Outside of Philadelphia in surrounding counties (Delaware, Montgomery), transfer tax is typically 2% so only 1% when split with the seller. 

I don't know how clean these bullies keep their surroundings, that could be another reason for their furry friends.

Joliet and surrounding areas are great for rentals.  

Lots of cookie cutter, lower priced houses are more likely to be rentals than if the house is surrounded by custom built unique houses.

It is usually because there is just a sink and no surrounding area to put a curling iron whilst hot and needs to be set down. 

I’m looking to surrounding towns now. 

The fact that SD's downtown area still isn't the beast it is about to be in 5-10 years only fires me up more to hunt down great deals in the surrounding neighborhoods that are older and in need of repair and growth.   

I usually have my exterminator check all the surrounding units that share walls or ceilings or floors to be safe.

That being said, certain pockets of that area don't perform as well as others due to a multitude of factors, and it's important to run comps in the surrounding area to ensure you'll get the desired rents you want.

However, because I do not have two years proof of income lenders won’t even talk to me because of the uncertainty surrounding covid regardless of the capital.