I have no experience personally investing with them.   

.✅ More Control – You’ll personally handle tenant screening, rent collection, and property upkeep, ensuring everything is done to your standards.✅ Stronger Tenant Relationships – Being involved directly allows you to build rapport with your tenants, which can lead to better communication and longer leases.Cons of Self-Managing❌ Time-Consuming – Dealing with maintenance requests, late-night emergencies, and tenant disputes can quickly become a second job.❌ Legal Risks – Chicago has strict landlord-tenant laws.

Which is very complex and costly and likely warrants professional help.Now, if it's just you and your spouse, then your 2024 tax preparation is likely relatively straightforward:- you will create a Schedule C on your personal tax return- you will NOT report any costs of purchasing the property or its rehab, not in 2024- you will report your business overhead expenses such as marketing, driving, technology etc- you will end up with a business schedule showing zero income and some expenses - not breaking the rules but potentially raising an audit flagCan you do it yourself?

@Richard Rafferty, given the relatively small nature you are looking to take on with your first syndication, personally, I would find it hard justify the typically 20-30k+ for a paid mentor. 

We would want to use it for personal use probably one per year. 

That person will be able to tell you what you can do and following that plan will give you peace of mind about your further investing strategy.

A person files for and get's whatever from of welfare.

I have found ChatGPT to be particularly useful for testing new Book Covers for BiggerPockets, such as our foray into the personal fitness category with upcoming title "Sweat for Life": 

Personally, I'd go with the As-Is scenario.

There is an amount that you can distribute from an IRA account to purchase a personal residence.You then might be able to turn the personal residence into an investment property.Best of luck.