@Scott Smith welcome sounds like you're already on the ball would love to help in the future .

you have a lot of due diligence to do.If the unit is still on the market, you can get the ball rolling, ask why it fell through in more detail.On most commercial deals, some due diligence up front maybe needed even before we put offer in. talking to county, talking to tenants and neighbor kind of stuff.

Ball players that can’t play anymore.

Over in Jackson MS I had 5 houses hit.. with golf ball sized hail that cost me 25k... so on and so forth.. again I have adjusted my thinking on insurance for buy and hold for sure..

We would like to play ball with the cash buyers in the area but are stuck looking for hard money.

I'm well aware that the guidelines/costs for financing 5+ units is a different ball game.

Get pre approved with your lender and make a few low ball offers and get used to the negotiation process!

Ideally, we'd like to find a property in Edgewater or East Rogers Park as we love living here, but we're open-minded as we're newbies looking to get the ball rolling toward our goal of thirty properties in seven years.Thanks for your time!

Shoot me a pm with your contact information and we can get the ball rolling. 

Assuming you are dude with a 9-5, a dream, and the balls to pull the trigger on a 4plex don't waist your time and money with an LLC.