Afterall you don't want to be short for the mortg and attempting to get money in before the draw date (assuming it is an autodraw because it seems like a lot of lenders are almost requiring that). 

I could also attempt to do a 203k loan; buying something distressed in hopes the ARV will be enough for me to refinance while also receiving monthly cash flow.

When I attempted to refinance it, I was told that it couldn’t be done.

The sellers also have 100 acres of land to sell separately and the buyer was taking 12 extra acres.  6 months later, the deal still had not closed and the buyer was attempting to get stipulations placed on the rest of the acreage the sellers owned (no industrial, no trailers etc). 

This is all an attempt to prevent basis manipulation. 

I think my next most effective step is to get out and network and attempt to find a property near me in the Chicago area opposed to looking out of state. 

If I were to get another job this month, turn 18 next month, then attempt to qualify for a loan by the end of the year.

In regards to my plan, should I focus more on going solo and working on creating value for others as much as I can while I learn on my own, or would it be more efficient to attempt to join a team or brokerage to learn the ropes.

These are new to me and I’ve been searching through the net attempting to figure this out for the past few days

I'm attempting to get it done within the next week if possible, not sure if that's reasonable or not.