Buyer beware of course but these are folks I routinely use and trust.

There will be a lot of proven people here who demonstrate that you can totally self manage an out of state property.It really will depend on you, the market, the property, and a few other factors some of which may be out of your control.I would not look at PM strictly as a cost, there are a lot of good local PM's who can add value to your property. 

They adhere to a strict code of ethics and are often members of national and local real estate associations.The Process:Property Listing: They list properties on local Multiple Listing Services (MLS), exposing them to a broad audience of potential buyers.Client Representation: Realtors represent either the buyer or the seller, guiding them through the transaction process, ensuring legal compliance, and striving for the best deal for their client.Commission-Based Earnings: They earn through commissions—predetermined percentages of the property’s selling price.Wholesalers: The Middle-MenReal estate wholesalers seek out off-market properties, secure them at significantly low prices, often through a signed contract with a seller, then "assign" or sell that contract to an end buyer for a higher price.The Process:Property Hunt: Wholesalers look for properties often not listed on MLS, sometimes requiring significant repairs or distressed sales.Under Contract: They negotiate directly with sellers and sign a purchase contract, with no intention of actually closing the deal themselves.Assignment of Contract: Wholesalers then sell this contract to an investor or end buyer at a markup, pocketing the difference as their profit.Divergence Creates TensionThis fundamental difference in operations sets the stage for conflict.

Strictly that and nothing else, I'd say the Jomax area would be more valuable, but that doesn't make it a better investment.

Are you renting out rooms in the house you live for extra cash or are you using it strictly for a rental property?

What helped me build confidence were the following:-Listening to as many podcasts including BP as possible-Utilizing the miracle morning routine daily-Read as many real estate investing books that I could get my hands on-Attending as many local real estate meetups as possible-Finding a mentor that was doing what I wanted to do at a larger scale and providing him immense value so he would take me under his wing-Starting my own local real estate meetup-Walk as many properties as possible and make offers.

The one thing I can say is that if you go downtown to the city of Chicago, you can get to talk to someone which is quite helpful.I ended up getting my operator's license which actually wasn't as challenging as I thought it would be (I went downtown to get it), but didn't end up using it because our airbnb also got denied lol because it was in a "planned development area".I believe there were a lot of neighborhood complaints about airbnbs so that is why they are putting such strict stipulations around 1-4 unit builds.  

Hey Kev,If you are strictly looking for a HELOC, you may want to partner up with a mortgage broker that works with UWM.

If you're going the umbrella insurance route, perhaps see if it will cover you for several things including just the routine slip and fall (like mold or earthquake).

Strictly speaking these homes are condos since they are built on a condo plat.