Hello everyone, With deciding to start in real estate, my main goal is to create enough equity in the properties I obtain to build a house and buy land  (10-12) years down the line.Though the market always changes, I figured with investing into highly appreciating markets now, the properties I buy will accumulate the equity needed to be able to sell in the future which in turn will lead to the income needed to build and buy land. 

I'm about to close on a lot in Chicago logan square shortly and thinking about tearing down the 2-flat for a new single family.Can anyone who has done this help point me to the right direction?

I recommend starting of with a VA or Conventional 5% down loan and house-hacking a duplex, triplex, or 4-unit. 

Looking at a portfolio purchase.  180k purchase price, 20k down, balloon after 5 years. 

I probably would have never taken the shrink wrap off.I bought Carlton Sheets' course way back when and I made my first million as a result of him and Robert G Allen, "Nothing Down".

I will not hire someone who can't wrap their head around that fact.

While researching and evaluating homes, I had an idea for managing the down payment and emergencies for the first property.When I find a property with good cash flow, I could use a private money lender (PML) to cover the down payment and closing costs.

So if you're looking to sell for $500k and have an in-place $225k VA loan that's going to be assumed, they need to have $275k to put down, unless you want to carry a note (I see that light bulb that just lit up over your head, OP :P ).Pragmatically, I don't think this is for buyers or buyer's agents to ask about, that would be throwing spaghetti at the wall, unless maybe the home is in a military base town.

I would push your cleaners to do it to keep cost down.

If you were building it with cash and had $450K to play with, I would look at buying 1 or 2 more duplexes for $900K at 50% or 25% down and you are probably making more cashflow and you are building equity on multiple properties instead of just the 1.