: A lot of Podcasts and Youtuber's say to cash-out refinance to keep rents balanced with payment; (PITI) then use those funds strategically to re-invest either in more real estate or just put into a high interest bearing account or money market account...Here's some of my thoughts and comparisons;Cash-out refinance with new loan so rents balance with payment:- The cash-out refinance is 100% tax free- The funds can be put into a money-market account off-setting a portion of the interest charge of loan- The loan balance gets eventually destroyed by inflation- The liquid cash eventually gets destroyed by inflation - The interest on the new loan can be deducted from the rent income- The refinance costs are 3-4% of the total- There is less equity in the property and LLC that can be attached in case of a lawsuit- The break-even on cash-out refinance with current interest costs on the new loan is around 12 years Vs.Paid-off property with positive cash flow:- The positive rent income is 100% taxable minus only depreciation and property tax- There is more equity in the property and LLC that can be attached with a lawsuit- The break even is not until after 12 years at today's interest rates- There is a rate risk in today's inflationary environment where interest rates on bonds keep rising*It appears to me that the cash-out refi is in the best interest for a property investor; (Dave Ramsey would strongly disagree!)

(Because of my podcast, I have access to many of them for one-hour discussions, but I know all of them would give a qualified investor 30 minutes at any time.)

I’m fairly new to the BP forums and BP site in general, But I have been very active on the podcasts and books stacking education and knowledge in the real estate field. 

To learn creative financing, you'll want to get involved with your local REIAs, listen to podcasts, follow people who are educators on creative financing, etc. 

Many of the BP podcasts are from a pretty young perspective, both in terms of flexibility and maybe even priorities.