Hey Pat,Based on my experience with Unincorporated areas I wouldn't see too many concerns for your renters, the school district is still going to be based on the location of the property, and while many unincorporated areas tend to be pretty rural, many of these villages in the Chicago suburbs still end up having some "in between" areas that are unincorporated and can still be located close to great amenities.

I think in choosing I would tend to look at the track records of sponsors, are they presenting rosy or conservative.

Hope it can give you some ideas.Keep in mind it's not relevant for every single type of house and some aren't complete "red flags" rather just something to evaluate, but this is pretty much the soup to nuts version:Title: Utility liensHOA’sTaxes or SalesNotice of CommencementEasements, right of way, (i.e. shared driveways, basements, roofs)Deed restrictionsMunicipal liens or finesType of deed and is it insurableQuiet title needed?

House hacking a 4 unit is a great strategy for the first deal (I house hack a 4 unit in Chicago) they tend to cashflow a lot better then 2 or 3 units and you still get to use the low down mortgage. 

I buy Class B properties in Atlanta MSA, and prefer this class over Class C for several reasons:- class B assets usually have less deferred maintenance - class B assets tend to attract higher quality tenants- During COVID, Class B collections were the highest in the U.S, following by Class A assets, then Class C (which usually attracts tenants from the service industry and low paying jobs that got hit the hardest)

If you buy right, you can hit the ground running and just start collecting $, but they tend to be expensive when buying turnkey per se. 

When we walked in, the boyfriend was holding a large dog that was going nuts, I’m assuming to intimidate potential buyers.

Newer investors tend to get caught up in the concept of "OPM," but a conventional mortgage from a bank is OPM.

A general range tends to be 85% to 100% covered.LTV is normally expressed as a percentage and that percentage is of the ARV.

There are exceptions, but usually they are things that don't disturb the tenants so they tend to be outside (adding a deck, perhaps, or doing landscaping work).