If you're brand new I highly suggest checking out multi unit and investor meetups in Chicago.

The tenants were vacated, the 12 units/3 retail was just about gutted, and the this past Fall/Dec/Jan were used to essentially renovate + build brand new.

Briian,Right I figured that would be no easy task but if your brand spanking new as a wholesaler and you dont have funding for any type of deal but you want to be accurate with repair numbers, do you just wing it until then?

Ask locals for more infoSchoolswww.greatschools.comJobs versus Unemploymentwww.city-data.com/ Higher unemployment rate means you just need to screen the tenants betterPopulation Growthwww.usa.com/rank/Price to rent ratiowww.zillow.com/research/data/How to find:Median monthlyrental price/Median sales priceVacancy ratesHow to find:Ask local propertymanagers Remember that this will change with how well you manage the property Include the average so that when you have someone else managing, it won't be as goodProperty Tax andInsurance RatesCh. 9 How to Find Rental PropertiesThe MLS Find a GREAT agent Set up automatic alerts Quickly screen out the bad deals Make lots of offers Look for old listings Focus on distressed Make a clean offer (keep contingencies to a minimum)Direct Mail Marketingwww.listsource.com Success is found in repetition You need to build your brand One needs 8 interactions with a brand before they buyMore info:"The ultimate guide to using direct mail advertising to grow your real estate business" at www.biggerpockets.com/directmailDriving for DollarsLook for distressed houses, write them down, then look into the public records to see who owns it and get their phone numberEviction RecordsTake a trip to your local county administration office and ask to see a list of the current evictionsBiggerPockets MarketplaceJust look around once in a while and post whenever you need somethingCraigslist Search for sellers Post an ad Search for landlords Instead of wanting to rent from them, they are probably having a hard time managing it so offer to buy it from them.

I don't think I'd trust a tenant to reset the oil burners, @Samuel Brand That seems like trouble waiting to happen.

Hi!
I'm a 21 y/o student going to UC Davis, CA. Would it be okay to make a 30% down payment on a property that is worth roughly $400,000? I am wondering whether it would be safer to hire a property manager as opposed...

And just because a brand new user (David Ertel above) comes along (who by the way just joined today and only has 3 posts as of right now, all of which are in this thread) and says it's legit, doesn't make it so.So do your own due diligence. 

If you have a good CPA, he/she probably has a few ideas (and other clients /your future partners) on how to exercise your capital, take care of the tax man, and keep help you keep your time commitment under wraps.To answer your question, I would buy a few acres of scraggly sagebrush near where I live, subdivide into quarter or third acres, drop brand new mobile homes on each parcel, convert to real property and sell.

I have a home right now that has white carpet in the dining room that is over 20 years old and looks brand new.

(Brand newbie, considering a small multifamily buy/hold out of state but only 1-1/2 hours from home)