Couple days after I’d rented to them I listened to a Bigger Pockets that talked about the things you should watch out for when renting to tenants.

Chicago has lots of pockets of good areas immediately followed by not so good areas.

I put down $12K, and continued to save over the three months I repaired and put the place up for rent.

Refi 75% of ARV for next dealMy first shot analyzing a deal in my county:$65k out of my pocket (43 for the house, 22 for rehab)Estimated $90k ARV= $67,500 cash return (assuming I pull out 75% equity)I receive about $850/mo from rent based on compsHELOC= $393/mo payment to bank (4.2% interest)$85/mo to property manager Meaning I gross approx $372/mo Zip code is 31904.

With an FHA loan and first time homebuyer credits, your out of pocket cost to buy will be surprisingly low.

I agree with @Scott Harper, I used to live in Florida and was a member of the CFRI group - you can meet some good folks there, but they do heavily promote gurus and classes - so just skip all that and listen, learn and utilize Bigger Pockets - with none of the Hype!

@Scott PassmanWelcome to Bigger Pockets.

@Raheem Jenkins We also have a meetup with some of the bigger pockets folks once a month or sometimes every other month.

We feel like we can remodel and renovate the properties to bring in an additional $2,000/month(by turning one of the 1 bedrooms into a bi level three bedroom by taking advantage of the large pitched roof in each property.) 

I listen to bigger pockets on a daily and have learned a ton from the podcast and from real estate investing books!