It's extremely common for buyers in the Austin market to waive the appraisal contingency to win in multiple offers, which means they are removing their right to terminate or negotiate if the appraisal doesn't meet value. 

As @Collin Maas said, the whole warranty thing is a scam because they only cover materials, not the cost to demo and replace (which is where the money is)And as @Scott Mac said, it is critical to compare apples to apples.

You might find deals there but you'll likely pay gringo pricing and you'll also potentially have the bad deals and scams as there too as that's where you find the foreign buyers that know very little about the overseas property markets.You can find listings through the local agents, as their main or largest clientele will be local buyers.

You don't want to put yourself in a position where the balloon comes due and the capital markets have dried up (i.e; 2009-2011) With most commercial loans, there are 4 items that are commonly negotiated or massaged: the % loan to cost, the interest rate, the amortization rate, and the length of the balloon payment.

It's a common mistake to start rewarding yourself too early.I started investing in 2016.

That type of contract is pretty common, although we don't always require it.

You'll likely have to cover common area electricity and all of the water (typical for Chicago may be not your case).  2. 

You should know rents, common expenses, vacancy/occupancy rates, etc.   

All owners must hold title as tenants in common under local law.2.

Specific to commercial real estate in the general sense (non-apartments), your income stream is commonly fixed for a long time, i.e.