How to do you first property? 

Does it need to be completed before end of the year to use it when I do taxes in April 2025? 

One of the most important skills you didn't mention is networking, which you are obviously doing well at too.I'd recommend connecting 1:1 (zoom, coffee. lunch, etc.) with a couple from the BP Chicago community or better yet check out some of the local meetups: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521-real-estate-events-...Make friends with the meetup hosts...they will often know whos who and can help you make the right connections.Regarding your license, I think it's a great idea if you have the time and are going at it with the right intentions. 

Most of us will go even higher...say 85%...but you have to get the property to cash flow at that level.

What make it hard to enforce is that the ‘Post Nup” must have both sides receive “fair” value - so what exactly is the spouse without the asset gaining?  

If you want to make the opposite case, look at engineering degrees or point to the wage studies that show on average people with 4 year degrees make a lot more than those who have zero college.  

@Shelby Ek Do you need to activate the utilities in order to qualify for the loan you are getting?

The sale of the property has been delayed and harder to sell than we expected. 

The question I will ask is would rather step or a dollar to pick a dime or just pick up the dollar?  

@Justin Boyd just saw the location on this, I'm somewhat familiar with that market, we do quite a few retail deals in CLE and the surrounding areas, I'd be happy to give you an opinion on the site if its helpful.