My reason for this post is to hopefully find a mentor to work with to get me started on this adventure into the real estate world.

I've been living here for 2 years and would like to start investing in real estate.

Real Estate is more emotion than anything. 

I'm interested in real estate in the Chicagoland area. 

Consider all the things that could go wrong and see if the lease addresses them: unauthorized pets or tenants, early termination, security deposit, lease violations, late rent, eviction, lawn maintenance, parking, etc.5.

Its like Fix and Flip loans/business purpose loans are now called "RTL's" real estate transition loans - same thing just different nameI know AAPL was trying to get away from the term "hard money" because for some it has a negative connotation but to me its all the same. 

Lesson learned Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

And they will help you set goals and objectives.That may not be the answer you were looking for, but it transformed my life, and helped me get into real estate investing full time. 

Spend $200 and sit down with a real estate attorney and get the scoop first hand on what is allowed and what isn't.This is true for California, Oregon and Washington.

Given that real estate, in the long term, increases in value on average 4% per year, does purchasing a home make sense?